The WildeBeat

Mon, Jun 16, 2014

Announcing the Untrammeled! podcast series

Posted at 22:00

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Since we ceased production of The WildeBeat in 2008, we've sought sponsorship to revive the show. Along the way we were presented with the opportunity to do something even more important, and that fell right in line with the original mission of The WildeBeat.

Our new show will be titled: Untrammeled! Celebrating 50 years of American wilderness.

Everything we can tell you about the show right now is on a temporary about page for the Untrammeled! enhanced podcast. Please keep checking that site for more news. We'll also be posting updates on Twitter and Facebook.

Sat, May 28, 2011

Update: What Became of The WildeBeat?

Posted at 09:00

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This is a long overdue update. I appreciate the many e-mail and phone messages I've received asking me about the future of our work.

As producer and host, I'm still seeking the resources to re-launch regular production of The WildeBeat as a long-form show. I continue to post bits of news about wilderness policy and recreation issues on Twitter @WildeGeek and on FaceBook as The WildeBeat Podcast. We will continue to keep our three years of archives and 163 shows online.

For the full update, See more.

I originally made the optimistic prediction that the first new-format show would be released in December of 2008. What actually happened was very different. I have not been able to find the funding to relaunch the show, and I haven't found a partner to assist with that nonprofit development effort.

As other work in my main profession of broadcast and media systems engineering consumed my time, work to revive the show kept getting tabled. Soon I found that two and a half years had got behind me with no news to give all of you who found value in our work and listened to the show on a regular basis.

What is the future at this point?

The WildeBeat is a passion of mine, and it would be a dream-come-true to keep doing it. But it's hard to work on it without the resources to allow me the momentum of a near full-time effort and a periodic deadline. In order to get the show in production again, I'm going to have to find the right partner who has a passion for the show's mission along with a passion for non-profit funding and development work. Are you that person? Do you know anybody like that? If so, please contact me.

I remain dedicated to educate and inspire people to explore and appreciate America's wild public lands. My goal was always to reach beyond the enthusiasts to those who needed a little encouragement to explore. I hope that once again, I can do that for you on a wider scale. Until then, I invite you to go back and listen to our archives. And I look forward to interacting with you on Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you, and happy trails.

—Steve Sergeant

Fri, Nov 07, 2008

Press Release: Format Change

Posted at 22:00

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Steve made an announcement in an audio porogram yesterday about a change to our show schedule and format. You can download a PDF file of our press release, or read the text of it below.

The WildeBeat, the audio journal about getting into the wilderness, is getting a new format and a new release schedule.

A public-radio-style program that is freely available on the Internet and as a podcast, the WildeBeat is a nonprofit project of Earth Island Institute. The host and producer, Steve Sergeant, explores wild places and introduces listeners to skills and gear to make their own wilderness adventures safer and richer.

Since its launch in 2005, ten-minute WildeBeat segments have been produced reliably, every week, with few interruptions. The new production schedule will generally be monthly, and the new format will be a 15- to 30-minute wilderness news magazine that showcases a variety of segments and sound-rich documentary pieces. The Vox WildeBeat listener-feedback podcast will be folded into the main program, and each edition will include the highly popular gear reviews from BackpackGearTest.org. The new format shows will be released in a higher quality file format.

"I'm excited that I get to try something new," Steve says. "Being freed from a weekly schedule gives me a chance to present a wider range of news and more sound-rich, engaging stories." Part of the new focus will be in getting listeners to talk about their own wilderness experiences and encouraging them to contribute trip reports, thoughts, and observations. Also welcome will be announcements by educational or nonprofit organizations about wilderness activities and opportunities.

The first new-format program will be produced for release in December, 2008.

Wed, Aug 27, 2008

Announcement: Renewed Relationship for Gear Reviews

Posted at 21:00

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The WildeBeat and BackpackGearTest (BGT) are redefining and strengthening our relationship in order to provide you more impartial gear reviews. This new relationship gives BGT more editorial control over our gear review editions.

