Happy Holidays

I'm taking off early tomorrow morning (I hope) for a long vacation that includes stops in Colorado (Boulder/Nederland/Summit County), Arizona (Organ Pipes? Coronado? Haven't totally made up my mind.) and San Francisco. All that traveling, camping and scraping my knees means I won't be able to update this old lady of a blog until after New Years, which bums me out as much as it does excite me.If you're going to be in any of the places above in the coming weeks, shoot me an email (coldsplinters@gmail.com). And for those of you that I've already made plans to see, I can't wait. Happy Holidaze and see you in 2010.MP3: Johnny Cash - Flesh and Blood

Josiah Whitney

Josiah Dwight Whitney was an American geologist, professor of geology at Harvard University and chief of the California Geological Survey from 1860–1874. Mount Whitney, the highest point in the continental United States at 14,505 feet and pictured above, was named after him by members of his survey. Whitney strongly believed that Yosemite Valley was created by a cataclysmic sinking of the valley floor. John Muir, who was exploring the Yosemite area during the same time, argued that the valley was carved by glacial action. (Whitney described Muir as an “ignoramus” and a “mere sheepherder.”) Whitney's survey reports suppressed evidence of glaciers, and he never abandoned his viewpoint. Most scientists eventually dismissed Whitney's hypothesis and accepted Muir’s.

Hacky Sack

I was at EMS yesterday, along with a billion other people, and was pleasantly surprised to see a pile of Guatemalean hacky sacks in the bins next to the checkout line. It's been a while since I was a freshman hanging out on Farrand Field in Boulder, Colorado, but at 4 bucks, it was a damn fine purchase. Fun thing to do around the fire.

Cabeza Prieta

At 803,418 acres, the Cabeza Prieta Wilderness is Arizona's largest Wilderness Area, encompassing nearly 93 percent of the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Designated by the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1990, Edward Abbey called the area "the best desert wilderness left in the USA" and Wilderness.net refers to it as "the most isolated, rugged, and pristine desert landscapes in the Southwest." Bordering Organ Pipe National Monument, the area is located just north of Sonora, Mexico and west of Ajo, in southwestern Arizona.I haven't been, have you?MP3: Family Band - Hatred

James Hetfield

On top of an earlier gift of 400 acres for open space, James Hetfield is now donating 330 acres of land surround his property in California's Lucas Valley for preservation as farmland. In addition, county officials say they are close to a deal with Hetfield that would reroute a hiking trail that crosses his property. He recently constructed a fence to block the trail, and if the deal goes through, it will cost the county $200,000. (via)MP3: Metallica - Orion (thx JTK)

Wolverine 1,000 Mile

photo by Daniel Arnold There are a lot of things I'm thankful for this year, but if I had to rank them all in a big old list, I'd probably put my Wolverine 1,000 Mile Boots right there at the top, along with that 66 key piano that they're resting on in the photo above. (The truth is, I got that piano two years ago as a gift to myself after being in the hospital for a few days with meningitis, but every time I play it, it feels like I bought it yesterday.) Wolverine was nice enough to send me these boots several months ago, and while the outdoor jaunts force me to substitute something a little thicker, they have not left my feet since arriving in the mail. It was a little difficult at first to see something so handsome at the bottom of my jeans and t-shirt uniform, but I made do. They've been a constant reminder of what a damn shame it is that 99% of "outdoor" shoes look the way they do.Based on company founder G.A. Krause's original, 125-year-old design, the shoe was originally built to "give you 1,000 miles of wear." And that couldn't feel more like the truth. They'll be with you for a long time, forever maybe, getting better looking with every step.

The Adventure Life + Cold Splinters Interview

Steve Casimiro started Bike Magazine, ran Powder for a decade and was the West Coast editor of National Geographic Adventure from it's beginning until it's recent end. He also launched his own site, The Adventure Life, on January 1st, 2009. After a few minutes sifting through the site's news coverage, travel stories, photos and gear reviews, it's clear that TAL will soon be the online destination for all things outdoors and perhaps Steve's most important project to date. The guy is a professional - you trust him, you want advice from him, you listen when he's got something to say.About a month or two ago, when Steve asked if I would do an interview for The Adventure Life, I quickly accepted before he had a chance to change his mind. Was he drunk? Starting a charity? Whatever the reason, my answers to his questions were posted earlier today, along with some of the kindest and most flattering words I've ever read. I am truly honored, and while I never take this whole blogging thing too seriously, Steve's article makes it pretty tough to not want to keep going and going and going.To Steve and everyone else who has been reading this rag for the past year and a half, thanks.Read: "Cold Splinters Is A Wayback Machine for the Coolest Outdoor Era"MP3: Ron Wood - Mystifies Me

