Delighted in Death Valley

As we wipe the desert dust off of all our belongings, fire up the electronics, and regain reception we realize it's been a while since we blogged. Even a Traveling Trainer needs some down time and after a week of restful vacation we were blessed to enjoy a warm and windy week in Death Valley National Park, CA. A land of extremes, Death Valley is known as the hottest, driest, and lowest park. Spanning over 140 miles long with 300 miles of paved roads and around 1000 miles of backcountry roads, the Park Rangers here have a lot of land to cover and around one million visitors each year to educate.

We were excited to hit the trail for our fourth Trainer Course this season with staff from many departments within Death Valley and also Yosemite National Park. Wilderness managers, trail crew, interpreters, law enforcement and restoration workers all came together to discuss the impacts they see and find solutions to them using the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace as a guide on the ground.

Even the most isolated places on earth are being affected by external factors. Although Death Valley is more than 120 miles to the closest major city, nonnative species, lightscape, air quality and issues arising from less than Leave No Trace practices in the 91% of the park which is a designated wilderness all combine.

Recreate your recreation.

Mark and Tara