Your outdoor news bulletin for May 30, the day Mariner 9 launched on its mission to Mars in 1979, revealing the secrets of the Red Planet including dried riverbeds and huge mountains but sadly no hidden, underground, alien forged, mega oxygen producing machine. You’ve seen Total Recall right?
Climbing and Rendezvous Report From the New
The New River Rendezvous happened a couple of weeks ago and by all accounts was a huge success. After taking a hiatus in 2012, the ‘Vous came back in 2013 and was better than ever. Always a fun climbing festival and celebration of climbing in the New River Gorge, the ‘Vous also incorporates many, um, different types of events throughout the weekend. It’s all there in the wrap-up, so you may want to consider attending next year. One person who did attend and lived to tell the tale was pro climber and Mountain Hardwear athlete Matt Wilder. He gives and interesting take on climbing in the gorge and the New River Rendezvous on the Mountain Hardwear blog, along with some great photos.
Pedaling Towards Equity
A new report from the Sierra Club and the League of American Bicyclists is shedding some light on the current state of cycling in America and what the future holds. According to the report, titled “The New Majority: Pedaling Toward Equity,” biking boomed from 2001 to 2009, with the amount of trips by bike doubling from 1.7 billion to 4 billion. So who is driving this growth? Turns out, it’s women, youth, and people of color. Bicycling is fastest growing among African Americans, Hispanic, and Asian Americans. The report also delves into the issues of certain groups of people (poor, non-white) being marginalized by not having access to safe and accessible biking infrastructure. Very interesting stuff from this first-of-its-kind study.
Read more about it here, on the Sierra Club Blog.
Virus on A.T. Moving Toward Pennsylvania
The norovirus outbreak among Appalachian Trail thru-hikers is spreading, and it’s no surprise. Moving north with the north-bounders, the outbreak has hiked from it’s starting point along the Tennessee/North Carolina border and has moved into Pennsylvania. There were a dozen cases reported in Shenandoah National Park a couple of weeks ago, but there is no confirmed number of cases in 2013. Norovirus is a stomach bug that can cause the usual gross stomach bug issues we need not mention, but can be transmitted three to 14 days after a victim has recovered. Also, the virus can only be killed with a bleach-and-water solution. They suggest avoiding certain campsites, washing hands with soap and water frequently, being generally clean, and treating all water. Because those things are so easy on a thru-hike.
