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Don’t Be A Statistic-Be Prepared!

September 16th, 2011 No comments

Recently there have been a number of deaths reported in the National Parks. Some are animal related and some are falls. How do these things happen? Well, in some cases the person ignored a “Do Not Pass This Barrier” safety sign or a warning to carry bear spray. But, sometimes things happen beyond your control and hopefully these tips will help improve your chances of enjoying your outdoor adventure while getting back home safely.

 

First and foremost, when you get to the park or wilderness area where you are going, check at any ranger station or visitor center for current safety issues that are pertinent for the areas you will be visiting. The rangers and staff are there to help in any way they can and are very willing to answer any questions you may have. It is also helpful to have checked the park out ahead of time for anything that could be a red flag for whatever activity you wish to pursue. In other words, plan ahead.

 

Secondly, never backpack or climb alone in the wilderness. Even in “civilized” parks, it is not advised. If something were to happen to one of you, the other one could go for help. Admittedly, this is not always the best option, but if there is no hope of someone seeing a signal or ever finding you accidentally, this is the next best procedure. Maybe if you were trained in wilderness survival, you might make it fine on your own, but remember the guy who got his hand caught in a boulder and ended up cutting it off just to survive and get out of the canyon? He was not a novice, but he had gone alone and not told a soul where he would be over the weekend. Solitude is all well and good, but not if you don’t survive your solo trek or climb.

 

This brings up my next point. Make sure you tell someone where you are going and when they can expect you back. This will go a long way towards getting someone to rescue you, if you need it, providing you tell a reliable person. The parks do not always have the personnel to follow-up on missing backpackers unless someone says something to them. As far as they are concerned, you could have just forgotten to check back in with them or gone home another way. There was another incident of a man in Alaska that went camping alone and never told anyone. He was two weeks over his wilderness permit expiration before they even started looking for him. No one ever reported him missing. To my knowledge, he was never found. His tent was, but not him.

 

Next, follow the safety rules for that park or wilderness. Some places, like up in Alaska, you are warned up front that you are on your own and you will need to rescue yourself, but even some places in the lower 48 tell you the same thing. If you are told that an area has a high avalanche risk at the time you are there, don’t head out for that area. And if you just HAVE to go that way because it has the best scenery, ice fishing, ice climbing, or trailheads, then you had better be familiar with strategies to either avoid or face an avalanche. (Use swimming strokes, grab a sturdy tree, best is take a course!) Or if an area is a high fire risk, DO NOT light campfires and be very careful with your camp stove. You get the idea.

 

Really, just use common sense and know your limitations. If this will be a first for you, then by all means, take along someone who knows what they are doing or has proficiency in the activity. I realize that sometimes we don’t know our own limitations which is another reason to take someone with you. Go easy your first time doing a new activity and you will lessen your risk factor. Obey any warning signs you come across. They are there for a reason!

 

Make sure you have a good first aid kit and be familiar with what is in it and how to use everything. If you will be in an area where you know there are a lot of venomous snakes, bring a venom extractor. I also like to bring some hydrogen peroxide in a small container as this works great for cleaning out wounds to help prevent infection. It is also great to gargle with half peroxide and half water if you wake up with a sore throat one morning. It almost always works to eliminate the sore throat. Know the signs and symptoms for hypothermia and altitude sickness and also how to avoid and treat them.

 

Avoid wild animals when you can. Elk are dangerous during the rut season in the autumn. They are extremely aggressive at this time. Bears are generally shy, but those that are acclimated to humans can be aggressive. You will not be able to outrun a bear, so it is better to avoid them and definitely keep your distance. Moose are also potentially dangerous if stirred up, so walk and talk softly around them and let them know you are not a threat. Unlike bears, it is OK to run away from moose, but you might want to put some thing solid, like a tree, between you and them. We have a good Wildlife Precautions page on our website that has more tips about animals.

