Paul Petzoldt's Films of NOLS in the 60s

Paul Petzoldt (1908 - 1999) grew up in southern Idaho, and at the age of 16, made his first ascent of Wyoming's Grand Teton wearing cowboy boots. He soon recognized the need to have better training and better preparation, and in the early 1930s, started the first guide concession in Grand Teton National Park.In 1963, after years of developing mountaineering techniques, Paul Petzold testified before Congress in favor of the Wilderness Act. That same year, he helped establish the first American Outward Bound program in Colorado.Two years later, in 1965, Petzoldt founded the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming. NOLS is the leading nonprofit outdoor education school, with more than 120,000 alumni. NOLS has 14 locations around the world and educates more than 3,000 students annually.The video after the jump was found "deep in the archives next to PPWE sleeping bags and under the wool knickers" by NOLS, who had their interns clean it up. Holy hell is it wonderful. Beautiful shots, wonderful narration by Petzoldt and some fine, fine musical accompaniment. One of the best things I've seen in a long while.WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP.

Cold Splinters + The Curiosity Shoppe

A few weeks ago, the kind folks at San Francisco's Curiosity Shoppe asked if I would contribute to their Ideal Bookshelf series. I put the task in the hands of my personal prop stylist, Kalen Kaminski, and this is what she came up with. Looks great. Nothing goes with the vision quests of Black Elk Speaks better than Woody Allen.If you're in San Francisco, go to the store and check it out. And if anyone wants to buy this thing for me, be my guest...

Dolly Sods Wilderness

The 17,371-acre Dolly Sods Wilderness in Monongahela National Forest, WV is named after the Dalhe family, who in the mid-1800s, used open grassy fields called "sods" for grazing sheep in the area. Located high on the Allegheny Plateau, Dolly Sods is known for its rocky plains and upland bogs. It is the highest plateau of its type east of the Mississippi River with altitude ranging from around 4,000 feet to about 2,700 feet. The lower elevations consist of a forest of northern hardwoods and laurel thickets. Higher up, groves of wind-stunted red spruce stand near heath barrens where azaleas, mountain laurels, rhododendron, and blueberries grow.David Hunter Strother ("Porte Crayon") wrote an early description of the area, published in Harper's Monthly magazine in 1852:

"In Randolph County, Virginia, is a tract of country containing from seven to nine hundred square miles, entirely uninhabited, and so savage and inaccessible that it has rarely been penetrated even by the most adventurous. The settlers on its borders speak of it with a sort of dread, and regard it as an ill-omened region, filled with bears, panthers, impassable laurel-brakes, and dangerous precipices. Stories are told of hunters having ventured too far, becoming entangled, and perishing in its intricate labyrinths. The desire of daring the unknown dangers of this mysterious region, stimulated a party of gentlemen . . . to undertake it in June, 1851. They did actually penetrate the country as far as the Falls of the Blackwater, and returned with marvelous accounts of its savage grandeur, and the quantities of game and fish to be found there."

Mojave Cross Stolen

Over the past few years, the cross on Sunrise Rock in Mojave National Preserve has been at the center of a rather ridiculous lawsuit. The ACLU has been trying to get the cross taken down citing the ol' separation of church and state. On April 28, the Supreme Court ruled the cross did not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.Unfortunately, the 7-foot-tall metal structure was stolen Sunday night from Sunrise Rock. The Liberty Institute is now offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction in the case, and the National Park Service has established a tip hotline seeking information leading to the recovery of the cross. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Park Service at (760) 252-6120.The Latin cross was first erected in 1934 by a local Veterans of Foreign War unit. It has been rebuilt several times over the years, and Easter services are held annually at the remote desert site.More info at FOX News.MP3: Carl Perkins - Gone Gone Gone

Cattails

It's spring y'all, and that means lots of edible things along the trail. One of the more common (aka easy to identify) is the cattail. Peal back a few layers of the shoot, cut em up and you'll have yourself a damn fine addition to your pasta/instant mashed potatoes/rice/etc etc. Watch an "expert" show you how here.

Only God Can Make A Tree

It's New Deal Tuesday. The famous "Only God Can Make A Tree" poster was created by Federal Art Project artist Stanley Thomas Clough - he did this one and this one too. Clough was a printer, lithographer, illustrator, and etcher. The title of the poster is taken from Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees," which you can read below.

I THINK that I shall never seeA poem lovely as a tree.A tree whose hungry mouth is prestAgainst the sweet earth's flowing breast;A tree that looks at God all day,And lifts her leafy arms to pray;A tree that may in summer wearA nest of robins in her hair;Upon whose bosom snow has lain;Who intimately lives with rain.Poems are made by fools like me,But only God can make a tree.

