The Results Are In...

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 3rd Annual Wilderness Volunteers Photo Contest! Here are your winning photos:

1st Place: Peter Hoffman

"Ten Gals and a Geezer"
Escalante Grand Staircase, UT (2009)

2nd Place: WV's very own, Program Manager Dave Pacheco

"WV!"
Glen Canyon Nat'l Recreation Area, UT (2011)

3rd place: Eric Mak (last year's winner)

"Collage"
Maroon Bells, CO (2010)

Congratulations! 1st place wins a WV hooded sweatshirt, 2nd place a WV Klean Kanteen, and 3rd place a WV baseball cap. Please email your mailing address to Mike and we'll get your prize in the mail.

Thanks again to all our participants!

Two Weeks and Counting...

"Cruisin" - Inyo National Forest, CA (2006)

The 3rd annual Wilderness Volunteers photo contest is winding down with just two weeks left for you to send in your photos of WV'ers working, hiking, hanging out, and "giving something back!"

Submit up to four photos by June 30th and include the name and date of the project, as well as a brief caption describing the photo (humor appreciated :). Email your entries to Mike Leonard.

First place wins a limited edition Wilderness Volunteers hooded sweatshirt, second place a 27 oz. WV Klean Kanteen, and third place a WV baseball cap.

All pictures will be posted to the Wilderness Volunteers Photo Gallery, and winning pictures will be posted on the blog in July. (Check out past winners here and here.)

Wanted: Your Photos!

There's just under one month left in the 3rd annual Wilderness Volunteers photo contest and we want your photos! That's plenty of time to sift through your albums and send us your best shots of folks working, hiking, hanging out - you name it.

Submit up to four photos from any WV trips you've participated in, and include the name and date of the project, as well as a brief caption describing the photo (humor appreciated :). Email your entries to Mike Leonard.

"Ten Gals and a Geezer" - Escalante Grand Staircase, UT (2009)

Prizes will be awarded for the top three submissions (maximum of one prize per entrant). First place wins a newly-issued WV hooded sweatshirt, second place a 27 oz. WV Klean Kanteen, and third place a WV baseball cap. The contest runs until June 30th.

Calling All Photographers!

"These Things Are Really Heaaaavvvvyyy!" - Denali Nat'l Park, AK (2008)

It's time again for the 3rd annual Wilderness Volunteers Photo Contest!

As was the case in this event's first two years, which, among other things, have featured hard work, extreme hikers, a snowman, great views and "deep thoughts," we're looking for your photos of folks doing whatever you feel demonstrates the best of Wilderness Volunteers.

Submit up to four photos from any WV trips you've participated in, and include the name and date of the project, as well as a brief caption describing the photo. Humor is appreciated :). Email your entries to Mike Leonard.

Prizes will be awarded for the top three submissions (maximum of one prize per entrant): 1st place wins a WV hooded sweatshirt, 2nd place wins a 27 oz. WV Klean Kanteen, and 3rd place wins a WV baseball cap. All pictures will be posted to the Wilderness Volunteers Photo Gallery, and winning pictures will be posted on the blog in July. (Check out past winners here and here.)

The contest runs until June 30th. Click away!

And the Winners Are...

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2nd Annual Wilderness Volunteers Photo Contest! We received nearly thirty entries and had our work cut out for us picking the winners from the artistic, clever, and downright fun photos. Alas, after much debate, the winners are...

1st Place: Eric Mak

"Extreme Hikers on the AT"
Mount Rogers Nat'l Recreation Area, VA (2009)

2nd Place: Caroline Williams

"The Convincer"
- Hammond Canyon, UT (2010)

3rd Place: Maidie Kenney

"Jane Demonstrating the Fine Art of the Prickly Pear Toss"
- Superstition Wilderness, AZ (2010)

Honorable Mention: Nike Bolte

"The Perfect Way to End the Day"
- Caladesi Island, FL (2010)

Congratulations! 1st place wins a newly-issued WV hooded sweatshirt, 2nd place a WV Klean Kanteen, and 3rd place a WV baseball cap. Please email your mailing address to Mike and we'll get your prize in the mail.

Thanks again to all our participants!

2 Weeks and Counting

"Extreme Hikers on the AT" - Mt. Rogers NRA, VA (2009)

There's just under two weeks left in the 2nd annual Wilderness Volunteers photo contest and we've received some great submissions (see them here). There's still time left to rummage through your photos and send us your best shots of folks working, hiking, hanging out, inventing "trail zambonis" - you name it.

Submit up to four photos from any WV trips you've participated in, and include the name and date of the project, as well as a brief caption describing the photo (humor appreciated :). Email your entries to Mike Leonard.

"The Showdown" - Gila National Forest, NM (2000)

Prizes will be awarded for the top three submissions (maximum of one prize per entrant). First place wins a newly-issued WV hooded sweatshirt, second place a WV Klean Kanteen, and third place a WV baseball cap. The contest runs until May 30th.

Calling All Photographers!

Playing Cards in the Maroon Bells, CO (2008)

It's time again for the 2nd annual Wilderness Volunteers Photo Contest. As we did in last year's inaugural event, which, among other things, featured hard work, Montana "Boot Dryers", a miniature snowman, and an unusual "show and tell" session, we're looking for your best photos of folks working, hiking, hanging out - doing whatever you feel demonstrates the best of Wilderness Volunteers.

