Last night I watched an excellent PBS documentary about the Gold Rush, in which tens of thousands of greedy dreamers from around the world converged on Northern California in search of easy money, which wasn’t to be found in the…
In the news
Famed climber dies in fall at Yosemite
by tmangan • October 25, 2006 • 0 Comments
Todd Skinner fell 500 feet from the Leaning Tower. Todd Skinner was rappelling Monday after he and a partner worked on pioneering a new route near Bridalveil Fall, said Adrienne Freeman, a park spokeswoman. It was not immediately clear why…
Thru-hikers back in the press
by tmangan • October 23, 2006 • 0 Comments
It must be late October because small-circulation newspapers are starting to report on thru-hikers returning from six months on the trail. In Racine, Wisconsin, a guy returning to his parents’ home walked the last six miles from the train station.…
Trail named for John Donovan
by tmangan • October 19, 2006 • 2 Comments
Donovan, you may recall, was the guy who got lost on the Pacific Crest Trail in May 2005, got trapped in a canyon and eventually perished, and the gear left in his pack helped a couple lost hikers summon help…
Getting the kids out of the house
by tmangan • October 19, 2006 • 0 Comments
A Christian Science Monitor report on declining outdoor participation among young people notes that the state parks in Connecticut have a program designed to mirror something kids (and, ahem, their parents) understand — a reality TV show — to get…
GPS news for geocachers
by tmangan • October 19, 2006 • 0 Comments
Outdoor Weblog has a blurb mentioning Boeing is supposed to be behind an effort to make GPS signals much more accurate: The rumor is out that The Boeing Co. is behind a massive upgrade of the Global Positioning System so…
News flash
by tmangan • October 17, 2006 • 1 Comment
Lost hiker’s 35mm camera helps rescue helicopter zero in on her location: he Sheriff’s Office activated one of its helicopters and a K-9 unit, said KCSO spokeswoman Martha Dooley. Because of the heavy foliage, chopper pilot Tony Chamberlain was unable…
Getting lost vs. staying found
by tmangan • October 4, 2006 • 5 Comments
Rocky Mountain News reports on a mom, her daughter, two of her daughter’s friends and a Jack Russell terrier being found after they got lost and spent a snowy, sleety night in the Rockies near Aspen. Sure, hikers occasionally fall…
In-depth account of Alaska rescue
by tmangan • October 3, 2006 • 0 Comments
Anchorage Daily News has a rather longish piece on a dad and his son who were hunting mountain goats deep in the wilderness. The son suffered a nasty fall and the dad had to first keep him alive, and second…