 

Lastly, have adequate supplies for your trip. It is better to have your pack just a little too heavy and have adequate food, bandages, clothing for the weather, water purification stuff, rain gear, compass, GPS unit, topographical maps (and know how to read them), signal mirror or whistle,  repair kits, and a length of rope. If you do become lost or injured and you are by yourself and can’t make it back, know that bright signals or objects placed in sequence of three are widely recognized as distress signs.

 

By Corie Marks

 

Categories: backpacking, Climbing, hiking, National Parks, Safety, Wildlife Tags: , , , , ,

Part myth, part majesty, Michigan’s only national park is an unspoiled gem

July 26th, 2009 No comments
Sunset over the far eastern edge of Isle Royale.

Sunset over the far eastern edge of Isle Royale.

 

Story and Photos by ELLEN CREAGER • FREE PRESS TRAVEL WRITER • July 26, 2009
Freep.com

ISLE ROYALE — A short hike, they called it. Just 4.2 miles to Scoville Point and back to the lodge.

Now it’s three hours later, and I’m still hiking. The way is strewn with rocks and boulders, giant roots and planks across the boggy spots. The trail hugs ancient lava ridges that drop off to icy blue water. I’ve seen two loons. Stopped dozens of times to look at wildflowers. Seen only two other hikers. Am I going the right way? Who knows? I spot moose droppings on the path. Listen hard. Hear nothing except the whisper of a breeze through the greenery.

Earlier today, the captain of the Queen IV ferry boat, Don Kilpela, told me he encountered a moose and her calf right on this path. He didn’t move. She didn’t move. Then he sang four songs to her, including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

“She stood there listening to me for 10 minutes,” he said, eyes twinkling. “I wasn’t afraid.”

Now, as I brush through the narrow path headed back to what I hope is civilization, such as it is, I find myself thinking, can you really sing to a moose? If you saw a moose, what should you sing? Does a moose prefer pop or rock? Or just Judy Garland?

It takes a boat ride
If you’ve ever thought of coming to Isle Royale, you may be picturing backpacks, hiking boots and prowling wolves — and automatically counted yourself out.

You’re not alone. Just 14,038 people last year visited Isle Royale, Michigan’s only national park. More than 80% of nights on the island are spent on backcountry camping. The rest are spent at the island’s only lodge. Almost no one comes just for the day.

Why? Logistics. You can’t drive to Isle Royale because it’s 56 miles north of Copper Harbor in the middle of Lake Superior. The choppy ferry ride takes 3 1/2 to 6 hours, depending on whether you leave from Copper Harbor or Houghton.

And when you arrive, it’s 210 square miles of wild.

Yes, there are rustic campsites. One lodge. A few docks. A lighthouse. A handful of summer homes remaining from before the island became a national park in 1940. Some trails. But that’s about it. Isle Royale has no roads.

Famed for its classic, ongoing predator-prey study that has tracked moose and wolf populations for 51 years, Isle Royale is arguably the sexiest science project ever.

But if and when you do finally get here, you realize two things.

One, you don’t have to be a hard-core backpacker to enjoy Isle Royale.

Two, Isle Royale couldn’t care less whether you come.

It’s not here to impress you. You are here to impress it.

‘Nice and wild’
There are many myths about Isle Royale (see sidebar). But myth is part of its mystique. Is it actually in Canada? Is it really the least-visited national park? Will you be eaten by wolves? Is the only hotel on the island closing?

I add my own possible myth to the list — this dubious idea of singing to a moose. One authority on this subject, I imagine, would be Rolf Peterson, the Michigan Tech research professor specializing in the wolf-moose study. He lives on Isle Royale in the summer and a few weeks in the winter, but, who am I kidding? He’s not exactly hanging around waiting for tourists’ dumb questions.

