The Green Hiker

Christmas Gift Ideas For Hikers and Campers

While researching Christmas gift ideas for hikers that I know need updated hiking gear, I came across a couple of posts that may help others with similar shopping objectives. So here they are:

• The Bellingham Herald offers 20 Ideas for the outdoors lover on your Christmas list. Not all of these ideas are for hikers, but it’s a start.

• Holiday gift ideas for your favorite hiker or outdoor enthusiast.

• Eco-friendly gifts for an outdoor adventurer.

• Eco-Friendly “Experience Gifts” .

And you can always see the latest Green Gear from Mountains Plus by clicking the banner to the right and below.

Amazon Top-Rated Hiking Gear

For the latest top-rated (at least four-out-of-five stars) hiking gear from Amazon, simply click any of the category links below:

• Top-Rated Gear: $25 to $50

• Top-Rated Hiking Gear: $50 to $100

• Top-Rated Hiking Gear: $100 to $200

• Top-Rated Hiking Gear: $200 & Above

And for bargain shoppers here’s a link for 50% Off or More on hiking gear.

Now Go Outdoors! (… Or Shop)

Hiking Apps for the iPhone and Android Smart Phone 

Your hiking pack is finally optimized:  just the right number of elements for hiking safety and camping comfort. Well, maybe not completely optimized. You may have to add just one more thing: the hiking app.

Fortunately, it takes up space measured in bytes and not cubic centimeters and pounds. So, with space to spare in your phone, what are your choices? What app should you consider for your phone download.

Below is a compilation of insights on some the latest hiking apps available for your iPhone or Android smartphone.

Camping and Hiking Apps for the Apple iPod: Using the iTouch or …

If you’re not afraid of damaging the delicate iPod Touch or iPhone while enjoying the outdoors on a camping trip or multi-day hike, there are a number of useful Apps.

http://stephanie-cox.suite101.com/camping-and-hiking-apps-for-the-apple-ipod-a192805

Tripleblaze App: iPhone and Android || Camping & Hiking Blog

Tripleblaze App: iPhone and Android || camping and hiking blog post covering news and reviews around the outdoors world. From tripleblaze.com, updated daily.

http://www.tripleblaze.com/blog/2011/10/10/tripleblaze-app-iphone-and-android/

New AppGuide: Hiking Apps

Hikers may want to bring along their iPhone for the next big adventure into the wilderness. There are some fantastic hiking apps and many of them can be used offline. You may want to invest in a waterproof iPhone case if you are a …

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/04/appguide-hiking-apps/

Apps for hiking and biking | TrailsTV.com

Apps for your smart phone to help when you’re on the trail with hiking, biking and camping…

http://www.trailstv.com/top-10-hiking-apps/

Top 10 iPhone Hiking Apps | TheAppWhisperer

When you go for a hike nowadays you most probably will be taking your iPhone with you. To make the activity even more eventful, make sure you have one, or perhaps several of these absolutely excellent hiking apps on your …

http://theappwhisperer.com/2011/05/06/top-10-iphone-hiking-apps/

Hiking Apps « Team A.W.S.

REI posted an article that contained a list of helpful Hiking Apps. It’s funny how connected we are to our technology, even when we try to escape to the great outdoors. However, hiking apps that help you find trails and track …

http://teamaws.com/2011/08/31/hiking-apps/

Here are the“most popular” hiking apps at Amazon

Now Go Outdoors!

Most Durable, Toughest Outdoor Gear

Editors of Backpacker Magazine select the most rugged, durable outdoor gear based on their 170 collective years of backpacking, hiking and camping. Most items are still on the market, but others must be searched for on sites like Ebay Gear.

25 Toughest of the Tough

So here’s a partial list of the adventure gear items that survived Alaskan grizzlies, bug infestations, howling storms, arctic freezes and even battery acid (battery acid?!):

• Western Mountaineering Antelope Sleeping Bag
• Patagonia Capilene Baselayer
• CamelBak Omega Hydration Bladder
• Trails Illustrated Maps
• Arc’teryx Bora Backpack
• Outdoor Research Crocodiles Gaiters
• Ibex Icefall Jacket
• ThorLo Classic Hiking Socks
• MSR XGK-EX Stove
• Sierra Designs Tiros Tent & MSR Tough Gear
• Leatherman Juice C2 Multitool

And 14 other toughest outdoor gear items. Again, many of these gear picks can be found on catalog sites like this.

