"I don't like bugs, and most of my friends don't like wild animals. And they don't teach you about the wilderness in school. Kids don't think of it as a park. They just think of it as a big open space where there is nothing to do."
-Ronnisha Johnson, a 17-year-old senior at Philip Burton High School in San Francisco.
There is an interesting article today in the San Francisco Chronicle about how children are becoming increasingly detached from the outdoors.
The parents blame it on computers, video games & homework mostly but I smell a cop-out. Kids don't get out because their parents don't take them out. I'm not a parent yet so I don't want to judge (yet) but it seems impossible to imagine never taking your kids out into nature. What the hell is wrong with you people!
Anyway,
It's a good read with lots of good resources for getting kids outside.
The amazing thing is that if you go to a campground in California, there is an astounding number of kids sharing it with you so not everyone is locked up playing games while their parents read outdoor blogs.
The very popular bike ride tour from the 10,000 foot volcanic summit of Haleakala on Maui, HI was shut down by the National Park Service last week. The decision came after a collision where a 65 year old Ohio woman lost control of her bike, hit a van and died. That makes 3 people who have perished riding a tour in the past year. The other fatalities involved flying off the road and falling off the bike. It's a pretty crazy thing to do even if you're in good shape and an experienced rider. It's amazing that they let 90,000 people a year do it.
See more at Maui News
I wonder what kind of physical conditioning they required?
Has anyone out there done this tour?
Sad news from the High Sierra. The historic Kennedy Meadows Lodge has burned down.
The fires apparently burned the main lodge and several other buildings over Sunday night/this morning.
No major injuries thankfully.
The Lodge was built in 1917 and is located 57 miles east of Sonora, CA.
PCT Through-hikers - This is NOT the same Kennedy Meadows that Pacific Crest Trail through-hikers use to launch themselves into the high Sierra. Fortunately, that one is just fine.
Today Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said:
"Illegal migrants really degrade the environment. I've seen pictures of human waste, garbage, discarded bottles and other human artifact in pristine areas,"
"And believe me, that is the worst thing you can do to the environment."
encampment2
Originally uploaded by LukeWhite
Friends who have been around the border area have told me of some pretty awful and filthy camps out in the desert. I'm sure some of the trash hurts local wildlife while it sits out there but it's quite small and pretty well hidden from view unless you are off-road. If you're an animal, it's probably more interesting than disgusting.
This fence for now has reached 151 miles. It will eventually reach more than 600 miles long. It will probably have gaps every "several miles"for migrating animals It is supposed to allow some small animals under it but not larger ones such as tortoises, gray wolves, bighorn sheep, ocelots or the like. The fence is 16 ft tall and built to withstand a 10k lb motor vehicle hitting it at 40 mph. So the supports for the fence run fairly deep into the ground.
The fence costs $3 million per one mile. That's a lot of trash hauling. A lot of the trash pickup can and is being done by volunteers.
Even when you take away the fact that it's an eyesore that is much larger than a lot of garbage piles, it will pretty much stop most animals and probably not that many people.
