NY Times Front Page News: "$(-)!^, But Not in the Pot - Pack It Out!"

Normally, I don't notice the news as it appears in papers and other media; I get my news from rc.com(gawd help me) and Supertopo(where, at least the "top stories" don't all boil down to teenaged-boy homophobic attitude railings within 20 posts). But I am a dog-walker, and the summer season has ended. Pepper and Mocha, two cute-as-can-be Havanese, and their family have returned to their posh UWS home from the summer city exodus, and I am back on schedule with their 8am P & P (Poop and Perambulation).

I had to be up and at 'em at eight, but apparently the Pepper/Mocha People had forgotten vacation was over, and I found the front door locked. I quietly knocked, expecting the HUGE Barking Brigade to begin.

Silence.

Eventually, I rang the bell, and it took two more rings, and about 10 minutes before a fresh outa bed Dad opened the door. I guess the girls will be late for school today....

At any rate, in the interim, I tried to amuse myself, and noticed the morning paper at my feet.

I hate looking at front page news. It's propaganda, no matter which viewpoint you come from. Ben Franklin probably cries himself to sleep at night, up in heaven, at what hath been wrought to the press' freedom.

And so....I scanned the page, just for something to do. I had plenty of time....they were really z'ing away in that house. Even the dogs didn't wake up! Below the crease(where news without corporate sponsorship can occasionally be found), I saw an article entitled "No More Privies, So Hikers Add a Carry-Along". Probably my eye was first caught by the photo, of real earth, but I'm able to process info fairly quickly....

Anyway - the story's about the removal of toilets on Mt. Whitney and how, instead, hikers are being given poop bags, in order to reduce the cost/grossness/cleanup labor associated with the traditional park tourist's commode.

I think it's an interesting idea, though of course fraught with plenty of political sidings. We've all heard about the legendary $2500 toilet seat purchases our government makes. How much do you suspect we(taxpayers) are shelling out per WagBag?

First hit on the search engine gives me a retail price of $1.85 to a little over $2 per bag. How much you wanna bet our "official designated procurer" has contracted a near or higher unit price than that for industrial quantities? Maybe; maybe not. But probably.....

In the article there's a quote where a lady says “There are so many indignities on the trail anyway. And people do that all the time with their dogs in the city.” (Aha! A link to my lead-in paragraph! Dogs.....).

Indignities? What indignity is there, on the trail? Do you think she's referring to being one of over 300 people who will trammel the same wilderness highway in a single day(as the article mentions? Sure gives new meaning to the term "Parkway".....).

Or maybe she means the way US citizens get double-billed for actually using lands they already support? Wonder if the mining and timber companies pay an entrance fee when passing national park boundaries.....

I dunno, but I get the feeling not(I mean, the 'indelicacies' thing). I suspect she refers to the possibility of actually having "the world" know your shit might stink, just like everybody else's(or at least everybody who eats processed foods with stink-producing after-affects).

Anyway - there's a video included in the article, where a Times reporter is talking about a changing environmental ethic. I have dialup service, so that's off-limits to me. But it might have some interest to you.

Personally, I like the idea of people taking more personal responsibility. But I can't help but imagine the repercussions. People won't want to carry their crap out(the horreur!) and so they'll toss the poop bags("Bombs Away!"). The term "Mud Falcon" is part of Big Wall lexicon; I wonder what these olive drab birds will go by....Keep your eyes open - "Outside Magazine" will probably clue you in sometime in the next year or so...).

Or, people will leave the filled MicroSquatPots right where they squatted...Unsealed, most likely. And then we will be paying yet again, for the professional picker-uppers to go in and remove the hazardous waste - at how many dollars per hour?

Oh...I could go on, and perhaps you have something to say about it. I'd be interested to hear other's takes on the issue. Feel free to post a comment below. If discussion gets going, someone can start a thread over on my discussion forum.

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Glamping: Outside Magazine, Whose Side Are You On?

The first time I heard the term "glamping" it was from some online news
source like this one. The article seemed to be promoting high-end guiding services that had discovered a niche market based on what might be referred to as "Everest Angst," wherein the biggest, best, most highly coveted goals can be earned simply through the swiping of a credit card.

