Winter Tram to False Cape

From November 1 through March 31, there are only two ways to get to False Cape State Park - walking along the beach from Back Bay Wildlife Refuge or on a tram which runs every couple of weeks in the winter. Yesterday was one of those days, and we signed up for the trip at $8 each. It is the only way to see the interior of the refuge in the winter and the big concentrations of tundra swans and other waterfowl. It is such an interesting area. As a raptor expert who was one of the guides explained at a stop, within 1/3 of a mile there are seven distinct habitats, each with its own life forms and ecology: the ocean, the beach, the dunes, freshwater marsh and impoundments, grasslands, maritime forest, and Back Bay.


It would have been fun to have the chance to get out more, but the tour guide was an enthusiastic and knowlegeable state park employee. She is leading a three day "Wild Woman Weekend" at this park in a few weeks which I think would be a great thing for any woman who likes the outdoors. Women only, no testosterone allowed. False Cape has to be one of the most remote state parks in the east. It had been 18 months since my last hike to it, 5 miles each way.


The day was cold - upper thirties with some wind - and we got thoroughly chilled after 2 hours in the open air tram. We stopped a few times for wildlife observation. We saw hundreds of tundra swans as they gather energy for their long trip to northern Alaska and Canada. We saw many ducks, some geese, and some great blue herons. But a juvenile bald eagle was trip highlight. Here are a few photos from the day:

Views of the marsh in BBNWR. We watched the large tundra swans coming in for landings here, looking so much like 747's in their approaches.

Impoundment from the dike, with the dune line in the distance

Maritime forest along the road in False Cape State Park

This is the closest we could get to the beautiful tundra swans

GPS Meets Satellite Communication

To continue my story about SPOT, wouldn’t it be cool if you could not only send an “I’m OK” message, but also a custom message to your friends and family? For example, “Slow progress today, I will be an extra day before I reach the car. Don’t worry.”

A few month ago, a friend who works at DeLorme in Yarmouth, Maine told me that his company was working on such a feature as part of integrating their Earthmate GPS with SPOT to provide that type of service. It was not yet released to the public, so I didn’t tell a soul (or my blog). But now it is public knowledge. Here is a link with a lot more details.

The really cool thing is that I have been asked to be a Beta tester for this, so I will be starting that soon. It will involve a couple of months of testing. It won’t be the best hiking weather but hopefully I can get in a few hikes in rugged areas. I am looking forward to trying this out starting in a month or so. It is pretty amazing stuff, isn’t it? It makes the old map and compass, although still indispensable, look pretty tame!

X Marks the SPOT

Obviously, I like to hike. Often times, I go by myself, sometimes with other people. It might be an easy couple mile stroll where I have plenty of company, or a rugged walk through remote country where I feel like I am the only person on earth that day. I’ve never been in a situation where I badly needed help, but I know that could easily happen at some point. A storm comes in and you get disoriented and miss a key trail junction. You trip over something on the trail and take a bad fall. Or less serious but still disabling, you sprain your ankle badly. That in particular is very easy to do – how many times have you turned an ankle just a bit while hiking? And I rarely hike in areas where cell phones work. So last year, I bought a SPOT satellite GPS messenger.

Since they work off satellites, like a GPS, they work almost everywhere with a clear view of the sky, unlike cell phones - which must be near a signal. SPOTs have three functions, although you must sign up for the annual service for any of the functions to work. The first is a “911” function for a serious life-threatening problem, such as a bad fall or other incapacitation. In that case, a call center gets the message and notifies authorities.

The other two functions rely on your network of family or friends. The first of these is a help message, which sends an email or text message to the list you specify telling them that you need help. Maybe you are completely lost and in the woods for the night, but it is survivable. Or your car has totally broken down in a remote area. In any event, someone getting your email must relay the information to authorities.

The final function is the “all is OK” function, just to let your family and friends know that all is well. The help and OK messages send the text message that you set up on your account, along with a link to your exact location. Here is an example from my last hike that I did just as a test:

ArtRitter
Latitude:36.66102
Longitude:-75.91031
GPS location Date/Time:01/16/2010 20:54:15 GMT

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=36.66102,-75.91031&ll=36.66102,-75.91031&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Message:Art checking in with a SPOT Check. All is OK.

I enjoy coming back from a hike and going to the links I sent to see exactly where I was, and toggling between the map, topo, and satellite views.

You cannot vary the message without being at your computer, logging into your account, and changing it. But imagine if you could change the message in the field. “It’s so beautiful here I am going to hike another day.” “I’m fine but hiking was rough today, and I made slow progress. So I will be late.” That would be pretty cool, eh?

