GSMA Owl Prowl

GSMA's February special event will feature a nighttime Owl Prowl led by Kevin Burke on Saturday, Feb. 23. The program meets at 7 p.m. at Rainbow Falls Trailhead .

Kevin, a Gatlinburg Nantahala Outdoor Center staff member says he has not missed a day of birding since taking his first ornithology class in southeast Ohio 13 years ago. One of his favorite birding experiences was serving as a sightings coordinator for the local chapter of the Audubon Society in Washington State, where he led trips to see burrowing owls.



The program fee is $5 for GSMA members and $10 for non-members. There is no fee for children ages 10-12; however, we do ask that children be 10 years of age or older.



The event is limited to 20, so call early in order to enjoy prowling for owls. Call 865-436-7318, Ext. 325 for Lisa, Ext. 222 for Judy, or Ext. 254 for Marti to make your reservation.





Jeff

Hiking in the Smokies

Danaus chrysippus (Madagascar)

Danaus chrysippus , le Petit monarque est un beau Papillon aux ailes orangées photographié dans le secteur d'Antananarivo à Madagascar. Petit monarque Danaus chrysippus C'est un Lépidoptère au vol indolent facilement repérable qui butine les fleurs, même dans les jardins, et qui a la particularité d'être relativement à l'abri des prédateurs du fait des alcaloïdes contenus

Fremont County Corn

Someone was growing corn north of Cañon City in 1939, and she shows up in the famous Shorpy historic photo archive. Originally from a Resettlement Administration photo, part of the "New Deal," so maybe the woman in the photo was a refugee from the Dust Bowl, which was not that far away.

Fayhee on Destroying Other People's Cairns

Mountain Gazette editor M. John Fayhee on the benefits of going off-route, getting lost, and not marking your path.

Then, one day, I saw some orange peels, eggshells and a candy bar wrapper next to one of the glacial tarns. And I lashed out: I destroyed every single one of those goddamned cairns. I mean to say, I obliterated the motherfuckers. This was no subtle carnage. I made no effort to aesthetically replace the rocks used to construct those cairns to their natural environment. As I kicked those cairns, I cursed the people who had built them.



With regards to Pilgrim Gulch, I was likely too late. I ought to have disassembled the very first cairns I saw. I vowed then and there to never again make such a mistake.



And thus began what to this day remains a love/hate relationship with cairns and all they represent, both literally and figuratively.

Is this where I admit to building an occasional cairn—never more than two or three rocks stacked—the way I learned in Boy Scouts? There is one in the photo, two rocks stacked on a boulder, that used to guide me to Camera Trap Spring before the forest fire made everything visible.

Public Meeting Scheduled to Seek Public Input on Higher Camping Fees in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

A modest increase in camping fees has been proposed for the year round Wilderness Road Campground in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. This is the only campground in the park that allows vehicle access, and provide bathroom and shower facilities. Camping rates for sites without electricity would increase from $12.00 to $14.00 and sites with electricity would increase from $17.00 to $20.00. Sites would be one half price for those having an Interagency Senior or Access Pass. Group campsites would increase from $30.00 to $35.00. A public meeting to seek public input and outline these increases is scheduled for Tuesday, February 26th from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the national park visitor center. Visitors can also provide comments via the park's web site: www.nps.gov/cuga or send comments to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, 91 Bartlett Park Road, Middlesboro, KY 40965. Comments are to be received by the park no later than March 15th, 2013.

Park Superintendent Mark Woods explains the camping price increases as the first since 2002. He further spells out that "a comparability study, involving local state parks and private organizations with similar operations was conducted and that price increases would bring Cumberland Gap more in line with the price structure of the local community and the businesses that are similar in nature to the park's. This price adjustment would remove any possibility of the park unintentionally undercutting local and regional businesses."



Woods notes a list of major improvements made over the past ten years to the 160 site campground which is enjoyed annually by an average of 103,395 visitors. "In May 2012, we completed a six-month $861,690 project which involved the installation of new water and waste-water systems within the campground. This was essential to improve the efficiency of park operations by reducing maintenance costs and costs related to deficiencies in the condition of the existing systems, provide a safe and healthy environment for both visitors and park staff, remove a potential source of surface water contamination and protect park natural and cultural resources and values. The new system includes 4000 linear feet of leach field trenches, four new septic tanks, new sewer pipe throughout, and eight new sanitary manholes. Six monitoring wells were also installed around the leach field. Flow meters were installed to more accurately monitor the water usage at each comfort station."