CCC

Five days after his 1933 inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called an emergency session of Congress to install one of his most popular New Deal programs, the Conservation Civilian Corps.The program targeted unemployed young men, veterans and American Indians hard hit by the Great Depression. The CCC boys received free education, healthcare and job training and were required to send a portion of their wages home to their parents. The boys alsoThroughout its nine-year existence, the program put millions to work on federal and state land for the ‘prevention of forest fires, floods, and soil erosion, plant, pest, and disease control.’ Nationwide, enrollees planted three billion trees and came to be known as the Tree Army.The photos above are from the Oregon Public Broadcast's Oregon Experience: CCC. Oregon hosted dozens of CCC camps all over the state, where enrollees fought fires on the Tillamook Burns, helped build ski areas on Mt Hood, built telephone and electrical wires, and improved farm lands.If you don't know too much about the CCC, start here. If you find it as interesting, which you will, and want to read more, then go here.MP3: Reverend Gary Davis - Down By The River

Lamprey River, New Hampshire

I had the joy of running beside the beautiful Lamprey River this last weekend while visiting my folks in New Hampshire. The Lamprey originates in the Saddleback Mountains, Northwood, New Hampshires and flows 47.3 miles to the Great Bay. It has the largest quantity of anadromous fish (fish born in fresh water, spending most of their lives in the sea and returning to fresh water to spawn. Salmon, smelt, shad, striped bass, and sturgeon are common examples.) in the Great Bay watershed and hosts substantial numbers of freshwater mussels. The segment of the Lamprey from the Bunker Pond Dam in the town of Epping to the confluence with the Piscassic River in the vicinity of the Durham-Newmarket town line is part of the Wild and Scenic River system. 11.5 miles were designated on November 12, 1996 and another 12 miles were designated May 2, 2000. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 states: 

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Congress declares that the established national policy of dams and other construction at appropriate sections of the rivers of the United States needs to be complemented by a policy that would preserve other selected rivers or sections thereof in their free-flowing condition to protect the water quality of such rivers and to fulfill other vital national conservation purposes.

Massive Beaver Dam

Biologists have recently stumbled upon an enormous beaver dam, over a half mile long, in a remote region of Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada. The biologists believe it may have taken 20 years to complete, with several beaver families all helping to pile its wood, mud, and stone. It dwarfs a 1,956 foot dam in Montana previously thought to be the largest. The dam was able to reach such a massive size because multiple beaver families contributed to its construction, which required thousands of trees to produce. More info at Treehugger.MP3: Hot Tuna - How Long Blues

Blackfoot

When talking about Glacier (see below), it's impossible not to mention the Blackfoot. The Blackfoot had a territory that stretched from the North Saskatchewan River along what is now Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, to the Yellowstone River of Montana in the United States, and from the Rocky Mountains and along the South Saskatchewan River, east past the Cypress Hills.Fast forward a little bit...In 1896, the Blackfoot sold a large portion of their land to the American government with hopes of finding gold or copper, but found nothing. In 1910, the land they sold officially became known as Glacier National Park. Today, many of the Blackfoot live on reserves in Canada. About 8,500 live on the 1,500,000 acre Montana reservation.Way more information here.MP3: Young Grey Horse Society - Grass Dance Song*

Glacier Turns 100

Ahhh. Beautiful, beautiful, Glacier National Park.In 1891, the Great Northern Railway crossed the Continental Divide at Marias Pass. In an effort to stimulate use of the railroad, the Great Northern soon advertised the beauty of the region to the public. The company lobbied the United States Congress, and in 1897, the park was designated as a forest preserve. In 1910, a bill was introduced into the U.S. Congress which redesignated the region from a forest reserve to a national park. The bill was signed into law by President William Howard Taft on May 11, 1910. That means next week is Glacier's 100th birthday.To celebrate, Glacier has set up GlacierCentennial.org, a site dedicated to the history of the park. Just one more reason to visit that amazing place. Go, go, go, go, go.MP3: The Vern Williams Band - Montana Cowboy

1983 Appalachian Trail Log

The Don Nelan Shelter, which was burned by vandals in 1990, was located in Sugar Hollow in Carter County, Tennessee. The shelter's complete log from 1983, along with a wealth of other great information and stories, can be found at the Appalachain Trail Museum's website. Iin case you can't see all that well, the log from above reads:

3/12/83: Snow, Snow, Snow- about 3 inches. 7:00 a.m. and it's cold as shit. Thanks to T.E.H.C. for nice shelter. There have been several obscene notes recorded in here previously. We destroyed all but the one before. My response to it is, when the weather is hot and sticky that's no time to dunk your dick but when the frost is on the pumpkin thats the time for dicky dunkin. Hope everyone after us freezes also, Ha-Ha. Time to head for Dennis Cove and consume some Tang, apples, and Spam. HAPPY HIKING TO ALL!                                 Matthew, Clark, Bob, Willis                                     Georgia --> Maine 

All That The Rain Promises and More

All That the Rain Promises, and More is a wild mushroom identification and field guide by American mycologist David Arora. Published in 1991, the book includes detailed descriptions of more than 200 edible and poisonous mushroom species, as well as recipes, stories, and information on uses of various species such as for dying hair and clothing or playing games. In the preface, Arora writes:

"In leafing through these pages, you may wonder what all the 'fanciful,' 'foolish,' or (shudder) 'extraneous' material is doing in a factual guide. After all, it is the practical, hands-on, how-to-identify information that makes this book usefull and gives it substance. But I ask: is it any stranger or less desirable to sprinkle the facts with flakes of fancy than it is to liven up solemn, substantial fare like potatoes with something fancier and more flavorful, like wild mushrooms?"