It seems that commercial advertising has so focused on outdoors recreation as an exciting way to market products - everything from clothing to cars - that people actually have begun to believe the boring old Jones' next door have gotten out of Indiana and are headed straight for an adventure in the Temple of Doom.

Not wanting to be left behind, they jumped in their old cars and headed right out to get that gas-guzzling SUV, and those high-tech clothes designed for temperature extremes, just KNOWING they’d soon be out livin’ the life; cruising through desert dunes, splashing across rocky rivers, sliding down tree-filled snow slopes and parking atop crested buttes. Preferably all in the same day.

These people had the cash to go out and grab that adventure and dammit, that’s exactly what the marketers intended for them to think about doing. But then…reality hit. And though those cars, or trucks, or vans or whatever they are’s, all come with GPS, and the technical gear comes with hangtags detailing the finer points of each item, they don’t come with the faculty to know "what’s next" once one gets wherever it is they’re dead set on getting to.

Enter – the glamour-camping guided service, selling gentle hikes that will be touted as 'strenuous.' With back-country settings that…conveniently…have access roads to minimize approach times, enabling clients to get to the heart of their getaway more readily. And double occupancy tents that could hold twenty people if they were sleeping in bags, on pads, and not in king-sized four-poster beds piled high with down bedding and fluffy pillows. The packages seem to focus on comfort in the way of sleeping and eating, with beautiful scenery as a backdrop. For three, four and more times the cost the same guide service can charge for the same trip sans the luxury goods.


Whatever…

I didn’t give much thought to the thing, except that I knew we’d probably get to hear the occasional funny story n the online forums, from those of us who’d run into this "species" when we were out there.

But then someone lent me a recent issue of Outside magazine, which had a story about the debauchery that is Everest’s base camp, and another on the new phenomenon of glamping. That changed things. Conveniently, the story’s also in their website here, and if you care to take a gander, it is a read worth taking, if you have concerns about land stewardship and access issues.

As a marketing niche to keep guide services afloat, I haven’t really got quarrels with this attempt at creating a trend in luxe al fresco living. But “Outside” doesn’t cater to the uptown crowd. I am fairly certain their demographic is the urban male, mid twenties through early thirties, based on the style and content of the publication. They don’t seem overly concerned with writing about things from a woman’s perspective in many cases, although this glamping story actually could be seen as "something for the girls" (well, at least for some city girls who might want to try on a modified outdoors experience).

Now, it should be noted that the same issue of the magazine DID have one or two small blurbs about locations that would have catered to the luxury camping crowds, but chose not to link the glamping term with those places. Spin, I suppose. Outside knows their reader isn’t spending $1000 plus on a weekend getaway. But glamping is a buzzword they must have wanted – well, needed - to explore, if they were not to be left in their competitors dust. (Oh, the trials of being a magazine editor…). So….why not create a working person’s version of the fad?

Why not, indeed!

As if you hadn’t seen this coming…. Here’s my opinion as to "Why not?"

The version of the trend that Outside exemplifies amounts to no more than suggesting a bunch of drunk twenty-somethings head out for a weekend of partying, with no regard to the effect this will have on neighboring campsite visitors, natural resources or access issues.

Young people already grab a case (or three) of beer and a tent and have at it, as anyone who’s ever camped at a KOA, State or National Park site knows. It’s a rite of passage that some of us never quite seem to grow out of. On any long-weekend holiday it’s almost a given that your campsite neighbor on at least one border will consist of a group of fifty year-olds, drinking away time and sleeping off the daylight.

But at least people opt for some sense of stealth in this pursuit. They may get rowdy and annoying, but they usually have some semblance of an understanding that it isn’t quite right to be loud and falling-down drunk till the sun comes up.

The "Outside" article goes above and beyond the call of responsible outdoor rec journalism in touting the idea that this type of revelry is…cool.

