Of Wild Places

Book Review: Classic Krakauer

Jon Krakauer’s latest collection of outdoors mysteries and misadventures

Some authors become synonymous with a genre of writing. Everyone who reads of or aspires to grand adventure knows Jon Krakauer. It’s fitting then to title his latest collection of previously published articles “Classic Krakauer“, because inarguably, it is.

My first exposure to Krakauer’s prose and style was in 2004, when I borrowed a copy of Into Thin Air. I was just 15 when the ’96 Everest season took place, but I remember the drama unfolding in the local newspapers. Naturally, I was drawn to the story when I’d heard a narrative was published. Sweeping through that book led me to his other works, some of which I will write about here soon too.

If Krakauer has a theme in his writing, its that somebody is going to have a bad day.

Classic Krakauer (2019) is no exception. Much like his earlier Eiger Dreams, this is a collection of independent stories. This medley of articles originally published in magazines such as Outside, Smithsonian, and The New Yorker between the mid 1980s and mid 2010s – each a investigative piece into the darker side of, or unusual aspect of outdoor recreation.

One element of these particular selected articles that continued to surprise me was the apparent timelessness. At some point while reading each one, I had to check the original publication date, just to be sure the events were not contemporary. There is something altogether universal about the themes these stories focused on. People still get lost in wildlands, people still ignore signs of danger, people will continue to place themselves and others in harm’s way despite all the available resources to prevent disasters from happening. (And Jon Krakauer will likely still be writing cautionary tales about them still).

The book opens with Mark Foo’s Last Ride (1995), chronicling the early demise of one the most famous professional surfers. Following that, Living Under a Volcano (1996) summarizes what every Washingtonian knows- that Mount Rainier is a potential city-destroying natural disaster waiting to happen.

Death and Anger on Everest (2014)highlights the too-often overlooked Sherpa community and the dangers they face in supporting wealthy Western climbers. The need to address the social and economic impact of that alpine climbing has on the Sherpa people deserves more than this short piece. Continuing the climbing theme, After the Fall explores the investigation into a fatal accident on a commercially led climb. The event in question took place in 1986, but you wouldn’t know it reading the narrative. Every bit of what takes place could have happened yesterday.

One more climbing story finds its way into this collection, a strangely prescient micro-biography into one of climbing’s most notorious characters: Fred Beckey is Still on the Loose (1992). A revel amongst rebels, Beckey made more first summits than any other American, all the while alienating every person in his life. A recent documentary about Beckey, Dirtbag (2017) fills in the intervening years, and its not far off in illustrating what Krakauer envisioned.

Two of the included stories seem to defy Krakauer’s usual topics of misfortune: Descent to Mars (1995) follows the author has he and several NASA scientists explore caves in search of extremophile lifeforms. A Clean, well-Lighted Place (1985)is the most divergent article included, a story following the controversial architectural designs by Christopher Alexander, who’s philosophy of incorporating natural features into buildings engenders strong opinions.

Gates of the Arctic (1995) is perhaps the only inclusion in this volume which could appear dated- and only in doing so by the political football that is Alaskan conservation. At the time of publication, the namesake national park was not well known and the controversy over additional petroleum drilling on public lands was in the future. Nevertheless, every word of this story is evocative and necessary.

Finally, of all the pieces included in this collection, Loving them to Death (1995) is the one most “classic Krakauer” and worthy of being its own book. Krakauer shines a light on the unregulated and all-too apparently dangerous business of “wilderness therapy programs”. Marketed as “tough-love” camping programs for troubled teens, a series of deaths at several of these companies in the early 1990s brings public and media attention to the problem. Krakauer pulls away the curtain on the condition in which well-meaning but uninformed parents sent their children to, and as one reads, sometimes to die. Of all the content in this book, this particular story will be the one that elicits the strongest emotions.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in outdoors topics, be it sports or nature. There is something included for each of you. Of course, that’s the one downside of a collected anthology like this example- you’ll wish you could have more from each sample. If you’re a fan of Krakauer, you’re going to read this anyways. If you’re not, you may find this book to be a jump-off point for the subjects explored.

Trees

Spotlight: The Yosemite Conservancy

Numerous organization across the country play roles in and contribute to conservation and protection of wild places. From major lobby firms to municipal grassroots clubs, collaborative efforts are a continuous presence in the turburlent arena of conservation.

Following the creation of the first American National parks, there has been a forming of interrelated non-profit conservancies to accompany them. Several of the largest and most popular parks have developed mutually beneficial partnerships with these organizations and allow them to fill niche roles in the regional development, funding, and protection of the parklands. Yosemite National Park in central California is one such public land.

