Meanderthals

May 18 Is Put on Purple Day for Lupus

Jeff — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:55:05 +0000

Research shows that most Americans know little or nothing about lupus and its devastating impact on millions of people. You can change that! Band Together for Lupus Awareness and help the Lupus Foundation of America fight this unpredictable and sometimes fatal disease by showing support for those who suffer from it.

Join the Lupus Foundation of America and thousands of people nationwide for Put On Purple Day on Friday, May 18, 2012.

Here are more daily awareness facts about lupus:

Lupus can be an expensive disease. The average annual cost to provide healthcare for a person with lupus is $12,643, and rises to nearly $21,000 when lost work productivity is included.

African Americans, Hispanics/Latinas, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans are diagnosed with lupus two or three times more frequently than Caucasians; however, lupus affects people of all races and ethnicities.

Successful treatment of lupus often requires a combination of medications. A new treatment for lupus was approved recently, and nearly two-dozen clinical studies are underway to develop a full arsenal of treatments.

As many as 80 percent of people with lupus experience fatigue. For some, fatigue can be debilitating, even to the point of forcing them to stop working.

People with lupus are usually encouraged to engage in appropriate daily exercise in order to maintain muscle and bone strength. Care should be taken, however, to balance exercise with rest.

Systemic lupus is the most common type of lupus. Systemic lupus can affect any organ system of the body, including the heart, kidneys, lungs, blood, joints, and skin.

Discoid lupus (the most common form of skin lupus) accounts for approximately 10 percent of all cases of lupus and occurs in 20 percent of those with systemic lupus.

Drug-induced lupus is a lupus-like disease caused by taking specific prescription drugs. The symptoms usually disappear after these medications are stopped.

So, if you’re out hiking on Friday, May 18th or anytime this weekend, be sure to put on something purple and tell those you encounter that you are spreading awareness of lupus and those who suffer. Plus, you will look cool doing it.

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Hikers will follow old pathway to Hawaiian summit

Jeff — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:37:40 +0000

Hikers may be taking the old trail to the summit of Haleakala for the first time in seven decades later this year following an agreement approved by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday in Honolulu.

The memorandum of agreement between state Department of Land and Natural Resources Forestry and Wildlife Division, the Na Ala Hele Trail & Access System and Haleakala Ranch, through which a part of the trail runs, calls for a minimum of two hiking events each year on the trail, which provided access to the summit until the opening of the current route in 1935.

Access will be granted to hikers only; no horses or vehicles will be allowed, the agreement said. The route for each hike will be determined by the ranch in coordination with the DLNR and will be led by a ranch or Na Ala Hele official.

Read full story…

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The Outdoor Alliance Celebrates Partnerships for Public Lands

Jeff — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:25:33 +0000

A report published by Outdoor Alliance showcases how collaborations between federal agencies and outdoor recreation organizations can lead to more Americans visiting their public lands.

Several of the projects in the report also have a history with National Public Lands Day. The Yosemite Facelift is a long time NPLD event that attracts thousands of volunteers to clean up the park over five days. The Yosemite Facelift is featured in the report because a partnership between the Yosemite Climbing Association and the National Park Service resulted in substantial restoration projects and litter clean-ups.

The Outdoor Alliance works to ensure the conservation and stewardship of our nation’s land and waters through the promotion of sustainable, human-powered recreation.

See the full report.

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Trails for All to Enjoy

Jeff — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:27:10 +0000

Currently only one trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway, at the Folk Art Center, is designated as accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The BRP Foundation is funding two projects this year to make more trails on the parkway accessible; one at Price Lake in the Julian Price Park in North Carolina and another at Abbot Lake at the Peaks of Otter in Virginia.

The Price Lake Loop Trail is a popular 2.4 mile hike around the lake at the heart of Julian Price Park. From the Boone Fork Overlook at Milepost 296.7, the trail is accessible for the first 0.7 mile, with bridges and boardwalks crossing the feeder streams and boggy areas. Funds from the Foundation will allow the Park Service to extend the accessible portion another half mile to the bogs on the back side of the lake. In addition, supplies will be purchased to build a boardwalk across the area.

The easy mile loop trail around Abbot Lake at the Peaks of Otter at milepost 86 takes you through a woodland forest and open field, offering a close-up view of the picturesque 24-acre lake and access to great fishing along the lakeshore. For several years, the Park Service has been working on sections of the trail with the ultimate goal of having the entire trail ADA accessible. There are only 200 yards of trail left to upgrade.

Read about more visitor amenities on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

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New Interpretive Hikes Enhance Your Visit To Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Jeff — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:18:24 +0000

Two hiking programs being offered this summer at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park will introduce you to a captivating landscape, biodiversity and history of the park’s southernmost section.

People and Land of Kahuku is a 2-mile, 3-hour expedition through pastures, a quarry, an airstrip, and the 1868 lava fields of Kahuku. Rangers will explain how people lived on the vast Kahuku lands, from the earliest Hawaiians through today. Join this adventure and you’ll walk in emerging native forest, hear about Kahuku’s history of violent earthquakes and eruptions and the residents who survived them, and find out how Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park plans to restore the native ecosystem and protect Kahuku’s cultural sites.

