This outings program joins a training exercise of the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit (BAMRU). The rescuers practice their winter alpine rescue skills in the Carson Pass area, just south of Lake Tahoe, California. Most search and rescue teams in the U.S. are all-volunteer. BAMRU is just one example. To find out about the mountain rescue teams near you, you can look at the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA). This is a reprise of our edition #32 of March 9, 2006. We followed it with a companion edition #33, Wilderness Rescuing, where talked more to John Chang of BAMRU and Tim Kovacs of MRA about how you can get involved and volunteer for mountain and wilderness rescue teams. Show number 82 [MP3 format; length 9:56; 2,388,918 bytes] Show number 82, high-fidelity stereo [MP3 format; length 9:57; 9,558,383 bytes] Show number 82 script Photo album

Counting Up Essentials, part 2
This skills program is the second half of a look at the ten essentials. Are there ten, and why are they essentials? Since it’s mysterious introduction by the Mountaineers early in the twentieth century, the 10 Essentials have been the list that everyone should know, and few could recite with certainty. In this edition, Doug Ritter, the executive director of the Equipped To Survive Foundation, and Amy Racina, author of the book Angels in the Wilderness, compare notes on some of their ideas of the 10 essentials. Amy finishes her story about her rescue from a life-threatening emergency in a remote location of Kings Canyon National Park. Doug completes his list of the Ten Essentials. There’s additonal information about the ten essentials, and a bonus audio clip, under the To find out more… link, below. Show number 79 [MP3 format; length 9:57; 2,391,427 bytes] Combined shows number 78 & 79, high-fidelity stereo [MP3 format; length 20:47; 19,968,905 bytes] Show number 79 script Show number 78 & 79, combined script To find out more…

Campground Reviews – What’s New
camping Kauai’s North ShoreMatthew Holmes reports that the camping at Haena Beach Park is fantastic. He found this park in the Kauai Trailblazer guidebook. These beaches are so popular that…

Listening to Parks, part 1
This wild places program explores sounds in national parks. Do you go to parks for the peace and quiet? Should you expect peace and quiet at national parks? Steve starts out in a relatively remote campground in Yosemite National Park, and discovers some noises he wasn’t counting on. He interviews two campers, Maria Mustanen and Bill Garcia, about how they feel about man-made noise in parks. Steve interviews Kurt Fristrup, a scientist for the Natural Sounds Program of the National Park Service. Kurt explains the mission of the Natural Sounds Program, and how they monitor the parks for noise pollution. He plays clips recorded by their audio measuring equipment, which they place in remote locations in the parks. Kurt mentions the park service’s Night Sky Program, which we covered in our Wilderness at Night, part 1 (#13) and part 2 (#14). So what have Kurt and his colleagues found out about noise in parks? How can you help their efforts, and collect sounds for yourself? We’ll explore those questions in part two. Show number 89 [MP3 format; length 9:50; 2,361,460 bytes] Show number 89 script

Orestimba Wilderness Updated
This wild places program revisits the Orestimba Wilderness of California’s Henry W. Coe State Park. It’s an amazingly remote wilderness surprisingly close to the San Francisco Bay Area. A new entrance to the park will make this remote wilderness more easily accessible. Steve rode with backcountry ranger Cameron Bowers on a patrol trip to the wilderness. Volunteer park historian Teddy Goodrich came along. They stopped for lunch and to talk along Red Creek, in the heart of the wilderness area. The Pine Ridge Association provides a lot of volunteer help to operate and maintain the park, and they maintain a comprehensive informational web site. Several years ago, the wilderness area was threatened by a proposal to route a high speed rail line through it. Traveling into the Orestimba Wilderness is a challenging trip. But no where is California’s inter-coastal range so well preserved and undeveloped. And you could have it all to yourself! This is an update of our edition number 44 of June 1st, 2006. At the time of our original story, the Ortestimba Wilderness was indeed difficult to get to. But as of next week, a new entrance will provide a trailhead much closer to the edge of the wilderness. Steve talks to C. L. Price, a sector superintendent for the California State Parks responsible Henry Coe State Park. He explains the new entrance that opens up on May 19th. Show number 85 [MP3 format; length 9:55; 2,384,449 bytes] Show number 85, extended high-fidelity stereo [MP3 format; length 14:00; 13,446,687 bytes] Show number 85 script Photo album

Race in the Backcountry
This wild places program asks why ethnic minorities are even more in the minority in wilderness recreation areas. Steve interviewed Nina Roberts, Ph.D., in November 2005. Dr. Roberts is an assistant professor at San Francisco State University in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. An expert on the demographics of National Park visitation, she previously worked for the National Park Service as an education and outreach specialist. The National Park Service has this web page on diversity issues and resources that Dr. Roberts originally developed while working with the NPS. She also conducted a major study of diversity issues in Rocky Mountain National Park, published in 2004. Update: (1/29/2007) Listen to Vox WildeBeat number 11 for some updated information provided by Dr. Roberts. Show number 73 [MP3 format; length 9:59; 2,399,945 bytes] Show number 73, extended version [MP3 format; length 11:58; 5,753,061 bytes] Show number 73 script

Sheephole Valley Wilderness
This wild places program profiles the Sheephole Valley Wilderness in the Mojave Desert. This may be the largest waterless wilderness in the 48 states. We hear from Steve Tabor, the president of the Berkeley, California based outings group, the Desert Survivors. Steve Tabor has extensive experience in the Sheephole Valley Wilderness, and may be one of the first in recorded history to cross it, unsupported, on foot. Dan Abbe, the Wilderness Specialist for the Needles Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management provides the official perspective on the area. If you’re considering visiting a desert wilderness, there are some things you should know. Steve Tabor got us started in our edition #34, Desert Backpacking Tips. Steve Sergeant visited the Sheephole Valley with the Desert Survivors last year, and produced our editions #35 & #36, Surviving the Desert, as a report on that trip. Show number 81 [MP3 format; length 9:59; 2,398,427 bytes] Show number 81, extended version [MP3 format; length 11:01; 5,294,581 bytes] Show number 81 script

Sheep Watering Holes
This wild places program looks at a proposal to provide artificial water sources for California desert bighorn sheep. Are we going to have to ruin a wilderness to save them? We hear from Steve Tabor, who taught us desert backpacking skills in edition 34, and helped introduce us to the Sheephole valley Wilderness in edition 81. Steve mentions a plan to build roads and dams in the Sheephole Valley Wilderness to provide water for desert bighorn sheep. Dan Abbe, a wilderness specialist from the Needles office of the Bureau of Land Management, explains these artificial watering holes for the sheep, which are called big game guzzlers. Brent Schoradt, the deputy policy director for the California Wilderness Coalition, explains why he thinks this plan is a bad idea. What do you think? Will it ruin this wilderness to save the sheep? We’d love to hear your comments. Show number 84 [MP3 format; length 9:55; 2,378,734 bytes] Show number 84 script

Woodall’s North American Tenting Directory
Book Review – If you’re like most tent campers, you likely enjoy other outdoor activities like biking, fishing, hiking and rafting. And, if you’re like me, you choose your camping…

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