Wilderness Trends

The Forest Service conducted surveys in 1970, 1982 and 2004 to look at the most used trailheads, frequency of visits, and reasons for visiting wilderness along with other questions. They noticed that visitors to wilderness are increasingly older, more experienced, and have more education (62% had four-year college degrees or higher). Another shift was that wilderness users aren't staying as long as they used to; in 1970, the average number of nights was 5.1 compared to 3.3 in 2004.

In the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the average age of a visitor in 1969 was 26, in 1991 it had increased to 36, and in 2007 the average was 45.

What trends have you noticed in the backcountry?

(source at this link  and this link)

2014 Photo Contest Winners

We're pleased to announce the winning entries from the 2014 WV Photo Contest, sponsored by Mountainsmith, Sea to Summit, Crazy Creek and Ribz. We received more than 100 submissions, representing the majority of projects we had in the field in 2014. There were so many fantastic photos, picking a winner was very difficult for the sponsoring companies and WV staff.

The grand prize winner was Ulrich Boegli, who has won a place on a 2015 Wilderness Volunteers service project and a Mountainsmith Camera Bag. Ulrich took this photo on the Glacier National Park service project (we'll be back in 2015).

2014 Photo Contest Winner - Taken by Ulrich Boegli in Glacier National Park

Eric Mak was our first runner-up and he receives a prize pack from Sea to Summit and a Longback chair from Crazy Creek. Eric took this trip on his 2014 service project in the Superior National Forest's Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  While both BWCA projects are full this year, you can always join us in  2016.

Eric Mak's beautiful photo from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in 2014.

Our second runner-up, Randy Kahn, will receive a Ribz Front Pack thanks to his really lovely shot from the San Rafael Reef Wilderness Study Area. We'll be back to the San Rafael Swell area this spring with a a project within the Sids Mountain Wilderness Study Area. Spaces remain available, so come on out and bring your camera!

Randy Kahn's lovely photo from the 2014 San Rafael Reef WSA in Utah

You can see these photos and the other selected 2014 Photo Contest finalists on the WV gallery. There are also photo galleries for just about every service project we ran in 2014.  Take a look around and see what amazing wild lands you want to visit next. And take your camera - we will once again host a photo contest, featuring great prizes from terrific sponsors, in 2015.

Wilderness Volunteers Enjoy Long Commute by Gillian Grant

Gillian Grant, a participant on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness project we did with the LaCroix Ranger District in August, wrote a post for her employer's blog about the experience. It finally went live this week and can be seen at this link with the title Wilderness Volunteers Enjoy Long Commute.

Sandy Stroo & Gillian Grant

Gillian works at the University of North Texas and the piece was posted to the Community Engagement blog. It was edited (quite severely) from her original piece which is posted here:

Wilderness Volunteer trip to the Boundary Waters, August 2014

Imagine escaping that tedious crawl through repairs on Interstate-35 and replacing your commute with a quiet canoe ride on pristine, mirrored water floating by lily pads and wild rice with the sound of loons and only your paddle gently striking water. This was our typical 2 hour and 15 minute commute to work, and it was pure joy.

A couple of UNT IELI (Intensive English Language Institute) Faculty decided to spend some of their summer break getting closer to nature through the Wilderness Volunteers in a week long volunteer service trip to do some much-needed and much appreciated volunteer work for the forest service.

Gillian at work

The daily commute was from our campsite on an island in Shell Lake in the Superior National Forest in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that separates the USA from Canada in far NE Minnesota.   The commute involved nearly an hour of hiking in a lush green forest where the Sioux- Hustler hiking trail traverses some dense,  wonderful birch and pine trees. Part of the trail is on what seems to be a spongy bouncy tundra like springy carpet. This Texan was surprised to see the enormous number of trees felled by storms in various states of decomposition. Much of the area has glacially smoothed boulders a foot or two below the surface, so try as the trees do to anchor themselves, eventually the windstorms win and take down tall trees to expose horizontally massive root systems. Also on the daily commute was the wonderful peaceful, quiet canoe trip through lily pads, lotus, wild rice, and other marine based flora. The multiple portages which entailed carrying the canoe either by yourself over your shoulders or with your partner were a physical test, and the rocks in the water were a navigational challenge. Totally engaging and invigorating.

Sandy and Gillian at a portage

Sandy Stroo (retired in August from IELI faculty at UNT after 18 years of service) and I were on a week long service trip doing trail maintenance on the Sioux –Hustler hiking trail with Wilderness Volunteers, a nonprofit outfit that was started by a couple of dedicated Sierra Club members 18 years ago who thought the Sierra Club volunteer trips  had become too expensive. Wilderness Volunteers is based in Flagstaff, Arizona, and they run week long trips with 6-10 volunteer participants, in addition to 2 volunteer certified leaders, to clean up national and state parks and forest service land, choosing projects pitched to them by rangers all over the country. This year there were more than 60 trips. Sandy has done 3, and she inspired other IELI Faculty; I have done 5 trips, Donna Obenda did one and so did Sally Kloppe (currently on assignment for IELI and UNT teaching at Kansai Gaidai in Japan).  In total, we IELI teachers have used time off in the summer (without pay) to participate in 10 WV trips in Colorado, Montana, California, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, and Minnesota. There is a small cost to participate ($300), which covers all food, beverages, and associated park costs. If selected for a trip, participants provide their own basic gear (tent, backpack, hiking boots, sleeping bag, thermarest, etc) and pay for their own transportation.

