We’ve felt it.  We’re guessing you have too.  Just about everyone we’ve met who’d consider themselves a backpacker has experienced the feelings that Strayer’s research is attempting to pinpoint.  Clarity of thought, focus, and more effective problem solving seem to creep into your brain after a few days in the wild.  Whether you credit the slower pace of life, fewer distractions, or simplified agenda, backpacking has a unique ability to offer an escape that we have always felt to have a positive impact on our mind, body, even soul.

We hope Strayer is able to continue his groundbreaking research and we anxiously anticipate the results he will discover.   It is exciting that scientific research has, as Elisabeth writes in the article, “begun to catch up to literary insights.”  Elisabeth was sure to point out that, “neuroscientists don’t claim to be the first to have noticed the nature cure”, and there’s actually evidence of that fact on the page opposite the opening of her “Hiking Makes You Smarter” article.

Woolrich’s feature highlighting the Great Eastern Trail is evidence that Earl Shaffer, the first Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, had a vision that was certainly the result of extended stays in the wilderness, a vision to create a new American long-distance trail.  Shaffer’s vision and the work of trail clubs, organizations like the American Hiking Society and companies like Woolrich play a critical role in Strayer’s research because they’re trying to protect the wilderness that his environmental neuroscience project is studying.

When we evaluate our own experience exploring the Great Eastern Trail on this year’s Get Out More Tour we see countless examples of the “hiking makes you smarter” concept.  Our insights are in no way scientific, so we truly appreciate Strayer’s approach for all the implications of concrete evidence that Elisabeth points out at the end of her article, but it is nice that even our elementary observations recognize the sophistication and clarity of thought that accompany the wilderness preservation projects like that found in Tennessee where the Nature Conservancy played a pivotal role in “a big deal to connect the Cumberlands”. 

 Our most recent multi-day exploration of the Great Eastern Trail put us in Frozen Head State Park.  The north and east boundaries of the park recently gained an additional 11,000 acres of protected lands, a small piece of the 193,000 total acres of protected Cumberland Plateau that are now open to the public.  The complexity of the politics of trails, the purchase of land, forest agreements, and conservation easements screams smart, and we like to believe those deals were enhanced by a walk or two in the woods.

The equipment that accompanies us in the wild also screams smart.  It definitely took many miles and more than a few nights in the wild for designers and engineers to dream up most of the lightweight gear that we call on as backpackers.  Focus and clarity of thought certainly play a role in gear design.  Sheri has a comfortable night sleep in Frozen Head as evidence of gear helping to aid the “happy factor” of her time in the wild.  While hiking the Cumberland Trail in Frozen Head State Park (a true gem of a Tennessee State Park for anyone in search of a wild place a little less crowded than the Smokies) we camped above 3,000 feet on a chilly, wet and windy night.  The limits of her 35 degree rated PRIMALOFT Insulated sleeping bag  was definitely going to be pushed to, if not past its limits, so she called on an innovation from Sea to Summit.  Sea to Summit’s Reactor Series Sleeping Bag Liners have been tested to extended her bag’s comfort zone by 14, 20, or even 25 degrees while protecting her bag from the dirt and grime that could cause unwanted wear and tear.  Sea To Summit’s Sleeping Bag liners are compact and lightweight (as light as 9 ounces) so they’ve been designed with the needs of a backpacker in mind (see our sleep system highlighted on YouTube at:  http://youtu.be/UuG4X8ugv-g).  A good night sleep in the wild can’t hurt brain power either, so having the appropriate gear will definitely make you feel smarter too.

 We’ve always seen backpackers as a bit of a different breed, and as backpackers ourselves we’ve always wanted to think the breed was at least a little higher on the evolutionary charts.  We’ve always thought it wise to incorporate backpacking into our lives, and now that Strayer is backing that idea up with concrete evidence we feel smarter than ever.  That is of course until we take our next backpacking trip, a trip that we have planned for later this week so we look forward to sharing our even smarter thoughts with you when we return from the wild!

See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy Propster

You want to be able to navigate to and from the trailhead and spoken turn by turn directions sure beats taking your eyes off the road to check the map, so you make sure you have the address you need to punch into your GPS during the trip to the trailhead.  Once on trail those City Series Maps won’t do you much good and you definitely want to be able to navigate out there in the wild too, so 1:24,000 quality Summit Series Maps are a must add.  While you’ve polished your map reading and compass using skills during your pre-trip planning, it sure would be nice to have technology that can plot your precise location, track your route, and mark your waypoints, so in addition to a GPS for the car, a handheld GPS will surely make the cut too.

You’ve heard there are some cool geo-caches along the route and you really want to check them out, so you print a pile of directions from geocaching.com, it’s just a bunch of paper so it can’t be too much extra weight, can it?

 You wouldn’t consider taking this once in a life time adventure without packing a camera and your home movie collection is overdue for an addition, so you grab the video camera too.   And since video isn’t nearly as memorable without audio, you throw the microphone in the mix as well.

Huh, that idea of going lightweight seems to be becoming more and more elusive.  Or is it?  If you’re able to pack all of your enhancers into a single 6.87 ounce item you could still go lightweight.  Is that possible?  Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it?  Well, it’s not.  We’d like to introduce you to the eXplorist 710.

Thanks to Magellan we now have access to a handheld GPS that comes pre-loaded with World Edition, City Series and Summit Series Maps, that offers voice spoken turn by turn directions to get you to the trailhead, that utilizes touch screen technology with a four corner pop-up menu that’s as user friendly as we’ve seen on a GPS, that allows for quick and easy downloads from and uploads to geocaching.com for your much more efficient paperless geo-caching, that incorporates a 3.2 mega pixel auto-focus camera, that shoots video, and includes an internal microphone for capturing audio and an internal speaker to play back the moments we capture on the device while still in the field.  Looks like you’re back to that going lightweight idea again!

So now let’s say you wisely packed out all your must-have enhancers by simply packing the 6.87 ounce eXplorist 710.  You’ve enjoyed an epic day in the backcountry and you’re lying in your tent at the end of a long day on trail.  You kick your feet up to relax (feet that aren’t so tired because you successfully pulled off packing a lightweight kit), you grab your GPS and with a tap of the screen you can proceed to watch a multimedia playback of all the day’s highlights in the form of a slideshow of photos, videos and audio files that you were able to attach to your recorded track and your marked waypoints throughout the day on trail.  Before you dose off to dreamland you’re able to unwind while reliving the joy you experienced exploring the sights and sounds you were able to capture.  

 When you get home from your epic trip, load your files into the Vantage Point program on your computer, watch your track in a 3-D fly-over, share your photos and videos with your family and friends, and show them the exact spot on the planet where they can go to see and hear it all for themselves, and do it all with a huge smile knowing that you have just explored, captured, and shared like never before thanks to a handheld unit you know like to think of as entirely different creature in the world of GPS.

See the Magellan eXplorist 710 in action on the 2012 Get Out More Tour in this short YouTube video:   Randy and Sheri introduce the Magellan eXplorist  710.

For more click:  Magellan eXplorist 710

 Stay posted for more Get Out More Tour gear highlights and reviews as the 2012 Tour rolls on, and to experience the Get Out More gear and skills show live and in person, check the Tour Calendar for an event near you.

See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy Propster

This year’s Get Out More Tour is placing its focus on helping you to build a backpacking blueprint.  If you’ve never hiked and camped in the wilderness then you definitely need to come out to an event, and you should probably bring a pen and paper because we are going to load you up with tons of information.  Our goal is to give you the information you need to go home and start planning a backpacking adventure.

  If you are already a backpacker, then you should still come out to an event because we want you to be able to see and touch some of the outdoor industry’s latest and greatest gear.  We are traveling with equipment from a ton of great brands this year and this is your chance to learn about some of Backpacker Magazine’s Editors’ Choice Award Winners and all of our Get Out More Tour Tested and Approved Gear.  Besides, we’re always looking to refine our backpacking system and we’re sure you are too, so even if you’re an experienced backpacker we would love to have you join us so we can share our tips and techniques with you and have you share yours with us.

Being back on Tour also feels really good because we are getting plenty of trail time!  The Tour intentionally kicked off in Alabama this year so that we could pay a visit to the southern terminus of the Great Eastern Trail.  We spent five days down in Conecuh National Forest exploring the terrain that will connect the Great Eastern Trail with the Florida National Scenic Trail.

 If you are not yet familiar with the Great Eastern Trail (G.E.T.), we’re happy to be able to tell you that the Great Eastern Trail Association along with the American Hiking Society and their local trail partners are currently working to complete this country’s next long distance trail.  For the next few months we will be working our way up the route that when complete will be close to 2000 miles long.  It will extend from the Florida National Scenic Trail down here at the Florida/Alabama border all the way up to the Finger Lakes Region of New York where it will connect with the North Country National Scenic Trail.  It will go through nine states, four national parks, three national forests and it will create a connection that will allow a continuous footpath to travel from southern Florida all the way to North Dakota…can you say, yes please!

 After exploring Conecuh National Forest we jumped up to Oak Mountain State Park and then paid a visit to the wilds of the Dugger Mountain Wilderness so we could explore a few different sections of the Pinhoti Trail.  The Pinhoti Trail is a well maintained and well used trail that the G.E.T. will share through northern Alabama.  The gap between Conecuh National Forest and the Pinhoti Trail is still a work in progress, which brings us to a very important piece of the puzzle that this enormous undertaking will require to come together as a complete long distance route, YOU!  The G.E.T. is not going to blaze itself!

 Trail building, trail marking, trail maintaining, the politics of acquiring publicly protected land for trail use, and the acquisition of permission for the rite of passage on private land, etc., ect., etc.  We could go on and on, these things are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to completing a 2000 mile long footpath.  As you can imagine this overwhelming undertaking will require all the help we can get, so we need your help!

Volunteers are a critical link to the success of the G.E.T.  We see this as a fantastic opportunity to give a little bit of ourselves back to the trails that give so much to us, a chance to get our hands dirty, and a chance to be a part of the trail building history that will be forever found in the footprints along this incredible network of trails.

If you want to play your part in developing this country’s next long distance trail go to www.greateasterntrail.net or click: volunteer opportunities.

 Next we are off to Tennessee and the Cumberland Trail for more of our G.E.T. explorations.  Come see us at Rock Creek Outfitters on Tuesday the 17^th of April for a passionate evening of backpacking information and inspiration.  We can also be found in Athens Georgia at Half Moon Outfitters on Wednesday the 18^th and then at REI in Atlanta on the 19^th.  For a complete schedule of Get Out More Tour events check out: http://www.getoutmoretour.com/tour-info/

Oh, by the way, we’ve teamed up with the great folks from Floyd Fest 11 (Lover’s Rock) to give our Get Out More Tour attendees a chance to win a pair of tickets to the 2012 festival, so if you want to win tickets to a great music event we will be giving away the first pair at Rock Creek Outfitters on Tuesday and another set on Wednesday at Half Moon Outfitters!

See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy Propster

Last night the 2012 Get Out More Tour kicked off in Mobile Alabama at a fantastic outdoor outfitter called Alabama Outdoors. A crowd of over 70 people gathered in search of the tips and techniques that represent all things Backpacker Magazine and we couldn’t have been more excited to see the standing room only crowd roll in to help get the first event of the year kicked off with a full house.

It had been a few months since we’d had an opportunity to share our passion and knowledge for the outdoors with an audience, and we’d just come out of a week of solitude in Conecuh National Forest so our connection with nature was freshly tuned. Randy thought for sure he could mask the emotions that seem to bubble up inside him when he gets to share his most memorable trail moments. He would never have even started telling that impactful story from our Appalachian Trail thru-hike if he thought it would bring him to tears. Yep, tears. The first event of the 2012 Get Out More Tour came to a close with Randy, and even a few members of the audience, wiping a tear or two from their cheeks.

The goal of the Get Out More Tour is to bring the pages of Backpacker Magazine to life. For us, that means providing information that will help travelers connect with themselves and with nature while being prepared with everything they need to live a self-sufficient life, whether it’s backpacking from town to town as an adventure traveler or it’s searching out the most remote wilderness for days, weeks, or even months on trail.

Actually that’s only half the story. The other half is our goal to inspire. It’s one thing to have the information you need to take a backpacking adventure, it’s another thing entirely to be truly inspired to search one out. Our goal to inspire requires us to put a little bit of ourselves, our heart and soul, into our presentations. When the tears started flowing there was no question Randy was talking from the heart.

Randy was a bit embarrassed by how talking about the ability to “Hike Your Own Hike” had brought him to tears, but as he said while those tears were rolling down his cheek, “Hiking Your Own Hike is a very simple concept that has very powerful consequences, it can change your life, it will change your life, it has changed our lives.”

The way we see it, the power to change your life is worth a few tears. And while Randy has promised to hold back the emotions a little better from now on, there’s no way we can hold back the passion. Our passion for backpacking overwhelms even us every now and then.

If you want to be inspired (maybe even overwhelmed) and if you’re in search of information that will build your backpacking confidence we invite you to attend a Get Out More Tour event near you. The Tour is just cranking up! For a full schedule of 2012 events click: www.getoutmoretour.com/tour-info/

See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy Propster

We discovered the quiet of McKittrick Canyon in the southwest corner of Texas while in search of another of “America’s Best Hikes” (January 2011 Readers’ Choice Issue of Backpacker Magazine).  We have been chasing down winning backcountry adventures in amazing destinations all over the United States this year…

 We kicked off the Tour in the Appalachians with a visit to the North Carolina and Tennessee border for the Big Creek Loop in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We then dropped down to the Southeast to experience Amicalola Falls State Park in northwest Georgia and then hit the Northeast for a visit to the Devil’s Path in New York’s Catskill Mountains.  Next we were off to the Rockies where we had the privilege of witnessing the beauty of the Maroon Bells while backpacking Colorado’s Four Pass Loop and the Northwest inspired us with explorations into the Enchantment Lakes Basin of Washington State’s North Cascade Mountains.  Our visit to the far West allowed us to revisit a backpacking paradise known as Yosemite National Park and from there we traveled to the Great Lakes where the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness played host to an incredible display of fall foliage.  Then Missouri’s Mark Twain National Forest and the Great Plains Region was the next stop in the Paddy Creek Wilderness and we wrapped up an incredible year of backpacking in the Southwest while taking on the diverse terrain of the Guadalupe Mountains and the quiet of McKittrick Canyon. (click on the links above to see maps, photos, and adventure stories for each of our backpacking trips this year)

 The route we followed through the Guadalupe Mountains was an “out and back” on a combination of trails leading from McKittrick Canyon to Dog Canyon and back again.  While the peace and eerily quiet destination left our ears searching for sound, from mile to mile the trails we followed led us through a constantly changing landscape that told a loud story of diversity, diversity that has been shaping this terrain for millions of years.

The shrub desert characteristics surrounding the starting trailhead seems to go on forever as the Chihuahuan Desert – the largest desert in North America – wraps around the Guadalupe Mountains for over 200,000 square miles.  Just about the time you get accustomed to the dry conditions of the vast desert, you will realize that the walls of McKittrick Canyon are beginning to close in on you.

 As you get deeper into the Canyon you will witness the desert surrender to the lush and moist vegetation that follows the gentle flow of the Canyon’s delicate spring-fed stream.  You will see the trees and shrubs of the Chihuahuan Desert like the prickly pear cactus and the Honey Mesquite give way to Big Tooth Maples as you walk along the moist soils in the bottom of the canyon.  While climbing past the unique and resilient Madrones that grow in New Mexico and southwest Texas at elevations between 4500 and 6500 feet, you will hike in and out of the long shadows created by the steep walls of the Canyon.  As you continue to higher elevations (the Guadalupes are home to the highest peak in Texas: Guadalupe Peak 8,751 ft.) you will pass through stands of Grey Oak, and Pinyon and Ponderosa Pine on your way to the high-country ridge tops that will reward you with forever-views of the entire region. 

 While the over 1000 species of plants that can be found in the Guadalupe Mountains will occupy a fair share of your attention, you won’t be able to avoid a fascination with the story the ancient rock formations have to tell as well.  The unusual, often Swiss cheese like make-up of the rocky terrain forming the Guadalupe Mountains is evidence of the ancient inland sea that led to the development of these formations over 250 million years ago during Permian Times when algae and sponges help to build a limestone reef, the Capitan Reef, in the Delaware Sea.  Environmental changes dried up the Delaware Sea and natural processes buried and preserved the delicate Capitan Reef for thousands of years until uplifting in the area exposed the reef, allowing erosion from wind and rain to remove the softer sediments and uncover the fossil formations we recognize today as the Guadalupe Mountains.

The Guadalupe Mountains are visited each year by numerous geologists who want to witness the ancient reef, a formation considered to be one of the most well-preserved fossil reefs in the world.  We didn’t see any geologists though, we actually only saw a group of three day-hikers on our second day in the Park. Other than that, we had the entire wilderness to ourselves, the entire silent wilderness that is.

 The Guadalupe Mountains were spectacular.  The quiet we found in the Guadalupe Mountains was even more spectacular.  While lying in our tent we found that our ears were limited to the sounds created by our own heartbeats and the competing rise and fall of our lung filled chests.  No wind, no swaying trees, no chirping birds, bugs, or insects, no hoots, howls, or cries, no sound at all, it was quiet.  Not dead quiet, but alive with quiet.  Search out the wilderness and you will find yourself.  We’ve said that many times in our lives.  Search out the wilderness in the Guadalupe Mountains and you will find the quiet.  It may just be the type of quiet you need to hear what your “self” has to say.

See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy Propster

 Take this hike yourself:  The hike’s starting and finishing trailhead is located behind the National Park Service’s Ranger Station at McKittrick Canyon (Day-Use) off of US Highway 62/180 in Southwest Texas, about 56 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico.

For more info check out the Rip and Go from Backpacker Magazine: McKittrick Canyon Rip and Go

We have been choosing our backcounty trips this year based on the advice of Backpacker Magazine’s Readers, taking on the winning adventures from each Region in the January Readers’ Choice Issue.

 The Great Plains winner provided us with the opportunity to roam into Mark Twain National Forest…. 

Mark Twain National Forest wraps through 29 southern and central Missouri counties.

The Forest is made up of 1.5 million acres of Ozark Mountain terrain, but we set our sights on a little over 7,000 acres of the Forest known as the Paddy Creek Wilderness.

Congress declared this particular area a “wilderness ” back in 1983.   It was a special place in the Ozarks then and it remains a fantastic backpacking destination today and it will be here for all of us to explore tomorrow thanks to the one hundred year old Weeks Act.

We enjoyed numerous wildlife sightings while in the wilderness.   White tail deer, turkey, and even an armadillo paid us a trailside visit.

 We were sure to go decked out in plenty of blaze orange because it is hunting season, and while we did hear the evidence of a nearby military facility, and the echo of a few distant gun shots, we never actually saw another human being the entire time we were in the woods.

If they were there, there is no way they wouldn’t have seen us because we were bright!  (check out the hunting season skills tip video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQQjn3lVAsE)

The quiet and seclusion we enjoyed while exploring the Wilderness was just the experience that most backpackers are searching for.  Come to think of it, this hike had just about everything it takes to make a great trip:

 The weather was ideal for backpacking with highs in the lower 60’s and lows in the lower 30’s.

The terrain was unique and diverse.

The karst topography that makes up this region of the Ozarks offered water filled washes cutting through caves with small waterfalls, steep cliffs and ledges, hillsides covered with white, black and post oaks, as well as beautiful groves of tall pines.

The elevation changes are subtle as you drop from ridge to creek bed and back out again following the Big Piney Trail through numerous washes along the Big and Little Paddy Creeks.

 The bare trees in the Fall Forest allowed for wonderful views of the rolling Ozarks, especially from the tops of the ledges and cliffs along the route.

The Big Piney Trail is actually two loops, appropriately named North Loop and a South Loop.  The loops could be separated into nice day hikes, combined as an outer loop for a full weekend or turned into a figure eight if you want to add a few extra miles.  We went with the figure eight (as well as a short out and back to some cool cave formations) to create a route that was just over 21 miles of backpacking (check out the exact route with a slideshow and map on our SPOT ADVENTURE page).

This hike had everything a backpacker wants and needs.  Easily accessible water sources, well maintained trails, level areas for tenting, and all the quiet and seclusion you could imagine.

 When you get 7,000 acres of designated wilderness to yourself it doesn’t get any better.  Can you say backpacking euphoria!

For more on this hike check out Backpacker Magazine’s January 2011 Readers’ Choice Issue where the route was declared one of America’s Best Hikes.

See You Outside,
Sheri and Randy Propster

Tonight it’s not the sights or smells that intrigue our senses.  Tonight it’s the sounds that dominate our outdoor experience.

Wind driven droplets crashing into the thin and taunt nylon rain-fly are almost rhythmic.

The serenade combines consistent cloud born downpour with intermittent heavy drips.  The darkness in the surrounding forest exaggerates our auditory sense allowing our ears to envision the shake and sway of the tall overhanging pines as they wring their limbs from the downpour’s excess.

It’s definitely not a night for star gazing (sorry CELESTRON).  Tonight is a full-zip -tucked deep into the bottom of a warm sleeping bag- type of night in the outdoors (thanks PRIMALOFT).

The wind and rain are relentless.   The wildlife along the National Lakeshore has surrendered to the conditions.  They’ve retreated into their shelters and we’ve done the same (thanks NEMO ).

 We could tell you that every night we’ve spent sleeping out in mother nature’s arms (well over 1,000 nights now) was under a warm blanket of stars, that we are always “one” with the bugs, that the sun always rose up to meet us and that the wind was always at our backs…but we all know better than that… besides, wouldn’t that be boring?

If nature offered nothing but bluebird days amongst golden rays, our landscape would pale in comparison.

Warm and fuzzy bluebird days couldn’t create this landscape.   We’ll take the trade off.  We’ll take nights like tonight.  It is nights like tonight that send us, and the locals (black bear, bobcat, white-tailed deer, turkey, etc.) running for shelter, but these are also the nights that shape and sculpt our surrounding landscape.

 The story our ears offer our imagination tonight is the same story we witnessed with our eyes earlier today.  The same story can be seen and heard throughout all of the dunes, hills, valleys, streams and small lakes that dominate Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  It’s the story that can be heard whispering through the graveyard of cedars battling for a rooted grip in the enormous shifting dunes.  It’s the story drifting along the windswept ripples of sand and water at the Lake Michigan shoreline, and the story haunting the shipwrecked waters between the mainland and the nearby Manitou Islands.  It’s a story that has been told over and over again, for millions of years, on nights just like tonight.

The story we hear, we saw and we feel is a story of change.

The powerful earth moving forces we hear in the trees tonight provide clear evidence of nature’s never ending dedication to create a landscape defined by change.

 The Dunes’ dramatic geologic past is currently displaying a bruised, scarred, battered and beaten landscaped.  And you know what?  It’s one of the most beautiful displays of imperfection you will ever see.

Right now, it’s one of the most beautiful places we have ever heard.

So as we turn off our headlamps, close our eyes and settle into the warmth of our 15 degree bags we are graced with a perfect harmony as the unwavering winds trample the defenseless dunes, the overwhelming rains flood a new meander into the nearby Platte River and Nature continues to sing a “most beautiful” song of change.

Good Night from Sleeping Bear Dunes… See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy Propster

Backpacking gear for example, it’s evolving right before our eyes.  Tents and packs are getting lighter and more durable, boots are being created to match our exact activity and precise destination, and satellite technology  provide the ability to update facebook and twitter from just about anywhere on the planet.  Aren’t these all good changes?

Some people resist change, some folks invite it.

Whatever your take, this time of the year it’s difficult to hide from change.

 The cooler days we have been enjoying simply insinuate colder nights are coming (at least here in the Great Lakes Region where the Tour has been enjoying the Fall) so we can understand the temptation to resist some forms of change. 

We can also relate to those that root for change.  It only takes spending a few days engulfed in an autumn wilderness on the west Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the state’s largest Wilderness Area (Porcupine Mountains Wilderness) to welcome the changing of the seasons with open arms.

 To see a map of our exact route through the wilderness known as the “Porkies”, view a slideshow of photographs from the trip and read our Great Lakes region ADVENTURE STORY click: Randy and Sheri’s Porkies Adventure.

Here’s a short exerpt:  

Close your eyes while lying on a forest floor and you can actually hear the patter of acrobatic leaves as they launch from their branches to become a small piece of the greater foliage blanketing the earth.  While it seems as though they are creating a colorful blanket in an attempt to hide the dirty trail from your boots, the leaves actually enhance the walk with the sounds of autumn as a crunch accompanies each step, with the feel of autumn as they dance in the cool breeze blowing off of Lake Superior, and with the look of autumn as each windswept rustle alters the appearance of the blanket’s design.

