Category Archives: Outdoors

Activities, National Parks

Yosemite’s Housekeeping Camp

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

YosemitePark has just made a really interesting post about one of the unique camps in Yosemite.  From the “A Short History of the Oddly-Named Housekeeping Camp in Yosemite” post:

Located on the Merced River in Yosemite Valley with an unusual name, Housekeeping Camp straddles the line between camping and hotel accommodations and inspires fierce loyalty among park visitors. With amenities not usually found in campsites such as three walls, a canvas roof, beds, electrical lights and outlets, as well as standard amenities of picnic table and campfire ring, Housekeeping Camp is perennially popular with visiting families. Many of these families return year after year to the same units for easy access to the Merced River’s sandy beaches and activities like rafting and swimming. By examining the origin of Housekeeping Camp and its odd configuration and designation, it is apparent that this particular type of Yosemite accommodation has had great influence on the evolution of national park campgrounds as we know them today.

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Activities, Adventures, National Forests, National Parks

Wells Fargo Foundation funds NatureBridge’s Yosemite Summer Field Research Course

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Wells Fargo Scholars program, generously funded by a grant from the Northern and Central California Region of the Wells Fargo Foundation, gives students from Kings, Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties an opportunity to attend NatureBridge’s Summer Field Research Course in Yosemite National Park.

Students have the chance to receive a full or partial scholarship based on the strength of their application, recommendations from supportive educators and community leaders, and the individual’s financial need.

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Geocaching, Personal

Video: Beginner’s Guide to Hiding a Geocache

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Geocaching is a great family-friendly outdoor recreational activity that involves getting up off your butt and heading outside.  Into the real world.  Where life happens.

All is not lost for the technologically savvy, as participants don’t use olde tyme cartographic periodicals to find caches (although they kinda still can), they use Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers or GPS-enabled mobile devices and navigational skills and techniques to hide and seek geocaches (or “caches”) worldwide.

It’s the world’s biggest and most interactive treasure hunt!

A typical cache is a container that holds a logbook, maybe some trinkets, and a pencil so the finder can note the time and date they found it.  Containers can be as small as a plastic film-roll container, or as large as a tupperware box or even a waterproof ammo box.  The contains might contain trading items, and can even contain travel bugs or geocoins – items which are picked up and later deposited in different caches. Geocaching is a great ways to learn about GPS mapping, navigation, orienteering, treasure-hunting, and waymarking. Continue reading →

Day Hikes, Goals, National Forests, National Parks, State Parks

Revised Goal: SoCal Six Pack of Peaks

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Since I didn’t win the Mount Whitney Lottery this year, I’ve opted for a different goal.  This goal is actually a series of goals, and will – in theory – help me to train better to get my fat ass into shape to conquer the formidable peak that Mount Whitney is.

There is a series of day hikes known as the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks.

The hikes are all day hikes, so – in theory – I should be able to drive out to the trailhead, throw on my Keens, grab my trekking poles, toss on my CamelBak, and go for a walk. In practice, these are all all-day hikes ranging in distance from 10.4 miles to 17.3 miles. Some have snow that sticks around ’til June, others are over exposed areas that you just don’t want to hike on during the hot summer months without bringing a water sherpa along with you.

I’ve done a bit of research, and think I can put the hikes in an order that will allow me to hike from ‘easiest’ (relatively speaking) to ‘hardest.’  None of the hikes is particularly easy (I’ve already done some of them; I’ve hiked San Jacinto several times, for example, which is supposed to be the most strenuous of the hikes – although only once up Marion Trail; I took the tram the rest of the time).

So. In order, here are the heavy-duty hikes I’m going to accomplish this year:

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Activities

Trail Life USA Leadership Training is coming to a city near you

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Trail Life USA’s (TLUSA) National Director of Field Operations, Rob Green, announces a robust training program beginning in April and running through September in cities across the nation. “We are so impressed with our Area Teams and Point Men; they are fulfilling our vision of a volunteer-driven organization!” said Green.

Trail Leader Trainings (TLT’s) are designed to inform and support adult volunteers, Troop Committee members, and “direct contact” Program leaders. Troop leaders will connect with peers from other nearby Troops, find support from Area Team members, get the latest information, and have (nearly) every question answered.

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