Other Durable Gear News:

• El Rosa’s Shop
• Outdoor Retailer Recap
• Groovy Kayak Fishing Gear
• Hiking Attire Worth Investment

Now Go Outdoors!

Invasive Species News

Here’s a roundup of the latest news, insights, and activities concerning non-indigenous species that invade habitats.

•  Bryan Walsh in his Ecocentric blog wryly discusses invasive risks and economic impacts:

The Benefits of Stopping Invasive Species Before They Invade …

Dedicated followers of this blog—thanks both of you—know that one of my areas of obsession is invasive species. That’s partially because they’re so often funny—example number one being the flying Asian carp, …

Publish Date: 08/18/2011 5:00

• Giant City State Park, near Carbondale  IL, now boasts a quarter-mile trail that will “educate visitors about non-native invasive[s] and their effects on the local environment”:

Non-Native Invasive Species Trail to Open At Giant City State Park …

Giant City State Park will soon open a new trail. Located next to the Visitors Center, the Non-Native Invasive Species Interpretive Trail will feature examples of non-native invasive species such as Monofloral rose, …

Publish Date: 08/18/2011 13:25

• Ruth Hopkins has a thoughtful take on what it means to be invasive, be you flora or human:

Humans: Earth’s Most Invasive Species – Indian Country Today

Publish Date: 08/14/2011 10:00

• Good or bad? For a more in-depth discussion, click link at bottom of Lake Scientist post:

Invasive Species: Can’t live without them? | Lake Scientist

A non-native species appearing in an ecosystem is usually alarming- for good reason. Invading species act as competition for space/resources for native species.

Publish Date: 08/16/2011 7:45

• Wild Hogs!:

Invasive Species of the Moment | The Locker Room

Invasive Species of the Moment | The John Locke Foundation’s Statewide Issues Blog.

Publish Date: 08/14/2011 15:46

• Study published in the Ecological Economics journal shows benefits of the risk assessment of wild animal trades:

Economics Study Shows Risk Assessment of Potentially Invasive …

The federal government has come under sharp criticism for allowing invasive animal species into the country, which have caused major damages to the environment and agriculture, leading to economic costs and environmental …

Publish Date: 08/16/2011 9:58

Here’s a video about the invasive Asian Carp species:

Now Go Outdoors!

Eco-Friendly Tools and Programs

Consumer Reports Greener Choices, from the non-profit Consumers Union, has a wonderful resource page that links to an array of useful and eco-friendly programs and tools.

From “Appliance Calculators” to “Toxics”, you probably cannot find a more environmentally focused, single-page asset. Here are a few of the 21 categories:

• Appliance Recycling
• Carbon Footprint Calculators & Offsets
• Climate and Energy Basics
• Government and Industry Links
• Household Energy
• Toxics

I guarantee you’ll bookmark the page. It’s almost addicting to go from link to link.

Check out the Greener Choices page.

And if you’d like to donate to Greener Choices, go here.

Other Consumer Reports News Items

• Baby Boomers
• Aggressive Mosquito
• Healthy Fast Food Spurned

 Now Go Outdoors!

Anne LaBastille, author and environmentalist, passes away.

I could not let this week pass without commenting on the death of Anne LaBastille.

Most New Yorkers, that is those who pay attention to such things, knew LaBastille as a ardent protector of the massive New York Adirondack Park. No matter the land-use issue, as commissioner of the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) for 17 years she always championed the natural course. In her role as commissioner, she was reviled by many, revered by most, yet admired by all.

But bureaucratic decisions is hardly her environmental legacy.

LaBastille as author and inspiration.

Author of a dozen books, she inspired women (and men) to live proud lives within natural, not superficial, realms. Her series of autobiographical books (a woman with and within nature) began in 1976 with the popular Woodswomen.

She also wrote naturalist essays for National Geographic and other magazines. And there were other significant environmental contributions:

• She was one of the first to focus media attention on acid rain deposits in the Adirondacks.

• She helped international organizations establish nature parks around the world.

So, at 75 years of age, Anne LaBastille passes.

Now Go Outdoors! … with Reverence

A side note:  Studying biology and ornithology at Cornell, her thesis research was the fragile ecology of the giant pied-bill grebe. This flightless bird was found only in Guatemala near Lake Atitlan. The giant pied-bill grebe is now extinct.