Art or impact?

Recently hiked by this on a heavily used trail in the foothills above Boulder, CO and it got me thinking - is this impact or art?

Take the Kickstand Kickstart Challenge!

Robb Shurr, pictured above, and our friends at Kickstand, a change-marketing firm in Boulder, Colorado, are generously including Leave No Trace in their newest initiative – the Kickstand Kickstart Challenge. Through the project, they are encouraging people to make environmentally smart changes to their everyday live, and they're donating $2 to Leave No Trace for everyone who takes that challenge:

Here’s how it works. Take inventory on the areas of your life that you want to change (this will be different for everyone—we’re not telling you how to change or what to change, that’s up to you to decide—but here are some ideas): eat more local food, minimize the packaging in your food choices, start composting, drive your car less, turn down your heat/AC, change your light bulbs, eat more organic food, weatherproof your house, etc.

Pick 3-5 things that you think you can tackle in one month from May 8 to June 5.

Apply. Tell us why you would be a good fit for this experiment and what your goals are, big or small. Include the below application information and email it to us by May 1 to be considered.

We’ll select 10 families and individuals across the country and you’ll be given a $50 kickstart. We’ll let you know by May 5 if you’ve been selected.

If you’re selected, we’ll send you a guide to help you record your experience. You’ll write about your (and your family’s) experience while documenting the voyage with pictures and videos for four weeks from May 8 to June 5. Once a week, you’ll email us your weekly journal entry and photos and videos. By the end of the month you’re left with a smarter lifestyle (or go back to the way you were living before but you’ve had an interesting experience).

Kickstand has a long history of Leave No Trace professional support and advocacy. To learn more about them and the Kickstand Kickstart Challenge visit the Kickstand website.

Boulder Creek Path wins visit from Google Trike

From The Daily Camera:

Sometime this spring -- amid the usual bikers, joggers and amblers -- an odd looking tricycle will roll down the Boulder Creek Path snapping 360-degree photos as it goes.

With 21,000 votes, the Boulder Creek Path won a contest Monday to become one of the first off-road locations visited by the new Google Street View Trike, a cross between a mountain bike and trailer with a camera mounted on a pole in the back.

The trike will allow Google to complement its popular Street View function -- which gives users an on-the-ground perspective through their computer screens, including a look at store fronts, street signs and yards -- with a "path view" for places where cars can't go.

"We're very excited," said Marni Ratzel, bicycle and transportation planner for the city's Go Boulder program. "I think it's great for our residents as well as for tourists who come to Boulder to see this great amenity that we have. They can do that virtually prior to coming, and they can show their friends after they've been there.

"It's just a really cool tool."

The Boulder Creek Path beat out four other finalists in Google's parks and trails category -- the Capital Crescent Trail in Maryland and Washington, D.C.; the Centennial Trail in Washington; the Schuylkill River Trail in Pennsylvania; and the Stevens Creek Trail in California -- to win a visit from the trike.

The strong support for Boulder's trail, which amounted to more than one vote for every five city residents, may have had something to do with the staffers in Google's Boulder office.

"I think they did some work to get the vote out," said Elaine Filadelfo, Google spokeswoman. "They did some grassroots campaigning, I would say."

And while Google typically hires contractors to ride the trike, the company is looking at recruiting some of the avid cyclists who already work for Google in Boulder for the job, Filadelfo said.

The city of Boulder hopes that the trike's ride through Boulder marks the beginning of a deeper relationship between the city and Google's mapping programs. The city has applied to share data about its extensive bike path system with Google as a Base Map Partner.

If the city's proposal is accepted, people will be able to get directions for traveling in Boulder from Google Maps that are tailored for bikes, routing cyclists along multi-use paths and roads with bike lanes. The city already has its own mapping software at gobikeboulder.net that does just that, but if Boulder can partner with Google, Go Boulder staffers hope that even more people will take advantage of the 360 miles of local bike routes.

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Bike paths are a great way to enjoy the outdoors. They are an accessible and fun option for families to explore their neighborhood. Keep the Leave No Trace Frontcountry principles in mind as you travel on bike paths like the Boulder Creek Path.

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Peak Steward Training: March 7 in Boulder, CO

The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative is a non-profit organization partnered with the USFS, Leave No Trace, and others whose mission is to preserve and protect the fourteen thousand foot peaks in Colorado through active stewardship and public education. CFI’s Peak Stewards are a group of enthusiastic volunteers who are trained to monitor high-use Fourteeners. Peak Stewards document human and wildlife encounters, user behaviors, compliance with Forest Service regulations, and trail and resource conditions.

Peak Stewards also initiate contact with other climbers when appropriate, and provide educational information about Fourteener-specific Leave No Trace principles for Colorado’s alpine environment. Once trained, Peak Stewards will commit to volunteering a minimum of four days throughout the summer.

Peak Steward Training #2 will be at the Boulder REI from 9:30-3:30, Sunday March 7th. We have the Community Room (big glass room in the center of the store) reserved and plenty of space. Please contact Brian at 303-278-7650 or email to brian@14ers.org for more information or to sign up for the training.

