A Better Way to Get to Work...

Tired of the same old commute to work each morning? Need to liven up your work week? Take a cue from the 2009 Denali National Park Wilderness Volunteer's work crew.

And for some great music about working in Alaska, check out David Walburn's "Cabin Song," featured on this blog last winter.

Summer Reading List

Sawtooth Nat'l Forest, ID (2007)

For those of you looking for a good outdoor adventure read, try something off this list:

1) The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind - and Almost Found Myself - on the Pacific Crest Trail by Dan White

2) Indian Creek Chronicles: A Winter Alone in the Bitterroot Wilderness by Pete Fromm

3) Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales

4) Touching the Void by Joe Simpson

5) Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

6) Undaunted Courage: Lewis and Clark and the American West by Stephen Ambrose

7) River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard

8) Rocket Boys by Homer Hickham

9) Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

10) Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

11) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

What books do you recommend?

Wild Montana Sky

Bob Marshall Wilderness, MT (2005)

Thoreau took to the woods for inspiration, peace of mind, and creative expression. Bill Bryson took a "walk in the woods" and wrote all about it. So did Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, Rachel Carson, and countless others.

And so do some of our volunteers.

Here's some poetry from one of them, which recounts an experience in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness a few years ago.

Montana’s dusk burns slow.
Light climbs the mountain’s pines
On needle tip toes.
Over trees that sip from storms
That help spring chase summer
Across fall’s leafy floor.
Winter has its snow cap on.
Tents pop up
Like grizzly humps.
The propane tanks hiss.
Montana’s nights cool quick.

'His mother took him to her breast...'

The black flies hummed along,
And flitted like ash fleeing
Up towards promises of dawn.

Been inspired? Have something to share? Send it in.

(Bonus points to anyone that can name that tune - the one referenced in the title and the second to last stanza.)

Invasive Species...and Kitchen Corner

Every region of the country has invasive plants that present their own particular problems. When my wife and I moved to a state in the Deep South shortly after we married, we encountered Kudzu for the first time. Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States in the nineteenth century and was promoted as a forage crop and an ornamental plant. In the 1930s, farmers in the southeastern United States were encouraged to plant Kudzu to reduce soil erosion. The plant wasn’t considered a pest weed until 1953, and now this invasive swallows up houses if not kept in check. Tumbleweed, the plant so associated with desolate Western landscapes in movies, is an invasive as well, probably having arrived in the United States in seed shipments. Other invasive plants such as Russian Olive and Tamarisk (salt cedar) were purposely introduced to the United States and have become severe problems along many waterways in the western part of the country. In the Northwest, we have English Ivy as well as Scotch Broom to contend with. It is probably not news that no section of the country is free from invasive plants.

Given the pervasiveness of invasives, why even discuss them here? Although most invasives will never be eradicated from environments where they can thrive and crowd out native plants, we can do things to lessen their spread to sensitive areas. Wilderness Volunteers participants join our 50 or so trips each year and come from all over the country to do so. Unwittingly, many of these well-meaning participants may be helping spread invasives or introducing plants from their region of the country into regions where these plants are unknown. The most common way this happens is through seed dispersal, and we humans often become the vehicles for this dispersal.

What can you do as an individual? The simplest thing you can do is check your boots before leaving home for that camping or backpacking trip and make sure the soles are clean. Do the same just prior to leaving your camping/backpacking location to return home. Check your clothing as well. Many seeds can easily attach themselves to clothing or even get into pockets. If you can’t effectively clean your boots and clothing prior to heading home after a trip and have to wait until you get home to do so, there are still ways to prevent seeds from potentially germinating in a new environment. Clean boots and clothing somewhere where the soil and plant matter can be contained; then soak the plant matter in bleach before disposing of it. As volunteers who often enter sensitive wilderness areas, we don’t want to be unsuspecting agents who introduce non-native plants to an area whether it be that wilderness area or our own home territory. Below are some links to sites with more detailed information.