On the water

On our trip to the Boundary Waters in August, there were 8 participants (including a mother-daughter leader team) and we worked with small tools called “silky saws” and a big old timey 2 person cross cut saw. Our team cut and cleared about 200 trees on the Sioux- Hustler hiking trail. It had been years since the trail had seen maintenance. Like most of our parks in America, they are vastly understaffed and depend on volunteer groups like the WV to keep trails open. In fact, there are 2 rangers assigned to maintain the trails in a half million acres at this park.  As a consequence, ranger stations depend on volunteer groups like the WV to keep trails open.

If you like starry nights, frogs, loon cries, making new friends with people who love nature, and a great commute to work, you will love Wilderness Volunteers.
For more information, go to the WV website   http://www.wildernessvolunteers.org/
- Gillian Grant

By Foot and By Paddle - WV Heads to the Hills and the Water

Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, CO (2010)

It's been a busy year for volunteer leaders Robin and Carter Bland, who have led four trips all across the country, ranging from the canyons of Utah to the mountains of New Hampshire. And they're not done yet, as they've just embarked on yet another trip to Maine's Acadia National Park. As you can imagine, all that hiking makes for plenty to write about. Here's Robin's report (and a recipe) from their latest adventures:

"Over a five week span this summer, I enjoyed two different and beautiful Wilderness Volunteers experiences. In late July, I participated in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness project led by Brian Bone and my husband, Carter Bland. We camped at 10,800 feet beneath spectacular jagged peaks and alongside huge meadows of wildflowers at peak bloom. Our work project was building check dams and waterbars on the West Maroon Pass trail between Crested Butte and Aspen. Each day, as we lunched amidst this glorious scenery, I thought there’s no better view at the best table in the finest restaurant! On Tuesday, a photographer from the Crested Butte News happened to hike by and stopped to take a photo of our crew. Later in the week, other hikers passing us on the trail mentioned that they had seen our picture in the paper - what great publicity for Wilderness Volunteers. On our day off, some of us hiked to Frigid Air pass, where we were rewarded by a fantastic view of the iconic Maroon Bells. Luckily, we reached the pass before any rumble of thunder - a daily occurrence in summer afternoons - could turn us back. It was a week enjoyed by novice backpackers and veterans alike."

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, MN (2010)

"A month later, I enjoyed a very different landscape when Carter and I led a WV crew to a beautiful corner of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in the Superior National Forest of northern Minnesota. The BWCAW comprises over one million acres of crystal clear lakes, sparkling streams, and boreal forest. After shuttling across Lake Vermillion in a US Forest Service power boat, we paddled our canoes across Trout and Pine Lakes to our basecamp where we set up for a week of portage trail maintenance and campsite rehab. One of our tasks was to build a stone staircase at the landing for our campsite. We were treated to gorgeous weather all week and, after work each day, were rewarded with a dip - or long swim for some - in the warm water. As for the legendary BWCAW mosquitoes and biting flies...they more or less left us in peace for the week. Loons and whippoorwills serenaded us each night as we sat by our campfire and watched the light of the full moon glisten across the water. It was a little bit of heaven."

Two beautiful trips, two different landscapes. Two great ways to Give Something Back.

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Here is a recipe for a cereal/energy bar that was popular on both trips. Some ate it at breakfast; others took it to have alongside their lunch.

1 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup honey
4 cups Grape-Nuts cereal ( or use a generic barley nugget cereal)
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup raisins or craisins

Combine honey and peanut butter in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients, mixing well.
Spread into a 9”X13” baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil (e.g. Pam). Use wax paper to press into pan and flatten it out. Cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes, cut into bars, and enjoy!

Up A River in Minnesota...

Boundary Waters Wilderness, MN (2009)

...With a canoe.

I just returned from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness where we worked on portage trails for the week. Sort of like backpacking, only you have to carry the canoe over the portages - as well as your stuff and tools!

We entered the wilderness at trailhead 14: Little Indian Sioux River and traveled to Shell Lake where we were going to repair the landing on the Shell Lake side of the Upper Pauness/Shell portage. However, it was underwater, so we traveled on to Heritage Lake and set up camp on the northern end of the lake.

We worked for two days on the Heritage-Loon Lake portage, and then moved to East Loon Lake were we had the best campsite in the BWCAW (IMO) -- a sand beach, a world-class view to the north across this large lake, and plenty of room to spread out. Previous tenants had left some impressive "flintsone furniture" in front of the large firepit, and there were lots of trees to hang tarps and drying lines.

On our day off, Wednesday, we invaded Canada by traveling up Loon Lake through the Beatty portage to Lac LaCroix. We had heard there were petroglyphs along a cliff wall.

The petroglyphs turned out to be pictographs, faint red images below the high water line. They are thought to be less than 500 years old, and the iron oxide has weathered them to the point of being very hard to see. There is apparently another site on north Lac LaCroix with a Moose pictograph.

The last two days of the trip, we worked on the East Loon Lake/Slim Lake portage, getting really muddy and moving tons (and tons) of rock. We built a 25-foot causeway on a section of the portage where we sank calf-deep in mud (not fun when you are carrying a canoe!). We raised the trail tread and channelized the water to one side. The peat moss in this area was more than a foot deep.

We didn't get to see any moose, whose numbers in northern Minnesota are apparently on a rapid decline, but we saw loons, crawdads, a salamander, squirrels, crows, eagles and heard distant wolves.

I loved (and miss!) the group of cheerful and enthusiastic people we did the trip with -- hard workers everyone. I love going to the Boundary Waters -- it's very different from the mountains and canyons I frequent in the intermountain west. All that water. Loons. Minnesota accents. You betcha!