Audubon Bird Call

"Audubon bird call with rosin. When twisted, this remarkable birchwood and metal instrument makes a variety of sounds similar to wild birds. Each bird call is handmade and individually tuned. Be sure to keep the instrument dry; a small amount of the included powdered rosin, used occasionally, will renew the bird call's voice."Grab one at Kiosk or REI or wherever!

Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder

The good people at American Park Network have spent the last few years compiling mountains of information about all of the United States parks. That's a lot of land, a lot of trails, a lot of telephone numbers and names of distant peaks. With that data, they've created the Oh, Ranger! Park Finder, an iPhone app (one day I'll buy me one of those fancy phones) that includes the following for every national park, state park and federal public land in our country:• Activities Descriptions• Maps & Directions• Important Phone Numbers• Seasonality/Weather• Lodging & Concession Information• Non-Profit Partners • Links to Events and Related Websites• Related Articles• Nearby AttractionsDownload it FOR FREE right here.

Weekend Cabin

One of our favorites, Steve Casimiro's Adventure Journal, has a feature called Weekend Cabin, where, yes, you guessed it, he chronicles pictures and stories of people's backwoods getaways. AJ explains it like this: 

Weekend Cabin isn’t necessarily about the weekend, or cabins. It’s about the longing for a sense of place, for shelter set in a landscape…for something that speaks to refuge and distance from the everyday. Nostalgic and wistful, it’s about how people create structure in ways to consider the earth and sky and their place in them. It’s not concerned with ownership or real estate, but what people build to fulfill their dreams of escape. The very time-shortened notion of “weekend” reminds that it’s a temporary respite.

Top pic is Novotny Cabin, Decatur Island, Washington. Bottom pic is in Criehaven, Maine. See more here.MP3: Ron "Pigpen" McKernan - Two Women (thx AD)

Fight for Wild America

The 2005 documentary about David Brower's life and career, titled Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America, is available to watch on Netflix. If you haven't seen this yet, get inspired. David Brower, the former leader of the Sierra Club and noted by many as responsible for the modern environmental movement, is held in high-regard for his steadfastness and unwillingness to budge in defense of wild America, alongside Edward Abbey and few others. Beautiful film with some amazing footage of the American west from the 30's onward.Check out the trailer after the jump.

The Language and Music Of The Wolves

Some of the information that this 1971 Museum Of Natural History record presents are now somewhat inaccurate (*), but there is nothing wrong with hearing Robert Redford talking about wolves in North America while you hear them howl in the background. Download the record below and click the image above for much more info. Side B has no Sundance Kid, just howling. The most perfectly terrifying sound from the "comfort" of your tent. MP3: The Language and Music of the Wolves - Side AMP3: The Language and Music of the Wolves - Side B

Have A Good Weekend

I have still yet to be around a campfire when someone pulls out their flute, but I suppose that anything is possible. And yes, I'll say it, I think I'd rather hear a flute than a Martin Backpacker Guitar (I've made fun of those things too many on this blog, I know) plucking the sweet sounds of "Run Around," because really, is there another song that it knows how to play? Do any of you bring musical instruments other than a Hohner with you? I don't mean to be a dick about the guitar, but I spent many a minute listening to some really bad renditions of some really good songs while out camping in and around Boulder, CO during college. T'is the season.Enjoy it out there. And bundle up.MP3: Davey Graham - Dance for Two People

Bev Johnson

Regarded by most as one of America's greatest climbers, in 1978 Beverly Johnson was the first woman to ever climb the Dihedreal wall of El Cap in Yosemite, and did it alone in 10 days. Born in 1947, Johnson was putting up first ascents all across the country before many of us were even born.Read a great summary and check some other great photos of Johnson's career over at rockriprollgirl.com then pick up the book about her life, The View from the Edge.Hats off.

SALT IN OUR BLOOD

"All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea -- whether it is to sail or to watch it -- we are going back from whence we came." - John F. Kennedy, 1962

23 Feet

From 23feet.org ..."23 Feet is film about a community of people who make the conscious choice to live simply to do what they love in the great outdoors. Three women set out across the west in their 23 foot, 1970 Airstream to search for the stories of people who have turned their backs on the creature comforts of society to live in school buses, vans, and other small spaces. From an inspiring campfire chat with legendary Yosemite climber Ron Kauk, to hearing the powerful story of a woman who changed her whole life for surfing, 23 Feet gives an intimate look at the ups and downs of dedicating your life to your outdoor passion."Help these gals out and shoot 'em some funds over at their Kickstarter page, and watch the trailer a few times. Excited for this.