Kīpuka’akihi is a challenging 1.5 mile, five-hour adventure to see some of the rare plants and wildlife that inhabit this treasured kīpuka. Participants must be prepared to scramble over fallen trees, lava rock, and slippery, wet terrain. Wear sturdy hiking shoes, long pants, sunscreen and a hat. Bring raingear, garden gloves, a day pack, insect repellent, lunch and water.

This forest stewardship program provides opportunities to help protect this rainforest by pulling up invasive kāhili ginger and other invasive non-native plants throughout the kīpuka.

Read full story…

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National Trails Day; Pennsylvania Hiking Week

Jeff — Sun, 13 May 2012 23:22:34 +0000

Have you been looking for a reason to get off your duff and go outside to hike or bike on a wonderful trail? Well, you’re in luck. Several great opportunities are coming up soon.

Pennsylvania Hiking Week begins on Saturday, May 26 and extends through Sunday, June 3. It is a joint venture of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and Keystone Trails Association (KTA). explorepatrails.com has a special section devoted to listing all of the activities scheduled for Pennsylvania Hiking Week.

Smack in the middle of Pennsylvania Hiking Week is the national event that celebrates America’s trails, National Trails Day, Saturday, June 2. National Trails Day is organized by the American Hiking Society where you can find a comprehensive listing of all of the NTD events throughout the country.

Read full story…

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Hiking high in Rockies to see world-class fossils

Jeff — Sun, 13 May 2012 23:13:12 +0000

2,500 feet up — and 500 million years back in time.

Tucked into a Rockies mountainside 6,700 feet above sea level at British Columbia’s eastern edge lies the Burgess Shale, a fossil bed rich with creatures so fantastically bizarre and exquisitely preserved that they transformed science’s understanding of early life on Earth.

Naturalist and author Stephen Jay Gould devoted a 1989 book to the find and the scientific controversies it generated. “Without hesitation or ambiguity,” he wrote, they are “the world’s most important animal fossils.”

The 1909 discovery laid bare the so-called Cambrian Explosion — a sudden blossoming, a half-billion years ago, of numerous new life-forms, including many with unfamiliar body shapes and odd appendages.

Visits by hikers to the Burgess Shale, which lies within Yoho National Park in B.C., are restricted to small authorized groups with guides, although it’s no longer an active exploration site. Electronic devices detect unauthorized intruders.

Read full story…

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Christine Hoyer named top employee at Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Jeff — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:54:29 +0000

Christine Hoyer has been named Employee of the Year at Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The award, which recognizes outstanding work of park employees, was presented at a public ceremony at park headquarters in Tennessee on May 7.

Hoyer is the Trails & Facilities Volunteer Coordinator in the park and she is in charge of four main park volunteer programs: Adopt-a-Trail, Adopt-a-Campsite, Trails Forever and the Backcountry Horsemen Trail Clearing program. During 2011 she oversaw 927 volunteers who provided over 17,919 hours of service for the park.

The volunteer work crews Christine leads are responsible for assisting park staff in major trail rehabilitation and backcountry campsite maintenance projects which stabilize and improve trail conditions. The work performed protects Park resources and enhances the visitor’s experience in the backcountry.

In addition to producing excellent craftsmanship on the park’s trails, Christine has developed an extensive array of communication tools to help promote volunteerism and attract donors.

Read full story…

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Calling All Families: Second Annual National Kids to Parks Day Set for May 19

Jeff — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:47:42 +0000

Hundreds of thousands will head to parks May 19 to celebrate National Kids to Parks Day and National Park Trust (NPT) hopes this official kick off to summer will help combat two disturbing national trends: park attendance is trending down and national obesity is trending up.

“Park fun for families is a simple prescription to help adults and children stay healthy and active,” said Grace Lee, Executive Director of National Park Trust. “We hope families will skip the drive through and screen time and head outdoors – our parks are the best natural remedy to help fight our nation’s rising obesity rates.”

Parks around the country are offering an enticing menu of events to attract visitors. Every state park in Virginia is offering a National Kids to Parks Day event. Forty-five other states are getting in the game. Families will be bird watching in California, fishing in Connecticut, biking and hiking in Georgia, doing volcano restoration in Hawaii, and pond prowling in Louisiana. Families can go to www.kidstoparks.org to find an event nearby or plan their own event by downloading a toolbox of ideas.

Read full story…

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The Face and Voice of Russia’s Environmental Conscience

Jeff — Sat, 12 May 2012 03:21:49 +0000

One day Evgenia Chirikova, variously described in news reports as a small businesswoman, homemaker and engineer who lived in the greater Moscow area, decided to take a walk through Khimki Forest with her two young daughters, near their home in the town of Khimki.

Contemporary Russian history would never be the same.

Chirikova had moved her family to Khimki, on the north side of Moscow, to be closer to the forest, frequently called the “lungs” of Moscow, a city choked with pollution, automobile congestion and concrete.

Think of a Central Park that surrounded New York City, instead of being at the center of town, and you get the idea of the forest’s importance to weary urban-dwelling Muscovites.

Khimki is 2,500 acres of lovely ancient forest – supposedly federal protected. It’s one of the last old-growth forests in the area, and it is home to lots of wildlife, including many endangered flora and fauna species.

Read full story…

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