Clean people are better...

As my wife and I were trudging up the 4 mile trail, from Yosemite's gorgeous El Cap Meadow all the way to Glacier Point, we were cursing like sailors. "This trail is F-ing brutal" I shouted to her, just within ear shot of a couple who, in my opinion, took the easy way out by taking a shuttle to Glacier Point and hiking down. Of course, they shot me a look as if were hiking naked. Weird, I thought to myself - taking note this particular couple was very well dressed with clean combed hair and crisp tucked-in shirts. My wife and I were sweaty, dirty and looking rather worn out.

As we reached the top, after one of the most grueling uphill hikes I have done, we tossed our packs down and started to drinking from the water fountain...drinking turned to washing our hands which quickly turned into pretty much bathing. Soon I realized we have drawn quite the crowd, a few Asian tourist snapping pictures of us and a hand full of people pointing and talking under their breath.

Thanks to a new study done at Northwestern University I understand that we were being judged...clean people render harsher moral judgement than those who are dirty...

So remember, next time your on the trail, wash up or be judged as morally inferior to our clean cut day hikers...

Joshua Tree...

Earlier this year Joshua Tree National Park claimed the life of a Georgia man that had set out for Quail Mountain. SAR (search and rescue) stopped the search after 6 days. It’s so easy to get lost in the desert, one wrong turn and it’s life or death…

Those who know me are aware of the fact that I absolutely love Joshua Tree National Park. I frequent the park during the winter and spring seasons when the snow is too prevalent to do any real hiking in the Sierras.



The most recent SAR mission in Joshua Tree reminded me of my first trip to Joshua Tree with my brother-in-law in 2007. We planned on hiking a 50 mile loop from Juniper Flats over Quail Mountain, out to Black Rock Canyon then through a not so popular area of the park along the west entrance back to Juniper Flats. On paper it was a straight forward hike. We staged water in two different places and we were sticking to the trail on almost the entire trip. Quickly we realized this was not possible. We started on the very popular California Riding and Hiking Trail, we missed a turn off and it was all down hill from there….

Backpacking in the desert can be a hard task. Many of the trails are difficult to find, largely because the NPS doesn’t maintain a lot of the backpacking trails. Trails turn into washes and washes lead to dead ends…. Long story short, we became very lost. Using our skills with the map and compass we were able to move in the right general direction but we just couldn’t find the trail. We were at the point of exhaustion on day two, running low on food as the sun was fading, we had gone 15 miles already. We realized that our trip had to be aborted if we were to make it home safely. We quickly put our heads together and decided that we should find the highest peak and get a vantage point, try to determine our location and select a path. Thankfully while on that peak we spotted the distant flash of the setting sun on a car windshield and realized we were about 5 miles from a road that splits the park…that was our destination. We reached the road with no food or water and over 6 miles to hike back to Juniper Flats and our car. We were able to hitch-hike a ride with a school teacher on a rock climbing trip that was getting into the park late….

More Bears?...

Bears seem to be in the news more and more everyday. Today some crazy redneck from Cleveland will surely find himself in the middle of a lawsuit after a caged black bear on his property mauled to death a 24 year old man who was attempting to feed the animal. Go figure, the bear's owner used to offer a chance to wrestle a black bear, that was until the animal rights activist started attending the events...

In other bear-related news, a woman from Wisconsin made local headlines when she woke up to the sound of a choking black bear in her back yard. Doing what almost any sensible human would do she threw on a pair of plastic gloves and went to the bears rescue. As it turns out the mother bear, with two cubs, was choking on a dog bone. The woman managed to pull the bone from the bears throat and make it back inside as the bear collapsed exhausted...

Just a word of advise, if you see a bear with a jar on it's head, call animal control...



And if you run into a bear in the wild take this advise from a bear expert...

The coyote that cried wolf...

Imagine sleeping under the stars on a beautiful Canadian night, suddenly you wake up to a coyote chewing on your skull. You have just put yourself in the shoes of a 16 year old girl from Canada that was the victim of a brutal coyote attack...

Not long ago a 19 year old girl from Canada was brutally killed by two coyotes who attacked her in broad daylight. Two other hikers heard the screams and came running to her aid but arrived too late.

The latest research is indicating that some coyotes are breeding with wolves, creating a more aggresive coyote that apprarently loves the taste of human flesh. This little guy seemed intimidated by my presence but he's in Yosemite, hundreds of miles away from the aggressive Canadian cross-breeds...

Power Me Up...

This years Outdoor Retailer trade show brought us some cool new products. Some of the most popular items were the Black Diamond Z Pole, a three section foldable trekking pole, and the Klymit Inertia X Frame Pad...



Personally I think one of the greatest products to come from this years OR trade show was the nPower PEG. This light weight product captures and stores kinetic energy while you hike by using the up and down motion of a magnetically active mass that passes through a conductive loop. As you hike the nPower captures the energy, allowing you to charge your GPS, iPod or any other electronic device.



I will probably snag one of these before my next solo trip...you never know when the GPS will run out of power.

Bring Your Own Toilet Paper....

As the country goes through a recession more and more people are turning to the cheaper alternatives for vacations. Rather than a long weekend wine tasting and eating great (expensive) food in Napa, people are opting for state parks, where, for a small entrance fee, they can kick back and enjoy a cooler full of beer, get some exercise and camp.

In California, as a budget crisis chokes the state, these parks will soon have a new look. In an effort to cut cost and save some cash the Govenator has decided to make a few changes in addition to the nearly 50 parks that have already closed. Some of these changes include locking the restrooms, closing the campgrounds, cutting life guard services and even closing hiking trails.

Read about some specific park alterations here...

So, in the event you plan a trip to your local state park for a fun weekend getaway, bring your own toilet paper and watch this video for some pointers on using natures facilities...

August 14-15...

Get off the couch...all of the national parks will have free admission next weekend, August 14-15.

As part of an ongoing initiative to get more people into the national parks, Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar had this to say...

“This fee-free weekend provides an opportunity for individuals and families alike to take an affordable vacation or to explore a nearby park they have never visited before. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the free admission to visit not only our greatest natural wonders but also our nation’s historic and cultural icons.”

I say...get off your ass, this is what you're missing....

127 hrs...

Unless you've been hiding under a rock (no pun intended) you must know about Aron Ralston, the Colorado resident who was forced to amputate his own arm after being trapped under a boulder, deep in a remote slot canyon near Moab, Utah.

I picked up his book several years ago during a binge reading session of adventure books. If you have read any adventure books you know, the best books are finished in under a week....I finished Aron's book in 3 days.

I don't know about you, but I'm pumped to see Danny Boyle's new movie, 127 Hours, which is the motion picture based on Ralston's story of survival.



Do yourself a favor.....read the book, watch the movie when it comes out in November of this year and be amazed at Aron's incredible story.

Bears will be Bears...

Can't help but notice all of the bear activity going on the last few weeks. In Denali this past weekend a hiker pulled out a .45 caliber pistol, which is legal to carry now thanks to new gun laws in national parks, and fired 7-9 rounds into an oncoming grizzly. The grizzly came out on the losing end of this battle but in Yellowstone a few days ago a man was killed in what seems to be a predatory bear attack while two other people were seriously injured, presumably by the same bear.

Apparently bears are also skilled in stealing cars...

And just the other day, in Glacier National Park, our good friend Jack Hanna had a close run in with a grizzly. Jack, being the wildlife expert he is, pulled out the pepper spray a fired a few shots into the face of the agitated bear. The bear retreated and here is what Jack had to say about the whole situation...