Leaving No Trace Not An Inherent Ideal
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
Many of us that have grown up exploring the great outdoors – whether it was hiking, camping, hunting or fishing – take it for granted that we are stewards of our own recreation. It is common sense to pack out your garbage and food scraps, do what you can to avoid damaging foliage and avoid removing animals and birds from their natural habitat. But unfortunately, the notion of green camping is not inherent in all people. There are some that never learned these basic rules of the outdoors or have chosen to ignore them for the sake of their own interests.
This is the perfect time of year to catch grizzly bears in action in the Northwest. Hiking and vacation tours through some of Washington and British Columbia’s best forest land take you close to the action. Ann Campbell has written a great article on the grizzly tours available at 
I went camping last month up the Umpqua River in southern Oregon to a remote area near Toketee Reservoir. The scenery was beautiful – crystal lake, rocky mountain peaks in the distance and dense, deep forests. We camped for several days without running water and many of those other niceties that make campground camping easier. At night, the forest’s density made it incredibly dark, which meant trapsing through the forest was difficult at best after 5:30pm. 
Are you enjoying the 2008 Olympic Games? I sure am. I, like many millions of Americans, am glued to my television set until the wee hours of the night watching live coverage of the men’s and women’s gymnastics finals and the recent 100m track finals. It is mesmerizing. And the backdrop of China makes it all the more intriguing. Its colors. Its elaborately designed buildings and unconventional management of the games themselves make for an interesting story to watch unfold. Getting glimpses of the designs throughout the Olympic park opens up your eyes to the possibilities that color, art and lighting bring to new structures.