Until now, the WildeBeat selected topics and BGT reviews for each gear review edition, grouping reviews of similar products. In future gear review editions, we'll present reviews of an assortment of products selected by BGT's moderators. The moderators will base these choices on the quality of the reviewers' testing and reporting, not necessarily on the qualities of the product.

Since the the WildeBeat was launched in 2005, gear reviews have been an important category of our programs. Steve wanted to provide listeners with impartial reviews. Independent from sponsors and advertisers, BGT could provide that impartiality, and could also benefit from the exposure the WildeBeat provides. So an understanding was arrived at that allowed Steve to regularly interview BGT testers. Steve's goal was to provide a wide range of opinions on a wide range of products.

BGT was created by Utah hiker Jerry Goller. Goller, according to About BackpackGearTest, "saw a need for impartial reviews in a world where most people got their information from publications that accepted money from the same manufacturers whose gear they were testing." He started a Yahoo group of hikers and backpackers willing to test and review gear. After successfully recruiting skilled reviewers and diverse manufacturers interested in receiving independent feedback about their products, the independent Web site, BackpackGearTest.org, was launched in August of 2002.

We plan to present the first of our new gear review editions at the end of September, with two shows each season. The new shows will typically feature fewer products that will be reviewed in more detail.

If you want to contribute gear reviews to the WildeBeat, you can do so by joining BGT. BGT is looking for qualified testers. To get qualified, you start out by writing reviews of gear you already own. After that, you could be offered free gear to review. Read: how to become a tester to find out more.

Tue, Jun 24, 2008

Introducing Kate Taylor

Posted at 16:10

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We'd like to welcome Kate Taylor to the WildeBeat project as our new Assistant Producer. In addition to producing entire editions by herself, she'll also help Steve and Jean research and edit other stories in progress.

You can look forward to hearing Kate's voice and creative work in future editions of the show.

Sat, Jun 14, 2008

Women of Color 4-Day Backpack

Posted at 11:00

/blog/outings [link ]

Chelsea Griffie wrote to tell us about an outing she's leading for the Balanced Rock Foundation. Chelsea is the program director for Bay Area Wilderness Training. Chelsea appeared in our editions 91 and 92, Bay Area Wilderness Training, part 1 and part 2.

Chelsea writes:

Announcing our Women of Color backpacking trip from the evening of July 16 through July 20. If you are a woman of color, please join us! This trip is a super fun way to recharge your batteries.

Event: Women of Color Backpacking Trip
"The only one in the country!"
What: Camping Trip
Host: Chelsea Griffie / the Balanced Rock Foundation
When: Wednesday, July 16 at 6:00pm
Where: Yosemite National Park

Official information for this trip, as well as the registration form is on the Backpack Trips page of the Balanced Rock Foundation.

Tue, May 06, 2008

Thanks to Wilderness.net

Posted at 08:00

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Wilderness.net is a reference web site maintained as a partnership project of the Wilderness Institute at the University of Montana's College of Forestry and Conservation, the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute.

Wilderness.net has chosen to feature the WildeBeat on their main page. We thank them.

One very useful feature of the Wilderness.net site is their Find a Wilderness feature. Use it to find detailed information on over 700 of the protected wilderness areas in the U.S.

Mon, May 05, 2008

Become our Fan on Facebook

Posted at 19:30

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If you're a user of Facebook and a fan of the WildeBeat, you can become our fan on Facebook.

Just go to the WildeBeat page on Facebook and click on become a fan.

Fri, Apr 04, 2008

Meals for a 3-Day Adventure

Posted at 13:30

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We're delighted to welcome Alpine Aire Foods as new sponsors. They are supporting the WildeBeat by providing a Three Day Gourmet Instant Meal Kit as a thank you gift to new WildeBeat members. This kit retails for $55.70.