17-02 Shot and Killed

A seven-year-old Whooping Crane — the only successful breeding female from the eastern migratory population — was shot and killed in western Indiana, near the town of Cayuga. The crane, given the beautiful name of 17-02, and her mate, 11-02, hatched two chicks in summer 2006 and one in summer 2009 at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin. One of the 2006 birds survived. The parents have been the only adults in the eastern population to raise a chick and lead it to wintering grounds in Florida.In late November, the two cranes had stopped at a marsh in Indiana, a place they typically stop at on their southbound migration. A tracking field manager observed the pair on November 28 during an aerial survey. On her return flight on Tuesday, December 1, 17-02 was missing. The bird was found dead near a ravine, not far from a rural county road. FWS is offering a minimum reward of $2,500 to the person or people who provide information leading to a conviction.

Arizona Highways

Arizona Highways is a monthly magazine published by the Arizona Department of Transportation since 1925. It began as an engineering journal dedicated to the state's road construction and maintenance, but was eventually taken over by Arizona travel tales, stories and photos. The covers of these magazines are some of the best I've ever seen, so start looking for them if you haven't already.American Highways is still around and has a damn good website full of scenic drive and hiking ideas - perfect, if like me, you're spending Christmas time in southern Arizona.MP3: Tony Joe White - I've Got A Thing About You Baby (thx)

White Mountain Art

White Mountain art refers to the 19th century body of work by over four hundred artists who painted landscapes of New Hampshire's White Mountains. One of the early artists to paint the area, and the artist widely known as the founder of the Hudson River School, was Thomas Cole, whose painting A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains (top) is considered one of the most famous of the early era of White Mountain art. But it was Benjamin Champney (Moat Mountain From North Conway, bottom) who eventually defined the "White Mountain School" of painting. Champney, a New Hampshire native, moved to North Conway in 1858 and spent the rest of his life painting the area. He was influenced by the Hudson River School style, but eventually developed a unique style of his own that attracted artists to North Conway from all over the country.For more information and loads more paintings, visit WhiteMountainArt.com

NPS Gives $873K For Trails

The National Park Service's "Connect Trails To Park" grants have been awarded for 17 projects this year. The grants total $873,000, and are being given to places where national historic and scenic trails intersect with national parks and other Federal facilities. The full list of recipients can be found here, but it includes:Rocky Mountain National Park, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail: $59,750 to build a new kiosk, pavilion, and entrance sign for the trail at Grand Lake.Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Stanwix National Memorial, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park: $30,485 to construct North Country National Scenic Trail waysides at Grand Marais, Michigan; Rome, New York, and; Dayton, OhioRidgefield National Wildlife Refuge: $35,000 to provide for Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail interpretive programming at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse in Ridgefield, Washington.Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail: $45,205 to develop an "Explore the Outdoors, Your Life Depends on It" education program in Great Falls, Montana.The grant program was established in 2008 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 52,000 mile National Trails System. The Trails System dates from 1968 legislation that created the Appalachian and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails. Today, the National Trails System is comprised of 11 national scenic trails (NSTs), 19 national historic trails (NHTs), and more than 1,050 national recreation trails (NRTs). (via Daily Dirt)MP3: Jack Rose - Revolt

That Ghost

Daniel, Hanly and I went out to Breezy Point a few weeks ago with our friend, Earthwalker, and made a music video for That Ghost. Earthwalker ate some bad sand and we followed him around singing "Let Go, Let Go, Let Go" at the top of our lungs until the sun went down. Stereogum premiered it yesterday and you can watch it on Vimeo after the jump."The Red Bow" by That Ghost from twosyllable records on Vimeo.

100 Days In Glacier

In 2001, a friend of mine and his father set out on a camping trip in Glacier National Park. It was a 14 mile hike from the trailhead to the campsite, and along the way, they met some doctors that were on the same journey. My friend sped up towards the end of the hike to see where they'd be sleeping, and while he was ahead, his father had a heart attack. The doctors found his father, did some life saving doctor things and had him airlifted out of the park to a hospital. There also happened to be a long distance runner already at the campsite who, the following morning after the helicopter came, ran down the 14 mile trail and the extra several miles to my friend's car, and drove it back to the trailhead to save time for the rest of the group. It's a hell of a story that I haven't been able to stop thinking about all weekend. My friend's father was at the party where the story was told and still keeps in touch and visits the doctors that saved his life. Great ending.The above picture is from Glacier Park Magazine's 100 Days In Glacier feature that celebrates the park's 100th birthday in 2010. More after the jump.