Garbage Cleanup Trek 16-17 Jan 2016

16-17 Jan 2016

Garbage Cleanup Trek m4
location secret
Wanna see who else is going? look here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1008981332477021/
Rs 500 per person (register by Thursday, late registration fee Rs100)

includes: 1-way transport (return trip is Rs60), 1 lunch, 1 dinner, 1 breakfast, instruction, guides
It’s cheap, it’s minimal! All the rest you bring yourself or rent from us a-la-carte. We guide you on how to gear up using things you probably already own. Except for a tent, you must have one or rent a spot in one of ours. Feel free to chat us up for advice on any gear purchases whether from us or any other source. Lex loves to talk about gear.

A short guided trek to a beautiful, but unfortunately trashed, location near Bangalore. Trek is suitable for all skill levels followed by camp activities and/or swimming. See nature, leave it better than you found it, learn and practice trekking and camping skills in a fun group environment with minimal time spent in transport.

Itinerary (subject to change):
Saturday
8AM – meet at KR Market Kalasipalya Bus Stand
11:00 – arrive at village, buy cold drinks and snacks if you like
11:15 – hike
14:00 – fresh cooked lunch
17:00 – free time: swimming, hiking, photography
20:00 – camp fire, dinner
22:00 – sleep
Sunday
6am – hot breakfast
8:00 – cleanup drive and pack out
11:00 – catch the bus on your own
13:00 – arrive back in Bangalore

To ensure a safe and fun event group size is limited. You must register and prepay 50% (via bank transfer or arrange a meeting to pay cash) by the Thursday before the event to reserve your spot. Late registration fee is Rs100. Lots of information is available in the Registration form: http://goo.gl/forms/lFCduWJ9he

Map of meeting point (Kalasipalya Bus Depot, 1 block from KR Market)
https://goo.gl/maps/6nMGhBPGcsS2

A lovely review by Carina of a previous trek with LexAdventures.
“It felt so good to just reconnect with nature…” http://carinainindia.blogspot.in/2015/11/viii-trekking-weekend.html

Our newsletter is the best way to hear about our upcoming events with about 1 email per week. You can easily unsubscribe at any time. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bF_fqL

Advertisement

December has been an excited month at Lex Adventures jam-packed with events and it’s not over yet.

New Equipment
One of the things I am most excited about is the native-indian 500ml aluminum mug I found at KR Market. At Rs70 you can’t beat this price for a key piece of your personal camping cook set. No more “2 campers 1 cup”! We also have the 300ml Quechua aluminum cup with rounded lip and folding handles for Rs310. Join us on a trek to see them in action side-by-side and then take one home with you.

Lex’s special Traveler’s Oil is now available in 50ml bottles for Rs100. Great as a massage oil for all those post-trek aches, body odor and fungus fighter during the trek, general insect repellent and most importantly a highly effective mosquito repellent. This all-natural mixture of essential oils is something I have kept with me for years and now I am sharing it with you.

Where Lex comes from a traditional way of floating down a river is on an inner tube from a big tractor. And now we have 3 of them to enhance our water sporting fun. As well as 2 new life jackets.

Slacklining is a great way to build balance and confidence no matter what kind of trail life throws at you. Now you can come slacklining with us.

Facebook

Most of our advertising effort has gone into the unknowable labyrinth facebook’s social network, and not without success. We now have over 400 page likes, 10 reviews, and our picture of garbage cleanup has gone viral with 20,000 views and climbing. Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/LexAdventures/photos/a.522845347896852.1073741829.522340897947297/534580986723288/

Upcoming events

Treasure Hunt Trek 5 is coming up on December 26th and 27th https://www.facebook.com/events/838288799621883/

Carina’s birthday party is on December 27th in HRS layout with an Electro Swing theme, karaoke, cake, drinks, and games. Only 10 invites available through Lex Adventures. Email Lex for more details and an invite Lex@LexAdventures.com

New Years Eve – We are doing something! We don’t know what yet, but we have secured a venue at a private estate outside Bangalore. Probably a BBQ with games, rappelling, slacklining climbing, and a midnight toast. This will hopefully be the site of future large-scale environmental rehabilitation projects. Again, email Lex if you want to be involved. Lex@LexAdventures.com

Under25 Summit, Lex will be speaking at World Trade Center, Bangalore on Sunday January 10th http://under25summit.com/

HELP!
How can you help? We need contacts, team members, and word-of-mouth.

