Camping

Book Review, Books, Camping / 18.07.2018

In 2016 the National Park Service celebrated its 100th anniversary. This ingenious notion of preserving wild and scenic places was described in 1983 by the novelist Wallace Stegner. “The National Parks are the best idea we ever had,” he wrote.” Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”  Advocated by the great environmentalist John Muir our system of national parks and monuments designated space for the long-term protection of nature as well as our national heritage. For a century now through the interpretation...

Adventure Media Review, Books, Camping, Destinations, Interview, National Parks, Podcast / 23.01.2017

In 2016 the National Park Service celebrated its 100th anniversary. Throughout the year millions of people from around the world traveled across the United States to visit our historic parks and monuments. I know I personally made stops at Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. It was during this centennial summer that I had the chance to meet two truly amazing people. Dave and Ilyssa Kyu are graphic artists based in Philadelphia. Through the magic of social media I connected with them in a series of Facebook posts and a...

Adventure Activism, Camping, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Special Events, Yosemite / 13.06.2014

In the fading light of a late spring evening, gospel singer Sista Monica Parker sat humming on a bench at the Yellow Pines Campground in Yosemite National Park. There she waited patiently for others to gather. Quiet at first, her melodic voice gained strength as she swayed to the rhythm of a hymn perhaps not heard in the Valley for more than a century. The sound slowly swelled into a powerful chorus that echoed off the granite walls of El Capitan and Half Dome. Even the birds fell...

Adventure Activism, Camping, Diversity, Environmental Justice, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Yosemite / 09.06.2014

  The outdoor industry has enjoyed a long history of diversity across a wide variety of people from many different backgrounds. Over the weekend a group of African-American outdoor enthusiasts made the long journey from the Presidio in San Francisco to Yosemite Valley in order retrace the path the Buffalo Soldiers took in 1903 to take up their duty station as defenders of the first National Parks. The enduring legacy of their efforts more than 100 years ago is reflected in the faces of those who love the outdoors...

Adventure Media Review, Book Review, Camping, Environmental Journalism, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation / 30.09.2012

Before They're Gone by Michael Lanza is cautionary journey that explores the likely outcomes in store for our National Parks should we ignore the growing threat of climate change. And typical of most modern problems, not unlike our current economic crisis, those to be most directly effected by our generations' failure to act won't be ourselves but our children. Taking his two young kids on a year-long odyssey to visit America's most iconic wild places, Lanza leads us all on an expedition through the world we stand to...

5Point to MountainFilm Tour, Camping, Climbing, Destinations, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Park Visitor.com, Yosemite / 09.05.2012

[caption id="attachment_7286" align="alignleft" width="327" caption="Climbers Mark and Anders gear up for the Nose on El Capitan"][/caption] I rolled into Yosemite Valley late in the afternoon on a Monday in May. Three weeks before the Memorial Day Weekend rush the national park seemed almost vacant. Bluebird skies and warm temperatures made for great camping weather. And even though a friend offered me a bed for the night I headed over to Camp 4. Not far from the park exit Camp 4 is a uniquely Yosemite experience. Made popular through the 60s...