THE WOODS ARE LOVELY

It seems like every year, as soon as the temperature drops and the snow starts showing its face, I reach for the Robert Frost pocket anthology pictured above. (Sweet, sweet Windsor.) One of his most famous and a personal favorite:

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer 5To stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake. 10The only other sounds the sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep, 15And miles to go before I sleep.

Watch: Robert Frost reading "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening"

BOUNDARY ROCK

Boundary Rock was once a well-known landmark in southern Nova Scotia, a massive piece of granite that sat at the borders of several counties in the area. Fisherman and hunters, like the ones in the picture above, would take their picture at the rock while passing through. But over the last 100 years, Boundary Rock has vanished, sending people on quests into the woods to find out what happened. CBC's Maritime Magazine did just that and you can listen to the podcast recounting their journey into the Tobeatic Wilderness right here. The pictures above are from the flickr of expedition leader, Philip Moscovitch. (Thanks to reader Andrea for sending this to me.)Do they find it? Well, you'll have to listen to find out.MP3: Sibylle Baier - I Lost Something In The Hills

K9 Camping

I've been noticing more and more folks with dogs out on the trail, which, if I had a bigger apartment and a yard of any sort, I would certainly do as well. I'd imagine throwing a pack on your Blue Heeler is a real time.Who has a dog that's a permanent fixture at the campsite? What kind of gear do you buy for him/her?

PCT RECORD

On his 13th (!) hike along the 2,663 mile Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from British Columbia down to the California/Mexico border, Scott Williamson, a tree climber from California, set a new speed record, finishing the length in 64 days, 11 hours, 19 minutes. That is insane. He added 20 miles to his hike with only 12 (another !) drops for food and gear. Interesting part of a recent interview with Mr. Williamson:

“There is more trash, more impact on the water sources and fires have really adversely affected the trail in the 19 years I’ve been on it, particularly in the last 10 years,” Williamson said. “The trail, especially this first 700 miles through Southern California, is radically different due to fire and tree disease. There are stretches that used to be pine forest that now are just chaparral because the trees died due to different diseases or fire. The first 700 miles of the trail are now shadeless.“The positive changes are that, since there now are about 500 plus people thru-hiking it each year, the preservation and maintenance of the trail is exponentially greater than when I first started hiking this trail,” he added.“I think the positives in the last 20 years vastly outweigh the negative changes. The maintenance level that is occurring now is much greater than 20 years ago, and I feel there is an effort to preserve the trail from the various threats, the development, things of that nature.”

(via The Goat)

Cathy Johnson

Field Illustrator Cathy Johnson wrote and illustrated a book for the Sierra Club in 1990 titled Sketching in Nature. In researching Johnson's work a bit more, I happened across her huge archive of work on flickr and had to share. Incredible detail with very minimal marks, it's hard not to love the attention she pays to design and text on each hand-bound sketchbook page. Littered throughout her flickr are photos of her repurposed mini watercolor "field boxes" for work outdoors. It's amazing to see how she curates what materials to bring to each spot.Good morning!

National Forest Roads

Via Adventure Journal:

In one of the most important decisions for public lands in decades, a federal court ruled Friday that the Clinton administration 2001 national forest roadless rule is legal and should be implemented immediately. The state of Wyoming and others charged that the rule, which bans new roads, timber harvesting, and upgrading of existing roads in almost one-third of national forest lands, violated federal environmental regulations and created de facto wilderness, but the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals sweepingly rejected that in a unanimous decision.

For more on the story, click here, and don't forget to check back towards the end of the week for the continuation of Cold Splinters' Trail Mix featuring Steve Casimiro of Adventure Journal.

Hungry Hiker Pumpkin Soup

After a long, wet, and muddy day on a New Hampshire section of the AT this last weekend, eating Mexican-ish pumpkin soup in a dry lean-to was a great way to end the hike. Happy fall travels, y'all.2-3 cups water1/2 vegetable bouillon cube1 can pumpkin (Make sure not to buy the pumpkin pie mix.)1 small can green chiles1 small can corn (Mexican style if you're feeling it)1 can black beans (I'm a fan of butter beans as well)1 small bag Corn Nuts1 tbsp dried cilantro1 small yellow onionCut up your onion and throw it in the pot with water. Bring the water to a boil, drop in your bouillon and stir. Add your pumpkin, green chiles, corn, black beans and let simmer for a few minutes, adding water if you like it a little thinner. Take it off the heat, stir in your cilantro and pour it into your bowl. Top with Corn Nuts and dive in. Will feed two hungry hikers.MP3: Thoughts & Words - Morning Sky

TAKING MONEY FROM THE NPS

As Rocky points out, most national park employees are majorly underpaid, often using their masters degrees while working seasonally for decades before a permanent job opens. Perhaps that's the reason that Lydia L. White, age 48, of Hooper, Colorado, allegedly stole $750,000 from Great Sand Dunes National Park from March 2007 through December 2010. She is charged with 145 counts of theft of government property and 53 counts of money laundering. That one didn't make it onto The Morning Report. More info at National Parks Traveler.What about the NPS stealing from us? As I'm sure many of you have noticed while traveling through some our country's great public lands, there seems to be quite a few structures that might not have been the best allocation of federal money. Did Yellowstone need a $27 million Visitor Center? Maybe? I'm not sure.MP3: Frank Sinatra - Sleep Warm

NYTIMES X COLD SPLINTERS

The article I wrote about Peters Mountain Works for New York Times Style Magazine's The Moment was printed in last week's Sunday Styles. Click on the image above to see a large scan.And in case you missed the Cold Splinters modeling debut (something I never expected to type on this website) with friends Tom from Archival Clothing and Peter from Best Made Co., check that out here. The photo shoot was a real trip, despite the fact that I had a temperature and could barely stand up.More to come from NYTimes x Cold Splinters, so stay tuned.