Tomorrow, I will write about a new development with DeLorme that will do just that, and my fortunate involvement in that as a Beta tester. It should be pretty amazing!

Back Hiking at Back Bay

After my short workout with the two Team in Training Teams in the morning, I got down to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge for a short 4 mile hike that afternoon. We have had weeks of what passes for cold in Virginia, but the last two days were mild, and it felt great to be out and about in the outdoors for a little while. At one point, I gazed out over the marshes and spoke out loud how much I love being outdoors.

The dike trails remain closed for more than two more months, so the hiking opportunities are limited. Unlike my last hike here, I didn't see much wildlife: just a rabbit and a quick view as I turned around from looking to my right of an aquatic mammal diving. I waited for five minutes to see if it would surface, but if it did, then it did so some distance away. My guess is that it was a nutria, although a muskrat could also have been possible, or even an otter - very unlikely, however. I could hear the amazing calls of hundreds or even thousands of tundra swans out in the marshes, but couldn't see them. Here are a few photos from my hike:

The first trail that I hiked on was this short nature trail:

This freshwater pond reflects the winter sky:

Twisted tree

View of the winter marsh

Unlike my dawn beach hike and my beachcombing hike of a few months ago, I didn't hike long on the beach. But I had to at least get a quick look:

New Year's Day at Back Bay

On the first of this year, I was at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge for a short hike, maybe 3 or 3.5 miles. It is good to start 2010 with a hike, I hope the first of many. I also got in a 4 mile walk at the start of the day. One of my goals for 2010 is to work out more, another is to hike more, and so at least on the first day of the year, I was able to do this. This first photo shows the winter marsh on this gray day.

It was a quiet walk on a cool winter's day. I started about 4:15 and finished a little more than an hour later as it was getting dark. I saw some wildlife, including a total of six deer in three different locations. The light was not good enough and/or the distance was too great to get photos, but I was able to watch all of them for a while before either I or they moved on. I also saw some tundra swans, and was able to watch them with the help of binoculars. On the way out, when it was almost dark, a group of five swans flew by pretty close. They are so pretty!

This next picture was taken from a wildlife observation building on the edge of the marsh. I always stop and check it out when I hike here. Usually I see nothing, but this time there were two deer, about a dozen tundra swans, and about the same number of Canada geese well in the distance. My field glasses brought them all in close for me.

Book Review: Planet Backpacker

Do you ever dream of taking a big chunk of time, say six to twelve months, and seeing a bit of the world? Does it seem like an impossible dream? Well, a guy named Robert Downes from Traverse City, Michigan had that dream all his life, and in 2007, he made it a reality. As he traveled through Ireland, England, Western and Eastern Europe, Egypt, India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, he posted blog accounts of his trip from about 100 internet cafes. His trip took over four months, and he had many adventures along the way. He traveled by bike, plane, train, boat, camel, and elephant. He camped out some, but mostly stayed at hostels and hotels. He also did some of the rougher parts of the journey with a tour group, but not the swanky groups that most people think of when they travel. After his journey, he used all his internet postings to write a book: “Planet Backpacker.”

This is not backpacking in the sense of hiking the Appalachian Trail, but in the sense that he had to carry everything with him in a pack, including his guitar. My friend Bev gave me this book for my birthday last July, and I finally got to read it a couple of months ago. I really enjoyed his story, and it made me think of the wanderlust in most of us. Unlike most of us however, Mr. Downes did something about it, sacrificing income, comfort, and family ties for nearly half a year to have a grand adventure.

He saw some of the sadder and seamier sides of our species along the way: young girls in Asia living as sexual slaves, people existing in poverty that few of us can even imagine, scam artists, and people living with the after effects of terrible past wars. But for the most part, he met many interesting and friendly people from many different cultures and religious beliefs. Most of them were amazed to meet an American, because it turns out that despite being from the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, Americans (and also Canadians) are not prone to travel to foreign lands unless there is a resort or tour involved. Apparently, this is not true of Europeans, Australians, Kiwis, or Israelis.

I enjoyed reading this book. This man made his dream happen, paid the price in some discomfort and loneliness, and had an adventure that he will always remember. At the end of the book, he tells the rest of us how to do it and gives lots of advice, hints, and specific do’s and don’ts. If you like to travel, whether or not you ever think of doing a trip like this, I think you will want to read this book.

Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

During the trip to Washington, D.C., we stopped by the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It is one of the most beautiful religious sites I have ever seen. The mosaic art work is amazing. There is a huge main church and along the sides, numerous small chapels, each with their own themes. The day I was there was the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadeloupe, and it was touching to see all of the people of Central and South American descent coming to the special mass, all dressed up and carrying flowers. There was even a mariachi band for the mass!


