Last Minute Gift Idea - Give Something Back!

Still hunting for the right gift at this late hour?  Consider the gift of adventure and giving back!

You can purchase Wilderness Volunteers' gift certificates good for any of the 2013 projects, from Minnesota to Arizona, West Virginia to Montana, Vermont to Alaska, Hawaii to New Hampshire. Your recipient(s) will be able to select a project from the list of more than 50 service projects to decide which is best for them. You'll be providing an adventure that engages all the senses in a beautiful, natural setting, while doing meaningful work for public lands. They'll return home with pictures and stories to be shared and remembered for a lifetime.  The perfect gift for the outdoor enthusiast in your life!

2013 Summer/Fall Schedule Released!

Goat Rocks Wilderness, Gifford Pinchot NF (2012)

We are super excited to announce the release of the full 2013 Service Project schedule!  It is a record setting year as WV will give something back in more wilderness areas in a single year than ever before, with trips from Hawaii to Vermont, Alaska to Texas and many, many areas in between.

We'll need your help to ensure that we complete all the tasks that our agency partners are asking of us, so head on over to our projects page to read more about each of the 2013 service trips and sign up for your top choice before it fills up.  **Also note that supporters of Wilderness Volunteers get early placement for their desired projects.

We can't wait to get on the trail and give something back with you and your friends and family! Check out this interactive map of where our 2013 projects or view the projects by date.

Any questions? Shoot us an email at info@wildernessvolunteers.org.

My Trip at Denali

from left to right: Jenny, Alvin, Tim, Jim, Debbie,
Hannah, Karen, & Donna

By Donna McParlan
This adventure was spectacular for so many reasons. Since this was my first trip to Alaska and first project with Wilderness Volunteers, I really did not know what to expect. After flying to Anchorage from Chicago, my husband Tim and I hopped aboard the Alaska Railroad to Denali National Park. The train’s huge windows allowed us to view mile after mile of gorgeous scenery and wildlife on the way to the park. Once there our job was to break new trail on the Savage River Alpine Trail.

Building the Savage Loop Trail

Using hand saws, pulaskis, shovels, cutters, loppers, and canvas bags, we sawed shrubs, cut bushes, pulled up tundra sod, moved rocks, and hauled dirt. We worked long, hard days, but the reward was the result of our work. Our home for the week was a large platform tent with a wood burning stove at the back of the Savage River Campground. Debbie Northcutt and Bill Sheppard, our leaders, are experienced and professional. Bill, our chef, planned and prepared a variety of wholesome meals, taking trail cuisine to perfection. Across from the platform tent was a shower house with flush toilets for use only by the Park Service trail crew and the volunteers. So although our environment was remote and wild, our accommodations were civilized!

Mt McKinley above the clouds from our worksite

The weather for the week was a mixed bag. Temperatures ranged from highs in the 50’s to below freezing at night. We had rain on and off and snow on more than one day but some sun almost every day. Our views were of wide open tundra with the expansive Alaska Range all around, huge braided rivers, and brilliant fall colors of red, orange, and yellow. We saw abundant wildlife while on the trails and from the buses--Dall sheep, moose, caribou, and bear. Our volunteer group was a friendly, hard- working, and interesting bunch, diverse in age and from all over the country, and we enjoyed working side by side with the Park Service Trail Crew, who appreciated our efforts.

With this adventure behind me here’s what I will expect on the next one: a week of hard work in the great out-doors, breath- taking scenery, a feeling of accomplishment, and considerate and interesting people with a sense of responsibility to give something back.

WV in the News

Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahela Nat'l Forest, WV (2012)

For the second straight year, Wilderness Volunteers spent a week clearing trails in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest - this time in the scenic Dolly Sods Wilderness.  The trip was a success, as we maintained several miles of trail and rehabilitated half-a-dozen campsites (amidst glorious fall foliage!). Needless to say, the US Forest Service is eager to see us return in 2013.

And so are our volunteers, especially this one, who has found inspiration in WV service projects to get involved with trail maintenance in his local community.  Visit NorthJersey.com to read more and learn what it's like to spend a week "Giving Something Back" with Wilderness Volunteers.

And stay tuned for a list of WV's 2013 Summer and Fall projects, which will be announced in early December!

An Agency’s Praise of WV

by Ruth Scott, Wilderness Specialist, Olympic National Park

Beginning with its creation in 1997, Wilderness Volunteers began to play a vital role in the stewardship of America’s wilderness lands. This is nowhere more apparent than in Olympic National Park where, under the inspired leadership of John Sherman and Debbie Northcutt, Wilderness Volunteers began “to give something back”. The beauty and wild character of the Olympic Wilderness attracts many visitors, resulting in the trampling of fragile vegetation and erosion of life-giving soils, especially adjacent to wilderness camp areas where expansive areas of bare ground can develop. Camp area rehabilitation and revegetation with native plants has been a successful action used at Olympic to restore the wilderness resource as well as the wilderness experience for visitors. Wilderness Volunteers, since its inception, has been critical in this effort. 

