Hike of the Day: Mount Falcon near Denver, CO

Explore a parkland once proposed as the summer grounds for a second presidential White House.

Link three trails on this super-scenic 5.8-mile out-and-back located 19 miles southwest of the Denver skyline. You'll pass redrock monoliths, giant rockslabs, and a crumbling cornerstone marking the proposed site of a summer White House for Woodrow Wilson (never completed). Also enjoy big views of the Mile High City and, to the west, snowy Rocky Mountain peaks.  See turn-by-turn trail directions and more at www.backpacker.com/hikes/40401. Read Full Story...

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Friday, November 20, 2009 in: Destinations, Hike of the Day, Maps
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The Leonids Return

Heads up night owls! Killer meteor shower on Monday night!

   Meteors over Capitol Reef. The small streaks are shooting stars; the red streak is Mars.  pic: Howe

Start napping now, so you can stay awake on Monday night, when this old, well-used Earth is getting ready to hurtle at 147,000 miles per hour through the thickest section of tail debris left by comet Tempel-Tuttle. The collision could generate one of the best meteor showers in recent history - or maybe even a disaster of blockbuster proportions, kind of a lead-up to 2012 or whatever Nostradumus catastrophe is currently fashionable for cable TV 'history' channels.

But it'll probably just be a great sky show. And even if it does presage the end of the world by explosion, invasion, or alien viruses showering from the heavens, wouldn't you rather watch it all from atop some scenic ridgetop, wrapped in a blanket with your honey and a few bottles, instead of chewing your nails on the couch and listening to talking newsheads screech about stock market implications of the apocalypse?

Yes! Obviously! So here's your field-trip assignment campers: Read Full Story...

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009 in: Survival, Skills & tips, Wierd/funny
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Wilderness Conservation Cooperation

Mexico, Canada and ths US sign on to work together to protect wilderness

It shouldn't be news, but it is. Mexico, Canada and the US just signed the first ever agreement to work together to protect wilderness in North America. The "Memo of Understanding" (MOU) signed at the WILD 09 Conference last week in Merida,Mexico is the first trilateral continental vision of wilderness protection--the first time that all three countries have formally agreed to cooperate on wilderness conservation.

In a speech given by Mexican President Calderon, he said, "This agreement will facilitate the sharing of successful experiences, monitoring, and training of human resources, as well as the financing of projects that will protect and recover wilderness areas." After flying home from Los Angeles on Friday and marveling out the plane window at how completely jam packed the landscape is with humans and concrete as far as the eye can see, I hope it will include provisions for wildlife corridors throughout the continent. It looks like it does (access the document here). It also addresses ecosystems and natural resources that defy political boundaries, while encouraging cooperative research. It promises to consider and respects indigenous customs and conservation strategies, national environmental policy,  and prioritize species survival. It recognizes the importance of wilderness conservation in mitigating and monitoring and surviving climate change.

What it means on the ground: stay tuned and we'll see if it's just government fluff or if it will inspire substantive change.

-Berne Broudy

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Monday, November 09, 2009 in: News and Events, Environment and Green Living
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