I have better luck talking to backpackers. I meet a friend, John Bassier, a biology teacher at Ferndale High School, who has brought more than 300 students here in his 40 years as a teacher. Backcountry camping on Isle Royale, Bassier says, teaches self-reliance, tolerance for discomfort and cooperation. I meet up with him as he finishes a 6-day hike on the Minong Trail with two Ferndale police officer friends. They’re weary, glad to shed their 35-40 pound packs and feeling great.

“It was nice and wild,” says Detective Bill Wilson.

“A couple nights we could see a gazillion stars,” says Bassier.

“At night we heard wolves calling,” says Capt. Tim Collins.

They also encountered a moose and her calf, foxes, eagles, ospreys and snakes. And very few people.

Not a camper? Try the lodge
If you aren’t into camping, you can stay, as I did, at the Rock Harbor Lodge. Don’t think hotel. Think dorm. The 60-room facility has no phones, cell phone service, Internet, TV or radio. Every room looks directly onto Lake Superior. Think of it as a retreat, a cloister without the prayers.

So far this year, lodge business is down, continuing a depressing trend from last year, says Kim Alexander, the lodge’s general manager.

“It’s not a shock we’re not setting any records,” he says. He admits lodge prices — which run $250 a night — are out of reach of some visitors in this economy.

“People say for $250 a night they could stay at the Ritz-Carlton,” he says. “But the Ritz-Carlton is not being charged 18 cents a gallon for water. We also pay the National Parks Service $250,000 a season for electricity. It’s a concern.”

To cut costs for customers, the lodge dropped its lodging-meal plans this spring and now books rooms on their own, letting people eat a la carte at the restaurant or grill.

Another advantage of staying at the lodge is the M.V. Sandy tour boat, which can take visitors places they can’t hike or don’t have time to hike. I take an evening cruise that goes clear around to the north side of Isle Royale to watch the sunset. The next day, I cruise to Edisen Fishery and the 1844-era Isle Royale lighthouse.

Lighthouse Isle Royale

Lighthouse Isle Royale

That’s when luck steps in. It happens that the Edisen Fishery is next door to the wolf study headquarters. And it happens that the Petersons are home.

Moose masters
A narrow path leads to a small cottage with red shutters in the woods. Out steps Candy Peterson. Then her husband, Rolf. They spend six months a year here, from spring to fall. They even raised their children here.

Surrounding the small cottage, officially called Bangsund Cabin, are tables full of moose remains. Moose bones. Moose antlers. Moose skulls. Moose parts, all tagged, labeled as to where found, when the animal died and under what circumstances (rutting, arthritis, other moose mishaps).

Rolf Peterson is wearing a blue cable knit sweater with a tiny hole in one elbow. He and Candy are grandparents, but they look very young. Isle Royale may be the fountain of youth.

To the surprise of the seven boat tourists, the Petersons stop to chat. They invite us into the cabin. They patiently answer the most basic and naive questions about moose and wolves and their own unconventional lives here. Moose swam or crossed on ice to Isle Royale in the early 1900s, followed by wolves in 1948-49. For the last 50 years, scientists have tracked the balance of wolf and moose populations, which have fluctuated depending on weather, the health of the animals and the success of their habitat.

Finally, I work up the nerve to ask my question.

“The captain of the Queen told me he sang to a moose,” I say. “Is that a good idea?”

“Oh, Don,” Peterson says. He must have heard this story before, probably a million times. But he plays along. Because moose have poor eyesight but good hearing and can be unpredictable, talking to a moose if you unexpectedly encounter one tells the moose you are not a predator.

“Moose don’t like surprises. For some reason, when you talk to them, it works,” he says. “High pitches are more comforting than low pitches.”

Ah. Not a myth. Sing to the moose.

No moose, no wolves, no Tigers
Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to hike Isle Royale to learn it well. I day-hike down to Suzy’s Cave and Three Mile (a 6-mile loop). I attend park ranger talks about the geology of the island and spend a morning with an artist in residence trying to draw wildflowers. I meet a man hiking back from two weeks on the trails. His first question — how are the Tigers doing?