"Additional enhancements over the years include the upgrade of electrical sites to include 20, 30, and 50 amp service. The campground's three comfort stations have been completely renovated for improved accessibility and to also provide for families with children. The campground contact station has been retrofitted into a camp store managed by park partner Eastern National. The campground amphitheater has also been renovated to allow for multi-media and music programs. New picnic tables, fire rings, and improved signage have been added to individual sites. Accessibility has been improved at specific sites throughout the campground. Bulletin cases, wayside exhibits, and improved signage have been added to enhance visitors' experiences and to alert them to other recreational opportunities within the park. Total cost of all these improvements is close to 1.5 million dollars."



For more information about Cumberland Gap National Historical Park please call (606) 248-2817.





Jeff

Hiking in the Smokies

Leptocoris hexophthalmus lateralis (Madagascar)

Aujourd'hui j'ose l'identification de Leptocoris hexophthalmus lateralis pour cet Hémiptère très coloré photographié dans l'Ankarana au nord de Madagascar. Je ne suis pas affirmatif à 100% sur cette identité, mais j'ai de fortes présomptions et, si je me suis trompé, le spécialiste qui m'aura épinglé ne manquera pas de me mettre sur la bonne piste.

Leptocoris hexophthalmus lateralis

Mountain Chickadee Singing / Calling Next To An Ice Cave

Your Voice

ALWAYS

Echoes A Response,

Yet In A New Form.

~

Mountain Chickadee Singing / Calling Next To An Ice Cave

Your Voice

ALWAYS

Echoes A Response,

Yet In A New Form.

~

Road work on Newfound Gap Road anticipated to be complete by mid-May to early June

Great Smoky Mountains officials announced today that work is progressing to repair the landslide which has closed a section of Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) within the national park. Two key steps are already underway to initiate the reconstruction of the road.



A contract has been awarded for the first phase of work to APAC – Atlantic, Harrison Division to develop an access road to the slide area, remove debris, and stabilize the slope above the work area. This phase is estimated to cost around $200,000 and will prepare the site for the second phase of work which will involve a complete reconstruction of the roadway. This first phase began on January 28th, and is expected to be completed in a few weeks.



The contracting piece for the second phase, involving the actual road reconstruction, was initiated on Friday January 25, when Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) posted a pre-solicitation for qualified contractors with interest in repairing the landslide. The contract for this phase of work is estimated to cost between $3,000,000 and $7,000,000, and is expected to be awarded by mid-February. Final construction work will begin soon after.



The schedule of the road reconstruction will be determined by the information received in the solicitation package, but is anticipated to be complete by mid-May to early June. Newfound Gap Road will remain closed to thru traffic during the construction, but visitors are still able to access the park to Newfound Gap from the Tennessee side and to Smokemont Campground from the Cherokee entrance.

In the meantime, visitors will still have access to Newfound Gap from the Tennessee side, and will be able to travel to the Smokemont Campground from the Cherokee entrance.



The landslide occurred after a rain storm stalled out across the region. An in-park weather station near Cherokee, NC recorded 11.3 inches of rain between January 13th and January 17th.





Jeff

Hiking in the Smokies

New or Increased Recreation Fees Proposed for National Forests in North Carolina

Recreation managers at the U.S. Forest Service want to make visitors aware of a proposal to increase fees or adopt a new fee at seven recreation sites within the national forests in North Carolina. If adopted, the fee changes would be implemented in two phases over a two-year period:



Pisgah National Forest:



* Sliding Rock Recreation Area – Daily fee would increase from $1 to $2. Annual passes would remain at $25. Additional revenue is required to operate this extremely popular site, which often receives 1,000 or more people a day. Fee revenue will provide expanded hours for lifeguards and pay for the maintenance of a highly used site.



