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Archive for 'October 2011'

Placeholder for Marco, the Costa Rica Guide

Copy TBD ...

Posted by Liz Bee on October 14, 2011 7:51 PM & Tagged Costa Rica, REI Adventures and Travel | permalink | Comments



Milestone: Yosemite's Half Dome First Climbed on This Date in 1875

It was on this date 136 years ago that Half Dome, that massive granite bulb at the northeast end of Yosemite Valley was first climbed. On Oct. 12, 1875, a Scotsman named George Anderson made the first ascent of the 8,842-foot summit, using a rope he fixed on the route's final 400 feet after hand-drilling an estimated 40 holes and inserting spikes equipped with eye bolts to hold the rope. Just 6 years earlier fellow explorer Josiah Whitney had declared Half Dome "perfectly inaccessible, being ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on October 14, 2011 5:24 PM & Tagged Climbing, George Anderson, Half Dome, Yosemite and national parks | permalink | Comments



Favorite Fall Hikes, Part 4: The Warmer States

Autumn color will peak soon on trails in many northern areas of the U.S., but let's not forget that there's some great fall hiking down south, too. It's not all about red and yellow leaves here—in some places, fall is simply that blissful time when you can finally turn off the AC and reconnect with the outdoors. Let's check in now with the staff of warmer-weather REI stores for their fall hiking suggestions. For more ideas, see the previous REI Blog posts on early-season fall hikes and other ...

Posted by Steve T on October 14, 2011 2:37 PM & Tagged Autumn, Fall, Georgia, Hiking, Nevada, North Carolina, backpacking, california, maryland, texas and virginia | permalink | Comments



A Real Eye-Opener: Introducing City Kids to the Wonders of the Outdoors

What's been your experience when sharing nature with kids? Particularly if the kids are total outdoor newbies? Last weekend I volunteered to help lead a "girl power" camping trip to Mount Rainier National Park. The trip was exactly that: teaching empowerment to young girls, some of whom had never been camping or inside a national park before.  The trip was organized by the Sierra Club's volunteer-run Seattle Inner City Outings. ICO's purpose is to provide urban youth the opportunity to explore, ...

Posted by Liz Bee on October 13, 2011 12:25 PM & Tagged Inner City Outings, Volunteering, kids, national parks, volunteer and youth | permalink | Comments



National Fossil Day: Places Where You Can Study Stories Told in Stone

Hug a paleontologist. It's National Fossil Day. Fossils are "any evidence of life preserved in a geologic context," according to this useful National Park Service educational resource. Of the 395 units managed by the NPS, 232 contain paleontological resources, from petrified wood to bones, teeth and eggshells. Another website puts a spotlight on 5 NPS units it calls fossil hotspots, including Central Oregon's John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, a colorful patch of land that interrupts a ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on October 12, 2011 3:40 PM & Tagged National Fossil Day, fossils and national parks | permalink | Comments