Outdoor Philadelphia

Outdoor Philadelphia is Nominated for an Emmy!

2009-04-03T10:54:00.001-07:00

Outdoor Philadelphia has been nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for the Skydiving episode. The episode was nominated in the Advanced Media category. The winner of this category will be selected on September 26th at the Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards Ceremony in Philadelphia.
Read the full story here (Outdoor Philadelphia is mentioned in the last paragraph):
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20090812_CBS3_leads_Emmy_nominees.html

See the list of all nominees here:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/online_extras/20090811_2009_MID-ATLANTC_EMMY_NOMINEES-_AUGUST_11.html?page=46&c=y

Episode 19: Helicopter Flying

2008-10-31T08:12:00.000-07:00

Episode 19: Helicopter Flying
Retired fighter pilot John Sibole took me up in his helicopter and let me fly it around Lebanon County. To land, John did a simulated engine failure, where he cut power from the engine and did an emergency landing on the ground. Very exciting!
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Episode 18: Tiger Feeding

2008-10-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

Episode 18: Tiger Feeding
I continue my adventure at the Philadelphia Zoo, where I am allowed to feed three 250-pound tigers. We also meet Kon the jaguar.
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Episode 17: The Philadelphia Zoo

2008-10-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

Episode 17: The Philadelphia Zoo
The zoo has 1,300 different kinds of animals, some of them are very rare. This is America's oldest zoo. You'll get to see some of the rarest and most interesting creatures on earth.
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Episode 16: The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

2008-10-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

Episode 16: The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire
The place is crawling with activity; I saw a glass blower, an amazing sheep herder with his dogs, and a caber toss. My favorite event was the joust; these guys would ride horses at each other and knock the other off his horse.
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Episode 15: Hot Air Balloon Ride

2008-09-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Episode 15: Hot Air Balloon Ride
Hot air balloon's are great, because you can soar through the trees or cruise at 2000 feet. And everyone on the ground comes out of their houses to yell and wave.
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Episode 14: Outdoor Rock Climbing

2008-09-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

Episode 14: Outdoor Rock Climbing
This time we are out climbing giant rocks in the Delaware Water Gap. This is some of the best climbing in our area. I took a camera up with me on one climb and got some great shots.
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Episode 13: Canoe Trip

2008-09-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

Episode 13: Canoe Trip
Up in the Delaware Water Gap, the Delaware River is gorgeous. The Terra Mar Adventures crew and I spent three days up there, and one day we took a 10-mile canoe trip down the river.
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Episode 12: Rock Climbing

2008-08-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Episode 12: Rock Climbing
I head to Go Vertical at 920 N Penn Street in Philly to get in some indoor rock climbing this week. This is one of the best rock climbing gyms you can find. Watch as I get a private lesson from Alex, the rock climbing instructor.
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Episode 11: Week-long Bike Trip

2008-08-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

Episode 11: Week-long Bike Trip
Follow my friends and I as week take a week to bike from Philly to Jersey, then down to Delaware and Maryland, camping along the way. The biggest day was a 110-mile bike ride, my first century.
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Episode 10: Skydiving

2008-08-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

Episode 10: Skydiving
My all-time favorite episode. I had a cameraman with a helmet camera follow me the whole way up in the plane, and jump right along with me to record the whole jump. Get a feel for exactly what it's like to jump out of a plane at almost three miles in the air.
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Episode 9: Flight Lessons

2008-08-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Episode 9: Flight Lessons
I get to fly a single engine plane up in the Philadelphia sky. This flight lesson allows me to take off and navigate with no assistance from the instructor. I couldn't believe the amount of independent control I was given during the flight. Of course, the instructor has his own controls if I do anything stupid.
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Episode 8: Zip Line

2008-07-30T09:45:00.001-07:00

Episode 8: Zip Line Tour
I joined TerraMar Adventures on a zip line course near Philly. In a zip line course, you strap yourself to a cable running through the woods, and fly down it at speed of up to 46 mph!
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Episode 7: 24 Hour Race Conclusion

2008-07-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

Episode 7: 24 Hour Race Conclusion
Find out who wins the 24 hour race! Will Team EMS, the number one team in the nation beat Wedali, ranked number nine in the nation?
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Episode 6: 24 Hour Adventure Race Part 1

