The Club Fails

Ever hear about the Yellowstone Club?

Bad idea. And now it's gone broke.

Read about it from the ski bum perspective here.

I eventually learned that the Yellowstone Club had so few skiers that sensors were installed so lift operators would know when someone was actually riding a chair. Powder lasted for days and they had a run named EBITDA, which I learned stands for “earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.’’ The employees were apparently treated well, but good luck trying to get an invitation to visit. For the masses, it was a mirage of a ski area, even though you could look down into it from Big Sky.

Buh Bye.

Turn of The Damn Lights

We've written in the past about the night sky. Getting outdoors at night is especially important to really experiencing nature. There's really nothing like gazing at the milky way on a crisp Fall night.

We would do night hikes up to Gray Knob in any weather just to experience the nocturnal feel of the woods. With a full moon, we'd get out in the winter time above treeline, or get out on skis to experience the different world of a moon lit night. I've been lucky, living in places with minimal "light pollution" impacts from human development.

There's a big new hotel being built near where I live, and despite the planned opening of Spring of 2010, they already have the place lit up like it's daytime. We drove by it last night and were amazed at the degree of star killing light pollution. I then turned my head east to see a wall of light from the exurban sprawl and DC beyond that. Where were the stars?

The case is the same driving home from work, where I pass the Charles Town races to the west, whose light likely destroys anyone's ability to see any celestial objects except the moon.

Verlyn Klinkenborg has a piece in this months National Geographic that laments this loss, while reminding us that it's not only the stars we lose, it's an awful lot of energy as well.

More green RVs

Blogged about green RVS several months back. Here's an update.

“When people talk about conservation, they get so bogged down with recycling and living lightly they forget what they are trying to save," said Brian Brawdy, a 47-year-old former police investigator turned wilderness expert. “I want people to get out there and camp, hike, rock climb."

Damn right.

Unison

85 year old Mayo on his bike

Yesterday we held our annual Unison Heritage Day in our tiny village of Unison. About 250 people showed up to revel in a beautiful indian summer day, including neighbors, friends, and lots of Civil War reenactors.

Bean the Dog

My friend Pete once peddled across the continent pulling a pooch in a bike trailer. That was one hell of a dog.

Pete's got a new dog, Bean, who he's bringing with him on trips again. Check out the photos. Scroll down to see them.

Make sure you check the ad at the bottom. That is a great Old Town Boat, we paddled it 100 miles with no complaints.

I'm looking forward to getting out on the river with Pete and Bean next spring.

A Year in the Field

Bob Pyle wraps up his Butterfly Year.

Top Ten Outdoor Towns

Great outdoor towns in the west.

The CT River Valley

One of the great American pastoral areas is the Connecticut River Valley that divides New Hampshire and Vermont. We spent a lot of road time driving through this area on the way to the Whites, and it is spectacular natural area, if a bit depressed economically.

The NY Times reports on this unique area.

Still, the ambition of Mr. McAllister’s eco-resort, Liberty Mill, has surprised locals in this struggling town, whose lodging choices now include the Hetty Green motel — not exactly the green Mr. McAllister has in mind. “Avoid at all costs,” said one traveler in a review of the motel on Trip Advisor. Liberty Mills plans to offer an Olympic-quality kayak race course, a skate park and a pool where a coal furnace once fumed; photovoltaic, wood pellet and geothermal power; and compost toilets for guests that will fertilize a farm growing food for the resort.

Aurora

I remember a night at Gray Knob when the whole sky lit on fire with the aurora. It was 27 years ago tonight.

My friend Steve Weber, aka Swebco, was there that night, and we sat on the edge of Knight's Castle, a rock outcrop a few hundred feet above Crag Camp, and grooved on the incredible celestial fireworks. I even got some great photos.


from Knight's Castle looking at Crag Camp

I finally hit the sack at 3:00 am, only to be awoken by Swebco, who a half hour later was pounding on the wall of the building yelling:

"Get back out here, it's better than before."

Here's my log entry the next day, July 26, 1981 (scroll down on the link):

July 26 - Incredible Northern Lights last night.The whole sky was lit up with curtains and streaks of pulsating light. We sat up on Knight's Castle and watched the incredible celestial fireworks.-- SMC, Caretaker.

I've seen the aurora a number of times since, including the amazing red aurora that most of north America apparently saw in November of 2002 (saw it out in my backyard in VA!)

Wired has a new article on the mechanics of the Aurora, worth a read.

The ghostly flickering of the Northern Lights is caused by explosions of magnetic energy, say astronomers.

Until now, nobody knew why the aurora sometimes shifted and danced across the sky. And all it took was a fleet of five satellites positioned in the magnetosphere and a team of ground-based observers who caught the beginning of a magnetic storm about 80,000 miles from Earth, or a third of the way to the moon.

Want to see where the aurora might be seen? Click here and then click where you live on the globe for a daily forecast.

Sports Therapy

Using sports to rehab folks with disabilities. It's working

"I thought, I could get summer back," says Pope. "I was never much of an athlete, but I've always loved summertime and being outdoors." Now she windsurfs once a week, using a one-person board with a support rail attached. "Where else can I go and have fun?" she wonders. "That's what I was really looking for, having fun. And I have."

