Bachelor Party Ideas

Rafting in The Shadows of Mt. Hood

To Read more about trips like this or book your own trip, visit Hitz Adventures

http://www.hitzadventures.com/

Into The Wild

The Book of the month is Jon Krakauer's, "Into Thin Air." Out this month is the movie based on another Krakauer book featured in an earlier newsletter, "Into The Wild."

Click Here For Site

If you are unfamiliar, it documents the life of Chris McCandless, a young men who goes off into the Alaskan wilderness to experience his own version of Thoreau's "Walden."

It made for a cool book, and hope the move will do it justice. If you get the chance, I suggest you check out this story of a restless youth. Below is a often quoted statement from McCandless...enjoy: 

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different Sun." 

__________________________________________________

Rafting in The Shadows of Mt. Hood

This month's feature is a recent trip to Oregon for rafting on the Deschutes river with some guys from Washington, California and Chicago.

I was eager to make the trip out West as it had been a while since my last visit. I read somewhere a quote, "Once you live West of the Mississippi, you will never go back East." I think that should be adjusted a little further west to the Eastern border of Colorado, but I definitely agree. Which is why I live in Detroit...?

The trip started in Portland, a very cool city tucked between the mountains. Portland is a pretty liberal city, not as fashionably alternative as Seattle, more raw and natural. Mt. Hood makes an incredible backdrop for the skyline.

The guys started streaming in Friday afternoon. After checking into Hotel Monaco we made our way over to a bar at the top of Portland's tallest building. It made for a great sunset view and atmosphere for the guys to catch up on each other's recent exploits. After drinks we polished off some meat and a nearby steakhouse. Portland's bars are all crammed within a 2 block radius, which is ideal for bar hopping. Portland is famous for their beer and music, and the group sampled both.

Morning came way too early as we had a 2 hour drive East to Maupin, Oregon for the rafting. I rallied the troops and loaded them in the van. After a quick stop at McDonalds we rounded the foothills of Mt Hood and arrived at base camp. The setup was pretty cool, as the rafting company had invested some serious coin to build a first class lodging and event center to surround their river operations.   A far cry from a barn with some rafts and a couple showers in the woods.

We got them on the water right away. We were the only ones on the river and that made it a pretty cool experience as many times you are herded down the river like cattle. The water was freezing. I am usually ok in cold water, but this was above my threshold. We swam one rapid and that was enough of the macho stuff for me.

After rafting everyone picked a room at the lodge, each with a different theme (fishing, trains, etc). Guys walked up the road for dinner and drinks before coming back to the fire. I grabbed my sleeping bag and found a spot along the river under a bridge, for a night under the stars.

I woke up early and took a swim in the river...stronger than any Starbucks blend. After breakfast we took the shuttle back to town along the Gorge...another picturesque view. I dropped the guys off at the airport and boarded my flight back to Michigan.

The majority of the crew were lawyers, but don't hold that against them as they were good people and good friends who appreciated a weekend of outdoor adventure

[Watch the Video]

Until Next time.

Darren Hitz
Hitz Adventures
p:248.910.8152
f :480.393.4077
darren@hitzadventures.com
www.hitzadventures.com

Olympic River Rafting in Tennessee

To Read more about trips like this or book your own trip, visit Hitz Adventures

http://www.hitzadventures.com/

It's Only When We Lose Everything That We Can Do Anything.

The above paraphrased quote is from "Fight Club", but it is also mentioned in this month's book of the month.

"Between A Rock and A Hard Place" is a story I am sure many are familiar with; boy goes climbing, boy gets arm trapped, and boy cuts off arm to escape.

What I wanted to talk briefly about is not the extreme spirit and determination this person possessed allowing him to overcome the life or death task in front of him, but the decisions he made before that day.

Our hero loved to climb and be outside. He was an educated man, with a great job at Intel, but gave it all up to live simply in Aspen, climbing, skiing and working at a mountaineering store. Even after losing his arm, he still climbs and lives an incredibly happy life.

Now, I am not standing on a soapbox telling everyone to quit their job and have fun all day or else I will have no more customers. Rather, remember, you are only here for a short while, and you can't take anything with you, so make sure you do something cool every once and a while. Whether that be climbing mountains, camping in the woods, traveling to Italy, or volunteering in your community.

This leads me to the quote I started this section with. As we separate ourselves from the cell phones, bluetooth, itunes, cars, mortgages...even for a weekend, getting as raw as possible, we see what is important and what we are truly capable of both physically and mentally.

And if we don't, the, "the things you own, will end up owning you." -Tyler Durden

All the best

Darren

___________________________________________________________________

Olympic River Rafting in Tennessee

This trip was a small group of 5, all of whom went to school together at LSU back in the day.

