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Archive for 'October 2011'

The Fix Is In: After Nearly 8 Years, the Pacific Crest Trail is Repaired in Washington

The breech, at last, is mended. Nearly 8 years after a huge flood destroyed a major bridge on the Pacific Crest Trail within Washington's Glacier Peak Wilderness, a new route and new bridge are officially open to PCT hikers and stock teams. On Sunday, Sept. 11, in a Promontory Point/Golden Spike kind of moment, members of 2 trail crews cut the final 60 feet of trail to connect the existing PCT with a new 3-mile approach trail that leads to an equally new 270-foot bridge that crosses the ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on October 11, 2011 9:58 PM & Tagged PCT bridge, Pacific Crest Trail, repairs and reroute | permalink | Comments



Cliff Notes: Erosion in Action

This clip, taken in late September in Cornwall on the coast of southwest England, might cause some people to think twice about standing on the edge of cliffs. An estimated 100,000 tons of rock crashed into the sea, according to The Washington Post. Maybe watching this video will persuade hikers who routinely cut switchbacks, which hastens erosion on trails, to reconsider their habit. Bonus clip: This video (antelope charges, plows over cyclist) has been making the rounds the past few days, so ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on October 11, 2011 6:04 PM & Tagged Cycling, cliffs, erosion and video | permalink | Comments



Blossoms in the Clouds: The Latest Short Film from Yosemite Nature Notes

Ever climb onto a rocky alpine plateau and wonder how so many flowers survive, even flourish, in such a stark environment? If you love wandering around such high-elevation garden spots, take a look at Sky Islands, the latest installment in the splendid short-film series Yosemite Nature Notes. While the peaks and plateaus displayed in Sky Islands are already starting to load up with new snow this fall, park videographer Steven Bumgardner made some fair-weather visits to 12,147-foot Parsons Peak ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on October 10, 2011 6:28 PM & Tagged Yosemite, Yosemite Nature Notes, flowers and national parks | permalink | Comments



An Epic Task: Thousands of Acres, Millions of Weeds and One Woman on a Mission

Think you've got weeds? Imagine Katie VinZant's task: clearing nonnative plant species, 48 of them, from the sprawling, 640,000-acre Angeles National Forest in Southern California.  As detailed in this Los Angeles Times article and accompanying video, VinZant, a botanist with the U.S. Forest Service, is attempting to purge the fire-damaged Angeles National Forest of weeds and invasive plants—intruders that, 2 years after a massive inferno, have established dense colonies and are bullying native ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on October 7, 2011 2:00 PM & Tagged Angeles National Forest, Katie VinZant, invasive plants, national forests and weeds | permalink | Comments



Minimalist Running: If You've Switched Your Shoes, Have You Also Switched Your Form?

Does changing to minimalist running footwear minimize wear and tear on a runner's body? Only, according to a recent study, if a runner also changes his or her running style.  As explained in this New York Times article, the nonprofit American Council on Exercise recently sponsored a small study that asked female recreational runners to switch to either barefoot running or the use of minimalist footwear. The outcome? Participants who changed to barefoot running or minimalist shoes but failed to ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on October 7, 2011 1:34 PM & Tagged barefoot running, minimalist, minimalist footwear and natural motion running | permalink | Comments