The American Hiking Society has just announced that registration for the 2014 Volunteer Vacations season is now OPEN! They’re offering “more than 60 adventure opportunities” this coming year. These slots can fill up fast (especially on some of the more interesting vacations) so don’t wait! Discounted registration fees are now in effect.
If you’re not familiar with what the Volunteer Vacations program is, it’s a series of trail stewardship projects that take place across the country during some of the BEST vacation timeframes, that offer you the chance to give back to the trails you love. You can browse trips by state, difficulty level, accommodations, or timeframe. Remember: trail work experience is not a requirement; you only need a good attitude and the willingness to get a little dirty!
Dan Lungren and John Van de Kamp have penned an opinion piece in the L.A. Times about the Hetch Hetchy Valley. They’d like to see the valley restored and the dam removed. I’m too young to remember what the valley looked like, but I’m of the opinion that it’s too late, and California has already wasted too much of the taxpayer’s money doing idiotic things like re-electing mistakes for governor and investing in high speed rail that nobody – except those getting rich off kickbacks – wants.
Well, I’m no scientist, but I could have told you that without having to embark on any years-long study. Anyone who is even remotely familiar with how cattle graze and where toads live knows that cattle don’t graze in marshy water areas and toads don’t forage in dry meadows. Duh.
Shell has announced a lead-free replacement for the 110LL that is currently used by most general aviation piston aircraft. From the AOPA website:
The USDA has posted an article about the Watershed Assessment Model that’s being used at Yosemite National Park: