Reprise: Using All Fours, part 1
This skills program is part 1 of our look at the science and skills, myths and fact around trekking poles. Is hiking with poles a trendy gimmick, or a valuable skill? (This is a reprise of our edition 86 originally presented on May 17, 2007.) Steve talks to Julianne Abendroth-Smith of Willamette University in Salem Oregon. She’s a biomechanics professor studying the physics of hiking, and how hiking with various poles and walking sticks affect the body. Steve talks to Jayah Faye Paley, an author and educator, and co-host of an educational DVD, POLES for Hiking, Trekking & Walking. Jayah’s web site, Adventure Buddies, provides more information about her educational products and services. We’ll hear more from Julianne Abrendroth-Smith and Jayah Faye Paley in part two. We’ll find out Jayah’s techniques for using poles, and we’ll update you with the latest scientific research about those techniques. Show number 161 [MP3 format; length 9:55; 2,382,262 bytes] Transcript of edition 161 JOIN NOW — Help us help more folks to appreciate our wild public lands.
The New Rust Belt
In this wild places program, Guest Correspondent Kurt Repanshek investigates the changes coming to the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Kurt explains how the mountain pine beetle is affecting the white bark pine trees, and man animals and people who depend on these trees. Why is this beetle a growing problem now? We also hear from Dr. Jesse Logan, a recently retired U.S. Forest Service entomologist, Diana Tomback, a biology professor at the University of Colorado in Denver, and Louisa Willcox, a senior wildlife advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council. You can read more reporting by Kurt Repanshek at his National Parks Traveler web site. Show number 160 [MP3 format; length 9:51; 2,368,849 bytes] Show number 160, extended version [MP3 format; length 11:01; 5,748,377 bytes] Transcript of edition 160 JOIN NOW — Help us help more folks to appreciate our wild public lands.
Starting With Fire
This skills program presents the basic skill of fire building. This is the second in a series of shows featuring primitive technologies experts from Primitive Ways. (The first show is number 141, First Skills.) Naturalist Dino Labiste explains and demonstrates the fundamental skill of fire building. Our ancestors depended on fire as a basic survival tool as far back as a million years ago, and yet today, among many people it’s becoming a lost art. Ben Lawhon, the education director for the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics talks about minimum impact skills for making and using fires. The fifth Leave No Trace principle is Minimize Campfire Impacts. The Primitive Ways website has many articles on primitive fire skills. Another source of information on primitive skills in the Society of Primitive Technologies. Show number 146 [MP3 format; length 9:55; 2,383,583 bytes] Show number 146, high-quality stereo version [MP3 format; length 10:28; 10,057,426 bytes] Show number 146 script JOIN NOW — Help us help more folks to appreciate our wild public lands.
Summer OR 2008
This gear program is a report on the 2008 Outdoor Retailer’s Summer Market. What gear will BackpackGearTest be reviewing for next summer? Volunteers Rick Allnutt, Christopher Nicolai, and Ken Bigelow report on the most interesting gear they hope to test for BackpackGearTest.ORG. They comment on products by: GoMotion, Ultimate Survival Technologies, Gerber, Bushnell, Sigg, Insect Shield, and the Therm-a-Rest division of Cascade Designs. If you’re interested in reviewing for Backpack Gear Test (BGT), read: How to become a tester. Manufacturers provide more gear than the volunteers at BGT can keep up with. By becoming a tester, you can help your fellow wilderness travelers find out what gear will work for them. WildeBeat Members can download the entire reports from the BGT testers from our WildeBeat Insider web pages. Edition 151 [MP3 format; length 9:55; 2,384,412 bytes] Edition 151 transcript JOIN NOW — Help us help more folks to appreciate our wild public lands.
WildeBeat Promo Clip
This is a 45 second promotional clip about the show.WildeBeat Promo [MP3 format; length 0:45; 792,815 bytes]