If you join as a full member ($48/yr.), or above, we'll thank you by sending you a coupon for one of these kits. The kits include: All American Roast Beef Hash, Beef Rotini, Mountain Chili, Pasta Roma, Peanut Butter and Cracker Lunch, Spaghetti Marinara with Mushrooms, Alpine Minestrone Soup, Strawberry Honey Granola with Milk, Apple Almond Crisp, and Chicken & Almond Salad w/Crackers.

Not only that, but you'll get all the other regular benefits of being a WildeBeat member: Access to discussions and premium content on our WildeBeat Insiders Web pages, a subscription to the the award-winning Earth Island Journal, and most importantly, the feeling of having helped others explore and appreciate our wild public lands.

Now you have one less excuse for not getting into the wilderness. We've got your meals taken care of!

Fri, Mar 28, 2008

Problems traveling with your gear?

Posted at 16:35

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Have you ever travelled to a wilderness trailhead using a major commercial airline? If so, what difficulties did you have taking your gear? Did you have to leave anything behind at a security checkpoint? When you claimed your checked bag, did you find that your gear was searched-through and it's contents disturbed?

We'd like to hear your comments for possible use in next week's show. Please call-in your stories to our toll-free (in the U.S.) comment line: 1-866-590-7373

Mon, Mar 10, 2008

Discussion of Scared Indoors

Posted at 08:00

/blog/letters [link ]

In response to our two-part program, Scared Indoors, we saw quite a bit of lively discussion in various forums online...

• Tom Managan called-in a comment which we played in our edition number 127, Scared Indoors, part 2.
• Tom Mangan posted two entries on his hiking blog, Two Heel Drive, the first of which, News media scaring common folks away from the backcountry?, attracted some entertaining discussion. The second one is titled, Fear of the wilderness, cont.
• Tom Chandler, in his Trout Underground blog, commented himself on the show and on Tom Mangan's posts in his article, Do the Media Hype Wilderness Dangers, Keeping People Indoors? Some very amusing, if sometimes off-topic, discussion erupted there.
• The Trailspace Blog also also commented in their article, Scared Indoors: Does the Media Affect Outdoor Interest? Their forum pages also hosted a more lively discussion in, Great discussion of "Extreme Outdoors in the Media."
• In the Inside Outdoor Retailer blog, which is the official blog of the Outdoor Retailer trade shows, they followed-up on the Trout Underground commentary in their piece, IS THE MEDIA KEEPING PEOPLE INDOORS?
• Another thoughtful post on the subject, titled simply Scared, can be found at the People and Nature Journal, authored by "Steven" of Middleburg, Virginia.
• The most active, and perhaps weirdest discussion of the topic was on the forums for Fly Fisherman Magazine. (And many of these postings are not particularly appropriate for workplaces or children.) Their discussion, Scared Inside, is a follow-up to the discussion on the Trout Underground site.

The goal of our piece was to start a conversation. An toward that end, we appear to have had at least a small effect.

We'd love it if more of these commentators called-in their comments to our toll-free comment line, so that you could hear their voices on Vox WildeBeat.

Wed, Feb 27, 2008

Comment on Scared Indoors, part 1

Posted at 19:30

/blog/letters [link ]

In last week's program, Scared Indoors, part 1, We asked for your examples of scary or reassuring mainstream media stories about wilderness travel. A couple of people wrote in...

Steve Willis, a listener in South Carolina wrote:

At the end of program number 126 titled "Scared Indoors" you indicated you wanted comments from your listeners concerning the media's reporting of wilderness news. Well here in the upstate of South Carolina we ain't scared because we have a weekly section in the Greenville News called Outdoors. Weekly the staff reports on people getting into the outdoors and provides a listing of local events, hikes, rides, etc. going on over the course of the next couple of weeks. I think they do a fine job of making the outdoors accessible and realistic for the average Joe.