I took a few photos:


The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Mosaic of Mother and Child

Moasic in the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadeloupe of people coming to see Our Lady

People praying at the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadeloupe. Look at all of the flowers that people brought!

Fairyland at the Botantical Garden

Last weekend(12/12), we were in Washington and went to the National Botanical Gardens, which is just amazing - especially at Christmas. They do these incredible displays where the buildings are all made from plant materials - no wood, metal, or plastic. Some are famous Washington buildings, others are whimsical scenes from nursery rhymes or they have a fairy land theme. I wish I could take my granddaughter to this! Pictures are worth 1,000 words, and so here you go. I'll keep the words short and defer to the photos.

US Supreme Court Building

A train running along the tracks in Fairyland

There was an old lady who lived in a shoe

The homes of the three little pigs, with the wolf approaching

Look at the creativity and artistry in these two settings

A fairy flying in front of a waterfall

Part of the charm of this exhibit is the beautiful trains that run along. Everyone there is just enthralled

A gypsy camp, complete with wagon (right), fire (center) and cottage (left)

The oh so creative caterpillar train, complete with antenna

Old man cactus in the desert exhibit

A beautiful orchid

The rain forest room

The Smithsonian Castle

The Garden's beautiful Christmas tree

The White House

Replica of neighborhood around Capitol Hill

Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool, and, in the distance, the Lincoln Memorial

The US Capitol

The real US Capitol, from just outside the Botanical Garden's entrance

Short Michigan Hikes

I was in Michigan for a few days for my granddaughter's third birthday, and we took a couple of short hikes. Unlike the last time I went hiking with her, she was happy and cheerful, and did not wail like an air-raid siren. It was a joy to be with her and to do some little hikes. Some year, I hope to take a truly long hike with her.

The first hike was in a protected conservation area along East Traverse Bay, one of the many large bays along enormous Lake Michigan. A short hike through a pretty northern woods led to the bayshore. We explored the shore, looked at swans, and skipped stones. Here are a few photos.

Clouds along the bay shore

Conquering a rock

The shore was littered with thousands of freshwater clam shells. My guess is that raccoons eat well here.

At one point, there were seven swans a-swimming here, but I couldn't get them all framed

Looking north along the bay shore

Our other little hike was more of a romp. We went to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and climbed (and reclimbed) one of the dunes, then ran back down. She liked doing this, but was tired out from climbing in the soft sand and slept soundly on the way back to town - after eating some ice cream, of course.

My granddaughter and I rest during the dune climb. Today, she was the one needing the rest. Someday, it will be her waiting for me.

Running up the dune and having fun

The Philadelphia Zoo

Last Saturday, I made the 4.5 hour drive to Philadelphia, my home town, for my high school class reunion. Since I had the afternoon free before the party that night, I decided to go to America's first zoo in the City of Brotherly Love. I had not been there in probably 25 years, and was amazed how much it has changed. I've always been fascinated with animals, and a trip to the zoo as a child was always a favorite treat. But looking back, the animals were in cramped concrete pens for the most part. Now, there are fewer animals, but they have more space and more natural and interesting settings. No more do big cats nervously pace in their 15 foot square cages. No more do bears live at the bottom of concrete pits. I know that zoos are controversial, but when you hear young girls looking at a huge silverback gorilla and saying "he's so awesome," you realize that this is the only chance some people will ever get to connect with different animals. What we don't know about, we don't care about. I think that zoos, good zoos, are vital in the often losing battle of wildlife conservation.

Here are a few photos from my afternoon.

This land tortoise is massive.

Two female hippos relax in their pool.

My favorite exhibit was Big Cat Falls. It is beautifully designed. These are Amur tigers. Not long ago, only 50 survived in the wild, but now there are 400. This is an improvement, but still incredibly precarious. In my lifetime, at least two subspecies of tiger has gone extinct, and every other tiger subspecies is severely endangered.

This perhaps the world's rarest cat. Only 30 Amur leopards currently exist in the wild.

The world's fastest mammal is the cheetah. They are so sleek.

Giraffes are simply amazing. I would love to go to Africa and see them in the wild. What a beautiful creature they are!

The birds in the bird house are so fascinating. This is a pair of African hornbills. They are magnificant!

Proud as a peacock!

The Asian black bear is similar to our black bear, but with a much different face. The last time I was here, the bears lived in pits. Now they have spacious and naturalistic looking habitats.

The aardvark has to be first on the list when the roll is called. They are much bigger than I realized.