Surviorman’s Best Story Ever
Bryan June 23rd, 2008
I thought WildrLog readers would enjoy this clip of Les Stroud (Surviorman) describing his best story ever: being chased by a male moose during the rut. Enjoy!
Archive for the 'Nature' Category
Explore your world this weekend
Bryan June 13th, 2008
Here are some ideas:
- Tennessee State Parks
- Tennessee State Natural Areas
- Big South Fork National Recreation Area
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
It’s such a brilliant place.
Review of Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Bryan April 2nd, 2008
I wanted to post this as a follow-up to my Watercooler Wednesday post a few weeks ago. If you’re interested in following culture and the arts, check out Watercooler Wednesdays over at Ethos.
As expected, I had a great time at the Nashville stop of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour over at Montgomery Bell Academy. There were some amazingly talented filmmakers featured covering some really cool athletes and adventure seekers. I thought I’d give a bit of a recap/review of some of the films that caught my attention. I’d encourage everyone to check out the world tour next year.
Badgered, Best Film on Mountain Environment
An animated film depicting a funny day in the life of badgers and birds and their resilience to human impact. Take 7 minutes from your break and watch it. You won’t regret it.
King Lines, Alpine Club of Canada Award for Best Film on Climbing
A young world-traveler/climber always challenging himself with new routes. Imagine trying to climb a route over and over again… sometimes hundreds of times, failing AND falling every time. Now imagine doing this all over the world. King Lines website
20 Seconds of Joy, Best Film on Mountain Sports
This was our feature film for the evening. 20 Seconds of Joy follows the life of Norway’s only professional female base jumper, Karina Hollekim. Define Base Jumping: jumping off of perfectly stable cliffs, bridges, buildings, etc. to experience flying. Somewhat akin to skydiving. Favorite quote: “If you can jump off a building, what else is there to fear?”
Trial & Error, People’s Choice Award for Radical Reels
Mountain biker builds and then learns to ride one of the most challenging courses ever. He compares out treatment of the environment life a hard mountain bike crash.
The official world tour preview for a full taste of the world tour experience.
I’ve attended this Nashville stop twice now and I’ve always been impressed at the quality of films presented. Thanks to Blue Ridge Mountain Sports for bringing this event to Nashville year after year.
Dawson plans to canoe Harpeth to Cumberland River
Bryan March 29th, 2008
John Dawson, 66 from Brentwood, plans to sail and troll the length of the Harpeth River from east of College Grove to the Cumberland River in a canoe he’s rebuilding. It’s a 120 mile journey he believes will take him 7 days. He starts the float on Tuesday, April 1… or does he?
Read more at the Tennessean.
HT: The Tennessean
Black Bear return to Middle Tennessee
Bryan March 26th, 2008
Welcome back, black bears. Tennesseans hunted out the black bear in most of the state long ago. They’ve survived in the mountains of East Tennessee and have been relocated to Big Fork South on the Cumberland Plateau. But thankfully they’re returning to Middle Tennessee. TWRA is confirming the sighting of a black bear in Hickman County, west of Nashville.
Bears needn’t be feared as long as you respect them and give them plenty of space. Bear hunting in Middle Tennessee is not permitted. This is a beautiful, regal animal. Misbehaving bears are usually responding to idiotic human stimuli.
For more information on black bears, check out Appalachian Bear Rescue.
Welcome back fella!
HT: The Tennessean
UPDATE 3/28/2008: Originally the theory was this bear came from Mississippi or Arkansas. But according to the Tennessean, tracks were reported to TWRA in Cannon County about a week ago. They’re now speculating this bear came from the east from the Cumberland or Appalachian Mountains.
I hope this is the beginning of a new herd here in Middle Tennessee. I believe that man can live in relative harmony with bears as long as we get them plenty of space and respect. If so, let’s learn from our neighbors in the Smokys about how to peaceably coexist with this majestic animal.
Banff Mountain Festival films in Nashville
Bryan March 5th, 2008
I’ve decided to link this in with my friend Randy’s Watercooler Wednesday post. Check out the weekly roundtable on culture..
The films from the 2007 Banff Mountain Festival will be stopping in Nashville on Tuesday, March 25, 7pm at the historic Belcourt Theater Montgomery Bell Academy’s Pascall Theater. There are several other stops on the festival tour, so be sure to check out the schedule if you’re not in the Nashville area.
The Mountain Festival celebrates the mountain and outdoor adventure cultures through craft, book, and film festivals each fall in the Canadian Rockies town of Banff.
I attended the Nashville stop last year and I can honestly say it was WELL worth 4 hours of my time. I saw films on rock climbing, extreme mountain biking and kayaking, and touring Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, China, and India by bike.