Not only that, but peruse any climbing forum out there and you’ll see threads dedicated to activism in keeping access for campsites across the country. Closures are constantly a threat due to things like trash being abandoned. The pendulum swings the other way too, with user fees increasing faster than inflation in order to provide “services” like flush toilets, showers and paved drives. In the former instance, I can’t help but find it…difficult… to believe the glamorous glamper is going to pack up their empty beer cans, wine bottles, disposable…everything…and those fancy sombreros and tent decorations so necessary to provide the right "ambiance."

In the latter instance – it’s NOT the person truly interested in getting into nature who desires those modern conveniences. Most people who spend more than a few weekends a year on the road DON’T want to see campsite fees competing with gasoline for the title of “Largest Expense of the Trip.” They’re more than happy to squat over an outhouse pot or dispose of their poop al fresco. If a body begins to reek, they have highly enough developed route-finding skills to locate water. For these folks, taking a shower within walking-distance of a campsite is tantamount to being a gym climber.

Here’s a photo I took a few years ago which, to me, is a fair example of what one could anticipate with an increase in glamour-camping.



This porta-potty is one of the few amenities offered at the Multiple Use Area in Gardiner, NY. It is one of two free camping areas near the Gunks. The other niceties include a driveway/parking area that in a great place to test the suspension and clearance of your vehicle, and….well, I guess that’s the only other convenience, actually.

There’s no running water, no picnic tables, no designated parking spot per site, and no trash receptacles. There IS a small bulletin board, which states the guidelines for use; one of which is that – what you bring in, you need to take along when you leave.

Most weekends someone will leave SOME trash they shouldn’t have, simply out of laziness. Bottles and cans can be recycled a half mile down the road at the little store where the items may very well have been purchased in the first place. Rock & Snow has provided access to their trash cans for me when requested, and it doesn’t take too much for brains to come up with a plan for disposal utilizing one of the chain store drive-through trash cans on your way back to the highway….

Somehow, I just can’t imagine someone so “fabulous” that they think a smattering of glitter and confetti would be a great way to spark up the drab dirt of a campsite’s ground having the consideration to do anything more with their garbage than what is shown in this picture above (which was a fluke even for the MUA, which has a history of drunken revelers anyway).

The United States is NOT Europe, where this low-budget idea seems to have originated. We have incredibly powerful government lobbies jumping at any chance available to close down our recreational areas. Developers chomp at the bit when even the slightest whiff of an “eau du natural” bit of land appearring precariously protected wafts past their noses. The LAST thing we need is a stupid trend weakening links in the chain that safeguards what public lands we still do have available.

Please don’t promote the idea of glamping. If you hear talk of the idea at the company watercooler, be the first to offer a “helpful” dose of beta, emphasizing aspects of outdoor living such as…Oh, such as big spiders that seem to invade even the tightest zipped tent entrances, 10pm quiet hours, smelly outhouses and the like…

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Found: The Orion Society

A while back I was passing by my neighborhood Free Books Library. Now - this is not a branch of the public library that probably comes to your mind. This is an impromtu offering of books and magazines that sponatenously appears on the stoop of an Upper West Side residence(West 88th, between Amsterdam and Columbus, on the south side, more precisely).

It seems that the owner of the building, a brick rowhouse, allows another person(who manages a thrift store)to place books there so he can reduce the excess number of donations he receives at the shop. He simply gets so many books that he's unable to moove them through the store. So, he puts out a selection of ten to twenty books on this stoop every week or so.

Being an unstopable reader, I take advantage. The books are often old classics but sometimes they're lesser titles; things I'd never pay for, even at a used book store. But put them out for free and suddenly the Howard Stern and Monica Lewinsky biographies(both of which I found there) are worth taking a look at. I've also found The Nanny Diaries from these stacks(okay, I admit...and I took and read it). There have been how-to's on subjects like basketmaking and photography, wordy, weighty "what's wrong with the government" best-sellers, and historical accounts of various cultures around the world. Also paperback editions of good old reads - Mark Twain, Collete, Hemingway and many other wonderful pieces of literature; there is usually good stuff, left for the taking.