I decided to go in on Thursday to Chattanooga TN to check out some of the natural scenery. I drove up Lookout Mt, which is a famous Civil War landmark. After walking through gaps in boulders about 2 feet wide at the top of this mountain, I came to an open area with a spectacular view of the surrounding area. Reading a plaque along the railing, I came to find that you were actually able to see 7 states from this ledge. I had to take there word for it as none of the states were color-coded like they are on the map. (That was a joke)

Anyway, when I got back to town, I was hoping the minor league baseball team would be playing that weekend as the stadium was awesome, but it was not to be. Long gone are the days of plywood centerfield walls with outfielders running through them to catch a fly ball.

The guys got in Friday and we got some dinner and hit some bars. Chattanooga is by no means a bustling metropolis, but as I like say, it has enough spots to get into trouble for a weekend, but after that you probably will get a little bored.  We hit all the clubs and bars and toasted the group before it was back to the hotel for an early rise for rafting. 

No problems getting everyone in the shuttle and out to Benton TN for rafting on the Ocoee (pronounced O-KO-E). The views were great along the river and afforded plenty of opportunities to jump out and float the river. This river is actually the river that the Atlanta Olympic Games held the Kayaking events. Many of the world-class kayakers train here...but these guys were not ready for any Eskimo Rolls on this trip. 

After finishing the trip we hung out, grabbed some pictures and headed back to town. Although camping was an option, I think these guys had a deep appreciation for a warm bed and indoor plumbing, which was not a problem.

The group was really mellow and instantly made me feel as one of the gang. I enjoyed the weekend and hope to be back soon.

Until Next time.

[Watch the Video]

Darren Hitz
Hitz Adventures
p:248.910.8152
f :480.393.4077
darren@hitzadventures.com
www.hitzadventures.com

Goin' Back to Cali'

Apologies to LL Cool J, but I was headed to Northern California for a rafting bachelor party. I flew in a few days early to spend some time with one of my buddies who now lives in Sacramento. We drove up into mountains to check out the area as he had not ventured out of suburbia since he arrived.

We were in the middle of wine country, but we will save that for the bachelorette party trips. After checking out the mountains and meeting the rafting guides, we hung out in "Old Sac" where they have turned a section of downtown into an 1800s-style saloon town. Of course we visited every bar in the area before moving to the modern downtown district and hitting the clubs, where Masons/The Park leads the way.

         

The next morning, I got up and headed over to the Embassy to meet up with the bachelor party. There was about 16 guys, all friends from the Sacramento area. The groom was known around the gambling world as the "Giant Killer" for he had quite a successful run at last years World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas.

After everyone checked into the hotel, it was downstairs for the open bar. The guys pretty much cleaned the hotel of their liquor and beer before moving off to the private dinner downtown. The meal was great, but the best part of the celebration thus far was when each guy went around the table and told a story about what they remember most about the groom and how each story seemed to grow a bit over the years.

After dinner we headed out to the bars. Posing outside of one bar, some random girl sneaked into the shot as you can see below, but no one seemed to mind as she was not too shabby.

I left the guys at about 1:00am and headed back to my buddy's to get some work done. The next morning, everyone was struggling big time. Lots of searching through rooms for random guys. I eventually got everyone downstairs, crammed some food into them and we headed off for the hills and the adventure portion of this trip.

Some of the guys were less prepared than others as you can see below where one is wearing a snow cap and dress shoes. Not your typical rafting issue clothing. Once we got everyone into wetsuits, it was off to the river. These guys were on the S. American where they were up against some decent Class III. After having lunch half-way through, they hit some heavy stuff and headed to the campsite for some football and relaxing before dinner at the Sierra Nevada House.

These guys closed the night at the Coloma club. A biker hangout....lets just say these guys stood out a bit, but after buying a few shots, they were right at home.

Everything went great and the guys were up late cooking marsh mellows by the river and drinking beer until the sun came up.

Another great trip. Until next time....

Darren

Rocky Mountain High

John Denver. He brought us such classics as "Rocky Mountain High" and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." Pure genius. I was off to Denver and eventually Ft. Collins CO to pay homage to the legend and get some rafting in. I came in a day early and took in a Rockies baseball game and spent the evening stumbling around the LoDo area of Denver. Plenty of new rooftop beer providers for me to sample. I shook off the cobwebs the next morning and awoke to an amazing site; 50+ hot air balloons scattered across the sky, with the Rockies as a perfect backdrop. I got some great shots (email me for them).

I headed out into the middle of nowhere (AKA the Denver Airport) to pick up the guys from Houston for the Bachelor Party. They all arrived at about the same time and after pouring a few in the terminal we took the shuttle out to Ft. Collins. The ride was a bit longer than anticipated but the view was a decent distraction.

