National Park Etiquette

Do's and Don't for a busy park season

National Parks will be busy this summer—a tanked economy and fee-free weekends practically guarantee it. It also means that scores of newcomers will experience the glory of our national parks for the first time, and they may not always know how to behave.

In light of that, Colorado National Parks released a list of park etiquette for visitors this summer. We're following suit by sharing our own. This season, remember these staff etiquette tips:

• Just because you can get cell service on a trail doesn’t mean you should use it for non-emergency calls.
• For the average National Park tourist, seeing wildlife in its most natural setting is an overwhelming experience. So go ahead, feel free to back up traffic by parking in the middle of the road to take a look. In fact, climb out of your SUV and get as close as possible (suggestion: ten to twelve feet for optimal viewing) of the elk, bison, bear or fox—and make sure you have your kids in tow.  Go for it: Alienate the wildlife and put you and your family in harm’s way!*
• Always, always, always bring your bedside table when traveling about.  Because you never know when you’ll find yourself at the gates of Crater Lake National Park, wishing you would have brought your bedside table on the trip….because that is where you left your National Park pass.

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Wednesday, July 01, 2009 in: Weird and Funny
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Capitol Reef Trip Report

See Honey, we were all hiking

Whoa! Busy here! I'm falling behind. Suddenly I received assignments writing about photography, and administering tests for next year's Gear Guide. The Outdoor Retailer Trade Show is rearing its ugly head, and now I'm suddenly assembling the logistics for a big, bad assignment in howling northern wilderness.

At the end of this month I disappear until September. Schweet! It's Jeremiah Johnson time! Now I just need to finish two months' work in three weeks. A month ago I was calculating how long until I went bankrupt; Now I'm hanging on like a gripped climber. Welcome to subsistence journalism.

Speaking of which, it's high time I got  these photos up from my recent Capitol Reef trip with friends Pete and Mike Rives, who recently got spanked out of Wyoming's Wind Rivers by sleet, rain and knee-deep snow. So they called from Pinedale, drove nine hours south, and we punched it into the Waterpocket Fold. This fallback plan worked admirably.

Normally I'd leave it at that, but in this post-Sanford era it's best to keep up on your trip reports, at least if you're a married guy. More images and 411 after the jump.
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Thursday, July 02, 2009 in: Survival
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Getting Green Done

Auden Schendler shares the trials and tribulations of trying to do the right thing

I just finished Getting Green Done, Auden Schendler's new book on "Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution." It was inspiring--mainly because 1. Auden is a super principled guy who works really hard to forward the mission of green building, renewable energy, reduction of carbon in the atmosphere and related tasks; 2. It works out some of the time, but he has a long list of failures to complement his list of successes; 3. He doesn't give up; 4. He's honest about what worked and what didn't; 5. He makes a very strong case for joining him on the front lines, even if those front lines are your own property lines, or your own city limits. Read Full Story...

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Monday, June 29, 2009 in: News and Events, Environment and Green Living
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