We are trying to set up a monthly slacklining + spotfixing event in Bangalore, preferably at Lalbagh, but we need a personal contact to set us up with getting permission. Do you know someone who works at a high-traffic venue that could be used for slacklining and is in need of cleaning up? Let us know.

We are looking for a video editor and a web editor. We have no money to offer them but if they can do minimally decent work on a minimally decent schedule we will worship the ground they walk on and they will join all our events for free. We can even customize our events to fit their desires and schedules. Anything they want. Except money, we don’t have any either 😦

Reddit manager. We want one. People keep suggesting I post my events in Reddit groups but I know nothing about Reddit and I am already swamped. Someone who knows the intricacies of Reddit Bangalore, can keep in contact with me via IM, and basically just copy stuff from our facebook page and publish it to Reddit.

Like, comment, share, tell your friends http://www.facebook.com/LexAdventures

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events:
 
Wednesday 9.12 8pm Free(ish)
meet and greet, learn knots
 
Thursday 10.12 All Day Rs50
tentatively scheduled Intro to Rappelling class at Bhive HSR layout (waiting for the final green light from management)
 
Saturday 12.12 7am till Sunday 13.12 Noon Rs1200
THT sAm4
 
Saturday 19.12 7am till Sunday 20.12 Noon Rs500 (return journey not included, keep Rs50 in cash on you!)
Super Budget Camping: short trek, camp building, lunch, swimming, dinner, camp fire, breakfast, take yourself home. FB Event coming soon
 
Saturday 19.12 7pm till Sunday 20.12 7pm Rs2000
Luxury motorcycle tour and adventure trek in association with Wicked Ride – Luxury Bike Rentals
Rent a Royal Enfield (or upgrade to a Harley) night driving, dinner around the camp fire, sleep in tent, short trek and rappelling, then long scenic ride back to Bangalore. FB Event coming soon
 
Saturday 26.12 7am till Sunday 27.12 Noon Rs1300
THT sAm5 FB Event coming soon
 

updates

our fourth Treasure Hunt Trek is on for 12-13 December 2015
https://web.facebook.com/events/563142317183714/
-or- http://www.meetup.com/Expeditions/events/227035333/
Price of THT is going up to Rs1200 (and will continue to go up as we develop it and add more sports, so join early and join again later!) From now on it will also include a small piece of trekking equipment or supplies as a gift to participants and an additional cash prize for the winning team (Rs50*number of participants).

A good friend invited Lex to join the admin team at http://www.meetup.com/Expeditions to help them offer more quality events around Karnataka, get more reviews, expand their membership from  ~2,900 to +10,000, and then put pressure on event hosts to increase quality and transparency (or GTFO). If you have any questions about getting your adventure sport or nature events listed there don’t hesitate to contact me.

We sell gear! Usually used gear. Our price is usually the same price as buying it new at the store plus Rs11 handling fee (because after we sell it we just have to go buy a new one). With us you get a chance to try it out first on a real trek, compare it to a number of different solutions (we maintain a diverse set of gear), talk with peers and experts about the pros, cons, and value, and then make a purchasing decision. Supporting us in this way helps us lower our risks (gear wearing out, getting damaged or lost is by far our biggest expense, funny how things get taken care of better when people own it themselves) and support our educational and environmental efforts all while building up your ability to show up for any trek and have a great time. Let us know what you are interested in. We have nearly everything, and go shopping for new gear all the time. Want to buy it new? We totally understand. We will still offer all our participants the chance to learn about gear and even offer advice on good places to buy it. Selling gear is not our main business and we don’t want it to be! Trekking should be more about knowledge and fitness than gear.

We are happy to welcome Joshi and Nihal to the team as volunteer guides. Their enthusiasm, helpfulness, and thirst for knowledge has us excited to work with them!

Treasure Hunt Trek 28 Nov

Treasure Hunt Trek 28 Nov

Our 3rd “A-series” THT. Start changed to 7am.
location secret; see picture
check out the facebook event listing if you would like to see who else is going
https://web.facebook.com/events/713028435465776/

Rs 1000 per person
includes transport, food, tent, instruction, guides, rappelling equipment, other safety equipment

A “simulated” survival training trek suitable for all skill levels. Small encounters with a variety of trekking obstacles will happen within a small area under the oversight of guides and within cell phone coverage. Participants can safely quit at any time. Learn and practice trekking and camping skills in a fun group environment with minimal time spent in transport.

Small teams will compete (each team has it’s own, unique journey of equal length and difficulty) or maybe even work together, or try to sabotage each other, it is up to them, but good sportsmanship and safety are required. Each team is 2-4 people and needs at least one swimmer and one climber. It is also advantageous to have someone very tall, someone very small, someone very strong, and someone very quick. Register as a team or meet someone there.

