The WildeBeat

Thu, Aug 31, 2006

The Story of Bear Cans, part 2

Posted at 09:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is part two of an exploration of the situation in the Sierra Nevada wilderness areas that lead to the development of the bear-resistant food canister. Who makes these things, and how do we know they work?

Steve tells the story with the help of:

• Calder Reid, wilderness manager for the Inyo National Forest.
• Harold Werner, a wildlife biologist from Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park.
• Allen DeForrest of Wild Ideas, manufacturer of the Bearikade.
• Tom Cohen of Ursack
• Jamie Hogan of Bear Vault.

Harold Werner and Calder Reid are members of the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group (SIBBG), the standards-setting body for bear management in the major Sierra Nevada wilderness areas. Their group also performs the tests that lead to the approval of canisters for use in Yosemite National Park, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, and the Inyo National Forest. Several other jurisdictions also require canisters from the SIBBG approved list.

Note: We'll have to delay posting the bonus audio we mentioned in the show until September 5th.

Photo credit: Calder Reid, Inyo National Forest

• Show number 55 [MP3 format; length 9:51; 2,367,240 bytes]
• Show number 55 script
• Bonus interview segments with bear can manufacturers (coming September 5th)

Mon, Aug 28, 2006

Review by a Podcast Fanatic

Posted at 23:15

/blog/recognition [link ]

Bernadette, from Adelaide, Australia is fanatic about podcasts. That means she listens to a lot of them. She also writes thoughtful reviews, and posts them to her web site, PodcastFanatic.com.

Last Sunday, Bernadette reviewed The WildeBeat. At the end of her review she concluded:

...As an example of niche or specialist podcasting this is the show others should be measured against. Steve's enthusiasm for his subject is palpable, his knowledge and experience evident and his overall approach is so positive and practical that even a half-fit, nearly-40 urban dweller like myself feels inspired to head off to the wilderness sometime soon.

Thanks, Bernadette!

Wilderness Dishwashing Science

Posted at 07:20

/blog/skills [link ]

Keeping your cooking and eating gear clean in the backcountry is a bit more difficult. The main limitation is that in the backcountry you don't have the liberally-flowing clean water you would have in civilization

An article in Science News Magazine reviews some recent science that sheds some light on this issue. In How to Wash Up in the Wilderness, microbiologist Joanna Hargreaves says that two and three bowl methods are ideal. The first bowl has grease-cutting detergent, the second bowl has water containing a strong disinfectant like chlorine bleach, and the third has clean, purified water. She says if water is scarce, you can skip that third bowl.

Thu, Aug 24, 2006

The Story of Bear Cans, part 1

Posted at 09:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is part one of an exploration of the situation in the Sierra Nevada wilderness areas that lead to the development of the bear-resistant food canister. Why were they invented, who invented them, and how did that happen?

Steve tells the story with the help of:

• Harold Werner, a wildlife biologist from Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park.
• Tori Seher, a wildlife biologist from Yosemite National Park.
• Richard Garcia, the president of Garcia Machine, manufacturer of the Backpacker's Cache.
• Calder Reid, wilderness manager for the Inyo National Forest.

Harold Werner, Calder Reid, and Tori Seher are members of the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group (SIBBG), the standards-setting body for bear management in the major Sierra Nevada wilderness areas.

Next week, we'll find out more about how the industry grew from these beginnings, and the effect all of this has had on parks, forests, bears, and wilderness visitors.

• Show number 54 [MP3 format; length 9:26; 2,264,735 bytes]
• Show number 54 script

Sun, Aug 13, 2006

Heavily into Stoves at Backpacking Light

Posted at 13:00

/blog/gear [link ]

We noticed that the people at Backpacking Light magazine have started to post audio stories along with their usual text articles. We congratulate Ryan Jordan and his Backpacking Light company for adding audio to their publishing offerings.

Their first audio piece (that we know of) is a 23 minute, in-depth exploration of canister-style stoves, and about the manufacturers working on the leading-edge to make them more efficient. They include recordings of trade show marketing presentations and informal on-site interviews.

To hear the BackpackingLight audio piece about stoves, see Integrated Canister Stove Systems.

As we mentioned in out edition #17 titled, Lighten Your Backpack!, BackpackingLight.COM is a great source of information for the experienced backpacker seeking skills and gear for more ambitious adventures.

Thu, Aug 10, 2006

Stuff We Left Out

Posted at 09:00

/shows [link ]

In this program we revisit some of the interesting people who appeared in earlier editions. We play some clips we left out of the earlier shows they appeared in. We were sweeping up our virtual cutting floor, and these were too good to throw out:

• Edition #10: Volunteer Trail Crew
  Ken Murray talks about the forest service's ability to maintain recreational trails.
• Editions #13 and #14: The Wilderness at Night
  Chad Moore talks about the equipment his night sky monitoring team uses to measure the darkness of the national park skies.
• Editions #15 and #16: A Winter Storm Warning
  Mike Bargetto talks about how he and his family fought to maintain their morale while stranded for a week by an early October snow storm.
• Edition #17: Lighten Your Backpack
  Ryan Jordan of Backpacking Light comments on the difference between packing light and poorly prepared.
• Edition #19: Restoring a Park Gone to Pot
  Naturalist Chris Spohrer answers my questions about the toxic chemicals that marijuana farmers used in Big Basin State Park, California.
• Edition #23: Drawing Lines in the Snow
  Paul Peterson of Bear Valley Cross Country explains one reason why backcountry skiers try to stay away from snowmobiles.

Thanks for joining us for this past year of shows. We look forward to bringing you many more.

• Show number 53 [MP3 format; length 9:59; 2,396,288 bytes]
• Show number 53 script

Thu, Aug 03, 2006

Fueling Yourself, part 2

Posted at 09:00

/shows/skills [link ]

This skills program is part two of an interview with Mary Howley Ryan, the nutritional advisor for NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School. She's also the author of the NOLS Nutrition Field Guide.

Mary continues the interview, talking about how to plan food for a wilderness trip, and about some good choices for food. She pointed to a couple of resources, both in the interview and afterwards in e-mail, including:

• 24hourfitness.com offers a calculator to help you determine the number of calories you might need for a trip.
• caloriesperhour.com was mentioned in the interview, but it doesn't give the overall calorie needs for an extended period.
• The NOLS Cookery is used by NOLS outing leaders to learn about cooking in the wilderness.
• Gorp, Glop, and Glue Stew: Favorite Foods for 155 Outdoor Experts by Yvonne Prater is another wilderness cookbook that she likes. While it's out of print, Yvonne Prater's newer book, BEYOND GORP: Favorite Foods from Outdoor Experts, is available.

See below for a bonus clip from the interview. Mary answers some questions about people who don't feel like they can eat in the wilderness, and about the special problems of diabetics and people who suffer from wheat or gluten intolerance.

• Show number 52 [MP3 format; length 9:46; 2,356,059 bytes]
• Show number 52 script
• Mary Howley Ryan bonus clip [MP3 format; length 8:30; 1,020,993 bytes]

Wed, Aug 02, 2006

Vox WildeBeat for August 2, 2006

Posted at 18:05

/vox [link ]

John Trefethen called to report on his backpacking trip to the Desolation Wilderness with his dog. John made the suggestion earlier that lead to our edition number 50, titled Pooch Packing. Steve responds to John by playing a clip from his interview with Charlene LaBelle, the author interviewed in edition 50.

• Vox WildeBeat 7 [MP3 format; length 4:20; 1,040,324 bytes]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. (Details)