Nantahala National Forest: The fee increases would standardize rates across the three shooting ranges. The fees are needed to address the maintenance needs and costs associated with increased visitation. The impacted sites include Dirty John Shooting Range, Moss Knob Shooting Range and Panther Top Shooting Range. Purchasing the annual pass will allow shooters to use all three ranges in Nantahala National Forest.



The Forest Service has made numerous improvements to many of the above-mentioned sites. While fixed costs have increased, recreation fees have remained static for a number of years. The fee increases would both be consistent with inflationary costs as well as ensure that fees are more comparable to similar public and private sites in their respective areas.



All fee change proposals will be presented before a citizen’s advisory committee, called the Southern Region Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (RRAC). Committee members represent a broad array of recreation interests to help ensure that the Forest Service is proposing reasonable and publicly acceptable fee changes. Committee members will help ensure that the Forest Service addresses public issues and concerns about recreation fees. The public is welcome to attend and comment at all advisory committee meetings. The next RRAC meeting is expected to be held in spring 2013. The exact meeting time, location and agenda will be announced on www.fs.fed.us/r8/ . If approved, the Forest Service will implement the fee changes later in 2013.



In 2004, Congress passed the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, which allows the Forest Service to keep 95 percent of fees collected at certain recreation sites and use these funds locally to operate, maintain and improve the sites.



For more information on the fee proposals above, as well as other in the Uwharrie National Forest and Croatan National Forest, please click here .



Comments can be sent to comments-southern-north-carolina@fs.fed.us through February 28. For additional information about any of these fee change proposals, please contact Delce Dyer, recreation program manager, at 828-257-4256.





Jeff

Hiking in the Smokies

New Hyper-Accurate, Hyper-Local Weather App

Over the last several years technology has been creeping into wilderness at an ever increasing pace. The latest technological innovation actually seems to be a really good idea.

A company by the name of Nooly announced on Monday that they have released the world’s most localized and reliable weather app for iPhones and Androids. They claim the app is capable of predicting the exact minute it will rain or snow and can do so effectively, wherever you are, for every 0.4 square miles (1 square kilometer).



Nooly brought in two of the world’s top scientists in cloud physics and short-range weather prediction, Professor Daniel Rosenfeld of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Professor John R. Mecikalski of the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Professors Rosenfeld and Mecikalski are widely recognized for their development in understanding and prediction of the evolution of clouds and storms, including hurricane and tornado formation. They have worked with a number of federal agencies, including NASA, NOAA, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), and the European Organization for Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.



Using their deep background and expertise, the Nooly scientific team has built a series of meteorological and physical algorithms that track and process, in real-time, data from two NASA / NOAA satellites, over 260 NOAA radars, and other meteorological sources. The result is Nooly, an impressive weather application that predicts, in 5 minutes interval, when rain or snow will start, get worse, and end. Nooly processes information for over 30 million locations throughout the United States and southern Canada, resulting in hyperlocal weather conditions for every road, park and point of interest. For the past year a live beta version of Nooly has been available for download in the US, achieving over 50,000 users, who have helped Nooly test and refine its hyperlocal predictions.



The Nooly app is now available on iPhone® and Android™ for free. For more information, please visit www.nooly.com .





Jeff

Hiking in the Smokies

Coccinelle indéterminée (Madagascar)

Cette Coccinelle, car je suppose qu'il s'agit bien d'un sujet de cette famille, photographiée à Madagascar dans la région de Manakara à proximité du Canal des Pangalanes, m'a donné bien du fil à retordre pour dévoiler son identité et j'ai dû capituler après de longues recherches sans succès.

Coccinelle indéterminée

Il me reste donc à espérer le secours extérieur d'un spécialiste passant par là pour lever le voile sur le nom de la belle. J'ai malgré tout décidé de publier les photos car je trouve ce petit Coléoptère plutôt original et différent de nos espèces courantes Françaises.

American Dipper On and In The Methow River

Pick Up On That Which Is Within,

By Dropping The Habits Of Inhibition.

~

American Dipper On and In The Methow River

Pick Up On That Which Is Within,

By Dropping The Habits Of Inhibition.

~

Just Smile

Just Smile

CPW Stores Native Seeds for Revegetation

A short article with a brief video about Colorado Parks and Wildlife's new native-seeds warehouse in Deltra, from a Grand Junction television station.