I don’t know, I say. Nobody does.

No, I don’t see a moose. Or a wolf. But as I walk, I hum. You know, just in case anyone — or anything — is listening.

Rock Harbor Isle Royale

Rock Harbor Isle Royale

Categories: Isle Royale National Park, National Park Information, National Parks Tags: , , , ,

Shenandoah National Park

June 29th, 2009 No comments
Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park

The park is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Luray, VA

Shenandoah National Park, with its 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail, offers boundless outdoor adventure for your next family vacation. With over 500 miles of backpacking and hiking trails, you will find plenty of outstanding opportunities for solitude. Scenic drives take you to spectacular mountain views and allow you to travel through tree tunnels. The Blue Ridge Mountains are truly a place of beauty and wonder. Continue reading for further great Shenandoah National Park information.

Uniqueness

Shenandoah National Park lies astride a beautiful section of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which form the eastern rampart of the Appalachian Mountains between Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Shenandoah River flows through the valley to the west, with Massanutten Mountain, 40 miles long, standing between the river’s north and south forks. The rolling Piedmont country lies to the east of the park. Skyline Drive, a 105-mile road that winds along the crest of the mountains through the length of the park, provides vistas of the spectacular landscape to east and west. Drivers will pass rock cliffs, and vistas, and probably deer and other wildlife; they will drive through tunnels of trees, past wildflowers and ferns, and (in late spring) by banks of mountain laurel in bloom. 75 overlooks offer a place to stop and absorb the view and the peace. The 35-miles-per-hour speed limit allows drivers the opportunity to truly enjoy the ride and helps to ensure the safety of wildlife along the road.

The park’s wilderness areas offer outstanding opportunities for solitude and recreation. Shenandoah National Park has over 500 miles of trails, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Many trails are accessed from Skyline Drive. Some short trails lead to a waterfall or viewpoint; longer and more difficult trails penetrate deep into the forest and wilderness giving visitors the opportunity to explore and enjoy this unique resource. Camp, hike, fish, bird watch, horse back ride the 150 miles of horse trails or take photographs of nature’s wonders.

Most of Shenandoah’s landscape is forested. In the process of photosynthesis, converting light, water, and minerals into foods, green plants give off water. From a distance this air-born water creates a faint haze giving the Blue Ridge its name. Many animals, including deer, black bears, and wild turkeys, flourish among the rich growth of an oak-hickory forest. In season, bushes and wildflowers bloom along the Drive and trails and fill the open spaces. Apple trees, stone foundations, and cemeteries are reminders of the families who once called this place home.

Authorized May 22, 1926 and fully established December 26, 1935, the park’s total acreage is 197,411.60, including 79,579 acres of congressionally designated Wilderness. In 1964, the Congress of the United States passed a law known as the Wilderness Act, which created a National Wilderness Preservation System to provide an “enduring resource of wilderness” for future generations. Wilderness, according to the Wilderness Act, “…in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” The Wilderness Act goes on to describe wilderness as a place “retaining its primeval character and influence” where there are “outstanding opportunities for solitude”. When the Wilderness Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System, most of the wilderness areas created under the Act were located in the west. Areas in the east, such as Shenandoah National Park, did not meet the definition of wilderness. In 1975, Congress passed the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act which aimed to include eastern wild areas, which showed signs of human use, but were now returning to a natural state, in the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Eastern Wilderness Areas Act set the stage for wilderness designation in Shenandoah National Park. At the park’s establishment, the land showed signs of human use. As time went on, nature began to reclaim the park and a wilder Shenandoah emerged.

Shenandoah National Park includes 300 square miles of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the southern Appalachians. The park rises above the Virginia Piedmont to its east and the Shenandoah Valley to its west. Two peaks exceed 4,000 feet. The range of elevation, slopes and aspects, rocks and soils, precipitation, and latitude create a mix of habitats.