Itinerary (subject to change):
Saturday
7:00AM meet at KR Market Kalasipalya Bus Stand
7:30 – breakfast sandwiches on the bus
9:00 – arrive at village, buy cold drinks and snacks if you like
9:15 – Treasure Hunt orientation
9:30 – rappelling instruction and practice
10:00 – treasure hunt begins by rappelling into a small gorge
11:00 – back country water purification instruction
12:00 – fresh cooked lunch
15:00 – raft building and exploring the sunken temple
19:00 – fresh cooked dinner, campfire
Sunday
6am – hot breakfast
8:00 – cleanup drive and pack out
10:00 – catch the bus
12:00 – arrive back at KR Market

To ensure a safe and fun event group size is limited. You must register and prepay 50% (via bank transfer or arrange a meeting to pay cash) by Wednesday 25th November to reserve your spot. Lots of information is available in the Registration form, check it out: http://goo.gl/forms/5jI8zTjKuj

Map of meeting point (Kalasipalya Bus Depot, 1 block from KR Market)
https://goo.gl/maps/6nMGhBPGcsS2

A lovely review by Carina of the last THT.
“It felt so good to just reconnect with nature…” http://carinainindia.blogspot.in/2015/11/viii-trekking-weekend.html

Our newsletter is the best way to hear about our upcoming events with about 1 email per week. You can easily unsubscribe at any time. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bF_fqL

www.LexAdventures.com exists! It is not yet as nice as our Facebook page, but Facebook likes to do funny things to our content like censor our newsletter signup link and sometimes not show our posts to anyone. Please bookmark our page, we promise it will be awesome sometime in the future.

newsletter is active

You can sign up for it here: http://eepurl.com/bF_fqL It should be the easiest and most reliable way to stay informed about upcoming events with about 1 email per week.

There’s a link to it on the about page and the sidebar of http://www.LexAdventures.com but it doesn’t seem possible to actually embed it on the site. Integrating the newsletter with the facebook seems to be totally broken from both ends (I assume facebook is to blame). I’ll have to take a stab at it again some other time, for the time being I will just have to include the link with all my update. All social links to google+ appear to be broken again and previously cross-posted items have disappeared. And now I’ve wasted an entire day fighting, mostly in circles, with web technology in general instead of actually posting the upcoming event details. I think it’s time to cook dinner…

If there is a competent web developer in Bangalore who wants to trade services with me I will worship the ground you walk on. You will go on on my treks for free and use all the nicest gear. I’ll make sure you get all the photographs you want (of yourself? of the nature? whatever floats your boat). You get a climbing gym membership. I’ll train you for climbing, trekking, camping, swimming, sailing, hitch hiking, travelling, crafting, cooking, etc etc. I’ll give you foot massages and serve you coffee while you code. There has got to be a web dev somewhere in Bangalore who wishes he could get out in nature more and live a life of adventure and excitement. This is your chance. I am desperate. Contact me.

email list is almost live

You can sign up now, but you’ll just get test emails while I go through all the options and test some of the targeting tools. If you’d don’t mind a bit of spam please sign up ASAP so I can test on you (trying to make it so I can email people based on their location). Once I am sure it is at least minimally functional the signup form should get embedded everywhere and only real emails will and go out. But first, sleep.

http://eepurl.com/bF_fqL

Bike Tour in the Rain

Rained the whole way home from the Treasure-hunt Endurance Trek (TET), and front tire went flat, but I got Carina home safely. She says bike touring is fun 🙂 Next TET is scheduled for 28-29 November and we are switching the start time to 7am. Reply here if you are interested. Smaller events during the week may happen also…

Social Linkage from http://www.LexAdventures.com should now be working. Email list hopefully also coming today for the people who wanted to receive updates in a way more directed and reliable than a social network.

social links

If you are reading this in facebook or google+ land then the social link from http://www.LexAdventures.com has been created successfully. The treks, trip curating, and team development are going great, and we are getting a lot of interest, but marketing in India continues to be difficult, so we will be skipping next weekends trek to work on our web presence, networking, and marketing strategy.

Website is live!

If you are reading this then http://www.LexAdventures.com and http://www.LexAdventures.in are live with a basic blog infrastructure. Website improvements will start rolling out in the next few weeks. In the meantime head over to http://www.facebook.com/flasher702 to see what Lex been up to or check out http://www.facebook.com/onetribeindia to see what events our friends at 1 Tribe are hosting next.