More here from the Boston Globe.

Walkability

See the new index here.

Flying Between Towers

A new outdoor sport has folks flying between rock towers in the Czech Republic.

ADRSPACH, Czech Republic — Exactly a decade has passed since a man called Oxygen first hurled himself across Amerika. Known for his jumping ability, Oxygen, a lanky Czech, catapulted to legend status by leaping a nearly 10-foot-wide abyss separating two 100-foot sandstone spires.

More here, from the NY Times.

Kayak Info

We're always looking for kayak resources on the web. Here's one.

And here's a video of my friend Hunt going over Bull Falls on the Shenandoah River in Harper's Ferry, WV

Bogged Down

Crazy green sports department, click here.

Wet Exits

I used to teach whitewater canoeing, but a never had the kayak bug until a few years ago. My friend Hunt tried hard to teach me the eskimo roll, but as of today, no good.

I really do want to learn it, as a good "combat roll" is needed before someone can really do decent whitewater kayaking. I've had luck roaring through waves, doing class III drops and surfing som small waves. When I screw up, wet exit.

So here I sit, a perpetual advanced beginner kayaker. Maybe I should stick to canoeing.

At least I'm not alone. Check out this link and it's attached video, where all of the kayakers make it look so easy...

The Spot

There's a spot on Lowes Path in Randolph New Hampshire that's a special one for myself and a couple of my friends. It is situated above a place called the Quay, which provides the hiker with an incredible view to the north and west of Nowell Ridge on Mount Adams. Our spot is called the caretaker's throne, and it is a rock "chair" that I would sit in at some point every day I worked up on that mountain. It was that place where you could think about the world, yourself, and how incredible it all is--connect. It truly is my place, even though I have not been up there now for a few years. The picture above shows my friend Pete sitting at the spot, watching the intricate winter weather swirl around.

I came across a blog post that talks about these special spots in nature, and ways we can get to know them better and articulate what they mean to us. Check it out and give it a try.

Treehouses

Google Earth shot of the development that destroyed our
treehouse site, Simsbury, CT

We built a cool triple level treehouse when I was ten years old. We snuck down to the backlot boneyard of a neighbor and snitched a bunch of old lumber. We dragged the wood up a hill a few hundred yards away, and started construction. Safety was not a concern, but we built a pretty stout series of platforms. We spent the whole summer up there and no adults ever appeared. It was a blast. They bulldozed that site a few years later, and the folks who live in that development sitting above Stratton Brook have no idea what we once had in their backyards.

Here's what they're doing with treehouses today...

He has visions of a treehouse tucked up to 20 feet above the earth in the boughs of an oak. He sees a wooden clubhouse and a meandering ramp -- maybe 200 feet long -- that would delicately slope up to the leafy playland and make it accessible for all.

Summer Places

OK, so not all of the NY Times 31 Places to Go This summer will get you hooked into to nature, but a number of them will. There are also some great places to take kids so they connect.


I choose numbers 2, 5, 15, and 20 to start with.

But plan any trip carefully--the hiking around Cherry Mountain can be pretty tough--some of the steepest in the Whites, and its twin summits are actually called Owlshead and Mt. Martha.

Postscript: Speaking of NH, checkout this trip journal of a hiker traveling the Cohos Trail, which traverses across the least visited and wildest parts of the White Mountains

Regional Blogging

We once camped on Traverse Bay, it was a beautiful place. Here's a blog entry from the Traverse City Record Eagle that gives some good tips to getting outside in that neck of the woods.

Explore the boardwalks through the sedge meadows at the Grass River Natural Area. I know, I know - everybody knows about GRNA. However, I suspect there are those among you who have not yet been there. Go. Just do it. Your children will thank you. (OK, kids being kids, they may not thank you this week, but just wait - when they have kids of their own they will THANK YOU.)

Here's a statement from the Island Angler Blog in Florida, telling us what to do and why. It's our responsibility--Right on.

Children who spend time in nature are more likely to have pro-environmental attitudes as adults. Time spent in nature with an important adult often shapes a child’s long-term environmental ethic. If this nature deficit continues unabated, we may face a dearth of environmental leaders, professionals, and advocates as we try to conquer future environmental challenges like climate change. Mentoring is but our highest goal and must continue through volunteers and all who are of interest to our future and that of our children’s, children’s future!

Up in the North Woods

On Webster Brook in Maine's Baxter State Park

The northern forest of New England is a grand and mostly wild place. Nearly 30 years ago, I worked at a program in northern Maine run by the Boy Scouts National Council. Called Maine National High Adventure, it gave scouts the opportunity to paddle many of the wonderful rivers in northwest Maine. I started at MNHA as a camper, and after three years of trips, became a staff member. Those experiences had a huge impact on my love of wild places--like the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, West Branch of the Penobscot, East Branch of the Penobscot, Webster Brook, Loon Lake, Chesuncook Lake, and many others.

Unfortunately, the National Council of the Boy Scouts closed down MNHA several years back. In my opinion a HUGE blunder.

But, the local scout Council decided to keep the program running, and it still exists today.

Check it out here.