Bigfoot is heading west!

Everyone here at the Center in Boulder are working hard to get ready for the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City later this week. Much to our surprise, we had a special guest come by to get ready as well. Yep, you guessed it, Bigfoot is Back!

Bigfoot had a pleasant hibernation period and now he is rested and ready for another fun-filled year of outreach, awareness and adventure! He will be joining us in Salt Lake City, so be sure to look out for him if you are heading to the show. If you are not going to be at Outdoor Retailer, be sure to check out Bigfoot's web page and take the Bigfoot Challenge! There will be new challenges posted every month and a chance to win some sweet gear from our partners to use on your next outdoor adventure.

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Picture of the Week 1/15/10

Enjoying the outdoors responsibly on a bluebird day in Colorado!

17 states and 3,056 miles...

.... and we finally made it to Boulder! We've had a very exciting first couple of weeks of 2010. We left Massachusetts on the first of the year and headed to the Ocala National Forest in Florida for our Master Educator Course. After five frigid Floridian days and nights, tons of new information, and a few new friends, we hopped back in the car to make it to Boulder.

We were fortunate to be able to attend the annual Provider's meeting and are getting acquainted with our colleagues at the Center. Stay tuned for updates and maybe even a few action shots with our old friend Bigfoot as we get ready to kick off the Bigfoot Challenge for the new year.

All the best........

Agata and Jason

2010 Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Season is getting set to Kick Off!

On Monday we began our annual Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Training for our 2010 teams. We are lucky to have Kate Bullock and Tracy Howard returning for their third season on the road, starting their year as our Team East. Check out their schedule so far.

We are also very excited to have a new pair, Jason and Agata Ketterick, joining us for our 12th year of the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Program as Team West. You can take a look to see if they will be coming to your area in the coming months by clicking here.

Both teams will be attending the Outdoor Retailer trade show next week in Salt Lake City, and then will be back here for another week and a half of training before they hit the road for the season in early February. If you are interested in hosting the Traveling Trainers this year, please request a visit online.

Kate and Tracy, are excited for you to meet Bigfoot!

Jason and Agata on top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine last June.

Winter Trails Day

It's an exciting time in Colorado.  This past weekend, we spent time with 600 snowshoe hikers at Echo Lake.  Nationally, Winter Trails Day was held in nearly 90 venues around the country.  Locations include alpine resorts, Nordic centers, and national parks.  Organizers estimate that participation exceeded last year's total participation of 10,500 due to snow cover in most parts of the country.  Winter Trails Day, celebrating it's 15th year, was created to enable children and adults new to snow sports to try snowshoeing and/or cross country skiing FREE at participating venues.  This is an amazing opportunity to demo products and enjoy the cool crisp winter air.  Not to worry if you did not make it out last Saturday.  There are a few more events on January 16th.  The Traveling Trainers will be providing outreach at the Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO where all the festivities will take place.  We hope to see you there!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...REFUSE

In recent years the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" has become widely known, accepted, and practiced.  At Leave No Trace, we would like to challenge you to practice a fourth "R", which stands for REFUSE.  Here are two examples of refusing that could be easily achieved in your everyday life.  First, carry your own reusable water container.  Every five minutes, 2 million plastic bottles are thrown away, using 750 million gallons of crude oil per year.  In the U.S. only 20 percent of those bottles are recycled.  Refusing plastic bottles would cut down on the amount of plastics purchased and the amount of plastic that ends up in a landfill each year.  Second, store reusable shopping bags in the trunk of your car, eliminating the need for plastic bags.   Plastic bags are made from petroleum. Every year, Americans consume an extra 12 million barrels of oil for plastic bags! Take action today.  Every little bit helps!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Picture of the week 1/1/10

Enjoying the Rocky Mountains of Colorado one delightful summer afternoon!