NATURAL RESOURCES ON THE TRAIL - BOOK REVIEW.``Hiking and Backpacking backpacking Sport of hiking while carrying clothing, food, and camping equipment in a pack on the back. In the early 20th century backpacking was primarily a means of getting to wilderness areas inaccessible by car or by day hike. : A Trailside trail·side n. The area beside a trail. Guide'' By Karen Berger, ($18.95, W.W. Norton & Company, 1995) The outdoors is a mighty intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. place to someone who's never been. My wife, for one, is quite certain a wild, crazed craze v. crazed, craz·ing, craz·es v.tr. 1. To cause to become mentally deranged or obsessed; make insane. 2. To produce a network of fine cracks in the surface or glaze of. v. bear will get us. Of course, it doesn't help that a wild, crazed bear almost did get us during her one and only outdoors experience with me nearly 10 years ago, but that's another story. Backpacking is a sport that appeals to most everyone in some very basic way. For the beginner, this guide is outstanding. Covering the fundamentals including gear, food and navigation, the guide provides enough information to get anyone started and feeling comfortable with where they're going and how they're doing it, written in a welcoming, straightforward style. Especially notable is the section on day hikes, which the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area offers in abundance. And don't worry, the bears won't get you. - Michael A. Anastasi DOME SWEET DOME - On the Internet Those Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park (yōsĕm`ĭtē), 761,266 acres (308,205 hectares), E central Calif.; est. 1890 as a result of the efforts of conservationist John Muir. Located in the Sierra Nevada, it is a glacier-scoured area of great beauty; Mt. regulars who like a hiking/climbing change call Half Dome ``The Big One.'' A Half Dome Web site(http://www.employees.org/[ordinal indicator
However, ``A very small percentage of them consider hiking to the top. Of that small percentage, an even smaller percentage make it to the top.'' But the 14-mile round trip that climbs more than 4,000 feet between the bottom and summit has been conquered by many, as one of the many photos on this site explains. A detailed version of a group's climbing of Half Dome will either inspire you to jump in the car and drive north, or shout out, ``Yeah right.'' The cables one must use to traverse the steep slopes are pictured on the site as well. Only in this case, a photo doesn't tell the whole story. ``The high elevation makes it difficult to climb up the steep, (50-plus) degree slope. It's steeper than the pictures render.'' What's more scary is, ``If you slip, you fall to your death, no doubt about it.'' At least we'll know what to expect, right? --The Eel world: The British Conger Club (http://www.congerclub.org/) is a group of dedicated fishermen. But this isn't for traditional trout or bass lovers. These guys cast their lines in the hopes that a Conger Eel conger eel Any of about 100 species of marine eels (family Congridae) with no scales, a large head, large gill slits, a wide mouth, and strong teeth. Conger eels are usually grayish to blackish, with a paler belly and black-edged fins. , which can grow to more than 10 feet long and 300 pounds, will be on the other end. Here's all you need to know: ``As a club we are interested in conservation to protect this slow-growing species. So our message is, unless you are going to eat your catch, return it to grow and fight another day.'' - Chris Cocoles CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) no caption (book: ``Hiking and Backpacking: A Trailside Guide'') Box: ON THE TUBE |
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