About 140,000 pounds of seed are currently stored in the warehouse before being dispersed to help re-vegetate soil for animals and damaged by wildfires.



There's over 30 native seeds in the Delta warehouse which officials say will only be distributed along the Western Slope.



"They're stored in climate-control conditions, and they can last for years here. When we have a fire or a big project, the seed is going to be available," said Joe Lewandowski, spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Read the news release, which came out last month.

What not to do in a national park

Check out this hiker (tourist?) as he tries to rescue his camera battery on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park last year:







Half Dome, one of the most iconic features in our national park system, sits at an elevation of 8842 feet, and requires a 14.2-mile round trip hike to reach the summit via the Mist Trail . To assist climbers up the final 400 vertical feet, steel cables were bolted into the granite rock face by the Sierra Club in 1919. You can check out a pretty awesome photo of what it's like to climb the cables here .



A 2008 article in Backpacker Magazine stated that the Mist Trail sees 2,500 to 3,000 people per day during summer weekends. Over the years several people have fallen to their deaths along the route. In response to the heavy use of the trail, the park announced earlier this year that they will be implementing a new permit system for climbing the monolith:

Applications for permits to hike the trail are available from March 1 through March 31, 2013. The park will allocate permits through a preseason lottery, a two-day in advance lottery, and as part of the Wilderness Permit process (daily lottery). Details regarding the lotteries and the wilderness process can be found at the park's website . The lottery will be conducted through www.recreation.gov .

Jeff

Hiking in the Smokies

How Dogs Eat Starches

Anthropologist John Hawks notes a paper explaining how dogs—unlike wolves—evolved while living with humans to digest starches. In other words, they eat what we eat.

As in humans, the paper shows that dogs were selected strongly for a new agricultural diet. Just as in humans who descend from early agriculturalists, dogs have extensive duplication of the amylase gene. Humans express amylase in saliva, but as explained in the paper dogs only produce amylase in the pancreas, where it digests starches intestinally. Where this paper gets really exciting is when the authors began to investigate the entire metabolic pathway underlying starch digestion. The amylase gene AMY2B underwent duplications similar to those in humans, and not found in wolves.

Patrick "Terrierman" Burns weighs in:

Sure, you have observed that even the bunko dog food companies that sell food that costs a lot more (using nonsense words like "human-grade," "holistic," "natural" and "homeopathic" ) pack their tins and bags with potatoes and peas, quinoa and rice, pumpkin and whatever else that is not the natural diet of a wolf (i.e. dead mice, dead rats, and road-kill deer).

Dogs, unlike bloggers, do not digest snark, as far as I can tell.

Propithecus edwardsi (Madagascar)

Le Propithèque de Milne-Edwards (Propithecus edwardsi) d'une taille d'environ 50 cm sans la queue et d'un poids d'environ 5 à 6 Kg est l'un des plus grands Lémuriens endémiques à Madagascar où il peut être rencontré sur la côte est, notamment dans le parc national de Ranomafana et en forêt d'Ialatsara à proximité d'Ambohimahasoa.

Propithèque de Milne-Edwards

Son pelage est brun foncé mais il est reconnaissable à la tache claire qu'il possède au bas du dos et sur les côté du corps. C'est un Lémurien menacé du fait de la raréfaction des zones forestières où il vit habituellement.

Male House Finch Resting Through A Cold And Frosty Day

If You Love The Cold,

You Get A Warm Feeling.

If You Like or Dislike Cold,

You Possess or Are Possessed By Such A Definitive Feeling State.

~

Male House Finch Resting Through A Cold And Frosty Day

If You Love The Cold,

You Get A Warm Feeling.

If You Like or Dislike Cold,

You Possess or Are Possessed By Such A Definitive Feeling State.

~

Sunset Crater / Wupatki National Monument

During our tour of the southwest this past September, my wife and I visited the three National Monuments that surround Flagstaff, Arizona. About an hour north of town, located in the Coconino National Forest, is Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument, which are in close proximity to each other, and are usually visited together.