Shenandoah serves as a refuge for many species of animals. There are over 200 resident and transient bird species, over 50 species of mammals, 51 reptile and amphibian species, and 30 fish species found in the park.

Those who explored the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains in the early 1700s reported an abundance and variety of animals. As European settlers cleared the land, introduced domestic animals, and hunted native animals, the abundance and variety in species diminished. An unknown number of native species disappeared from the area, while populations of many other species dwindled. American bison were eliminated around 1798 and elk followed in 1855. Beaver and river otter disappeared in the late 1800s. Other species, including the eastern timber wolf, the eastern cougar, the white-tailed deer, turkey, black bear, and bobcats were either extirpated or declined drastically. Fortunately, most of these species have now returned to park either through re-introduction on lands elsewhere in Virginia or through natural population recovery. Today, Shenandoah National Park is a great place to observe wildlife. Countless visitors spend hours watching deer snip and tear plants. Other people look for tracks and scat of bobcats, listen for the rustling of raccoons in the brush, and occasionally smell striped skunks. The opossum, groundhog, gray fox, and eastern cottontail are more commonly seen mammals in the park.

Shenandoah is home to ten species of toads and frogs and fourteen species of salamanders or newts. The Shenandoah Salamander is the only federally endangered animal species found in the park. It is endemic to high elevation talus slopes located in three scattered areas of the central section of the park. This salamander is closely related to the ubiquitous red-backed salamander. There are twenty-seven species of reptiles found at Shenandoah including eighteen snakes, five turtles, three skinks, and one lizard. The park is currently supporting a number of reptile-related research efforts that are attempting to describe species associations, habitat preferences, distributions, and relative abundance of these animals.

Hardwood forests dominate the park. The forests are the result of many disturbances, some measured in geologic time, others in minutes. Remnants of boreal forests remind us that continental glaciers came near. Strands of barbed wire embedded in trunks mark the edges of former pastures. Uprooted trees show the path Tropical Storm Fran made in 1996. The park’s 70 mile length and 3500 foot elevation range create numerous habitats able to support a variety of forest cover types. Chestnut and red oak forest are common in the park, but other forest types such tulip poplar, cove hardwood, and even small areas of spruce-fir forest, may also be found when exploring the park’s peaks, steep hillsides, and sheltered stream valleys. The forests would be incomplete without the seemingly countless herb, fern, and shrub species found beneath the trees. Trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, interrupted fern, blueberries, azaleas, and lady slipper orchids are just a few examples of the numerous smaller species that enrich the under story. Explorations into the forests of Shenandoah National Park provide tremendous opportunities for discovery to both the casual and serious botanical enthusiast.

Shenandoah National Park supports over 400 species of fungi. Edible mushrooms constitute only a small fraction of the fungus species within the park. Morels (Morchella spp.) are a popular spring edible in Shenandoah. Mushroom hunters look for them when the oak leaves are “the size of a mouse’s ear”. However, even these relatively easy to identify species need to be carefully differentiated from false morels (Gyromitria spp.) which are harmful if eaten. One of the largest of all fungi, the giant puffball (Calvatia maxima), is also found in the park. This edible fungus can grow up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) in diameter.

The mountains in Shenandoah National Park are usually 10 degrees cooler than the valley below. Winters can be severe with snow and ice, and summer showers may be sudden. Layered clothing is always suggested.

The park itself is always open, but some portions of the Skyline Drive, the only road through Shenandoah National Park, are closed from dusk to early morning during hunting season. This road also closes in inclement weather for safety reasons. Visitor facilities and services begin operating between early April and Memorial Day and close down by late November.

For camping you’ll need all the usual: tents, sleeping bags, camp stove, lantern, compass, hiking boots, rain gear, and food supplies.

Current Weather

Do not feed or interfere with the animals. They may seem even tame at times, but even a deer will defend their young and their hooves are sharp.