Ruth Scott

The first field season following its founding, Wilderness Volunteers began a revegetation project in Olympic’s high country at Hoh Lake with John Sherman directing the efforts of the crew together with me in my role as the park’s wilderness specialist. The excellent work of the volunteers continued annually: in subalpine areas at Royal Basin, Seven Lakes, Hurricane Ridge, Upper Lena and Lake Angeles, in lowland forests on the East Fork Quinault River and Boulder Creek, and on the coast for the largest of the wilderness revegetation projects – a four year venture at Norwegian Memorial. Most of these projects could not have been completed without the many dozens of Wilderness Volunteers that contributed over 5700 hours of labor, scarifying acres of compacted soil and planting tens of thousands of native plants. The outstanding guidance of leaders Gayle Marechal and Ed Hill on many of these trips enhanced the experience for volunteers and provided a dedication and continuity that made work with the organization one of the highlights of the year for Olympic National Park staff. The experience and commitment of returning volunteers such as Susan Meyer, a seven year veteran, have proven to be an especially valuable asset.

The stewardship relationship between Wilderness Volunteers and Olympic National Park will continue, ensuring that together our precious inheritance of wilderness is passed on unimpaired to the generations that follow.

Great Old Broads' Wild for Wilderness Online Auction Wraps Up Soon

Our friends, the Great Old Broads for Wilderness have a terrific online auction that's live now! The "broads" have over 300 unbelievable deals on outdoor adventures, art, books, services, footwear, outdoor gear...and much, much more.  And the best part is, all proceeds go to this great organization working to preserve and protect our wild lands for future generations.

Bidding ends this Sunday evening, November 11th, so make sure to visit the Wild for Wilderness online auction soon.  It will certainly get you in the mood for the Wilderness Volunteers online auction, coming this March. 

Relative Risks

What are the biggest backcountry hazards? Most of us have safe, fun adventures in the outdoors, but knowing what the risks are can help us plan safer trips and reduce problems once we are out there.

We tend to freak out over some risks that are unlikely, while not taking other common risks as seriously as we should. For example, folks worry about going in to bear country but stumbling is much more likely to kill you on the trail.

What are the relative risks of outdoor adventure? In ascending order (in the United States):

-Bears: According to Wikipedia, 25 people have been killed by bears in the past ten years. Stay safe by making noise as you move through the area; yelling "Hey Bear!" warns the shaggy bruins of your approach.

-Mountain lions: Cougars, pumas, jaguars (they are all the same large cat) kill an average of one person and injure six each year opportunistically pursuing their instinct to stalk moving targets. Don't hike alone at dawn or dusk when the risk is highest, and if you find one stalking you, stand your ground, yell, wave your arms, and hold your pack over your head to appear larger. They will quickly realize you aren't prey.

-Snakes: Approximately 10 people are killed each year; most from eastern and western diamondback rattlesnakes. Most snakebites occur when handling snakes, so steer clear of the vipers and keep your hands and feet out of holes and cracks.

-Other people: National parks average 12 murders per year. Stay safe by hiking away from suspicious people, and wear bright orange during hunting season. Give up your wallet if necessary, but fight back if attacked.

-Insects: Around 50 people die each year from allergy to insect stings. If you've had a reaction to a sting in the past, carry an epi-pen with you in the backcountry and know how to use it.

-Lightning: According to the National Weather Service, an average of 50 people are killed by a lightning strike. Only 10% of people who are struck are killed, leaving 90% with vairous degrees of disability. July is the deadliest month. Get below treeline before an approaching storm rolls in. If you are stuck in an exposed location, crouch on your pack or sleeping pad and stay at least 20-feet from other people (a bolt can run from one person to another). Administer CPR to anyone struck without a pulse.

-Animal collisions: This can happen on your way to the trailhead. Crashing into a deer or larger elk or moose kills approximately 200 people and injures thousands more each year. Stay safe by slowing down and being alert to animals especially as evening approaches; 75% of collisions occur in the dark.

-Poor judgement/preparation: Approximately 1,100 Search & Rescue missions each year in the national park system are necessitated by errors in judgement and insufficient experience. Know your skills and limits, plan ahead, drink enough water, wear appropriate clothing, and don't be so set upon a course that you can't change your plans when conditions change.

-Heart Attack: Altitude, vigorous exercise and stress can trigger cardiac arrest and accounts for almost as many deaths in the backcountry as drowning. Half of all heart attack victims will die before help can be summoned. Your best defense is to stay in shape with a regular routine of aerobic conditioning and have regular checkups with your physician. If you experience pressure in the chest, right arm or jaw, take a baby aspirin.

-Drowning: Playing in a river that is too fast, being swept into a waterfall, swimming in cold water -- all are recipes for drowning. Don't cross fast-moving rivers that are more than knee deep (and unfasten your the waist/chest band on your backpack before attempting your crossing). Don't enter a slot canyon when rain threatens, stay away from that lovely waterfall, and don't swim in hypothermia inducing water.

-Falls: Unroped falls are the outdoors' number-one killer, and most victims are hikers, not climbers. Accidental falls are the biggest killer in the national parks due to trauma from the fall (broken neck, internal injuries, head injury, etc.). Falls can combine with water to add to drowning deaths. Assess the risks of exposure in your pursuits realistically, and don't be talked into putting yourself in danger.