Editors Pick

Here's the National Outdoors Top 10 List for the Summer 2008 Outdoor Retailer Show. The list is in no particular order, and there's no mathematical criteria we used to put this list together. These are products and companies that caught our eyes for a variety of reasons. Some companies are innovating ways to reduce their overall environmental impact, some products will introduce new comers to outdoor sports, some products are creative improvements on existing products, and some products are just flat out cool.

Capture the breathtaking beauty that is unique to the Rogue River on our full day or half day Rogue River rafting trips. Guests may choose to ride in a Rogue Inflatable Raft (the limo) or paddle an inflatable kayak. You may opt to experience both rides by trading back and forth between the raft and kayak. This fifteen mile Rogue River float has a little bit of everything from exhilarating whitewater to serene canyons. The full day Rogue River rafting trips begin at 9:00 am and ends with you back at your car by 3:30 pm. A delicious lunch is included as well as plenty to drink.

The drive out of Flagstaff was cloudy and cool. Unseasonably cool for Memorial Day weekend at the end of May. "Snow at the higher elevations, [of the San Francisco Mountains] up to a foot I hear" said the barista at the coffee shop. As we drove toward the canyon, Sam brought up the Death March, a hike he had dreamed of doing since moving to the southwestern desert 7 years ago. It involved hiking from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, to the North Rim, and back in 24 hours. 44 miles, 20,000 feet of elevation change, 24 hours. Sure, it has been done, but the question was could WE do it.

Cataract Canyon in Canyonlands National Park serves up 28 Grand Canyon Style rapids. It is one hundred miles of the Colorado River from Moab, Utah to Lake Powell. Tag-A-Long Expeditions offers 1 - 4 day rafting trips. And this May and June visitors will want an outfitter to lead them, as record snow melt is recorded in the Rocky Mountains.

High water on an unbridled Colorado River will be terrific and this level of rafting comes around only every ten years or so. Enjoy the solitude only Utah can provide.

If you are looking for a great experience on your mountain bike, check out the San Juan Hut Systems (www.sanjuanhuts.com)Hut-To-Hut Mountain Bike routes from Telluride, Colorado to Moab, Utah and Durango, Colorado to Moab, Utah.

I know every fly fisherman has their list of favorite flies and will not go out fishing with out a good supply of each one. Which fly you use and how you fish it is often a matter of deep debate when fishing with your partner. None the less I have put a list of my top five steelhead flies just to let every one know what I have with my Steelhead gear when I am after spring steelhead.

Roe Bugs / Egg Patterns

Generally, one does not equate whitewater rafting trips with excellent food. The fun of riding the rapids takes precedence over culinary taste treats. Typically, a rafting lunch consists of balancing a sandwich, bag of chips, and store-bought cookies on your lap as you teeter precariously on an uneven rock. And, more often than not, some of that lunch ends up as ant food on the sandy shoreline.