Upcoming Exit Strategies Conference - July 2010

Exit Strategies
Registration Open

Managing Human Waste in the Wild

Presented by The American Alpine Club at the American Mountaineering Center Golden, Colorado July 30-31 and August 1, 2010 - this conference is being sponsored in part by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics

We invite top land managers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and wilderness participants from around the globe to discuss and formulate strategies for managing human waste in remote areas. The Exit Strategies conference will include general/plenary sessions, poster presentations, field-proven techniques and opportunities for focused problem solving. To create a productive setting in which participants can spark important conversations, explore innovative ideas, and develop effective solutions, the conference will be limited to 100 attendee.

• Registration limited to first 90 to sign up. Fee $150 for both days and evening include: Two lunches and one dinner
• Flash Drive of visual documentation of all presentations, papers and addresses of all participants.
• Special student fee of $25 for the first ten to sign up, support provided by "Leave No Trace"
• Vendor fee $300, limited to 12 vendors
• August 1st (8:00-4:00 PM Optional field trip hike to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The Park Service will discuss their human waste pack out system for Lumpy Ridge and the Solar Drying toilet at Gem Lake. Moderate hike at 2.2 miles each way. Bus capacity of 50 will depart from the American Mountaineering Center. Register separately for this hike, cost: $35 including lunch.

Conference Benefits

Knowledge: Share global expertise and assemble a working online database of the best practices for managing human waste in remote and alpine environments.

Case Studies: Publicize various case-studies that illustrate the complexities of, and potential solutions for, managing human waste in wilderness settings.

Connection: To provide links across the globe between the various entities critical to human waste management in wilderness settings.

Action: Generate actionable ideas and practical toolkits for managing human waste that can be disseminated to the broader public.

"Human waste and how we deal with it in the outdoors is a significant issue and perhaps one of the most significant issues we grapple with at Leave No Trace. Improper disposal of human waste can drastically impact water sources, it can spread disease and it can be a substantial aesthetic and social impact. With more and more people enjoying the outdoors, whether they're on a day hike, an overnight camping trip or a month long expedition, we have to collectively work together to find realistic, effective and palatable solutions to this growing problem. This conference is a major step in the right direction towards solving the human waste dilemma." Ben Lawhon, Education Director, Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, Boulder, CO.

"As the world seems to be getting smaller,with more and more people setting out to explore remote natural areas, it is timely that we are bringing managers together to share common experiences & solutions for dealing with increasing challenge of ......'what do you do with the human waste?' As the leader for Wilderness Stewardship in the US National Parks, I look forward to creating a new standard for our visitors. No longer will it be the sole responsibility of the land managers to solve the human waste problem. Today's solution will be a combination of new technology, visitor responsibility, and manager's assistance." Garry Oye, Chief of Wilderness Stewardship, National Park Service, Washington, D.C.

"Bringing together experts from around the world to this conference will not only benefit the National Parks but will be a benefit to many agencies. Again, our program applauds and supports your efforts in putting this conference together." CAPT John Leffel, REHS, MPH, Public Health Consultant, US Public Health Service

Volunteers Needed!

This season is our busiest yet and we need your help! Volunteering just a few hours of your time makes a big difference. Here's how to get started: 

To volunteer at our headquarters here in Boulder, CO email volunteer@lnt.org and we can set you up with a project or community event. We have projects suitable for both kids and adults. For 2 hours of work, we will reward you with an awesome Leave No Trace t-shirt or aluminum water bottle - essentials for every Leave No Trace enthusiast. These products sell for $15 + in our online store, so it's a great deal!

To volunteer in other parts of the country, click on your state on our community map and contact your state advocate or a Master Educator near you to find out how you can help.

If you are looking for other volunteer work related to Leave No Trace, many nature preserves and parks are always looking for people to help pick up trash, maintain trails, staff events and complete administrative tasks. Contact the agency managing your favorite outdoor spaces and ask how you can help.

Plan Ahead and Prepare....NOT!

*Picture from a recent trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Last Sunday was one of those beautiful, warm, sunny, late winter days that makes you long for spring. Having been on the road for the past week at a meeting in California, I wanted to get out, stretch the legs and go for a hike with my son. I was thinking about a favorite hike, Gregory Canyon, because it's relatively long (about 4.5 miles) and traverses some beautiful country. I had also settled on this particular hike because it's in the trees and I knew it would provide shade for my son since he was going to be riding in a kid carrier. My son, my dog and I hit the trail and within a few hundred yards, I quickly realized that I was sorely unprepared (and I'm an Eagle Scout!). I had on the wrong shoes and was in a slippery situation, literally. Recent snow in Boulder had blanketed the trails and the tree cover had kept the trail icy and snowpacked. I didn't have on shoes that could grip the trail and I began to worry that we wouldn't be able to safely make it down the trail. I made the decision to keep going up and make a loop out of it, banking on the south facing part of the trail being thawed. Boy, was I wrong. It' took a full 2 hours to complete just a short 2 mile loop (I decided not to do the entire trail). "Never again" I said. On our way home I stopped by the local hardware store and bought an arsenal of hex head sheet metal screws to turn my hiking shoes into studded hiking shoes. This is something that I had been thinking/talking about doing for, oh, about 7 years. However, it took putting myself and my son in a precarious situation before actually really preparing myself. It all goes back to the importance of being prepared for what you're either likely to or will encounter on an outdoor adventure. Learning lessons the hard way is effective but in the future I'll be ready for anything!


* My "new" snow/ice hiking shoes.