Read it here and then buy it here.

Gerald Primeaux, Sr.

I posted this song a long, long time ago, so if you missed it the first time, do yourself a favor and listen. If you've already heard it, listen again and then buy the rest of the album here. I could try to explain who Gerald Primeaux, Sr. is or what his harmonized Native American Church music sounds like, but I'm sure I'd get it all wrong. Instead, read the wonderful information on his page at Turtle Island Storytellers Network, an American Indian online speakers bureau that promotes 80 tribal storytellers, historians and song carriers. The network, funded by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, National Park Service and the National Endowment for the Arts, was developed to provide speaking and consulting opportunities for tribal elders, oral historians, storytellers and song carriers from 13 states in the Northwest and Northern Plains states:

Gerald Primeaux Senior, I am a Huntawa Lakota from the Yankton Sioux Reservation. My name is Chactawa which means Twin Eagle Boy. I was born in 1963 on the Yankton, South Dakota, my dad was Asa Primeaux Senior. His dad, my grampa, was Harry Primeaux Senior. My great grandfather was Mitchell Primeaux and his dad was Ed Primeaux, that was on my dad's side. My mom's side, we come from the Rainbow Tiyospaye, Rainbow side. My mom was Loretta Charity Rainbow and her dad Harry Rainbow and then his dad was a medicine man just went by the name of Rainbow in our, among our people, that's where we come from. They call us the Yankton Sioux, the land of the friendly people, you know, that's where I'm from, that's where I come from.We grew up watching our Elders, like my father and my grandfather, and the way they expressed themselves through songs, through this Native American Church style, through going into the sweat lodge, through the dance arbors, to pow wow and then sun dance. I feel like a very fortunate person to be able to carry on something that they did before me and when I had no understanding of it but I think throughout the years, understanding comes with the knowledge and the know how. And then now feeling that, being strong in that, through song, through words, through our language, putting it through music, trying to learn like that the way they taught us.My grandfather always told me, Harry Primeaux, "When you do something, you're going to sing, grandson," he said, "listen." He said, "Sing it right. Know what you're singing about."So through there now, I'm at the position to where, through the language and through my prayers, I put them through song. You know, to try to remember the prayers like when we're singing, that's what it's about. It's about keeping the Mother Earth turningThe old people said it made the blind see, it healed the broken bones. You know, the story goes, it came to the Indian people through they say the trail of tears, you know, the trail of the tears the white man was putting us on reservations and they were saying we couldn't pray this way, we couldn't talk this way or we couldn't, they were saying that to us and a woman fell behind when she was trying to keep up with her people and she fell over, ready to just give herself up and die, you know.So maybe through that life she was carrying, a plant was saying, talking to her, telling her, "Why don't you eat me? Eat me and you will be well. So this lady ate this medicine. She was able to get a little bit of strength so she could sit up again and she gathered all what she can around her and she stayed there for about a week eating medicine. She was able to get her strength back. She was nourished. So she walked forward and she caught up with her people.She kind of shared with the medicine man what she, what she found on the ground and how it talked to her, how it had some kind of life into it. So they ate it.But that's how it came to us, as a medicine and now its spread out all over the place and, it has similar ways, it all has similar ways. You go into pray, you go into eat medicine, you go in there to get healed, maybe encourage to where they stay all night and they pray all night to where by the time that sun comes up there is a way of greeting that sun. Greeting the new day to go forward, you know, that was how the understanding that was taught into me.

MP3: Gerald Primeaux, Sr. - Two Harmonized Peyote Songs

Mount Mazama + Crater Lake

Before Crater Lake came into existence, a cluster of volcanoes dominated the landscape. This cluster, called Mount Mazama (for the Portland, Oregon climbing club the Mazamas), was destroyed during an enormous explosive eruption 7,700 years ago. The eruption, estimated to have been 420 times more powerful than Mount St. Helens' 1980 blast, reduced Mazama's approximate 14,000-foot height by around a mile. So much molten rock was expelled that the summit area collapsed during the eruption to form a large volcanic depression, or caldera. Subsequent smaller eruptions occured as water began to filled the caldera to eventually form Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States.