Month: March 2019

Doggie, Doggie

Not everything outside is pleasant. Some of the unpleasant things are just nature’s way, like mosquitoes, angry wasps, and poison ivy. These can be often be avoided by an informed hiker who watches where they step and is careful in what they do.

But some unpleasantness on the trail is – well – caused by our fellow hikers.

It’s all about sharing the trail.

Today it often seems that sharing the trail is not just with fellow hikers but with their dogs as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I like dogs. I have lived with several at different times. They were a wonderful addition to my life, and I miss them. They were a delight. And I hope when they met other people at home, or on the trail, or at the beach, or in the neighborhood that they (and I ) were courteous to my neighbors and to their dogs and other pets.

Today however there seem to be more dogs than ever. You see them with their owners in stores (including food stores which I think in most areas is against local ordnances), you see them in restaurants, and in the neighborhoods. Thankfully, the days of letting dogs run loose is far behind us. Most often when I see a dog it is on a leash as most should be when out in public. The leash enables better control and can keep the dog safe.

In order to be courteous, the first of the two major things for a dog and owner is to know where they are allowed and where they are not allowed. If you are not sure, ask. Ask the store manager if you can bring your dog inside. Ask the restaurant owner if you can have your dog with you at the table. And read the signs in public parks.

The second major thing is to make sure your dog is trained in how to act around other people and their pets. This is huge! No one wants a dog to jump on them – even in a friendly manner. No one wants their dog to be attacked or otherwise intimidated by another dog. And dogs like to be trained. It gives them a sense of pride. And its not hard. It takes a certain level of commitment by the owner to ensure their dog knows not to pull on the lease, and knows how to sit and stay, and how to be quiet.

In my walks and hikes I have seen extremely bad examples of dogs with absolutely no training who are basically wild and often aggressive. And I have often seen dogs that are exceptionally well trained and basically are at peace with their surroundings. In these later cases the dog, and the owner, and I are all glad to share the trail.

One last thing, and this is totally to the owners. Sure, you dog has to “go”. We all get that. And thank you to the vast percentage of folks who clean up after their dogs. But after you have cleaned it up – PLEASE take it with you. Most National Parks no longer have trash receptacles. You are expected to take your waste with you when you go. And this includes those little plastic bags of dog waste. No one is going to come behind you and pick it up. Please put it in your car and take it home and dispose of it there. No one wants to have to start a nice walk in the woods with the sight of waste bags all around the trail head.

Pick it up. Pack it out. Share the trail.

Grand Canyon – Sweet

So I asked my question.

“I was here 50 years ago. How much has the Canyon eroded since I was here last?”

I was standing at the edge of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I was talking to a park ranger who looked like she would appreciate my curiosity – and also looked like she would know the answer.

She answered, “The Canyon erodes about the thickness of a piece of paper each year.”

“So,” I said, “that’s 50 sheets of paper, a tenth of a ream, about three-quarters of an inch. I thought I saw the difference.”

And yes, I did see a difference.  Not when I peer over the edge and look outwards towards where I can see the Colorado River, but when I look around. There are more people at the Canyon then there had been in November of 1973. The Park is more modern. The trails look better than they had 50 years ago. But the trail down into the Canyon looked just as challenging.

In both my visits to the South Rim, 50 years ago and now, there was snow on the ground. The snow adds to the beauty of the Canyon, as the rocks and trees and shadow are accentuated by the stark white of the snow. But caution is necessary as the trails can be icy and slippery. But with snow or sun caution is always necessary as with the added erosion of the past 50 years its a long way down – plus a bit.

During this visit I would not hike the South Kaibab trail; I would do my hiking on the rim trail. But in 1973 I wanted to see how far down I could get before I had to come back up at day’s end. I started early in the morning with a light pack that I bought the day before in which I had an extra pair of gloves, some sardines and crackers, and something to drink. I don’t think they sold water in bottles back then. I was layered against the cold and had on my sea-duty rain jacket with a hood. It was heavy over my denim jacket, but it would certainly keep me dry. I also had on my woolen watch cap.

I had my copper bound walking stick and was ready to begin my descent. It was cold and clear, and I was the only person on the trail. It was great. The views of the Canyon opening to me were exhilarating. I could look back millions of years as I passed the rock face of the trail wall. I took time to think of all the history that had passed in the first few yards, and then I was well down into the prehistory of the Earth.