Put this on your calendar. Tickets are $10 at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports in Belle Meade after March 10 and are $12 at the door if there are any left.
UPDATE: Bryan goofed. Toby at the Belcourt pointed out that the festival will be at MBA’s Pascall Theater. Thanks to Toby! Support the Belcourt!
Thursday 01/18/2008 Session-The Spiritual Side of Nature
Bryan January 18th, 2008
This is one of my favorite sessions. It’s a joint presentation of pastor, author, and nature photographer Chuck Summers and nature photographer, author and Christ follower Ken Jenkins. These sessions are almost always the most difficult to describe because the content is almost exclusively unpublished photos they each have taken of the course of their respective careers.
As Ken points out, it only makes sense when talking about creation to also talk about the creator. Ken’s style is to select a few photographs and make some comments and observation on each one. Ken is extremely insightful and probably should be a pastor.
Chuck’s style is to make a series of opening comments and display his photographs to music. The titles were "White as Snow", "Look Deeper", and "Love" (set to the contemporary Christian song "Testify to Love"). Chuck’s new book just recently came out. It’s called Kentucky Unbridled Spirit and Beauty. I haven’t gotten it yet, but I enjoyed his previous works and am sure this will be a great one to add to my collection.
Around the Blogosphere
Bryan April 7th, 2007
- Congrats to Casey over at Modern Hiker for his 100th post!
- Also courtesy of Modern Hiker, check out the video below (one part of a series from Vice TV called Toxic West Virgina) on the barbaric practice of mountaintop removal and the excellent post. Casey does a wonderful job of following this issue.
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Safer in the woods? Tom over at Two-Heel Drive shares the story of a woman severely bitten by dogs in her driveway. How did she get over it? Either guess or click on over and find out.
- Tom in this post also shares a post with video that is just too funny. Check out this stroller friendly hike.
Short Springs State Natural Area
Bryan March 10th, 2007
Today, I hiked at the teenage Short Springs State Natural Area between Tullahoma and Manchester. The 420 acre natural area is managed by the City of Tullahoma, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Tennessee’s division of Natural Areas. Tullahoma’s water came from here once upon a time before the Normandy Dam project. I haven’t found any other history on the area. Check out the Trail and Topo Map.
Distance: 3.6 miles, mesh trail system
Total Elevation Climb: 260 feet, mainly minor ups and downs
Trail type: varies from single track dirt and rock to old road bed
Temperature: upper 60s, sunshine and clear, blue skies
Time: 2.5 hours, 1 hour of stops
Significant features: waterfalls!!!
First off, the turn off of Highway 55 is not marked at all, so here’s the link for your Google Maps and GPS tinkering. And for directions directly to the parking lot from wherever you are click here.
Once there, I found an extremely well developed system of trails. First, I took the Busby Falls loop which runs down to the falls on Bobo Creek. I crossed the creek, but didn’t go much further. It looked like they were building a trail on the other side (orange flagging tape), but there weren’t any blazes. It’s a pretty area and wasn’t busy at all (great for some solitude). The Busby Falls Loop reconnects with the Machine Falls Loop.
Machine Falls is the main attraction in my opinion. It takes a little rock hopping to get back to it from the trail. It’s worth it. As I got closer, I could see water seeping from between the rocks on my right. A few more steps and I was face to face with it. The falls are about 60 feet tall and almost as wide. I wandered around on the falls for about 30 minutes as there were a number of easy climbs around it. I was in awe of the sheer power needed to create this small wonder. It made me feel really small.
Back on the Machine Falls Loop, (I bypassed the Wildflower Loop since I photographed the only one I had seen thus far) I trekked until I got to the Adams Falls Loop. Note that on the published map, this is a there and back. it just says to me the trail system is still being developed. From the trail, Adams Falls takes some getting to. Since there wasn’t a soul around, I elected not to go bouldering over to it. I was disappointed because I’m sure I missed a treat. I’ll take a hiking partner with me next time.
I got back on the Machine Falls Loop which brought me around to the trail head by Short Springs Road. I’ll rate this a 3.5 out of 5 on the Bryan scale. I’ll definitely remember this place.
Hiking Cures All Ailments
Bryan March 8th, 2007
I picked up a copy of this article at the hike desk at Wilderness Wildlife Week In January. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Hiking Cures All Ailments
by Bruce Douglas, Rocky Top Trail Shop
I am one of those people who believe that hiking and backpacking in the mountains will cure any ailment or condition you may have. At first this may sound fanatical, but over the years, I have found that hiking on a regular basis can cure anything. My own experiences and those of fellow hikers have proven again and again that there is nothing that hiking cannot cure - mentally or physically.
