By Heather Hansen, Red Lodge Clearing House I don’t go to the mega-Whole Foods in Boulder at lunchtime on Saturdays because it’s a madhouse, like some Lord of the Flies experiment where hordes of people jockey to secure a limited supply of resources. According to a study I read recently, when facing the prospect of crowding, I’m an “adjuster,” or […]
Recreation
Posted inWotr
Don’t lock us out of our land
When I parked beside the locked gate at the Forest Service’s recreation site, a hefty entrance sign that had been bolted together out of four-by-fours lay flat on the gravel. The steel tube where campers were supposed to deposit their fee had an autumn shade of rust spiraling up its trunk. A welcome sign had […]
Posted inWotr
Hanford’s nuclear history is messy, but worth preserving
Hanford, in eastern Washington, is arguably the most polluted radioactive waste site in America. Yet if Congress passes pending legislation now backed by the Obama administration and members of Congress from both parties, parts of Hanford will be included in a new national historic park. The intent of the proposed park is to preserve relics […]
Posted inGoat
Recreation.gov — nice try, needs work
Ever wanted to plan a vacation around a bunch of federally-managed recreation sites, but didn’t know where to turn? Yeah, me neither. I mean, sometimes I plan trips to visit particular national parks, but I don’t generally think of a vacation to, say, San Francisco, in terms of what federal facilities I can go see […]
Posted inWotr
Does taking our kids into the wild make us dangerous parents?
It began even before the kids were born, more than 20 years ago. Marypat finally got pregnant after years of miscarriages. We were halfway through winter in a cabin hundreds of miles from the nearest pavement, halfway through a 14-month canoe expedition, alone, vulnerable and perfectly content. The advice we got, from family, from friends, […]
Posted inRange
Antibacterial soaps in the backcountry
I try not to be one of those people who buy into every alarmist headline about how common products will poison me. Over the years, consumer safety scares have come and gone with predictable regularity. Eggs were forbidden cholesterol-bombs for a while. Caffeine was blamed for just about every possible malady, and then (at least partially) exonerated. And […]
Posted inWotr
Taking my chances in grizzly country
When I travel in grizzly bear country (admittedly less often than I used to and far less frequently than I would like), I leave the bear spray at home. In fact, I’ve never even owned a canister of it. Never wanted to. My basic rationale, if you can call it that, is that I would […]
Posted inRange
Rinella aims for the impossible, scores a hit
Book Review:Meat Eater, Adventures from the life of an American HunterBy Steven Rinella231 pages; Spiegel & Grau. 2012 Periodically, an outdoor writer aims for the impossible: to explain the why of modern hunting, as opposed to producing just another “how to” book. The task is impossible because the motivations behind hunting are as individual as […]
Posted inSeptember 3, 2012: Identity Politics, Montana Style
Adopt a biologist
One way outdoor-gear companies could help improve their image and be more effective would be to put some of the millions spent on advertising and sponsorships into conservation organizations (HCN, 7/23/12, ‘The Hardest Climb‘). Sponsor field biologists, conservation groups and field stations rather than athletes. Biologists use these companies’ equipment just as much, and often […]
Posted inGoat
Everything you thought you knew about camping is wrong
If you’re a chick with a backcountry bent, you’ve probably heard more than once that packing off into the woods while it’s your time of the month is akin to chumming the water while swimming near great whites. Only with hungry bears. (Or maybe shark bears.) Indeed, bears have such super noses that we’ve all […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2012: Troubled Taos
Conservation-business alliances
I enjoyed “The Hardest Climb” (HCN, 7/23/12), Greg Hanscom’s cover story about the outdoor recreation industry’s influence on conservation and public policy, as seen through the lens of Black Diamond Equipment and its CEO, Peter Metcalf. I’ll admit self-interest while suggesting one meaty strand that Greg touches on but doesn’t develop: the steady growth of working […]
Posted inRange
Will Utah clean up its sale of public wildlife?
For years now, well-connected hunting groups in Utah have figured out a way to make big bucks off big game. Now news reports indicate sportsmen in Utah are getting fed up. Will Utah’s lawmakers put a spotlight on these transactions? Here’s the deal: Every year, two sportsmen’s groups, Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife and the […]
Posted inWotr
Public lands agencies are charging for nothing
If a fee falls in the forest, yet rangers refuse to listen, can the government still keep charging you that fee? Well, yes, if you’re in Sedona, Ariz., within the Coconino National Forest’s Red Rock Ranger District, and in other forests as well. Apparently, even federal judges can’t stop the agency from taking your money. […]
Posted inGoat
Report from Outdoor Retailer
The Summer Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City is a gearhead’s dream. I wandered through its hundreds upon hundreds of booths on Thursday, Aug. 2 in a breathable waterproof daze, along with 27,000 other people ogling the very latest in toys and accoutrements for every kind of outdoor adventure. The goods on display ranged […]
Posted inAugust 6, 2012: Of Birds and Men
Gutted protections, gutless politicians
I am weary of politicians who “gut” the rules and regulations intended to protect human health and the environment (HCN, 7/23/12, “(Not so) quiet canyon”). They all seem to play the jobs/economy card, when in fact the deterioration of the environment leads to situations that cost the taxpayers money and citizens their health (and therefore […]
Posted inAugust 6, 2012: Of Birds and Men
Political pawns
Posted in response to Emily Guerin’s blog “Grand Cacophony National Park?“, at hcn.org, an expanded version of the snapshot “(Not so) quiet canyon,” which ran in our 7/23/12 issue. I was backcountry packing in the Grand Canyon in 2010 and subjected to relentless fixed-wing overflights echoing off the canyon walls (HCN, 7/23/12, “(Not so) quiet […]
Posted inAugust 6, 2012: Of Birds and Men
The Continental Divide Trail gains new protectors
At 3,100 miles, the Continental Divide Trail is the most rugged and least used of the country’s three major long-distance hiking trails. In January, when financial troubles forced the Continental Divide Trail Alliance to close its doors, it also became the only long-distance trail without a formal advocacy group. Since then, nonprofits throughout the Rockies […]
Posted inAugust 6, 2012: Of Birds and Men
Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Paul Larmer’s editor’s note and the feature article by Greg Hanscom each present a valid point: The multibillion-dollar outdoor industry makes a minuscule contribution to conservation (HCN, 7/23/12, “The Hardest Climb”). But take a look on the other side of the fence: The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, passed in 1938 in the middle […]
Posted inWotr
It’s all about the aircraft, not the Grand Canyon
Thanks to successful lobbying by Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl, with some help from Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, aircraft will continue to swarm over the Grand Canyon and are even likely to increase in number in the future. Tour operators are being offered more flights as incentive for adopting “quiet technology” […]
Posted inJuly 23, 2012: The Hardest Climb
Can the outdoor gear industry wield its power for conservation?
For the people drifting in rafts and kayaks through the vast silence of Desolation Canyon, the circling plane must have been a puzzle. A King Air turbo prop, it flew low over the canyon rim, dipping its wings to make wide loops over the Tavaputs Plateau and the Green River. Below, boaters slid along the […]