Category Archives: Outdoors

US Forest Service Waives Fees During Veterans Day Weekend

The U.S. Forest Service is waiving fees at most of its day-use recreation sites over the Veterans Day holiday weekend, Nov. 9-11. The fee waivers – the fourth this year – are offered in cooperation with other federal agencies under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. Day-use fees will be waived at all standard amenity fee sites operated by the U.S. Forest Service. Concessionaire operated day-use sites may be included in the waiver if the permit holder wishes to participate.

“We wholeheartedly salute the men and women who represent the nearly 22 million American veterans who have served their country in the military,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “As we do throughout the year, we encourage veterans and their families to take advantage of their national forests and grasslands to enjoy all the benefits the outdoors provide.”

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A Backpacker’s Guide to the Wildflowers of Yosemite

Nathan Roberson recently wrote about the incredible number and diversity of wildflowers in Yosemite.  From the article:

Wildflower lovers rejoice when they visit Yosemite Park in eastern California. The 761,268-acre World Heritage Site is home to 1,450 plant species. In fact, Yosemite’s website notes that 25% of California’s native plants grow in the park, offering backpackers ample opportunity to view and photograph their favorite blooms.

Because Yosemite is so large and its terrain so varied, many different types of wildflowers grow in the park throughout much of the year. Here’s a list of some Yosemite’s better-known wildflowers and when and where you can find them…

You can read the rest of the very detailed article (including a whole lot of pictures!) HERE.

Toyota kills the FJ Cruiser

Toyota has announced at the SEMA show in Las Vegas that this is the last year for the distinctive FJ Cruiser.  From the beginning Toyota said that the FJ Cruiser would be a single-generation vehicle, and – after an 8-year run – they’ve made good on that statement.

I remember with fondness my 2007 Sun Fusion 6-speed FJ Cruiser.  Never understood the lack of sunroof, but I dearly loved the bolt-on wonderfulness that is Toyota design (pretty much everything came pre-drilled and pre-wired on the FJ; all you had to do was plug in a switch, add a foot of wiring harness, or pop-off the covers and you had everything offered in the Toyota options list added to your base model FJ.

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Gov. Brown signs Assembly Bill 1213 that sort of bans California bobcat trapping

On October 11, 2013, California’s latest mistake for Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will prohibit commercial bobcat trapping in areas adjacent to California’s national and state parks, monuments and wildlife refuges where trapping is currently prohibited. Assembly Bill 1213 also requires the Fish & Game Commission to consider whether to prohibit bobcat trapping on private land adjacent to preserves, conservancies or any other public or private conservation area identified by the public for protection.

While some – like Brian Nowicki of the Center for Biological Diversity think “This is great news for California’s bobcats, and for the millions of Californians and visitors alike who love watching wildlife in our beautiful parks and other wild places,” the bill comes without any funding of any kind. And without funding, there’s no enforcement.

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American Hiking Society’s Save the Trails Fund

I love to hike.  I love the outdoors.  One thing that disrupts the flow on our hiking trails is the insurgence of mountain bikes ridden in an unsafe manner on trails where mountain bikes aren’t allowed to be that puts hikers and the mountain bikers at risk.

From the American Hiking Society’s website:

In recent months there has been an upsurge of organized mountain biking groups attempting to gain access to sections of National Scenic Trails where mountain bikes are currently prohibited. These trails – or in some cases, sections of these trails – were neither designed nor built for mountain bike use. Due to concerns about safety, sustainability, and the displacement of hikers on trails with heavy bike usage, AHS believes that the sections of National Scenic Trails, where mountain bikes are currently prohibited, should remain closed to bikes.

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