It was the uplift of the Colorado Plateau that allowed the marvel of the Grand Canyon to become. About 70 million years ago tectonic forces lifted an area that is now within Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. As mountains formed and snows and rains fell the nascent Colorado River began its journey off the Colorado Plateau down to the Gulf of California. The River began to cut its way through the uplifted plateau as it sought to reach sea level. As it picked up sediments from its sources it flowed across the uplifted plateau like liquid sandpaper. The rushing River gouged and polished its way down to its present level. As the River grew so did the feeder streams that flowed into it; each cutting its own side canyon. The Canyon sides collapsed as the River cut deeper. This collapse created the width of the current Canyon. Rain and freezing water and trees and wind worked their own patterns of erosion on the Canyon walls, dislodging rocks that would tumble down towards the River below.

And here was another difference. As I hiked down in 1973 I kept an eye on the weather at the Canyon rim. I could l see clouds gathering and knew that it was snowing at the top. After reaching Skeleton Point and eating my sardines and crackers, I knew it was time to turn back in order to get out of the Canyon before the weather worsened. I was trudging up the last half mile in snow, leaving my footprints behind me. The wind was blowing the snow, and I had my hood up.  Then I heard something. It sounded like the thumping of distant thunder. I put my hood back so I could hear better. There was a rumble and rattle of above me. I looked up and saw a good size rock rolling down the Canyon side in my direction. I took several steps backwards and watched as the rock landed on the trail where I had been standing and bounded further down and out of sight in the direction of the River.

I had witnessed the process of the Canyon. Things change. That rock is now in a different place and the level of the Canyon floor is now lower. And I can tell the difference.

Permian Basin Texas

There are plenty of sights to see on the road through Texas. The country is starkly beautiful. It’s early Spring and some color is beginning to come to the grasses that line the roads and cover the fields. But one thing that I thought I would see, cattle, well I don’t see too many. But what I do see in the area around Midland Texas are pumps. I am driving through the area of the Permian Basin. Rank upon rank of oil pumps as far into the distance as I can see. If I use Google Earth I can see the area is covered with white specks. Each speck is an area around a pump or derrick where the grass has been beaten down and trucks are parked and various pieces of support equipment lay about. One thing of note is there are a lot of pickup trucks on the road and most are towing an open bed trailer. And they are all in a hurry. They are not being driven unsafely, just in a hurry. Out here time is truly money. it’s the ranks of pumps that draws my attention. As I drive down Interstate I-10 most of the pumps are nodding up and down driven by a massive cam and engine. Each one pulling crude oil out of the ground.

The Permian Basin contains more crude oil than any other location within the United States and is one of the great oil resources of the world.

Like it or not oil and gas extraction is part of our world. It drives industry. It enables us to get around. And this will continue until a different economically dependable energy source is developed. What is the good of extracting and burning the essence of years that passed millions of years ago? The resources that lie in the Permian Basin under Texas and New Mexico were lain in that place during the Permian age. This age preceded the time of the dinosaurs, and ended approximately 250 million years ago. Its end came with in a mass extinction of more than 90% of the species on earth. Then as the continents separated, the remnants of the age were overlain by the sediments of the following eras and were compressed onto the hydrocarbon slurry that is drilled for today.

That drilling provides jobs in Texas. The taxes derived from those jobs built the road I drove down. But the economic reach of the oil extracted from the Permian Basin extends well beyond to local area. It enables many American to drive and to produce and to build. It enables us to create and to sell. But this comes at a substantial price. The burning of the refined extract causes pollution in our neighborhoods and smog in our cities. It pollutes the air and dumps chemicals into the atmosphere. These chemicals included CO2 and other “greenhouse gases” which are causing global warming and causing the acidification of the oceans.

But today I see work and prosperity. I see people going to their jobs, being proud of the work they are doing, and doing good work. But beyond here, the same companies that are operating the wells and refining the oil into the world’s fuel, are also working on what may be “a different economically dependable energy source”, which may power people’s jobs and give them economic independence, and provide them with food, shelter, heathy lives, and pride in their existence.

All 8 Billion of us!