“Public-Private Partnerships” may blur the roles and responsibilities envisioned by many regarding public lands, but they allow for alternative to the restrictions on both entities. An example is the deferral government “shut-downs” that have become more common during gridlocked congressional sessions. When NPS civil servants are prevented from tending to their duties, the private aspect of conservancies allows those members to see to the tasks that might otherwise be left undone.

Conservancy organizations are an often an integral source of funds for maintaining and enabling parkland projects. While we all wish to see our National Parks and Monuments fully funded and kept intact, the awful truth is that even under the most generous federal budgets, America’s public lands are woefully neglected. And because even the distribution of those monies is political, many new projects and too often the necessary maintenance to cover seasonal repairs are diverted or denied. These shortfalls are where conservancies prove their necessity- private donations, public fundraising, and concessions sales are the manner in which these organizations compensate for the lack of financial resources.

Yosemite Valley, 2017 (Author’s collection)

The Yosemite Conservancy plays an important role in partnership with Yosemite National Park. The Yosemite Valley is one of the most visited and easily overcrowded of any parcels of public land, and the impact that has on the park are increasingly becoming more difficult to manage. Public expectations, visitor needs, and the inevitable safety measures and repairs required to make that possible are beyond the funds allocated for the NPS. The conservancy serves a role in providing alternative means of ensuring those requirements are met- Volunteer trail crews work to keep the hundreds of miles of trails in the park clear and maintained, habitat restoration is underway in many places led by conservancy staff, and a number of visitor interpretation services are completely operated by the organization.

Beginning this year, the Yosemite Conservancy is starting a $8.5 million-dollar multiyear project to build a new “Welcome Center” for the valley. The intent is to renovate an existing structure, thereby avoiding the unnecessary sacrifice of more of the valley floor to urbanization. This new center will serve as the first top on any visitors experience to the park, with the appropriate maps, informational displays, and ranger-led interpretive events. The retrofitting of the structure will rely completely on public donations through the conservancy.

Another long-term project underway by the conservancy is the restoration of the area surrounding Bridalveil falls, one of Yosemite National Park’s most iconic landmarks. Trail access is to be improved, including vistas to view the waterfall and reconstruct natural areas that have been overused. The base of the falls, which resides in the valley itself, requires considerable labor to restore. As one of the parks most visited natural features, NPS staff are challenged to maintain both recreational access as well as promote the wildness that makes the valley unique.

Each year, the Yosemite Conservancy publishes an Annual Report listing in detail the financial expenditures and contribution made by the organization. As a non-profit organization, their financial reports are subject to scrutiny, and therefore made available to the public. Previous annual reports can be read here.

The Yosemite Conservancy survives and operates on donations from the public. membership is encouraged, and opportunities to volunteer are offered on the organizations website. Corporate sponsorship and estate donations are encouraged as well. To contribute, go to: https://yosemite.org/

The Great American Outdoors Act

There has been a long history of conflict and perceived competition between the interests of rural communities and the environmental movement. This dissention has been perpetuated since the advent of popular conservation efforts by those most opposed to federal regulation of natural resources.

The entrenchment of political ideologies has created a battlefield for environmental legislation. It’s exceptionally rare to see a truce between the various combatants, let alone a ceasefire. Bipartisanship is an unusual word to be associated with conservation today, yet a recent bill being proposed in the Senate is a surprising example.

“The Great American Outdoors Act”, a joint resolution by Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), as well as Steve Daines, (R-MT), Rob Portman, (R-OH), Mark Warner, (D-VA), Angus King, (I-ME), Lamar Alexander, (R-TN), Maria Cantwell, (D-WA), Ron Wyden, (D-OR), and Richard Burr, (R-NC)- proposes permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Additionally, the bill would release funding for the care and maintenance the National Park Service, which has endured a backlog after years of neglect.

Congress passed the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in 1965. The Johnson administration was in the midst of advocating for “Great Society” programs, in which domestic renovation initiatives were riding on the public support that emerged for domestic progress during the Kennedy years. The LWCF was an especially unique piece of legislation, one in which the revenue generated from offshore petroleum leases would fund federal and state public lands projects. The LWCF itself maintains bipartisan support even today given its $900 million dollar coffers are not derived from the general public’s taxes.

LWCF monies are distributed to both federal and state programs. The 900 million authorized in the bill allow for revenue to be spread to many agencies- and congressional districts. Most funding is allocated for the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture which oversee the National Park Service and Forest Service, respectfully. However, language in the LWCF makes it possible for Congress to authorize some of that funding be spent on line items not related to public lands. It is this clause which adds controversy and feuding over the distribution of resources related to the bill- and something that could be corrected by Gardner and Manchin’s new Act. “Mandatory and permanent funding” is the phrasing used in the proposed Great American Outdoors Act.

Increasing popularity of both National and State Parks has led to overcrowding, overuse, and a backlog in maintenance. Funds normally allocated towards infrastructure, trails and public works projects have been diverted to cover unplanned expenses related to the more immediate needs. This new bill is intended to help direct those funds in the LWCF to those outstanding disrepairs. Upwards of nine billion in additional funding could be released.