Back to where I started..... A few weeks ago, as I rounded the corner and noticed....books! I hurried my pace. Because I was currently without a lover(yes....I am a booklover; there are many worse things one could be), and here I was, about to entertain multiple options. I wanted first pick before some stranger swooped in and snapped up my first choice....

My eyes scanned the selection quickly, and landed on a slim magazine, obviously an arty publication. The cover featured a beautiful photo of a snow owl of some sort. My mother had saved a baby owl once(well....saved him for a few days; people didn't know to call animal sanctuaries back in the 60's. At least farm people from Wisconsin didn't). I have been enthralled by owls ever since I spent those days with little Hoot.

Noticing there were several issues of the publication, each with a cover more intriging than the last, I found myself in a quandary. Not wanting to miss out on something potentially very good, I als didn't want to be a hog and take the entire bunch if, upon later inspection, I found myself uninterested after all.

Then, a headline on one of the issues - "Edward Abbey ~ The Unpublished Letters" - caught my attention. I had heard of this guy, and I wanted to know more! So, I decided to choose that issue from the group, take a gander, and then decide whether to take or leave the rest.

Walking down the street and thumbing through the pages, I quickly realized that I had stumbled across something very good. The magazine was put out by a group called the Orion Society and it was fabulaous reading, on subjects galore. Big news, for a person interested in the natural world around themselves. I can see how a "be a jerk/go to work/get a job and do it right/life's a ball/tv tonight" sort of drone would be bored....(That's reference to a Frank Zappa song, by the way)...but you wouldn't be here, right now, if you were that sort;I know that.

So - I continue.

Click that last link and see for yourself! You can come back here some other time. This is too important to miss.



Okay....so you've returned(or haven't left like I said to). Did I lie? Of course not! The Orion Society is damned cool, and a wonderful resource populated by interesting writers, artists, experts and educators. It's not propaganda for the masses. They don't tell you what to think but rather ask "What DO you think?"

That bears repeating: WHAT DO YOU THINK? And what's more - What are you going to do about it? The Orion Society isn't going to do it for you; what they do is offer plenty of opportunites - to learn, to ponder, to experience, to act.

In case you stayed here with me, I will give a bit of an idea as to what's in that website, that I feel is important for you to know about.

First - their mission statement: The Orion Society's mission
is to inform, inspire, and engage individuals and grassroots organizations in becoming a significant cultural force for healing nature and community.

Next is the entertainment portion of the program, the magazine, which was what piqued my interest in the first place. Obviously, there is a paper subscription of the thing available, and I think it is well worth the price. But they offer an incredible amount of content right here online. Many of the articles have discussion available to, which alleviates any reason to feel alienated or pandered to. Don't agree? Have further thoughts? Just speak up say so!

The Grassroots Network portion of the site includes a list Jobs and Internships that is a great resource if you're looking to work with a group focused on helping nature deal with human impact.

I could go on....but it seems that the Blogger.com site I publish through is...having some serious issues today. I have written a LOT more about this topic but there seems to be a ghost in the machine. It saves the draft, and then...the saved version disappears, and I am back to a version I had....AN HOUR AGO! What a drag.

So - take my word for it, and please DO check out the links I mentioned. I'll probably come back at another time and mention the items, because I really do feel this is a great resource that has not gotten enough notice.

I Don't Need No More Tent Stakes

The first time I came across a buried-to-the-hilt one in my site, I thought "Sweet! I feel bad for the guy who didn't grab it when he broke camp, but I can always use a spare." And I pocketed the thing.

When I camp in JTree it gets windy, sometimes apocalyptically so, and it's every guy(wire) for himself. Unless you want you to find your tent blown past the wash, saved only by an armored cholla, you'd tether your tent at every point, too.

But back to my story....The next time I found a stake, at the same camp place(Camp Slime in the Gunks), I though "What's wrong with people? ADDH has gotten way out of control...."

This weekend, my favorite spot was taken. So was my second choice. Hopeing there was something behnd Door Number Three, I gazed over, behind the ranger cabin, and saw....emptiness. Lugging my gear through the wooded lot, stepping carefully over the moss growths and jumping a log-come-gate at the entrance of the site, I began to unstuff my tent.