I found out the hard way that backpacking is a 100% guaranteed weight loss plan. I have neglected to market backpacking this way for fear of overcrowding trails and campsites with hikers clad in spandex and warm-up suits. Have you ever heard, "Lose weight and still eat as much as you want?" Long distance hiking really does allow for this.
Most active people eat between 2,000 and 3,000 calories per day. When backpacking, the body is burning between 4,000 and 5,000 calories per day. And when you are hiking, you don’t have many opportunities to stop and eat fried chicken and biscuits so your caloric intake is considerably less. I have found that men lose approximately one pound per day while on the trail. Women lose about one-half pound per day. This equation takes for granted that the person in question has a few pounds to lose and I’m sure there are a few of these people out there.
Hiking also does wonders for the back. I know hikers who have had multiple back surgeries and tell me that their back always feels better when they are hiking. One fellow hiker I know has five metal rods in his back and he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and never felt better! My lower back always feels better when I come home from a backpacking trip. Carrying a heavy pack on your back for several days strengthens the back tremendously and will keep your lower back in good shape. I do wish, however, that I could design a pack that would carry itself but why take all the fun out of hiking?
Many times I have stepped on the trail with a cold or a touch of the flu. Within a few hours I can feel the congestions leaving my body only to be replaced with good clean mountain freshness. It must have something to do with breathing clean air and drinking clean (filtered) spring water. If I could only bottle it and sell it, I would retire and be spending my days hiking in New Zealand.
There must be a lot of bad things floating in the air around the city. Or maybe it’s just the constant stress we’re under at work, or the frustrations we have when we sit in traffic. Whatever it is, I think they’re all factors as to why we get those dam headaches. To this day, I cannot ever remember developing a headache while hiking. If you have a really bad headache that no amount of aspirin seems to cure, then I suggest you head for your favorite trail. I promise the pain will be gone in a short while.
Ever wake up with a stiff neck? Try hiking it out. I used to try everything to get rid of a stiff neck. I tried stretching, walking, lying down, sitting up, heat, ice, hot showers and once had my wife walk on my back. One morning I woke up with one of the worst neck wrenches I have ever had. I was already committed to a morning hike with my family so I reluctantly rolled out of bed and was practically carried to the trail head. In one hour, I was able to look around in every direction and still keep an eye on the trail!
Backpacking will cure all your internal plumbing problems. Whether it’s colonitis or irregularity, the exercise and diet of backpacking will do wonders for your metabolism. If you are having problems with irregularity, try hiking in the rain or when the weather is cold and miserable. Nature always calls during the most inopportune moments.
I met a backpacker five years ago who had a spastic colon. The doctor told him that the condition would be with him forever and he would have to take medication for the rest of his life. The doctor also recommended exercise, a careful diet and stress reduction. He began hiking and that took care of the exercise and stress levels. To this day, he has never needed the medication.
Need to quit smoking? Try hiking up a 5,000 foot mountain on a day hike and see how well you can breathe. I guarantee you won’t be craving a cigarette. You’ll be craving for more air! You’ll have a new outlook on what smoking does to your lungs.
Do you suffer from insomnia? Try getting up at dawn, pack your pack, strike camp, cook breakfast, then head out on the trail. Carry a 45 pound backpack up and down the mountains for 8-10 hours. Then set up camp again, walk a half mile to get water and spend 20 minutes filtering the water. Walk another half mile each time you need to go to the outhouse. Then try ambling around at night trying to find a place 100 yards from camp to hang the bear bag. When you finally lie down to rest, think about doing it all again the next day. You’ll get a good night’s sleep.
In my opinion, backpacking is as good as the fountain of youth. I challenge you to hike with the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club, the Gatlinburg Retired Hikers Club, or the famous Thursday Hikers Club. They will hike your socks off and then tell you they are twice your age! I am convinced that elderly hikers are more alert and twice as healthy as the rest of us. The best thing for senior citizens is an active lifestyle. The mind and body will deteriorate if it stays indoors on the couch. Grandma Gatewood hiked the entire Appalachian Trail when she was 70 and lived to be 100.
If you doubt my claims about his wonderful elixir called hiking, I dare you to prove me wrong. If there is a shred of doubt after you have tried my 100% guaranteed cure all, I will give you the phone numbers of my three college English teachers who failed me because I did not write well. I never had anything published before I started hiking.
Bruce Douglas
Rocky Top Trail Shop
Hiking nourishes my body and my soul. I hike every week and feel better after 3 hours on the trail than I do all week. I just melts the stress of my week away and afterward, I feel human again.
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