Category: ethics

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Hiking Vancouver Island North

A pandemic is a good time to stay local.

And physically distance from strangers outdoors. 😀

The only hiking I’ve done atop Vancouver Island is famed North Coast Trail.

In early July, I’m hoping to bikepack trailhead-to-trailhead.

There’s much to see. And a touring bike looks to be good transport in this remote area.

I’d get a ride to Port Hardy. Then cycle to as many of Gregg Strong’s recommended areas as possible.

I’d navigate with apps and the Vancouver Island Backroads Mapbook.

Click PLAY or watch some highlights on YouTube.

Check a map of trails and attractions.

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Respecting Female Hikers

An important post from Backpacker:

DO be friendly, but not aggressive. If a woman doesn’t seem interested in having a conversation with you, back off.

DON’T ask solo women where they’re headed or where they’re camping.

DON’T suggest that a woman hiking alone is unsafe.

DON’T use sexual innuendo.

DO give solo women space. Keep distance between your tents if you end up camping in the same area.

DO be extremely cautious about flirting. Don’t make her feel like she has to change her pace or otherwise compromise her hike to escape from you.

How To Avoid Seeming Creepy To Solo Women Hikers

Haiku Stairs Kaneohe by Kalen Emsley

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Deb Haaland, new U.S. Secretary of the Interior

Welcome.

A big change from the Trump appointees who seemed more interested in selling off public lands to rich supporters.

Haaland herself is both a hunter and from a traditional hunting family. In her confirmation hearing, she noted that she’d support hunters as well as outdoor recreation in her time as Secretary.

She will pursue Biden’s 30 By 30 initiative — the goal to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

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Nature Valley restored 10k National Park trails

For the past 3 years General Mill’s brand Nature Valley has done maintenance on as many as 10,000 miles of trails over 19 national parks in 16 states.

And the brand has renewed its commitment, pledging $3 million to work with the National Park Foundation to restore another 10,000 miles of trails, including the removal of invasive species, repairing structures and building boardwalks.

Details.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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The Fight for America’s Public Lands

Trump and the Republican Party have been ruthless for 4-years selling out public land to rich supporters and corporations. The Environmental Protection Agency has weakened regulations.

For example, a Judge removed Trump public lands chief —a former oil industry attorney — who’d been working in that position illegally. 

Patagonia has just released The Fight for America’s Public Lands.

A feature-length documentary about America’s system of public lands and the fight to protect them.

Despite support from voters across the political spectrum, our public lands face unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets.

Part love letter, part political exposé, Public Trust investigates how we arrived at this precarious moment through three heated conflicts—a national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—and makes a case for their continued protection.

Take action to protect our public lands.

Text DEFEND to 71333.

Learn more about ‘Public Trust’ here.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

OR Click PLAY or watch the entire documentary on YouTube.

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John Muir was a racist

Michael Brune for the Sierra Club:

… Muir was not immune to the racism peddled by many in the early conservation movement. He made derogatory comments about Black people and Indigenous peoples that drew on deeply harmful racist stereotypes, though his views evolved later in his life. …

Other early Sierra Club members and leaders — like Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan — were vocal advocates for white supremacy and its pseudo-scientific arm, eugenics. …

For all the harms the Sierra Club has caused, and continues to cause, to Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color, I am deeply sorry. I know that apologies are empty unless accompanied by a commitment to change. I am making that commitment, publicly, right now. …

… we are redesigning our leadership structure so that Black, Indigenous, and other leaders of color at the Sierra Club make up the majority of the team making top-level organizational decisions. We will initiate similar changes to elevate the voices and experiences of staff of color across the organization. …

Pulling Down Our Monuments

I commend the Sierra Club for taking action to make outdoor adventure more welcoming to everyone.

Of course it’s not entirely fair to measure the racism of John Muir by today’s standards. For his time, Muir was comparatively enlightened. And did far more good than bad for all hikers.

His story reminds me of the racism of Mark Twain.

I still support the good works of Muir and Twain.  But let’s not put up any more statues to either.

(via Adventure Blog)

 

 

 

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Cycle hiking Gabriola Island, B.C.

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.

On July 1, 2020 I cycle toured Gabriola Island, the first time I’d been back to the island since I was a kid on family summer vacation.

Gabriola is about 14 kilometres (9 mi) long by 4.2 kilometres (2.6 mi) wide, about the same land mass as Bermuda.

I caught the ferry over from Nanaimo in the early evening.

Next morning, while celebrating Canada Day, I was reminded that descendants of the original inhabitants are still there — the Snuneymuxw, a First Nation of the Coast Salish People.

Sobering.

First stop was the Malaspina Galleries, a sandstone cliff carved by wind and waves. Lovely shoreline, as well.

To navigate I used Cycling the Islands: A Guide to Scenic Routes on the San Juan and Gulf Islands by John Crouch.

And Hiking Trails 2: South-Central Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands by Richard K. Blier.

Gabriola is less developed than I anticipated.  A definite hippy vibe.

I circled the island counter-clockwise, stopping next at Sandwell Provincial Park.

Popped in briefly to Joyce Lockwood Community Park.

There’s a marina and campground at Silva Bay at the far end of the island.

Cycling and hiking temperate rain forest is wonderful when it’s not raining. And the rain held off this day.

My last stop was Drumbeg Provincial Park.

One day was enough to explore Gabriola. All good. The hiking trail infrastructure is excellent for a small island. Paths well marked.

All trails are short and easy.

I recommend Gabriola.

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Out There: A Voice from the Wild by Chris Townsend

Chris Townsend (born 1949) is the hiking author who’s influenced me most.

He’s written over 20 books, including Cicerone guidebooks,  and countless articles

I started with High Summer: Backpacking The Canadian Rockies (1989).

He’s most famous for The Backpacker’s Handbook.

But If you’ve never read Chris Townsend, I’d recommend you start with Out There: A Voice from the Wild. I recently read the Kindle edition while hiking on Vancouver Island.

Chris reflects back on the takeaways from all those trips.

Drawing from more than forty years of experience as an outdoorsman, and probably the world’s best known long distance walker who also writes, Chris Townsend describes the landscapes and wildlife, the walkers and climbers, and the authors who have influenced him in this lucid and beautiful book.

Writing from his home in the heart of the Cairngorms he discusses the wild, its importance to civilisation and how we cannot do without it.

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