http://www.ucsusa.org/invasive_species/what_you_can_do/what-you-can-do-to-prevent.html

http://www.fws.gov/invasives/what-you-can-do.html

http://www.fs.fed.us/invasivespecies/prevention/index.shtml

http://www.nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies/


PASTA AND GARBANZO BEAN STEW
Olive oil
2 cups crushed tomatoes with added puree
4 garlic cloves
3-4 tablespoons fresh or dried rosemary
8 cups vegetable broth (use 4 Knorr Vegetarian Bouillon cubes in water)
4 15-16 oz. cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
12 oz. Fettuccine in one inch pieces
Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in large pan. Add tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary. Simmer 5 minutes. Add broth and garbanzo beans and stir to blend. Bring to boil and add the fettuccine. Simmer until pasta is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add parmesan separately.

Some Photography Tips for the Field

John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, CA (2006)

Fresh on the heels of the 2010 WV Photo Contest seems as good a time as any to talk photography - especially as the 2010 trip season kicks into high gear.

As we get closer and closer to the trailhead and run down our packing list, gather up the "ten essentials" and sort out what to take and what to jettison, we each invariably head into the backcountry with that "other essential": a camera. You won't find it listed in any survival handbooks, but few of us - including myself - will leave home without it.

With that in mind, and as I myself prepare to head to Idaho's Selway Bitterroot Wilderness next month, here are a few tips to set up your digital camera for optimal field use and maximum battery life - an ever-so precious resource when you're miles from the nearest electrical outlet.

1) Turn Off Auto ISO - ISO 1600 on a sunny day? Not a chance, but it can happen - a camera's metering system is no substitute for the human eye. To maximize image quality, give yourself control over the ISO. While many cameras do a good job across a range of ISO settings, the camera's metering system isn't foolproof and may choose a higher ISO setting when a lower ISO would suffice, sacrificing image quality in the process.

2) Turn Off Auto Rotate - Always looking at your LCD to review your last picture? Good - now get your money's worth. When your camera is set to auto rotate, every vertical photograph is displayed in the camera's horizontal LCD as a vertical image. What many of us fail to realize is that this forces the taller vertical image to fit in the shorter horizontal LCD. Bottom line: in an age of bigger and better LCDs, your vertical image is compressed and over half of your LCD screen is empty! Turn off auto rotate and you'll see more - and take better pictures.

3) Skip Deletions - Tempting as it may be to clean up your photographs as you take them, doing so consumes precious battery life. Fight the urge. Unless, that is, you don't mind hiking through scenic meadows, mountain vistas, and pristine wilderness with a dead camera. No doubt nothing beats the real thing, but it's always nice to have a little bit of juice left should that "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity arise. Your friends and family will appreciate it.

4) Dim the LCD Screen and Let it Sleep - Simple. The brighter it is and longer it's on, the greater the drain on the battery.

5) Conserve Your Shots - Surely one of the greatest attractions of digital photography is the ability to take countless shots without sacrificing pack weight and space. Gone are the days (at least for those of us who have made the leap from film) of carrying a dozen rolls of film into the backcountry and making each and every shot count. Of course, this can be a mixed blessing, as those of us whom have sat through our loved ones' two-hour slideshows of their day trips to the beach can attest. Make your shots count and practice your technique (click here for a quick summary of the basics of photographic composition). You'll take better pictures and ensure you've got some battery life left for that unexpected sunset, wildlife encounter, and, best of all, that group photo at the end of the week.

6) Pack an Extra Battery - Genius! You might also consider a solar charger for your camera battery. I don't have any experience with these but they sound promising (though certainly a bit pricier than a spare).

Above all else: have fun and experiment.

Got a tip to share? Send it in.

And in the meantime, check out the newly redesigned WV Photo Gallery, which is a great resource for exploring different projects and trip locations.

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!

Crop Mob, Anyone?

Here's a neat article about a burgeoning nationwide movement involving volunteers, hard work, the great outdoors, "giving something back," the environment, and good food. Sound familiar?

You'd think we're talking about Wilderness Volunteers, but we're not. Though the ingredients are the same, the recipe is a little different. Read more about "Crop Mobbing" here.

Kinda like Wilderness Volunteers. . .but on a farm.