Everyone checked into the rooms and met downstairs for some Tequila Happy Hour. We took the shuttle into town and hit the Rio Grande, famous for mind-altering margaritas (3 drink limit) before going to dinner at a high-class Bistro.

Following dinner we sampled most of the bars, everything from Martini Joints to Zydeco Dance Halls. We all made it back alive and were a little pissed that we missed Girls Gone Wild the night before, but hey, that was not why we were there...right?

   

Everyone rallied the next morning to make it in time for breakfast at Vern's and then it was off to the hills. We all put on wet suits for this one as water coming right off the mountain tends to be a little cold.

It was a beautiful ride up the mountain and we were fortunate to have high water, allowing us to run the whole 17 mile stretch. We rumbled through rapids like Pinball and Rollercoaster before breaking for lunch. After lunch the waves got bigger as we hit the class IV rapids. It was hard to believe that no one got tossed, but everyone made it home alive.

Once we got back to base, I broke out the paddle and T-shirts for the guys. We posed for some pictures and changed into our polyester leisure suits for the final night in town.

We headed over to "Coopers" and were able to watch the video of the trip on the big screen. A bachelorette party crossed our paths, and we forced both the bride and groom-to-be to do some shots. Another night on the town, before crashing...I should say I crashed, and when I got up to catch my flight home they were still going.

I did not think I would like Colorado(I am a a lifelong Redwings fan and that automatically makes me an Avalanche-hater), but I was wrong. Little known fact, Colorado gets more sunshine than any other state in the union (48 - We don't count those other 2 territories). All the people out there are fit and a bike rack is attached to the top of every car. I have never seen so many Jeeps in my life. And I am not talking about Cherokees, Libertys, or even Wagoneers because those are not Jeeps.

Until next Time,

Darren

bachelor party adventure weddings travel

Squeal Like a Pig!

Click here to listen to Podcast:

http://www.adventurebachelorparty.com/blog/Podcasts/West_Virginia_June17.mp3

I was heading back to the location that started it all. My first trip when starting the company was rafting in West Virginia. I was going down this season to check out the new hot spots in the city and to spend some time with my friends at the rafting company.

I flew in on Thursday and after walking the city and meeting with my restaurant and hotel contacts, I headed out to Fayetteville in my PT Cruiser rental (hated it) to see my friend Rob. We headed out to Summerville lake to do some wakeboarding. The lake was amazing. I am a rock freak as geology was one of my majors at Notre Dame. The exposed layers of sedimentary sandstone, revealing hundreds of thousands of years of geologic activity, was beautiful.

After doing some laps and sharing a few beers, Rob showed my a place where he first learned the art of cliff-diving. I was a little nervous as my last year of travel have left me in less than peak physical fitness and was not sure how much climbing was involved. Fortunately there was a rope to help scale the rock and the pictures below show my 60ft plunge into manhood, WV style. As for my platform dive, let's just say my backside is still bruised.

Rob's family was kind enough to take me in for the night and after grabbing breakfast at the famous "Cathedral Cafe" I headed back to Charleston to meet the NYC boyz for the bachelor party.

They trickled in throughout the afternoon and huddled around the hotel TV to stay up on their World Cup Soccer pools. After a few libations, we headed off to dinner, where Chef Wong supplied us with an incredible steak and salmon meal...the best in Charleston.

Following dinner it was off to the bars. We succeeded in getting tossed from all the bars and were back in bed by 4AM. They guys rallied the next morning for an early rise and following some omelettes, we boarded the bus and boomed the Deliverance Theme Song....our song for the entire weekend.

After arriving at base camp, we quickly signed our lives away and boarded the shuttle for the New River experience. Everyone got a safety briefing, and I made sure our guys paid close as a recent drowning in the nearby Gauley River that week had everyone focused.

After a few hours surfing rapids, hitting holds and getting hammered, we arrived some Karma Hole. Basically you jump off a rock into a vortex which churns you up and spits you out downriver. I got held down for about 25 seconds and it scared me a bit. The part that freaks you out is that you have no concept of your surroundings or when the ride will end.

After getting back in the boat, Rob let me guide the raft a bit....I need more work. The guys all jumped off a 20ft ledge before closing out the day at Greyhound Bus Station, or Bus Stop...I can never remember all the witty rapid names.

After tipping a few cold ones, the guys dug into a serious pig roast. It is a bit savage seeing this pig just chillin' on the grill, but I got over it and stuffed my face.

Following the roast, we headed to the house I booked for Saturday night. This places is amazing, the guys are always blown away when they check in and climb the spiral staircase to their rooms. Once they each had a chance to test out the antique 10-headed shower they rallied for an all-night Texas Hold 'Em tournament.