Articles like the one that Mike Foley did on 3 boy scouts backpacking the Foothills Trail last summer gave my scouts the desire to follow suit and do the same thing this spring break. We also like the tracking of the AT thru hikers that they do on their web site. At the bottom of the page they always indicate quick notes about the wildlife, plants and other notes that you're likely to see when getting out in the wilderness. I'm anxious this year to see for the first time the Oconee Bells bloom while on our hike of the Foothills Trail.

I wish I could show you a layout of a typical page but I cannot since their web site is organized differently than their print version... Like I indicated before the layout and organization and the type of articles they do make the outdoors accessible to the average Joe. Kudos to the Greenville News Outdoors reporters. Also kudos go to your podcast! I love it! Thanks for all you do.

Steve

Anthony Jones, a listener in southern California wrote:

I've been listening to your podcast for well over a year now and can't wait to download part two of Scared Indoors. In your podcast you mentioned a lot of people seem to get the idea that you've got to be an extreme sports guy to get out and enjoy the wilderness.

I've been putting together a podcast for a little while about my hikes and backpack trips in California. I'm not an elite athlete, just a middle aged guy with a wife and kids and two dogs. While I love hearing about Andrew Skurka's Great Western Loop and guys yo-yoing the PCT, I know I'll never get the time away to go an do something like that. I focus my audio journals on day hikes in the Southern California area and 3 day trips along the Sierras.

Here's the link: Anthonys Audio Journal

Fri, Feb 15, 2008

Update for "Forest Admission?"

Posted at 12:55

/blog/wild_places [link ]

Jim Bedwell from the National Forest Service in Washington, D.C contacted us to update a detail in yesterday's show:

A factual correction (and I should have mentioned it as it was posted the day we did the interview) is that we have extended the comment period to March 20, 2008. That will make the comment period a total of 150 days, hardly a "stealth tactic".

You can read the official notice of the extension of the comment period here: Notice of Extension of Public Comment Period

We'd also like to clarify that it wasn't our intent to assert that the Forest Service was trying to implement these rule changes without public scrutiny. Rather, our comment in the story describing the proposed rule changes as a semi-secret document was meant to be a comment on the relative lack of mainstream media coverage this issue has attracted.

Another Book as a Membership Thank-You

Posted at 12:24

/blog/sponsors [link ]

Reminder:If you join as a full member ($48/yr.), or above, we'll thank you by sending you books. Read about it here.

Wilderness Press has just provided us another book to offer you as a thank you for supporting the WildeBeat: Outdoor Navigation with GPS by Stephen Hinch

We interviewed Stephen Hinch for our recent edition number 124 of February 7th, 2008.

Wed, Jan 30, 2008

Members Get Deals on Gear!

Posted at 20:00

/blog/sponsors [link ]

We're offering discount coupons to WildeBeat members, but these deals expire soon (between February 4th and March 15th, 2008). These coupons allow you to order outdoor gear online at dealer cost or below. We have a limited number of coupons for products by Patagonia, Outdoor Research, Helly Hansen, Suunto, Zeal, Ogio, Mammut, and Kayland.

Our members can claim a coupon by logging-in to the WildeBeat Insider web pages. You can become a WildeBeat member right now by making your tax-deductible donation online.

Fri, Nov 23, 2007

Comment on Desert Roadless Traveled

Posted at 14:39

/blog/letters [link ]

This week's program, Desert Roadless Traveled, prompted a thoughtful comment from a listener, and a response from Kurt, our guest reporter who contributed the story.

Oliver Hager, a listener in Germany wrote:

First thanks for your great podcasts that I am enjoying for nearly two years. I am living in Germany that practically does not offer any wilderness areas. I am a huge fan of the North American outdoors that I visit every year.

