Yeah Suit!
Stay Wild
Hey so, the fine folks at Thalia made a wetsuit using that nice limestone-based neoprene. Maybe you need a new suit?
News
Urban Caving
Stay Wild
Exploring Underground Drains and Abandoned Mines
Story by Trevor Mottram
Photo by Trevor Mottram
When I moved to San Diego in 2012, I founded Southern California Exploration & Adventure (SoCalX) as a means of meeting people who wanted to explore places that were a little more interesting than the walking and bike paths at the local park. I was getting into exploring with my neighbor at the time, using websites to find places around San Diego to visit. After my first walk-in mine tunnel, I was hooked on the underground. It was a relatively small mine, about 200 feet deep, and contained old timbering and fallen air ducts, as well as the first mining relic I ever came across: a 1950s Montgomery Ward tool box, sitting on a wooden shelf. Three years later, we’re rappelling into vertical mine shafts, going deeper underground than ever! While SoCalX hosts a variety of events, from snorkeling to peak bagging, our main interests lie underground.
Drain Photos by Bernie Freidin
Some of our members are extremely into storm drains. One member has mapped hundreds of miles of tunnels all over San Diego and Los Angeles, and has done everything from crawling on hand and knee through 24-inch diameter pipes to passing through 15 foot-high underground flood channels! He uses proper surveying gear and overlays his maps onto Google Earth—mainly for his own personal gratification, but he loves to share his photography and stories. Draining is a relatively safe hobby, but there are things to watch out for, namely animals, bums, punk kids, and all manner of random shit that’s found its way underground. Of course there’s the very remote possibility of a flash flood.
There is also an infinite amount of graffiti, some of which is absolutely stunning while some looks like a chimp did it. Art is in the eye of the beholder, but crap art is crap art. While I don’t condone vandalism and tagging shit above ground, storm drains and tunnels are a perfect canvas, below the prying eye of society. Take note, kids: Go under the street, where people who actually want to see it can. Don’t doodle on buildings, especially if you’re one of these guys who wants to paint a wizard riding a unicorn, but only manages a stick figure holding what is supposed to be a gun, with “fuck you” scrawled above it.
While draining is pretty safe and has its own virtues, on the other end of the spectrum are abandoned mines. The very real fact is that old mines can be deadly. We often rappel down vertical shafts in the desert, where the ground at the bottom is littered with the skeletons and remains of rabbits, lizards, and rats. Haven’t found a dead guy yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Even worse than the possibility of falling to your death is blowing yourself up by stepping on a stick of dynamite or blasting cap. We explored a mine recently where we found a pile of 60 sticks! The older nitroglycerin gets, the more unstable it can become, even reacting to mere touch. Climbing over piles of rubble is a sketchy undertaking if you think you could be stepping on explosives. Scary stuff. Finding items left behind by miners decades ago is really fun, and the only time trash is remotely interesting.
Photo by Trevor Mottram
Now your interest is piqued and you’re thinking about getting underground, right? Start small with easy stuff and grow from there. Go find a storm drain and explore it. But don’t go straight to rappelling into mines if you know nothing about what you’re getting into. I suggest learning about mining history and techniques, and how the workings were dug.
Surf Portland
Stay Wild
Three New Surf Shops Open 80 Miles from the Coast
Photo & Words by Justin “Scrappers” Morrison
I’m in Portland, Oregon, the coast is 80 miles away. It’s a two-hour drive beyond the city, the suburbs, the farms, and the forest. Portland is not at the beach, but it has a surf culture all its own.
Something is growing organically here, beyond the reach of the mainstream scene. It’s in our art (the paint is still wet), our fashion (think wool and waxed canvas), our food & drink (smoke salmon stout), and even in our music (listen to Guantanamo Baywatch). Our DIY/maker/design culture has a surfy side, too! We have great surfboard shapers living and working here, like Mike Hall of Blackfern, the guys at FRESTcoast, and Dan Murdey, who learned to glass in Bend, Oregon with Hawaiian legend Gerry Lopez. The most “Portland” thing of all might be Pushfins making surfboard fins out of old, busted skateboard decks.
We have a surf scene here, so it’s no surprise three surf shops are opening at the same time. Leeward, Cosube, and Up North Surf Club are all about our Northwest culture. All three shops are a vital voice in the conversation defining this pioneer surf scene.
Why are you opening in Portland now? The beach didn’t get any closer. Has a cultural tide changed?
“Folks are coming here all the time. Portland is growing. A lot of these folks are moving here from coastal cities, and they surf. It only takes a few trips out to the Oregon coast to realize there is some fun surf to be had if you can get past the 5mm suits, booties, and ice cream headaches.
Outdoor culture at large is really having a peak moment as well it seems, especially in Portland and the Northwest. I believe the Portland community has a deep desire to connect with the outdoors, which is one of the things that makes this place so great.”
-Lyndsey Lee Faulkner of Leeward
“When I started surfing in the ‘90s the surfing community was so small that the coastal shops and a couple sporting goods stores were enough to satisfy the demand. Over the last five years, with the growth of Portland and advancement in technology, specifically in wetsuits, surfing as a sport and hobby has expanded tremendously.”
-Alex Morris of Cosube
“It came down to creating a job for myself that I enjoy. Karen, my fiancé, had always wanted to open a store, and I thought, ‘Let’s give this a shot while we can.’ Hopefully it evolves into a place that has a good vibe.”
-Martin Schoeneborn of Up North Surf Club
What is your shop’s vibe?
“The space itself will be influenced by Northwest coastal architecture and mid-century design principles. Well-designed and thoughtful, with a dose of homegrown Northwest character. We’ll probably have too many plants and tapestries.”
-Lyndsey Lee Faulkner of Leeward
“The shop will have early morning hours, offering equipment rentals and locally roasted Coava coffee to surfers heading to the coast before work and other early risers. In the afternoons and evenings, Cosube’s tap list will feature local craft beers while two beer cases will feature ice-cold bottles from the world’s top surfing destinations. We will offer an assortment of apparel, accessories, and lifestyle goods that define a cold-water surf culture.”
-Kelsie Morrow of Cosube
“We want to keep the formula pretty simple. Surfing is pretty simple at the core. If you can get your hands on a board and a wetsuit, you can go surf as much as you want…. We’d like it to be inviting to surfers and non-surfers alike, a neighborhood place where people can come hang out. A bunch of friends are helping with the design and buildout, so I think their contributions will dictate the vibe just as much as any ideas Karen and I have.”
-Martin Schoeneborn of Up North Surf Club
Portland is growing. I’ve seen community gardens and forested parks cleared away to make room for more condos. It’s getting crowded, but by California or Hawai’i standards the water is not crowded. Yet.
You’ll see more wool and hiking boots on the beach than aloha shirts and bikinis. It’s not very sexy. Yet. We are a hairy bunch of outsiders living in the pioneer culture of a new surf scene. No business, brand, or company has claimed ownership. Yet.
The waves are not getting any closer to Portland. Yet!
The SEEKER
Stay Wild
Meet the SEEKER.
Your new adventure buddy.
It can hold art stuff, travel stuff, party stuff, and stuff stuff. We made it with Seattle-based bike bag builders Swift Collective, so you better believe it’s ready to rumble.
Measuring 8.5 inches X 5.25, this bag unzips and opens to reveal a big zippered pocket, three elastic daisy-chain-styled organizers, and a peek-a-boo sting dongle thingy. It's body is buff with Cordura™ fabric. There are two loop straps if you want to clip on a shoulder or belt strap too! It also has an Oregon leather sun-dyed patch with the Stay Wild logo!