2008-07-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

Episode 6: 24 Hour Adventure Race Part 1
Follow a 24-hour adventure race in northern Pennsylvania. The nationally ranked teams run, bike, hike and canoe over a 100-mile course.
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Episode 5: Whitewater Rafting Is Live on philly.com

2008-07-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Episode 5: Whitewater Rafting
I spent a day at the Lehigh River Gorge whitewater rafting with TerraMar adventures. A dam had just been released up river making the rapids some of the best in the area.
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Fourth Episode: French Creek Park is live on philly.com

2008-07-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

Fourth Episode: French Creek State Park
Join TerraMar Adventures and I as we trek through French Creek State Park on an orienteering expedition.
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The fourth episode of Outdoor Philadelphia is now live on philly.com. This is my first time shooting with TerraMar Adventures (http://www.terramaradventures.com/). I had a great time with this crew; they are all very nice people and are always looking for fellow adventurists to come along on their explorations.

Shooting the 24-hour Adventure Race for Episode 6

I got in late Sunday night from the 24-hour adventure race out in Promised Land State Park. There were 24 teams from all over the country competing at hiking/running, canoeing and mountain biking for 24 hours straight with no sleep. I was right in the middle of the action the whole time, catching all the craziness. I was always amazed at the racers' perseverance and positive attitudes. It was an exhausting, but wonderful weekend. Watch for this episode going live on philly.com on July 11, 2008.

Fourth Show Delivered

2008-06-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

I've just gotten back from the Philadelphia Inquirer headquarters at 400 North Broad Street to drop off my latest episode. This episode is an orienteering expedition in French Creek State Park, and it's definitely my farvorite one so far. The episode should go live tonight. For this episode, I met up with the only major adventure club in Philadelphia, TerraMar Adventures (www.terramaradventures.com). There are about 1,000 total members of TerraMar, and groups of them get together several times a week. They've been kind enough to let me join them on several upcoming explorations.

This weekend I am heading out to shoot a 24-hour adventure race for an upcoming episode going live in two weeks! I'm really looking forward to this one. I met the owner of GOALS ARA (www.goalsara.org) at the taping of this latest French Creek episode. He told me about the adventure race and invited me to come along to shoot it. An adventure race involves teams competing over a rugged course consisting of mountain biking, running, hiking and canoeing, all while carrying everything they need, such as food, water and tools.

I'll be out on the water on a boat with them, riding along with them on the trail and generally popping up everywhere I can. I've got a night vision camera to follow the race during the night as well.

The First Three Episodes are Live on philly.com

2008-06-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

EPISODES 1-3 ARE NOW LIVE ON PHILLY.COM

Episode One:
Outdoor Philadelphia: Valley Forge
I'll guide you along the bike path that runs from downtown Philadelphia to Valley Forge. It's about a 40 mile bike ride round trip.
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Episode Two:
Outdoor Philadelphia, Wissahickon
Check out some of the best mountain biking terrain in this part of the state, right here in Philadelphia's own Fairmount Park.
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Episode Three:
Outdoor Philadelphia, Pennypack Park
This is the best place to go if you want to get out of the city to a more remote, wilderness-style atmosphere.
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SHOW PROMOTIONS:
The Philadelphia Inquirer has also placed some of my episodes on more visible areas of the site.
The mountain biking episode has been placed on the main Health page.
SEE THE HEALTH PAGE

The newest Outdoor Philadelphia episode is also placed in the main video player on the homepage of philly.com. If the video is not visible without scrolling, you can scroll down through the videos until you see the Outdoor Philadelphia episode.
SEE THE PHILLY.COM HOMEPAGE

ABOUT THE SHOW:
My name is Kurt Sensenig and I have just started a job producing and hosting an outdoor adventure show called "Outdoor Philadelphia". It's a weekly show that airs on The Philadelphia Inquirer's website, www.philly.com.

I'm fortunate enough to have all the creative decisions about the show left up to me, but that also means that I have to write, produce, shoot, host, edit, and even sometimes write the music for each episode. If I can't hold the camera while I talk on camera, I'll often have my buddy Brian Donathan hold the camera for me while do the "standup". Brian is a great cameraman, and he's also very good at carrying equipment up mountains and through creeks without complaining :-).

I'll be exploring Philly and the surrounding areas looking for adventure every week. If you know of a good place to explore, let me know by sending me an email: ksensenig [at] gmail [dot] com.

I'll be posting regular updates here showing pictures and videos from my adventures, so you can get a sneak preview of what I've got going on before the show goes live.