Foxfire Magazine

I was recently gifted a subscription to this fine magazine for my birthday. A couple months back, I happened upon a nice collection of Foxfire books on the cheap on ebay, which I'm sure you're all familiar with, but Foxfire started as a magazine. In 1966, a high-school English teacher in Southern Appalachia named Eliot Wigginton resolved with his students to document and preserve the wisdom of their grandparents and local elders (initially, as a way to get them excited about English) by creating a magazine. Stuffed full of folk traditions, recipes, and some of the nicest looking covers around (especially the old ones), this magazine is released twice a year in two, double issues. I also loved that my address on the envelope with my first issue was hand-written in a high schooler's hand, with a hand-written 'thank you' for the subscription. Some of the old issues of the magazine pop up on ebay every now and then, and go for less than $10. Feel good.

Nanook

Nanook of the North :

Nanook of the North (also known as Nanook of the North: A Story Of Life and Love In the Actual Arctic) is a 1922 silent documentary film by Robert J. Flaherty. In the tradition of what would later be called salvage ethnography, Flaherty captured the struggles of the Inuk Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic. The film is considered the first feature-length documentary, though Flaherty has been criticized for staging several sequences and thereby distorting the reality of his subjects' lives.

In 1989, this film was one of the first 25 films to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Watch: Nanook Of The North

RAMPS

When you're out this spring gettin' your land legs back, keep an eye out for the Ramp, or Wild Leek (Allium trioccum). These small wild onions have a strong garlicky odor and flavor. You can munch 'em raw, sauteé them, add 'em to a pesto, or make a ramp and wild morel quiche. This stinky veggie is getting some serious street cred at many restaurants these days (in the near shadows of the Morel mushroom). Ramps grow best on hillsides, in sandy, moist soil. Try checking close to the banks of small streams or rivers. The leaf of the ramp is broad, tender and bright green in color, fading to purple near the stalk. Before pulling up and chowing down you can verify it as a wild leek by tearing a leaf in half. You'll know it's a ramp by the smell. Holy onions. See ya at the Cosby, TN Ramp Festival?

AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

I finally made time to fly out to NYC a couple weeks ago to see the sights, eat some great food, stay at the Ace, and meet up with Jeff (the founder of this fine blog). At the top of my to do list was checking out the American Folk Art Museum and man did it deliver. I've wanted to see this place for a long, long time. The AFAM has a small permanent Henry Darger collection, which if you haven't heard of/seen Darger's work, please do. A documentary about his life and his made up world titled "In the Realms of the Unreal" came out in 2004. Long story short, this place was a dream come true for me. If you ever find yourself in the big city, go. You can also check out an image library of the museums collection online here.

GEOFF AND READYMADE

In the spring/summer of 2009, Geoff Holstad and his girlfriend, Sarah, rode their bikes from Michigan to Oregon on the TransAmerica Trail. As many of you know, Geoff is both a contributor to CS and the guy behind So Sweaty, and he's posted pictures and tales of of the trip several times around these parts. In addition to those photos, ReadyMade Magazine sat down with Geoff and Sarah and asked them a couple of questions about the trip that I was lucky enough to hear about while Geoff was in town visiting a couple of weeks ago.Enjoy it here.

Tell us your favorite place you stayed?Sarah: We camped in tons of beautiful spots along the way; our favorite was near the Montana-Idaho boarder in Lolo National Forest. I definitely underestimated Idaho.Geoffrey: On our second night of the trip we read on the route maps we got for the trip that you could camp at the firehouse, so that’s what we did. It was crazy. It was pouring rain, so we set up our tent in the firehouse between two fire engines. The firemen cooked a big spaghetti dinner for us—that was pretty memorable.

Johnny Cakes

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, and if you've just woken up from sleeping in a tent, there are few better things in this world than preparing a hot meal that's easy to make. Enter the Johnny Cake. Often claimed to have originated in Rhode Island, Johnny Cakes, which are cornmeal flatbreads, were being made long before Europeans showed up by the Native Americans of the Atlantic coast.All you need is a bag of yellow or white cornmeal (I prefer yellow), salt, water and a little bit of oil. All of the toppings and fillings like jalapenos, cheese, maple syrup, etc. are up to you. I enjoy 'em plain with a dab of hot sauce, but if you need a little bit of sweet in the morning, do what you gotta do. It'll all taste good.Mix in cornmeal, a pinch of salt, and equal parts BOILING water, stir and let the batter sit for a minute or two. (A 1/2 cup - 1 cup of cornmeal per person will probably suffice.) If you want that cheese, jalapenos, sweet corn, bacon etc. in your johnny cakes, now would be a good time to add those things. If you don't have those things, fine. They're just as good plain, trust me. Turn on your stove, put some oil in the pan, let it get hot and spoon on the batter the same way you would a pancake. Cook for about 5 or 6 minutes, until they're a little crispy, then flip. Top with hot sauce, maple syrup, honey, salsa verde, fried eggs or the fish you caught before anyone else woke up. OR nothing at all. They should come out looking a little something like THIS.