Volunteer Vacation

Most people would agree that spending a week at Lake Tahoe is a pretty great vacation, but it takes a special type of person to spend a week building trails at Lake Tahoe and still think it's a pretty great vacation.

Last week we met up with staff and volunteers from American Hiking Society near Truckee, California. During our morning presentation, we worked with seasoned staff and volunteers as we discussed programs offered by Leave No Trace. Later that day, we were able to meet up with a brand new crew from AHS's Volunteer Vacation program as they prepared to spend the week building trails in the area. We had a great time and were awed by all the work that these folks accomplish while on vacation! Nice work and hope to see you all again in the future. Happy hiking...you've certainly earned it!

Delaware Gap Trainer Course

We spent the weekend at the Shawnee Inn in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, PA.  The participants were eager to learn and consume all of the delicious Clif Bars that we had to offer!  Rainy weather could not put an end to a fun filled weekend of discussing Leave No Trace.  We were able to get out and hike a stretch of the Appalachian Trail and take advantage of the beautiful grounds at the Shawnee Inn.  The newly trained Leave No Trace Trainers left the course eager to put their knowledge into action.  Good luck to all the participants as they bring Leave No Trace to their personal and professional endeavors.  A special thank-you to Johnny Carawan for hosting the event and to Jenny Fuller and all the Staff at the Shawnee Inn for being so helpful in providing a wonderful venue for the course!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Picture of the week 8/28/09

                                     We couldn't have said it better ourselves!

Tim Horton Camp Kentahten Leave No Trace Musical Throwdown!

Opened in 2001, this is the first Tim Horton Children's Foundation camp in the United States. The camp occupies 50 acres of waterfront property on Green River Lake, in the heart of Kentucky.  Tim Horton Camp Kentahten hosts residential campers throughout the summer months and March Break.  Campers get to choose from a variety of activities including wake boarding, canoeing, kayaking, archery, high and low ropes courses, disc golf and fishing to name a few.  We had the pleasure of spending the morning with 95 campers from Canada.  As it was a musically themed week at camp, we split the campers into groups and had them create a tune based on one of the seven Leave No Trace principles.  The kids and staff were super creative and had a ton of fun performing their songs!

After our presentations, we were lucky enough to climb the tower on the high ropes course and ZOOM down the zip line.  What a blast!  A special thanks to "Crocs" and the entire staff at Camp Kentahten for making our experience so memorable.  We look forward to returning next summer to have more fun with this crew!

Safe Travels...Kate and Tracy

Ox Roast at 7 Ranges

The 32nd annual Ox Roast at Seven Ranges scout camp in Kensington, OH provided a great opportunity for the Buckeye Council scouts to gather for a big feast, earn and swap patches, and learn about Leave No Trace.  There were over 500 scouts and leaders swarming the grounds, excited to learn new skills.  We taught the boys about ways to minimize their impacts while camping with their troops and how to dispose of waste properly.  

We also encouraged folks to take the Bigfoot Challenge, as seen here in the photo.  A special thanks to Jack Smith for inviting team east to be a part of this boy scout tradition.  

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Picture of the Week 08/21/09

Who can name that site?

Folks Festival 2009

We had a great time at Folks Fest this year! In addition to hearing some great music, we were also able to host the Campsite Challenge. We would like to thank Planet Bluegrass for making this such a great event and donating tickets and camping to the winning campers. We would also like to thank our friends at Keen, Clif Bar, and New Belgium for donating great prizes for all the finalists!

Congratulations to the 2009 Campsite Challenge winners: The Bloss Campsite. The Bloss Family was one mean, green, and clean group of Festivarians (just kidding about the mean part).

They kept an exceptionally tidy camp. Anything that was susceptible to wind gusts was securely stored or anchored down. Additionally there was no food left out that might be appetizing to wildlife in the area. We were also impressed with their efforts to be sustainable. They were drinking from last year’s festival cups, had reusable containers for water and brought their food in reusable grocery bags. What waste was created at their campsite was separated into recyclables and compostables and taken to the waste station. While walking to the waste stations, they made a habit of picking up litter along their way. They minimized their water consumption by showering every other day and re-wearing clothes. Their small tent was a good fit for their group’s size and left a very small footprint. At camp they used the moonlight and flashlights that required no batteries (just shaking) to recharge. Finally, their creative use of fung shui put their camping environment in harmony with nature and the flow of energy.