See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy

In the “Wild Yosemite” section of the brochure/park map that the Yosemite Rangers offer to each car rolling into the National Park, there is a line that reads, “In wilderness, people can sense being a part of the whole community of life on Earth”.  The “Wild Yosemite” paragraph is in the top right hand corner of the map side of the informative publication.

In the bottom left corner is the “Yosemite Basics” paragraph.  

The “Yosemite Basics” paragraph begins with a line reading, “You can drive your car in Yosemite, but we urge you to…”, and it was right about there that we started to feel as if the Park Service was speaking directly to us.  Surely the line would continue by encouraging us and everyone else in the line of cars on Tioga Road surrounding us, to remove the windshields and search out the aforementioned wilds of Yosemite with a walk into the wilderness.

Or not.

The line actually suggests, “You can drive your car in Yosemite, but we urge you to… use the free shuttle buses.”

 Oh, Well.

While it wasn’t the advice we were hoping for, we understood.  With over 4 million visitors a year to the Yosemite “front country” (drive up access) public transportation is a necessity.

(And if you think about it, the two concepts may be more closely related than we first gave them credit for; on a busy day in the Yosemite “front country” it can feel like you’ve seen the whole community of life on earth.)

The Toulumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley areas of Yosemite can without a doubt become overloaded with camera toting tourists from dozens of countries and thousands of communities (especially Labor Day weekend), but the wilderness the Park Service alludes to in the “Wild Yosemite” paragraph is actually about Yosemite’s middle.

Everything has a start and a finish, a birth and a death, and while those moments are definitely important, we would be willing to argue that they are far less important than the space in between, our time in the middle.  Life is about the time in the middle.  Not only how you spend the in-between time, but also where you spend it.

 Yosemite is a special place.  A place worthy of your time.

Even if you can’t get into the middle, each of you would be doing yourself an enormous favor to pay a visit to Yosemite.

Everyone should see the high sierra peaks, steep granite cliffs, massive sequoia groves and unending golden meadows (that rightfully deserve Congress’ protection), even if it is through the windshield of a car.

You will still get the start and the finish.

Toulumne Meadows would be a great place to begin and Yosemite Valley is certainly a grand finale. Tioga Road is a wonderful scenic drive and the shuttle buses in Yosemite Valley are hybrids. 

However, if you desire to genuinely “sense being a part of the whole community of life on earth”, you will need to search out the wilderness.

 You will need to explore the backcountry, embrace the solitude associated with primitive recreation, and answer to the challenges of an untamed habitat in its natural condition.

You will need  time in the Yosemite middle.

Yosemite’s middle is consuming.  Yosemite’s middle is complex.  Yosemite’s middle is the diverse combination of nature’s forces at work.

It’s the smooth pebbles on the bottom of the Toulumne River, the rippled rivers’ surfaces, the floating reflections of the clouds, and the overhanging granite slabs, domes and walls that simultaneously cut through and close in on the wide golden valleys.

Yosemite’s middle is a bed of granite and a blanket of stars.

It’s the still surface of Evelyn Lake, the jagged twin peaks of Vogelsang, the cooler, calmer air in Echo Valley and the tumbling waters of Bunnell Cascades.

The middle is the dirt under your feet in Lyell Canyon, the dust on your legs along Fletcher Creek and the spray in the air near Nevada and Vernal Falls.

 Yosemite’s middle is a diverse community of wild creatures and an undying example of the natural forces capable of carving such a unique landscape.

Yosemite’s wilderness is so consuming that even time seems to pause.

It’s as if even time wants to stay for a while.  Ok, so time may not actually stop in Yosemite, but it certainly feels like it slows down.

Maybe time itself recognizes that the start and finish are irrelevant, and that it’s the how and where in the middle that mean the most?

See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy Propster

The Route we enjoyed through Yosemite National Park was voted one of “America’s Best Hikes” in Backpacker Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Issue.  For a complete photo slide-show, interactive map, and adventure story from our four day Yosemite backpacking trip please click on our SPOT ADVENTURE.

Aasgard pass was our gateway to the Enchantment Lakes Basin.  The route we were following was voted one of America’s Best Hikes in Backpacker Magazine’s 2011 Readers’ Choice Issue.  The diverse combination of steep granite peaks, deep forested valleys, and basins running with crystal clear waters flowing from intense blue to emerald green alpine lakes, makes this destination a magical place truly worthy of the title Enchantments.  See our exact route in our SPOT Adventure.