Submit up to four photos from any WV trips you've participated in, and include the name and date of the project, as well as a brief caption describing the photo (humor appreciated :). Email your entries to Mike Leonard. For a look at last year's winners, click here.

Prizes will be awarded for the top three submissions (maximum of one prize per entrant) and the contest will run until May 30th. First place wins a newly-issued WV hooded sweatshirt, second place a WV Klean Kanteen, and third place a WV baseball cap. All entries will be posted online and viewable in the WV Photo Gallery. (View all of last year's submissions here.)

Happy shootin'!

And the Winners Are....

Thanks to everyone who participated in Wilderness Volunteers' inaugural Seven Words of Wisdom Contest and 1st Annual Photo Contest! We received over forty entries between the two contests and had our hands full selecting the winners from the creative, humorous, and impressive submissions. Alas, after much deliberation, here they are...

The winner of the inaugural Seven Words of Wisdom Contest and a limited-edition WV stainless-steel carabiner mug is:

"New Friends. Help their Mother. Wilderness Volunteers."

- Cap'n Greg

And the top three finishers in WV's 1st Annual Photo Contest are:

1st Place: Brian Bone

"Wilderness Volunteers Parade Entry #1: Log."
-Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness Gen XY Trip, CO 2007

2nd Place: Amanda James

"Amanda said she was going to take it easy on our day off!" - WV on the Way-Up
- Ptarmigan Tunnel Trail, Glacier National Park Trip, MT 2008

3rd Place: Brian Miller

"Oh-Be-Joyful!"
- White River National Forest, Raggeds Wilderness Trip, CO 2008

Congratulations to these wordsmiths and photographers and, above all, volunteers! 1st place wins a 27 oz. stainless steel WV Klean Kanteen, 2nd place a WV cap, and 3rd place a WV bandanna. Please send your mailing address to Mike Leonard at mrleonard89@gmail.com.

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

(To view all entries, click here: Seven Words of Wisdom Contest and 1st Annual Photo Contest.)

5 Days and Counting...

Just a reminder: the WV Photo Contest will end this Saturday, January 31st. We've received over two dozen submissions and the prizes are still up for grabs. Check out the competition in the WV Gallery, and send your top 4 photos to mrleonard89@gmail.com. Thanks!

Calling All Photographers...

We started this blog in the fall with a contest inspired by author Michael Pollan and the New York Times "Well Blog." The goal: to capture the spirit of a Wilderness Volunteers work project in words, seven to be exact. And our creative and dedicated wordsmiths have done just that, articulating the perils of volunteering amidst quicksand and Russian "invaders," the peace-inducing effects of Pulaski swinging and trail building, and the forging of friendships and timeless memories in the backcountry. The judges are weighing in, and the winner of WV's Seven Words of Wisdom contest will be announced shortly.

Which brings us, of course, to our next contest. It's been said that "a picture is worth a thousand words," which is a lot more than seven. Speaking in 1911 before the Syracuse Advertising Men's Club, newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane, in one of the earliest usages of this oft-repeated maxim, urged his audience:

"Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words."

Heeding Brisbane's wisdom, Wilderness Volunteers intends to do just that. We've captured the spirit of a WV work project in seven words; it's now time to capture it in a thousand - in a picture!

It's simple. We're looking for photos of folks working, hiking, hanging out - doing whatever you feel demonstrates the best of Wilderness Volunteers. Select up to four photos from any WV trips you've participated in, include the name and date of the project, as well as a brief caption describing the photo (humor appreciated), and email your entries to Mike Leonard at mrleonard89@gmail.com. Prizes will be awarded for the top three submissions (one prize per entrant), and the contest will run until January 31st. First place wins a 27 oz. stainless-steel WV Klean Kanteen, second place a WV cap, and third place a WV bandanna. All entries will be posted and viewable online in the WV Photo Gallery.

Here's mine, taken before I understood the finer (err, basic...) points of photography:

"Tall grass in crisp focus with three blurry bull elk in background."

Aldo Leopold Wilderness, NM (July 2000)

And one more, taken when I realized the rest of us didn't either:

"How do I work this thing again?"

Leader Training Trip - John Muir Wilderness, CA (July 2006)

Seven Word Description: An Invitation

The New York Times "Well Blog" held a contest in January soliciting Seven Words of Wisdom, and the results were interesting and thought provoking. It was based on author Michael Pollan's (In Defense of Food) seven-word edict: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These are a couple of the winning submissions:

"Make promises. Don't break them. Find loopholes."
"Enter contests. Don't ignore rules. Try again."

and the winner was:

"Ate plants. A big heap. Still hungry."

I thought it would be fun for us Wilderness Volunteers to come up with our own seven-words (2-3-2) about doing a WV project. We'll start this blog with a contest. These are the rules:

Describe trips. Tell a story. Have fun.

and:

Start writing. Post your comment. Seven words.

The winner will receive a limited-edition stainless carabiner mug with the WV logo. Contest ends November 31st.

My try:

Get outside. Have an adventure. Get dirty.