Regarding your latest podcast: in my opinion it is very important to have those dirt roads into those nature areas. They allow people with normal physical condition to experience real wilderness that would be otherwise inaccessible because of the long distance, lack of water, etc. This autumn I had a 2 weeks vacation in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and used those roads to access the back country for hiking and camping. It gave me one of the finest wilderness experiences I have ever had. What a magic place with its canyons and washes. For me the neighboring national parks are too crowded and over regulated. Except the Cottonwood road the visitation was very low. Most of the time I was alone. The occasional damages I saw were mostly cattle trails and trash (probably from locals). I saw a few ATV tracks (usually through river beds). I felt responsible and used the existing trails for vehicle and foot travel, had no fire and carried all the waste out. And I think most visitors are doing so, too.

In my opinion the rangers should show more presence in the open field instead of sitting in the visitor centers. Especially on weekends it looks like nobody is controlling this area. The only ranger I saw was from a nearby state park (Kodachrome Basin).

It would be a real loss for the outdoor lovers if that area would get some tedious permit system or worse become a wilderness area that would inaccessible for most people.

Kurt Repanshek wrote this response:

There already exist thousands of miles of dirt roads open to OHV and ATV use in Utah. Current proposals aimed at reining-in OHV use are not designed to close all of these routes, but rather intended to provide some balance and protect lands with wilderness-quality environments until Congress can decide whether they should be formally designated as wilderness.

Much of the problem with unrestricted OHV use is that some users head off designated routes and create new, illegal trails that can strike at the heart of the landscape's wilderness qualities. Sadly, even in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, where there are ample OHV opportunities, some users insist on blazing their own routes in areas off-limits to OHVs.

Access isn't the issue in these discussions. Rather, it's excessive OHV use.

Wed, Nov 21, 2007

Discussion about Ticket to Half Dome

Posted at 16:08

/blog/wild_places [link ]

The National Parks Traveler web magazine has been hosting an interesting discussion thread about the topic of this week's edition of our show, Ticket to Half Dome.

The discussion ranges from calls for drastic changes in park management, to expressions of satisfaction with the status quo.

We encourage you to provide us audio comments about our shows. Just pick up your phone and record your thoughts by calling our toll-free comment line at 866-590-7373. We'll post any comments you provide on our companion podcast, Vox WildeBeat.

Tue, Nov 06, 2007

Support us by buying new gear

Posted at 13:45

/blog/sponsors [link ]

iGearList is free classified ad directory web site focused on outdoor gear. You can buy, sell, or trade used outdoor gear and equipment by placing an ad in their listings.

iGearList also offers a gateway to a number of online retailers of new gear. Between now and the end of February, iGearList will donate 100% of their referral commissions from new gear sales to the WildeBeat.

Just browse to their new gear page, and click on any of the retailer banners or buttons, or use any trip planner you see on iGearList, and buy what you need.

The proceeds go to support the WildeBeat's educational mission to help more people to discover our wild public lands.

Fri, Sep 28, 2007

More on Ranger Laurel Boyers

Posted at 10:55

/blog/wild_places [link ]

Among the ways in which Yosemite Ranger Laurel Boyers has been an inspiration to people, she's the role model for the protagonist in a series of spy novels. This week's edition of our show is a tribute to Ranger Boyers.

We asked our friend Tom Mangan, newspaper hiking columnist and author of the Two Heel Drive hiking blog, to look into any interesting history about Ranger Boyers' career.

Thanks Tom!

Join the WildeBeat, Get Books

Posted at 08:30

/blog/sponsors [link ]

We're delighted to welcome Wilderness Press Books as new supporters. They are sponsoring editions of the WildeBeat by providing promotional copies of their books for us to give to WildeBeat members as thank you gifts.

If you join as a full member ($48/yr.), or above, we'll thank you by sending you a copy of one of these books:

• Joy of Backpacking by Brian Beffort
• Wild Soundscapes by Bernie Krause
• Afoot & Afield San Francisco Bay Area by David Weintraub
• The Trinity Alps by Luther Linkhart & Mike White
• Best Snowshoe Trails of California by Mike White

Higher levels of supporting membership will get you more of these books. A $250 donation will net you all five! Our quantities are limited, so if you want one title in particular, join soon.

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