 The sound of thunder we were hearing roll through Aasgard Pass was yet another unique feature a visit to this incredible landscape had to offer.  It wasn’t thunder though.  It wasn’t a weather issue at all.  We always check and double check the weather.  Just that morning we had talked with a Ranger at the Wenatchee National Forest Office in Leavenworth Washington who was excited to share that the forecast looked fantastic throughout our entire multi-day adventure.

Part of our planning process before every backpacking trip is to learn as much as we can about the route we want to follow and that process involves looking at the weather conditions we could face while following that route.  Our weather research didn’t call for storms.  As a matter of fact, it would have been a challenge to count a dozen clouds in the bright blue skies over Washington’s Central Cascades throughout our entire trip.  Our only weather challenge was protecting our skin from the harmful rays of the sun (we like Sawyer SPF 30, a hat, glasses, and lip balm).  Sheri wasn’t hearing thunder.

In addition to researching the weather we could face along our route, we research the terrain we will be traveling through and the wildlife we could encounter along the way.

 Our terrain research called for rocks, and large rocks make a lot of noise when they fall.  Sheri wasn’t hearing thunder, she was hearing the echoes and rumbles of granite boulders losing their battle with gravity.  The rocky terrain we encountered throughout the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, the large boulder fields, small boulder fields, mid-sized loose rock, small loose rock, granite slabs, muddy shorelines, and the variety of snowfields offered a vast selection of terrain challenges.  Knowing to beware of loose rock, both below our feet and above our heads, helped build the confidence we needed to take on the challenge of a backpacking adventure in the Enchantment Lakes Basin.   

 Recognizing the challenges you can face while exploring the backcountry is a critical piece of the backpacking puzzle.  If you can recognize the challenges, you can attempt to identify the solutions, and if you can identify the solutions you can empower yourself with confidence.  Confidence is a powerful tool in all aspects of life and exploring wild places will without a doubt benefit from confidence.

There are numerous ways to go about building your backpacking confidence.  Confidence comes with being prepared, with knowing what’s next, with knowing you know.

 Knowing we would stay insulated with an appropriate system of clothing, a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag, helped build our confidence (Woolrich Clothing, a NEMO Zor pad, and T.N.F Orion 20 degree bag featuring Primaloft Insulation).  Knowing we could stay hydrated and healthy with reliable drinking water added to our confidence (Sawyer 3-Way Filter)  and knowing we could call for emergency services with the push of a button (SPOT Satellite Communicator) certainly instills an elevated level of confidence.  Knowing we would encounter Mountain Goats along our route encouraged us to stay alert, protect our gear, properly store our food, and urinate on exposed rock surfaces.

What does all of that have to do with confidence?

 Information builds confidence.  Informing ourselves concerning the behavior of Mountain Goats allowed us to avoid unwanted confrontation.  We love seeing wildlife in the backcountry.  We just want to do so from a safe distance.  As for picking the right place to pee, we want the confidence of knowing this very unique and very fragile place known as the Enchantment Lakes Basin will always be accessible.  The Alpine Lakes Wilderness needs all of us to Leave No Trace.   Avoiding vegetation when you relieve yourself will keep Goats from tearing up the fragile Alpine landscape in search of the salts in your urine.

Confidence is knowing that you know, whether it’s knowing that you will live to tell about it, or knowing that the vegetation will.  Knowing that you have all of the skills and equipment you need to safely travel into the wild places this great country has to offer, places like the Alpine Lakes in the Central Cascades, will allow you to travel with confidence, to relax, take a deep breath, connect with the nature around you and reconnect with yourself along the way.

 We wish everyone could experience a backpacking adventure to the Enchantment Lakes (the Enchantments are a destination capable of changing lives).  We wish everyone had the opportunity to backpack (backpacking is an activity capable of changing lives), and we wish everyone could be empowered with confidence (it will change your life).

Build your backpacking confidence; join us at a Get Out More Tour event near you.  Sheri and Randy will share their experiences from America’s Best Hikes, help you recognize the challenges you can face in the backcountry and identify many gear and skill options that can help you be safer and more comfortable the next time you enhance your life with a backpacking trip into the wilds.

See You Outside,

Sheri and Randy Propster