Sensitive Locations and Our Responsibility as Bloggers

Fish Slough Foot Petroglyphs
Fish Slough Foot Petroglyphs

A recent comment on an old post about a desert cabin, the terrible crime at the Fish Slough Petroglyphs, and other posts in the outdoor blogging world have got me thinking about something I’ve been wanting to write about for a while. What is our responsibility as bloggers when it comes to sharing special and perhaps secret locations?

One of the goals of Calipidder.com is to share the passion and love I feel when I am out there hiking, climbing a peak, and sleeping under the stars. I strongly feel that we can only keep these special places protected if there are enough people to care about them. I love how some outdoor bloggers, like UpaDowna, have been able to transform into organizations that execute on this mission in inspriring ways.

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Holy cats, you guys! I’m going to Sedona and Havasu Falls courtesy of Columbia and Mountain Hardwear!

So, this is happening.

A few days ago I got home from a trip to visit family and found this goodie in my mailbox.

Last month I wrote about the Omniten program but never did I expect something this awesome to fall into my lap (or, er, mailbox). I don’t think I need to explain how excited I am.

Of course, a huge part of that excitement is about visiting an awesome part of the country and trying out some new gear, but one thing I’m really looking forward to is hanging out with some old blogging friends and meeting some new ones. If there is one thing I’ve learned from lots of time in the mountains and Outdoor Retailer shows it is that outdoorsy people are the best and super fun to hang out with.

By the way, the rest of the Omniten crew are all awesome and you should be reading their blogs and twitter feeds. Check out this Twitter list for profiles and links.

You can expect plenty of updates, pictures, and reviews* after this amazing opportunity. I’m not sure exactly how everything will go yet, but I’m signed up for an ‘Intense’ hike over the weekend and the three day extension trip to Havasu Falls.

So, yeah. Right now my mind is pretty much stuck in “Woo Hooo” mode. I can’t wait to share the experience with you guys!

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Announcing Team Trail Sherpa

I’m really excited to be part of a new online community of outdoors folks over at Trail Sherpa. Tim, the mind behind the site, has collected a few outdoor bloggers together to share our thoughts on different topics. I’m happy and humbled to be part of this team and look forward to contributing and consuming.

Read the announcement about Team Trail Sherpa

And my first post (an introduction!)

 

Closed Contour: For all you map nerds

Screenshot, Mt Conness from Closed Contour
Screenshot, Mt Conness from Closed Contour

This week, through the Summitpost forums, I was alerted to a new mapping tool for Sierra peak baggers. It is called “Closed Contour” and is a remarkably clean and detailed topo map of the Sierra, specifically focused on the SPS list peaks.

From the site, “Closed Contour is my attempt to create modern topographic maps using publically available data.” It’s a beautiful map with fast response times that certainly make it easy to get lost in that trip-planning dreamland I tend to fall into when pouring over topo maps. The blog also feeds my nerdy engineering side with all the gory details (I especially like the blog post about brush density).

I don’t know a lot about the creator of Closed Contour but he’s created a great resource for us Sierra peak baggers and hikers. Thanks!

Yosemite Nature Notes: Horsetail Falls

“Yosemite Steve” (not to be confused with Yosemite Sam) has done it again with the newest Yosemite Nature Notes video. This one is all about the glowing Horsetail Falls, a phenomenon that happens during the sometimes serendipitous convergence of several components – time of year, angle of sun, clouds, time of day, and recent weather patterns. A couple of years ago I made the trek to Yosemite Valley to experience the falls, only to strike out and be frustrated with a cold drizzly rain. Someday I hope to see this beautiful sight, but in the meantime there are plenty of other beautiful Yosemite experiences to have.

There is also this excellent video from Steve. Enjoy!