Our first destination during this leg of the trip was to hike the one-mile Lava Flow Trail at Sunset Crater. All of the mountains in northern Arizona, known as the San Francisco Peaks, are dormant volcanoes and cinder cones. The result is a very unique landscape, which in some places reminds you of something you would see on the moon. Sunset Crater (below) is one the larger cinder cone volcanoes in the area. One of the significant features of this 1000-foot high cone is that the rim area lights up with a reddish glow during sun sets.

The Lava Flow Trail doesn’t climb atop, or even on Sunset Crater, but it does explore a variety of interesting volcanic formations near its base:

From the volcano we drove north on the Loop Road to visit the Wukoki Pueblo. These ruins were once the home of families from the Kayenta Anasazi culture, who built the Wukoki (a modern Hopi word for “Big House”) in the early 1100s, and were occupied for nearly a century. In 1896, archeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes is quoted as saying that Wukoki “is one of the most impressive masses of aboriginal masonry…. It is visible for many miles, and from a distance resembles an old castle as it looms… above the plain.”

From Wukoki it’s a short drive over to the Wupatki Pueblo. The centerpiece of the Wupatki National Monument is a four story stone apartment house that was also built roughly 900 years ago. It’s estimated that by 1182 roughly 85 to 100 people lived at Wupatki, the largest building for at least fifty miles around. The complex featured a 100-room pueblo, a community room and a ball court. Within a day's walk, it’s estimated that a population of several thousand people surrounded Wupatki:

Jeff

Hiking in the Smokies

Northern Goshawk Juvenile Flying Into Full Action And Pursuit

All Things In Nature Have Wings....

We Simply Need To Turn Off Our Air Conditioning To See Them.

~

Northern Goshawk Juvenile Flying Into Full Action And Pursuit

All Things In Nature Have Wings....

We Simply Need To Turn Off Our Air Conditioning To See Them.

~

On Eagles Wings

On Eagles Wings

Colorado Lynx Photo Goes Viral

Catching a pair of lynx in a photo is something special.

The photos were posted on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Facebook page Wednesday and had more than 9,000 likes early Thursday evening, along with more than 900 comments. More than 6,400 users had shared it on their own pages.



"Wow!" commented T.A. Williams of Breckenridge. "They really do exist. Hurry up and shut this highway down because it is 'Lynx habitat'....."

Maybe I should "like" Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Facebook page and see what comes next.

Walking the Keystone Pipeline Route

This guy sets out to walk the length of the Keystone pipeline, starting in Alberta and going south, and makes a blog of it, Pipe Dreams.



It starts here, in September 2012.

Clarification on New Reservation System for Appalachian Trail Thru-hikers in the Smokies

Earlier in the week the Great Smoky Mountains announced that changes to its current backcountry reservation and permitting process will take effect on February 13th. With that announcement came several questions on how this will impact Appalachian Trail thru-hikers as they pass through the Smokies.



Thanks to Jared King for providing a link to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy website that provides clarification on the rules pertaining to thru-hikers. Here's how the process will work:

• Backcountry permits for A.T. thru-hikers will be available online at www.smokiespermits.nps.gov .



• There will be a $20 charge for each permit.



• You must have a permit before backpacking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.



• Permits may be obtained up to 30 days in advance of the date a thru hiker anticipates entering the Smokies.



• Permits will be valid for 38 days from the date issued for an up to 8 day hike through the Smokies. All other thru-hiker regulations remain in effect.



You may also get a permit in person at the park’s Backcountry Office (at the Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg) or over the phone; with permits issued by fax, mail or email. For more information, please call 865-436-1297.

Also, I would assume that this policy will remain in place, as currently published on the Appalachian Trail NPS website :

Shelter Policy - Park regulations require that you stay in a shelter......From Mar. 15 to June 15, four spaces at each A.T. shelter are reserved for thru-hikers. If the shelter is full, thru-hikers can tent close by. Only thru-hikers are allowed to tent next to shelters, so they are responsible for making room for those who have reservations in the shelters.

Jeff

Hiking in the Smokies

Living In An Upside Down World

The New World

Is Beneath Any And All Surface Tension.

~

Living In An Upside Down World

The New World

Is Beneath Any And All Surface Tension.

~