Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Rahawa Haile:
What happens when an African American woman decides to solo-hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine during a summer of bitter political upheaval? Everything you can imagine, from scary moments of racism to new friendships to soaring epiphanies about the timeless value of America’s most storied trekking route.
related – 4 Things Female Thru-Hikers Need to Hear
I liked Carrot Quinn’s PCT book for her honesty. And I like this interview.
Pete Brook is an independent writer who covered his Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike for Outside Magazine last summer.
Along the way, Pete documented his experience through a handful of articles, and more closely through his social media. Pete’s honest take on the hike ran counter to the overly romantic versions of outdoor pursuits that have emerged in recent years. …
This is a surprise.
Trump donating first-quarter salary to National Park Service
The press secretary hands over a $78,333 check to the interior secretary and the superintendent of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
Much appreciated. But here’s the down side for hikers:
The Center for Western Priorities, a conservation policy organization, quickly criticized the donation as a “publicity stunt” in light of budget cuts the president has proposed for the Department of the Interior.
“You can’t propose $1.6 billion in cuts to our public lands, then pretend a $78,000 donation makes it better,” said Greg Zimmerman, the center’s deputy director. “The White House needs to protect America’s parks and public lands, not pay lip service to them.”
Edward Dorian is a student of Outdoor Environment and Sustainability Education in the U.K.
He put together some good reminders for us all. Check it out.
The Seven Principles:
Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Ground
Leave What You Find
Dispose of Waste Properly
Respect Wildlife and Farm Animals
Minimise the Effects of Fire
Be Considerate of Others
Secretary Zinke Announces Record Visitation to America’s National Parks
In 2016, the National Park Service set a record for recreation visits for the third year in a row. NPS units received nearly 331 million recreation visits, breaking 2015’s record by 23.7 million visits. …
(via Huckleberry Hiker)
Utah will lose half a billion dollars from the five planned shows — the three annual shows and the industry’s smaller “grass-roots” show for new innovations that were scheduled right before two of the annual shows. That will hit hotel owners, restaurants and other sectors of the service industry hard.
It also loses any shot of landing the Interbike trade show, the largest cycling show in North America, that had been aggressively courted by Salt Lake City and would have brought with it an economic impact of about $22 million a year in direct spending by attendees. Its contract with Las Vegas expires in 2018, but organizers now say they have zero interest in coming to Utah, again because of its hostile public lands policies. …
Utah Governor Gary Herbert (@GovHerbert) and the Republican State government are bad for business. They don’t support outdoor recreation.
Boycott that State, if you can. Oregon would LOVE to host.
Fidgit shares some advice on the NEW Greater Patagonian Trail — Routes would be more accurate — in the Andes:
The Greater Patagonian is not an official trail but rather 1500km or more of connected best routes. You’ll be lost for sure unless you have KMZ and GPX files downloaded from wikiexplora.
Republican Governor Gary Herbert (@GovHerbert) signed a resolution on February 3 urging President Trump to rescind the newly protected Bears Ears National Monument, putting access to outdoor recreation, including climbing at Indian Creek, Valley of the Gods, Arch Canyon, and Lockhart Basin, in question.
Like many Republicans he wants to make currently protected recreational lands available for corporate use.
He plans to meet with the OIA. They are not happy.
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“This ain’t about politics. Whether you’re a Democrat, or Republican, or Libertarian, or vegetarian, these lands belong to you,” Montana Governor Steve Bullock pronounced last week. “They’re our heritage. They’re our economy. They’re our quality of life.”
That didn’t fall on deaf ears. Thousands of people marched on state capitals across the American West, protesting Congressman Jason Chaffetz’s (R-Utah) proposed bill to sell off 3.3 million acres of public land. Shortly after, Chaffetz announced via Instagram that he would withdraw the bill. It was the first successful defeat of anti-American policy proposed by the 115th Congress. …
Why Hikers Need Hunters and Vice Versa
Federal lands belong to all of us—it’s time to unite to fight crooked politicians
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
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