If you've ever been in Slime, you know that finding flat ground is an adventure; the whole place slopes gradually downhill and is actually a talus field glazed with a few millenium's worth of soil. Poke around, just a few inches below ground level, and you come to rocks. (Sung to the tune of the old Armour Hot Dog ditty "Big rocks, little rocks, lots and lots of rocks! Flat rocks, sickening rocks, wish a lifelong pox on rocks....). It's not like you can plane some space; you're pretty much stuck with what is available.

So....I locate "the flat space"(which is actually my prime requirement in a Camp Slime *favorite site*) and lay down the groundcloth. "What's this?" I query, catching a glint of shining silver in the light.. Disappointed, I see it's just another tent stake. But I pull it up anyway. Even though, in the last month alone, I have garnered enough new nails at Slime that I can now come to the aid of my neighbors in a windstorm, there comes a point where weight becomes a consideration..... well, at least if you're taking the alpinist's attitude..... I hate to waste. So I set the stake aside, and will holster it when I stow my tent nail quicker.

Going about my business, I notice more buried stakes. Not just the one. Not even two or three. There is a FULL SET of tent stakes at this site.

It's come to the point where I'm beginning to think there are as many nails in the ground at Slime as there are rocks!

But....back to my story.

I can only imagine how this whole tent's worth of pins came about....Some guy maybe brought his new Big City little cutie along for a weekend in the great outdoors, her first time in the woods(...awwwww). She might have pretended she liked it, and even offered to help with camp life work. But by weekend's demise, she had had enough. Especially after finding out a "day at the incredible Gunks; I'll teach you to climb. It's awesome!" consisted of intermittent scenes of terror(while she went up to clean gear on his routes) and belay slave(as she held the rope for his leads or, more likely, TR hangfests).

And so, when Johnny directed Mai Ling to "pack up the tent, sweetie" as they broke camp....passive-aggressiveness took hold.

That's the only reason I can come up with for someone to leave behind a full set of (brand new, by the way) stakes. Imagining the sweet revenge, as John goes to set up camp next time and finds no way to batten down the hatches, she smiles at him and performs as directed....
.
.
.
.
.Okay...there are plenty of other scenarios. But I am out of time. This is supposed to be just a bit on a "Clean up your litter folks!" campaign.

Camp Slime is a HIGHLY trafficked camp space, and each week I find garbage all overe the place. There's a pair of shit-filled(I assume) sweatpants stuck in the craw of a downed tree's rootball at Happie's(that's me) FAVORITE site(I bring a trash bag with me and will remove them, next time I get that spot(disgust). There are
always beer caps and cig butts littering at least one campsite floor.

In my second choice spot, one weekend I found a used tea bag. Gross enough, on it's own. But then, like the family of tent stakes, I saw another. And another and still another. At least 5 used tea bags littered an area less than 20 square feet. The same site, strewn with peanut shells. Like a chain-store bar that used the trash heep as a drawing point. Tea bags and peanut shells aren't going to fully biodegrade in a week, asswipe. Do you think the person who takes the place after you exit wants to deal with your filth?

And then, of course.....There's the toothpaste spit. At the edge of every campsite, lies almost a little white picket fence-like border. I remember the first time I camped with adults and saw someone brush their teeth and spit at camp's edge. It was in JTree, and I nearly threw up. Right there in the desert bushes. (The tooshpaste spit, I mean.) It doesn't rain much in San Bernadino county, and when it does it's not enough to wash away the residue. That toothspaste scree has a half-life of....I dunno? A year, you think?

Here's a tip, and I hope you're not offended if you're a spitter - Use whatever receptacle you will have for camp trash as a spitoon. Brush your teeth and spit into the little bag. Starting with an economic amount of paste, rather than Super-Sizing it, also reduces the factor.

I could go on...but I already have gone on long enough. I have enough tent stakes folks, and I try to limit what trash I make when I camp. Don't need no more pins, and I don't like cleaning up your crap!