With support from both of Colorado’s senators, the Great American Outdoors Act may have bipartisan appeal in the Rocky Mountain states. The outdoor recreation industry thus far has been advocating for passage, and few have argued against it in the conservation community. The challenge facing this legislation is the disproportionate focus on Western state public lands, potentially alienating the more metropolitan congressional districts, and representatives who count on their close regional relationships with extraction industries.

As of May 2020, S.3422 – Great American Outdoors Act was introduced to the 116th Congress, but events surrounding the outbreak of novel coronavirus COVID-19 have made conservation legislation less urgent. The bill was placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders, and it remains to be seen if it will progress further during this session. If you would like to see more efforts made to pass this bill, contact your senators.

Vistas

Photo by author- Mammoth, Yellowstone National Park (May, 2017, Taken with an Android 6)

Gear Review: Peugeot Carbolite 103

Cyclists today can choose from an array of styles and genres of bikes, constructed from lighter and stronger materials more akin to modern aircraft. Technologies are enabling cycling achievements unheard of in decades past. This is not one of those bikes.

Back in the Pacific Northwest for a bit, I was itching for some outside therapy. I needed some trail thrashing. But I was in need of a bike. Providence shined upon me, in the form of my brother’s garage. Among the eclectic collection of array of unfinished classic cars like Chevy Chevettes I found a sleek little number that was sure to be the envy of everyone in Moab or Park City.

It’s a Peugeot.

Its French.

That clearly means its classy.

The 103 boasts “carbolite” technology. This must mean its superior, to something, maybe. Wicked curved handlebars, skinny tires, rim brakes, this bike is a beast. Had there been some single track on which to go bombing on, I’m sure it would still be a beast there too.

Set against the backdrop of a sunset over the Capitol Forest, the muddy cow pasture beckoned. Mounting the Peugeot itself was feat, something difficult and regretted. It seems the design was intended for a taller individual at least- and someone with an unhealthy fascination with pubic abuse. On gravel the bike performed without any particular distinction. But it was on the moguls of that pasture that the this continental machine displayed it’s most apparent trait.

The 103 features no suspension. It clearly predates the inclusion of such amenities. This became apparent when the seat was forced into my inseam repeatedly with vigor on every divot. Whatever the advantages of the “cArbOliTe” were, I’m not sure they can be categorized as a reduction in weight. No amount of force applied to the handlebars allowed me to raise the front tire in anticipation of obstacles. Thus the frame absorbed the energy and passed it along to me. Newton never had to reevaluate life choices after being violated by a bicycle, but than he never risked his perineum for few sweet turns of the pedals either.

The bike also features a quaint pair of stem shifters. These are inexplicably found on the column of the front fork. I found this to be a poor design choice for trail riding. Letting go of the handlebar to mangle the chain onto another gear required that I firmly secure my posterior on the seat thus- risking another intimate assault. The repeated impacts dampened my enthusiasm for the ride, and French vehicular engineering in general.

There may be something said for prepared trails. Probably fat tires adequate tread patterns as well. Maybe bikes shouldn’t be cast from steel ingots either but when you’re borrowing a clunker from a mechanic’s garage, you’re long past the beggars and choosers cliche.

The Taintpuncher is a remarkable machine, exceedingly average in every way. I’ve rode many bicycles and this was one of them.

Autumn

“And the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep and Autumn was awakened” – Raquel Franco

(Photo by Author: Kendall Road, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, October 2017)

Grizzly Country

https://www.grizzlycountryfilm.com/

I’ve never met Doug Peacock. But he looms large in the American West and if you ever choose to read about Grizzlies, his name will appear over and over.

There’s been a cultural war against the Grizzly Bear since European colonists arrived in North America. Humans versus bears- there wasn’t room for bloodthirsty predators threatening the homesteaders and pioneers taming the great wild! In time, the humans won, expanding westward and into the forests and mountains where the bears lived. Quickly, systematically, the bears were killed. Not en masse like the great Bison of the plains, but one-by-one, picked off and eradicated across their natural range. Hunters could boast their skill and prowess over nature and the beast by having their skins cut away and stuffed, forever posed in menacing roars in the smoking rooms of lodges across America.

In time, there were no bears, at least not in any significant place or numbers. There are no Grizzlies on the beaches by Seattle, nor the Sierras of California. Even the untrod backcountry of Colorado is very likely empty of the animals. Like so many stories of American wildlife, the realization that something terrible had happened almost came too late. A society had to learn that the bears were not a barrier to civilization nor mindless hunters of humankind.

