Portland PRSA Draws Crowd for Spotlight Awards

Portland Oregon's chapter of the Public Relations Society of America drew a nice crowd for its annaul Spotlight Awards last night.  I was on hand as a volunteer still photographer, and my brother, David Bitton, volunteered to shoot video.  Here's the blrub from the PRSA website about the event:

PRSA-PDX's most festive and spirited gathering of the year to honor outstanding work in public relations, to recognize individuals who advance the profession and to have a great time. This annual awards program is an event not to be missed.

David and I had a great time getting to know the PR pros in attendance, especially the team from Portland General Electric, which let us sit at their table.  That's them in the photo above. Hi girls!  A complete gallery of images from the evening can be seen here.  Want to know who won and for what?  Check the results on the Portland PRSA website, www.prsa-portland.org.

Uncle Mike Launches Dog Blog

I do a lot of blogging for the Checkpoint Zero Adventure Racing website, and its owner, Paul "Yak" Angell, tells me I've taken to blogging like a duck to water. Practice is always a good thing, so I've pitched in to create and maintain a blog for my nephew, Garrett, a 6-year-old Autistic boy. The blog, titled Boy Meets Dog, will focus on the family's efforts to pair Garrett with a service dog trained to care for Autistic children. Follow the link and tell me what you think!

Welcome to Boy Meets Dog

New Backpacking Gear Put to Test in Goat Rocks Wilderness

Photo by David Bitton

I just got back from a three-day, two-night backpacking trip in my neighborhood high country, the Cascade Range of Washington State. My brother David Bitton and I tagged along with a group of Scouts on their annual adventure trek. The trail head was Lily Basin, and the destination was Heart Lake, well within the borders of the Goat Rocks Wilderness. I decided to test some new gear on the trip. Along for the ride was:

A 3 Day Assault Pack from Mystery Ranch in Bozeman, Mont. The bag was recently put into service by the U.S. Navy SEALs.

A Stealth down backpacking quilt from Jacks R Better in Yorktown, Virginia. RJB gear is popular among ultralight folk, especially those who enjoy hammock camping.

A Satellite Messenger from SPOT in Milpitas, Calif. This little GPS device provides peace of mind not for the adventurer carrying it, but for those at home who want to know said adventurer is OK.

A pair of SOLE Platinum Sandals from SOLE Custom Footbeds in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The company's heat-moldable orthotic shoe insoles cradle feet and improve posture. Now that same technology is in the open air, and catching on fast among the outdoor crowd.

The pack is not lightweight, but it is small, perfect for preventing me from taking too much stuff with me. The bag is overbuilt and guaranteed for life.

The quilt was magnificent. It can compress to about the size of a Nalgene bottle, but I chose not to abuse the 800-fill down feathers. In the pack, I kept the Stealth quilt about the size of a box of cereal.

The SPOT Satellite Messenger was used in two different modes. One is the "OK" mode, which sends a message via e-mail or text message to those you input on the company's website when you press the OK button. That worked perfectly. But the tracking feature, designed to "ping" a satellite every 10 minutes while in tracking mode, worked best in wide-open areas.

Since the Pacific Northwest is pretty much forested, there were a lot of attempted pings from my SPOT unit that never found a satellite. The unit hung from my shoulder strap most of the time. Next trip, I'll put the SPOT unit on top of my pack. Hopefully that will improve performance in tracking mode.

And finally, the SOLE Platinum sandals.  I picked these up at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show earlier this month, and haven't been without them since.  Who would have thought that flip-flops could become their favorite "shoes?"  My feet are flat, and without support, begin to ache within hours.  The SOLE Platinum sandals feel better and better the more I wear them.

Swiss Sheep

Another day, another hike over a pass to yet another European country. That's Switzerland beyond the flowers, complete with a shepherd. I'm shooting this picture from France. What an amazing assignment this has been!

Here Lies Italy

Though this granite marker looks like a head stone, here it is used to mark the border of Italy and France near the Col de la Seigne in the Alps. The "I" on the marker stands for Italy. On the other side, there's an "F" for France. It took me two hours to hike to the top of the pass. It was the most beautiful hike of my life!

The Great Life

Photo by Celine, my server

This is me having a Perrier at a cafe on the pedestrian street in the French Alps town of Bourg Saint Maurice. This is not the good life. This is the Great life. On assignment for Checkpoint Zero at the Mountain X Race.

Bourg Saint Maurice, Savoie, French Alps

My first morning in Europe delivered this view. That's the village of Bourg Saint Maurice, in the state of Savoie, in the French Alps. Five more days of this and I may never want to go home! I'm here on assignment for the adventure racing news website Checkpoint Zero. I'm told to expect more views like the one above in the days ahead. Click on the photo to see it large.

Gettin' My Kitch On

The zip tie I was using as a key chain here at Primal Quest failed me, so I had to replace it. I stopped by a gift shop in Big Timber, Montana, near the Super 8 where I'd been gaining Internet access, and snatched this kitchy key chain up for $2.99. Now I know where my car key is!