I went back to Rob's place to hang out with the family. The following morning we dropped everyone off at the airport for their flights. As usual, the guys had an amazing time and promised to function as unpaid salesmen on ABP's behalf for anyone looking for Bachelor Party ideas.

I really enjoyed my time in Charleston and Fayetteville with Rob's family. It was great to escape the big city hustle and bustle. I could easily see myself moving to a place like this and spending my days hiking and kayaking (assuming I can get in shape for it).

Until next time,

Darren

Memorial Day in Albany

I was scheduled to take a group rafting in the Adirondacks over Memorial Day, but unfortunately the wedding got called off. Not the best start to my Bachelor Party Ideas Blog (BPIB), but whatta ya gonna do?

I decided to head out to New York anyway and use the weekend for a little R&R of my own. For those who are unaware, Albany is the capital of NY, and its trademark monument is a building shaped like an egg that holds the performing arts.

After getting in on Thursday I set out to explore the town. I was taking pictures outside a bar and the owner came out to inquire as to what I was doing. Probably partly out of general interest and partly out of concern that I was casing the joint. After talking to Joe for a while and explaining my reason for being here, he gave me the VIP tour of the place and the dish on the Albany nightlife, which was better than I expected. Here is Joe's bar, the Skyline:

Later in the day I came across this incredible building, but have no idea what it was for.

Since it was a beautiful day I headed across the freeway over to the Hudson River. Joe turned me onto a little bar on the water that actually was originally some sort of Mark Twain-type paddle boat. It actually sat in the water and was filled with patrons doing Conga Lines and enjoying the weather (It was only 1:00PM)

After enjoying a few cold ones, I headed back to the hotel to get some work done. I spent the rest of the evening in the lobby bar, working and watching the Pistons even the series with the Miami Heat at 1.

The next day I headed over towards Syracuse to do some recon on a casino (Turning Stone) that was housing a bachelor party for me in a couple months. It was a magnificent site that had everything you nededed to keep you happy and gambling all weekend long. The only issue was that the casino did not have a Liquor license. This can be a bit problematic, especially for bachelor parties. I spent some time talking to the management and found that although they could not serve it, they would have it delivered and provide you coolers to keep you and your beer happy.

Behind the hotel they had an awesome lodge for the high rollers. The lodge was surrounded by 4 golf courses

The next morning I was up at 6:00am to head up to Lake George for a day of rafting. I got to the Base Camp a little early, so I took a trip up to the ski resort at Gore Mountain and snapped this shot

It was memorial Day weekend so I thought I would stop by a local cemetary and pay my respects. There I was granted a great view of some late 1800's headstones surrounded by flowers and American Flags

Finally it was time for some rafting. After introducing myself to Pat, the owner, and getting the nickle tour, I suited up and meet up with the rest of the boat crew.

As luck would have it, I got matched up with 5 other guys from Penn State who were here for a bachelor party. Jeff, Tom, Dennis, Mark and Mike were all great guys and we joked all trip about the upcoming Notre Dame Penn State football game. Actually we were both just happy to have respectable football programs after seasons of heartache.

The fist rapid we hit was "Little Kahuna" and I got tossed. I had just finished talking about my rafting in the Rockies the weekend before and off I went. Another guy got tossed with me and somehow I was able to hold onto him with one hand and the boat with the other until we made it through. After getting back in the boat and laughing our tails off I tried to convince them to change the hit to "Big Kahuna", but no dice, my pride and credibility was lost.

These were really a great group of friends, reminded me a lot of my college buddies. I had a lot of respect for these guys, as they had organized this trip on their own. It really showed how much their freindship meant that they would go to great lengths to drive 10 hours to celebrate the Marriage of one of their fallen comrades.

As the day went on, I got tossed 1.5 more times. .5 represents the fact that my feet were the only thing left in the boat after one hit and somehow I was able to pull myself back in.

After finishing up the trip we headed back to camp and enjoyed a great dinner while watching the video. The weather could not have been better. The water was actually much warmer then I anticipated. After spending the previous weekend in the Rockies I was prepared for the worst, but the fact that we were not coming right off the glacier made for a easier time of it.

After saying my goodbyes, I headed back to Albany for my flight to Detroit. I really felt bad for the guys who were supposed to go along on the trip as I know it would have been a great weekend, but I also enjoyed the solitude the weekend provided me. It gave me time to reflect on my decision to make my passion my career and try to make sense of the last few weeks and the upcoming trip to AZ.

Driving through upstate NY reminded me of a family trip to the baseball hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY. These little towns nestled in the mountains where life was simple and computers and ipods took a backseat to imaginary military battles with friends and buying baseball cards at the local store only to be upset by the fact that the best card in the pack got ruined by the stick of gum in the pack.

Until next week when I will be Skydiving in Arizona.

Live every day as if it were your last,

Darren Hitz