Sometimes it takes a loud voice to rise above the babble of misconceptions and fears. In the late 1960s, a collective change in American society helped propel the concern about environmental issues into public consciousness. What was once the language of obscure eccentrics become the fuel for a social movement- Love Canal, the burning Cuyahoga, whale harvests. It was the confluence of a number of events, trends, media and vocal advocates that helped to bring attention to the destruction wrought by unregulated industrialism. Slowly, eyes were opened.

Doug Peacock was, and remains, a character in that story. “Grizzly Country” is a short film about his role in the conservation of the bears. Peacock traded firearms for cameras after his return from service in Vietnam, seeking wilderness. He was there, at that confluence of ideas and imagery, serving as a lens in which to view the REAL grizzlies, not the ones of myths. Footage of bear cubs overturning rotten logs for grubs would replace the snarling man-eater of the pulp magazines and dime-store novellas of the decades before.

Make no mistake- Peacock is no Timothy Treadwell. There is no anthropomorphism in his films or writing. A prolific author, Peacock has written several seminal works on the ecology and plight of grizzly bears: “Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness” (1996), “The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of Men and Bears” (2006), which was reprinted in paperback as “In the Presence of Grizzlies: The Ancient Bond Between Men And Bears In “Grizzly Country” (2009). he is quoted as recognizing a point in which he could no longer inject himself in the bear’s home territory without affecting the animals. Instead, Peacock began to pursue efforts to end habitat loss across the American West. Restricting the remaining bears to ever diminishing swaths of high country will lead to the species eventual extinction, unless policy changes are made.

The war against the bears continues now, but the bears themselves are less the targets than the victims of a proxy-war between superpowers. Since Peacock began filming the grizzlies in Montana, the bears have survived under the protections of laws passed to conserve their species. Isolated populations in the Lower 48 continue to ever so slowly rebound following centuries of unregulated hunting. Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, once that last bastions of Pleistocene fauna are now the epicenters of both the remnant populations and the conflict over conservation.

Federal and State initiatives to rollback the protection of grizzlies (as well as wolves and many other species) are currently being implemented- with and without the citizen’s vote. This is especially so in Wyoming where the elected officials have made the protection of grizzlies and politically contentious campaign issue. Since 2016, officials appointed to the Department of the Interior have increasingly sought to “de-list” the grizzly bear from the Endangered Species Act. Removing the federal protection of the species would allow individual states to enact local policies, including allowing he bears to be hunted. Conservation groups have adamantly opposed any proposals to remove the protections of the grizzlies, noting that hunting and other lethal management methods would reverse the progress made since the ESA was enacted. Conservative backlash has been copious, appealing to emotional concerns, not policy discussions.

Peacock hasn’t stopped fighting for the bears. It’s a comforting notion, given the political environment and trends against conservation. The war against the bears hasn’t ended, but the battlefield has moved to the state congress halls. Grassroots environmentalism isn’t just a thing of the past, it may be the best method of combatting pad policy. Peacock and others have organized to fight legislation that would de-list the grizzlies in the Yellowstone Valley: (Click here for more information) He reminds us that strong voices are still necessary, as without them, who will speak for the bears?

Eyes upon you

American Bison, (*Bison bison*) Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, 2017

Book Review: Lassoing the Sun by Mark Woods

Every now and then one should read a story without pretense, taking time to truly just enjoy the journey. This is one of those books.

Mark Woods tells two stories in this book- first is a continent spanning narrative as he visits, experiences, camps, photographs, and immerses himself in America’s National Parks. The National Park System consists of 419 public land units, to include the 61 recognized National Parks. Most have heard of some of the more famous examples: Glacier, Acadia, Great Smokey Mountains, etc. Woods makes a point of visiting some of the lesser known units, places such as Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys, Gateway National Recreation Area in New York, Gulf Islands National Seashore in Mississippi, and Haleakala National Park in Hawaii.

The second story in Lassoing the Sun is one of the author’s family- The relationship between his parents, their fervent appreciation for the outdoors, and how he now shares that passion with his young daughter. Time plays an ever-present role in this aspect of the book, carrying the intertwined elements of his past and present as he travels from one National Park to the next. There’s a sense of inevitable melancholy as the author musters resolve in face of his mother’s terminal cancer. Poignant and heart-wrenching, the story of three generations is told in memories from Redwoods, Yellowstone, and Saguaro.

This book is not a travelogue. It’s not a guidebook. There are no maps, lists of campsites, or recommended vendors. Instead the author has written an ode to public lands- the preservation of unique landscapes for future generations. Eschewing the politics of land use policy and the evangelism commonplace in environmental chronicles, Woods offers the reader a more personal plea for the continued protection of National parklands. His story is not the memoir of a ranger or an essay from a scientist, this is the personalized account of one American father hoping that forests and coastlines remain for his grandchildren to experience too.

This book is available at Amazon.com- but as always, if you can find it at your local bookstore, buy it there instead!