America's Wild Spaces

Denali National Park, AK (2007)

If you're looking for something to do this Thanksgiving, and watching the Cowboys annual Thanksgiving football game doesn't fit the bill, check out National Geographic's new series titled "Americas Wild Spaces."

The series takes an in-depth look at Yellowstone National Park (all 2 million acres of it, which makes it bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined), Death Valley (from its highest peak at 11,049 feet to its lowest point 282 feet below sea level), the Grand Canyon (which, yes, can be seen from space), the Appalachian Trail (all 2,175 miles, 165,000 white blazes, and 5 million steps), the Everglades (and its 1000 species of plants, 300 species of birds, and 27 species of snakes - 4 of them venomous), Yosemite National Park (home to Yosemite Falls, which is 13 times taller than Niagara, and giant sequoias that are wider than most city streets), Hawaii's Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (try saying that ten times fast!), Canyonlands National Park (and its thousand year old rock art and petroglyphs), and Denali (home to North America's tallest mountain - which is still growing!).

The Thanksgiving day marathon begins at 2pm on the National Geographic Channel. Check the schedule here.

Interested in visiting any of these places? Check out the WV 2010 project list, which features projects in many of these locations. Spring projects have been posted, and Summer/Fall projects will be announced on December 4th.

Happy Thanksgiving...and Happy Trails!

RSS -- What is it?

Ever wonder what this symbol means when you see it on a blog (it's on the right side of this blog just a little down the page)? RRS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and this symbol allows you to subscribe to blog feeds so you'll know when new content is posted.

Commoncraft has created a video, "RSS in Plain English" that does a great job of explaining how RSS can be a great tool to follow the blogs that you check everyday.

Leave No Trace

Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness, CO (2008)

For those of you interested in a Leave No Trace (LNT) refresher and for those of you new to the movement, check out this new online awareness course offered by the folks at Leave No Trace.

The Seven Leave No Trace Principals

1) Plan Ahead and Prepare
2) Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3) Dispose of Waste Properly
4) Leave What You Find
5) Minimize Campfire Impacts
6) Respect Wildlife
7) Be Considerate of Other Visitors

You can watch the National Park Service LNT video here.

25 More Great iPhone Apps for the Outdoors

Check them out on alaskaphotography.com.

(Great pictures, too.)

On Fire

Sawtooth National Forest, ID (2007)

There's a fascinating post by New York Times columnist and evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson about the role of fire in nature, particularly forests. Whereas many of us often think of fire as a destructive force that ruins forests and wilderness, Judson points out that fire spurs new growth and can reinvigorate an ecosystem - which makes perfect sense.

But here's what's more interesting: many species of plants and trees in fire-prone areas appear to have evolved to be highly flammable. That is, these plants have evolved to cause fires as the propagation of their species - and the destruction of the competition - is dependent on their ability to burn. Read about what Judson calls the "torch-me hypothesis" here.

(For those of you that want to keep reading, check out Judson's post on the impact of large predators - or the lack thereof - on an ecosystem.)

Then and Now...in the Inyo

Inyo National Forest, CA (2002)

Volunteer leader Kathleen Worley, who in her day job can be found onstage or teaching theatre at Reed College in Portland, OR reports on her latest trip to the Sierra's Inyo National Forest:

"This summer I had the opportunity to return to an area where I'd previously led a Wilderness Volunteers trip seven years ago: the John Muir Wilderness in the Eastern Sierra's Inyo National Forest.

Back then, the beginning of the trail to Upper Pine Lake was primarily an old mining road. Now, that road has been transformed into a single track with some pretty impressive steps built by WV and Forest Service crews.

Back then, there were four teenagers on the trip, and Ron Harton, my co-leader, hiked with them to the top of Mt. Julius Caesar. Now, one of those teenagers is part of the trail crew for the Inyo National Forest.

When he found out that a WV crew was working in the national forest , he hiked up to see us on his day off. On our day off, we hiked a loop over Pine Creek Pass, over to the Royce Lakes, and back down past Honeymoon Lake. On our way down, we walked past the trail we first worked on seven years ago. There were the steps we had built, still in good shape. Grasses and tiny plants were growing around the stone path we had laid at the edge of the meadow; a toad hopped by, his meadow habitat now safe from trampling by wandering big-footed hikers whose path was now clearly marked before them.

Inyo National Forest, CA (2009)

Like our work seven years ago, this year's work project also was designed to renovate the trail and protect watershed areas by building steps above a stream crossing and near a riparian area next to a crystal clear cascade.

Once again, our group was fabulous, working with great humor, sharing jokes and stories, pitching in with co-leader Misha Kokotovic to build a "scenic" latrine, and celebrating a birthday with matches (in lieu of candles) planted in chocolate Double-Stuff Oreos. Ingenuity at its finest!

Together, we made the world a little bit safer for toads and the trails a little bit better for people."

Calling all Volunteers - Spring Trips are on the Website!

Leader Training Trip, Inyo National Forest, CA (2006)

The spring 2010 trips are up! Check them out here.

The summer and fall trips will be posted during the first week of December.

Start planning your adventures now for the new year!

During the months of October and December, only supporters of Wilderness Volunteers will be placed on trips. To become a supporter, click on the Support WV tab on the website.

If you submit an application for a trip in either of these months and are not a supporter, we will save your application until November or January and put you on the trip if space is still available at that time.

Got questions? Email us at
reservations@wildernessvolunteers.org.