Entrance fees:
March through November: $8.00/ 7 days per person 16 years of age or older when entering by means other than a private, non-commercial vehicle. $15.00/ 7 days per vehicle, to $30.00 for the annual pass that covers a vehicle and family.

Camping fees run from free for backcountry camping to $16-19/ single campsites and $32/ group campsites.

There are five campgrounds that include one group campground. They are Mathews Arm Campground, Big Meadows Campground, Lewis Mountain Campground, Loft Mountain Campground, and Dundo Group Campground. Most are open spring through October, with Big Meadows open until November. Reservations are required at Bib Meadows and the Dundo Group Campgrounds.

Mathews Arm (mile 22.1) is the nearest campground for those entering the park from the north. It is next to a nature trail and the trail to Overall Run Falls, the tallest waterfall in the park. Elkwallow Wayside, with camping supplies and food service, is two miles away. Big Meadows (mile 51.2), though secluded, is near many of the major facilities and popular hiking trails in the park. Three waterfalls are within walking distance; the Meadow, with its abundant plant growth and wildlife, lies directly across the Drive. Lewis Mountain (mile 57.5), the smallest campground in the park, appeals to those who want a little more privacy without venturing deep into the backcountry. Yet it is within seven miles of the popular Big Meadows area. Loft Mountain (mile 79.5), the largest campground in the park, sits atop Big Flat Mountain with outstanding views to east and west. Two waterfalls and the trails into the Big Run Wilderness area are nearby. Dundo is a primitive campground open to groups with a minimum of 8 campers and maximum of 20. Facilities include seven large group sites, pit toilets, and water. One site has a wheelchair accessible picnic table and a raised fire grate.

Backcountry camping requires a free permit. Permits are available by mail from Park Headquarters. Write: Superintendent, Attn: Backcountry Camping Permit, US Highway 211 East, Luray, VA, 22835. Or call, (540) 999-3500, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST. Permits are also available in the park at visitor centers, entrance stations, and headquarters. Prepare well. Bring a backcountry stove or no-cook food. Campfires are not permitted except at a limited number of pre-constructed fireplaces at backcountry huts and day-use shelters. Bring enough rope to hang food, toothpaste, soap, and other items that smell, at least ten feet up and four feet out from the trunk of a tree. Maximum group size is ten people. Plan to camp out of sight of the trail, other camping parties, and day-use shelters. Pets are permitted, but must be leashed at all times. Shenandoah National Park is home to large populations of black bears and other animals that can be attracted by poor camping habits. Use the “Leave no Trace” rule.

Note: Shenandoah anticipates closing the Dundo Campground sometime in July and spreading out the group campsites between Mathews Arm, Big Meadows and Loft Mountain Campground.

The closest airports are in Washington, DC, Weyers Cave, VA, and Charlottesville, VA. The four entrances to the park are at I-66 and Route 340 to the north entrance at Front Royal, Route 211 to the central entrance at Thornton Gap, Route 33 to Swift Run Gap, and I-64 to the Rockfish Gap entrance at the southern end of the park and the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Speed limit for the Skyline Drive is 35mph. Bicycles are permitted in the park on paved roads only.

Approximate Mileage from the following major cities to Shenandoah National Park:

By Car:

Harrisonburg, VA – 65.73 miles

Charlottesville, VA – 74.75 miles

Washington, VA – 18.20 miles

Morgantown, OH – 266.56 miles

Baltimore Corner, VA – 174.32 miles

Pittsburg Junction, OH – 271.17 miles

By Plane

Washington Dulles International Airport – 55.98 miles

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport – 70.68 miles

Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport – 79.62 miles

Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport – 66.42 miles

Shenandoah National Park, 3655 U.S. Highway 211 East, Luray, VA 22835-9036

Visitor Information: 540-999-3500

Map

Categories: East, National Park Information, National Parks Information, Videos, & Pictures, Shenandoah National Park Tags: , , , , , , , ,