Archive for the 'in the media' Category

Talking Tree

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on August 21, 2007
in Web Sites and Apps and in the media
. 1 Comment

While scouring the web for some new Flickr / Wordpress plugins, I stumbled across the stunning photoblog of Nathan Cowlishaw, a young photographer who clearly has the same love of the Desert Southwest I do — but with a much better photographer’s eye.

His photoblog features absolutely breathtaking images, like this shot of Monument Valley:


Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park from Talking Tree.

… and if words are more your thing, his West Desert Journal has some great musings on his travels through the Great Southwest. Definitely worth checking out.

Especially if you’re looking for ways to justify taking a trip to Utah sometime in the near future.

Video Evidence

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on August 14, 2007
in in the media
. 3 Comments

That Bear, from “Man vs. Wild” is fake.

Much has been said about the show’s apparent staging, and the Internets - as they are wont to do - are in a temporary uproar.

Personally, I don’t mind. All TV is at least partially faked, or at the very least edited or shot in a particular way to get a point across. While I’d love it if “Man vs. Wild” were more ‘real’ - or as real as a survival show can get with a multicamera film crew following you around - it’s all right by me.

A co-worker and fellow weekend-outdoorsman brought up the point that MvW is much more of a “how to” show than its Science Channel counterpart “Survivorman.” I like that Bear will jump into a glacial lake to show us how to warm up in the Alps, and I don’t care that he probably retreated to a chalet for some hot cocoa when the cameras turned off. The information is still useful.

Plus, if you want to watch a guy spear a salmon and eat it raw, there’s really nowhere else on TV.

Plague Rats!

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 20, 2007
in Angeles National Forest and in the media
. 1 Comment

So you may have been asking yourself over the past few days, “hey where’s Casey? Why hasn’t he written about trails or hiking lately?”

If you thought it was due to the life-altering stress of searching for a new apartment, or the back-to-back one-two punches of E3 and ComicCon coverage, you’d be close — but wrong.

It’s rats. Plague rats. In the Angeles National Forest.

Like most things that decimated populations hundreds of years ago, the plague is pretty easily cured nowawdays, so this won’t actually keep me out of the mountains. Those other things might, though.

Live Earth

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 7, 2007
in Environmentalism, Politics and in the media
. 2 Comments

Today is 07-07-07. For some, a lucky day to pick up a lottery ticket. For others, a good day to stage a worldwide concert event on all of the 7 continents to raise awareness about the climate crisis.

On the Live Earth web site, you can stream live footage from all of the world’s concerts, as well as watch some educational shorts and read up on how minor changes over large groups of people can have an enormous effect. The traditional ‘get involved’ section of the site is all about promising to change a few bulbs to CFLs, shopping for energy efficient appliances, and making sure everything is turned off when you leave your apartment or house. Really, all stuff we should be doing anyway.

So if you’ve got some time today, check out one of the webcasts, learn up on some practical ways to green your life, and sign the Live Earth Pledge, which demands our government start taking this issue seriously, and asks us to look for ways to help as individuals, too.

At the very least, try to check out the band from Antarctica - Nunatak. If there’s something I can get behind more than a worldwide concert for climate change, it’s a band playing outside a sub-zero research station composed entirely of scientists.

The Right to Roam

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on June 15, 2007
in in the media and motivations
. 0 Comments

An article in today’s Daily Mail bemoans how today’s children have lost the ‘right to roam’ in four generations, due to a combination of automobiles, overprotective parents, and an over exaggerated news media.

It profiles a family in Britain whose ‘roaming radius’ from their homes went from six miles in 1919 to one mile in 1950, down to just 300 yards today. And unsurprisingly, this has adverse affects on peoples’ mental states.

According to representatives from Natural England, people are “healthier and better adjusted if they get out into the countryside,” and that “people deprived of contact with nature are at greater risk of depression and anxiety.”

Nothing we didn’t know already, right?

Clothing Swap

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on June 14, 2007
in climbing and in the media
. 0 Comments

According to MSNBC, two climbers who were attempting to climb Everest in the same 1920’s-style gear used by George Mallory and Leo Houlding have just given up, donning modern-day threads instead. Which is fine because a). they still made it pretty far up the mountain and b). they won’t end up dead.

Cautious hikers and climbers are living hikers and climbers.

Best Of Everything

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on May 30, 2007
in hiking and in the media
. 0 Comments

Flickr was down last night, so I couldn’t write-up my latest hiking trip. So after updating my neglected ‘About‘ page, I’m glad I stumbled across the web version of National Geographic Adventure magazine’s Best of the National Parks for 2007.

They do a great job of running down the parks with the best hiking, paddling, wildlife viewing, etc. and also point you to their specific favorites in the park, and sometimes even the web sites of guides or maps that’ll get you there.

Helpful folks over there at National Geographic.

And, in case you’re one of those people who like to go to National Parks just to stay inside, they’ve even got a section of the Parks’ best lodges.

To Pole or Not To Pole?

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on May 29, 2007
in Gadgets and Gear, hiking and in the media
. 3 Comments

I finally got a replacement iPod last week, and have been catching up on my much-neglected library of podcasts.

Steve Sergeant’s WildeBeat had a fantastic two-part podcast about the science behind trekking poles, and whether or not they provided anyone with any sort of benefit.

There’s some great information in there - and, speaking as one of the “young, (relatively) fit 20-somethings” I can say that trekking poles do have a great impact on my hiking. When I’m using them, I generally find that I’m more stable, move faster on level ground, and ascend with less strain on my legs.

Then again, I also took the time to figure out the best way to use them in different situations. I’ve seen some people on the trail with these things who are literally dragging them alongside them while they walk.

Steve will get you on the right path. And while you’re there, go ahead and poke around some of his older podcasts. They’re good stuff.

Andrew Bird

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on May 6, 2007
in in the media
. 0 Comments

I’ve been waiting for a reason to spread the good word of Andrew Bird on here for a while. Now, Grist has given me a chance!

Bird is, hands down, one of my favorite musicians of all time. His albums have gone from dark jazz to 50s doo-wop to atmospheric folk and everything in between. I first saw him perform a free show outside Boston’s Faneuil Hall back in 2001, and have been hooked ever since. Turns out, according to Grist, the violinist-guitarist-whistler-glockenspieler is also pretty green.

Bird tours in a biodiesel bus, bikes around his bike-unfriendly hometown in Illinois, and has stripped-down backstage requests.

Oh, and in case I haven’t mentioned it enough, he’s also a kick-ass musician.

Read the full article at Grist, then go see Bird in concert. He’s got a few more dates in the States before heading to Europe. Or at the least, pick up his new album. Or any album, really.

Whatever You Think

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on April 27, 2007
in climbing and in the media
. 0 Comments

About his controversial climb of Delicate Arch, it is still impressive to watch Dean Potter at work.

I stumbled upon this admittedly-old video of him ascending the Nose of El Capitan in 2006 via the wonder that is the Google Homepage. Makes for good Friday viewing while you’re waiting for 5 o’ clock to roll around …