...Of the many Stanislaus National Forest (StNF) venues enjoyed by visitors fond of non-motorized recreation are the user-friendly abandoned railroad corridors. StNF in Tuolumne County is laced with old railroad grades that now serve as trails. Peaceful and forested, they are survivors from the Sierra’s extensive logging history. Because most have a gentle grade, rail-trails attract exploration by a diverse population of bipeds. These woodsy paths are not the sole realm of hikers. Without traffic and exhaust fumes, mountain bikers, snowshoers, joggers, x-c skiers and the horsey set welcome the special ambiance and tranquility experienced in the forest. Scenic and mellow, the Strawberry Branch of the Sugar Pine Railway represents only a fraction...
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...you teach your dog to play the piano? • Do you do your best thinking when on a 100-mile bike ride? • Do you have unusual cravings for oysters? • Have you ever successfully started a fire with sticks and a shoelace? 1. 2. 3. Why are you interested in our college? What you most need to do when answering this question is show the interviewer that you know the college's distinctive features well. Don't simply say that you want to go to the college to get a good education. Be specific. Let the interviewer know that you were drawn to the college's innovative first-year program, its emphasis on experiential learning, its Honors Program, or its international focus. Also feel free to mention the school's wonderful hiking trails, its quirky traditions, or its amazing lilacs. Whatever you say, be specific. Before you set foot in the interview room, make sure you have done your research and identified several features of the college that you find particularly appealing, and make sure at least one of those features is academic in...
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...Barton Creek Greenbelt. Barton Creek stretches about eight miles long from South West Austin into the heart of the city. When it rains and the creek fills with water, the swimming holes produced make for a great place to enjoy the outdoors. The Greenbelt in Austin Texas reveals itself to be unique and establishes itself as a great recreational location by bringing diverse people together who share a common goal, promoting a healthy lifestyle through exercise, and by inviting frequent park goer's to maintain Austin's beautiful scenery. The Barton Creek Greenbelt is a melting pot where all walks of life can come to enjoy a relaxing environment without the distraction of everyday life. Barton Creek has numerous swimming holes and hiking trails surrounded by plant and animal life. It's hard to tell that you're surrounded by a city with all the trees and plant life around. Every year, when the creek fills with water, it becomes a popular place to swim. One knows they're close when they hear the sounds of a drum circle or the whisper of a guitar on the wind complimented by echoing laughter. Every year I’ve gone to the creek, I always meet so many different kinds of people. It's unusual to see anything but good vibes and a positive interaction amongst the crowd. Maybe it’s just me, but when I think of a the general public getting together, I immediately think of people keeping to themselves and being sort of cliqued up in a very impersonal sense. Not in the Greenbelt and not...
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...My Escape It is just after 9:00 am on a sunny September morning. My feet have just hit the dirt of the parking lot where just a few other cars are parked. There are always the same few people who like to come here early in the morning to walk their dogs, walk themselves, or, if they're like me, they are here to run. I step from the dew soaked grass onto the clay and dirt mixture that now cover what used to be train tracks. Thoughts from my week about family, work, school, and friends along with anything else that one girl could possibly worry about, swirl around in my head like lightening bugs trying to find their way out of a mason jar. I need to let these thoughts and emotions out of my mind. A deep breath fills my lungs with crispy cold air. I begin to take off. One foot after the other until I find my pace. Suddenly the parking lot fades into the distance as if it were only a mirage. Trees that are as high as sky scrapers tower over me allowing the sunlight to disperse thought the branches. The leaves on the trees are entering their final stages of life, turning them to the most magnificent shades of red, orange, and yellow. This time of year, I always think, is what makes New England such a beautiful place to live. Along side of me, out of my peripheral vision, I see a black squirrel gathering some acorns to haul back to his nest for the winter. My feet continue to trample the ground below me cushioning my feet from the tracks below. The dirt underneath me is moist...
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...Community Windshield Survey Susan Holcomb Community Health Nursing NR443 Chamberlain College of Nursing January 19, 2014 Community Windshield Survey The community I have chosen is Douglasville, Georgia which is about 20 miles west of Atlanta, Georgia and is located inside the Atlanta Metropolitan area. While driving through the community, it seems to be like most other communities in that you can be driving through a beautiful neighborhood and two streets over you can end up in the poverty stricken area where there are drug houses. Douglasville is a very family friendly city. There are lots of young families, middle aged families and a fair amount of young Grandparents who are primary care givers for their grand kids. It is predominately white at 83% with 13% being of African American decent and other races at 4%. Most of the people and families that I was able to see driving through the community were clean and seemed well kept up. Some appeared to be well nourished; some overweight and some appeared to be fit. During the evening survey, I noticed the night life of downtown Douglasville – there were a couple of sports bars in the area with mostly males drinking. It did not appear to be unruly but it was loud. The homes in the community are of a variety. Some neighborhoods, the houses are set far apart, some neighborhoods they were too close to each other; however, this was on purpose. The houses were mostly well maintained; however, there were some areas...
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...“The Road Not Taken” Joshua Henson Liberty University English 102-D01 APA Format When readers hear the title of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and read the poem for the first time it is likely to bring feelings that it is noble and righteous to take the so called less traveled path in life. It evokes thoughts of individualism and standing up for what is right. Once a reader studies this poem and reads in numerous times they learn this is not the case. “The Road Not Taken” is not a poem about less traveled roads, but quite the opposite. It is about the roads traveled by everyone. The poem starts off by describing two separate paths along a wooded trail. This is an image familiar with reads, both literally and figuratively. Readers should almost instantly know that Frost is talking about paths chosen in life, not the woods. This poem describes the woods and the paths beautifully, taking care to describe the state of each path. Almost immediately after the path is chosen, the poem describes the feeling of doubt with a sigh. It goes on to say that when the story of this decision is told in the future, it will be the road less traveled that was chosen. However, this poem is not titled the road less traveled; it is titled “The Road Not Taken”. What Frost is trying to explain is that sometimes in life people have to make decisions without knowing what the outcome will be. How can someone know they made the correct decision? The poem is very...
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...Kirsty Archer RE: ”Sydney cyclist loses function in hand after collision with car” I write to you in relation to the before mentioned article you have written in the Sydney Morning Herald. Though I do feel for those who were injured in this collision, it begs the question; should they be on our roads at all? In Sydney alone, tax payers have facilitated a bike path plan at the cost of $5.4 million that will now be removed. In its place the government has proposed spending an unimaginable $76 million on a European-style cycle way. So in a city already crippled by congestion, we have decided to narrow roads to assist cyclists? Yet they pay no registration, no green slip, have no motors, no indicators or mirrors and weigh a mere 9kg on average more than the pedestrians (weight of bike) we do our best to shelter on footpaths? In the article it is suggested that bike lanes be installed on the stretch of road where the collision occurred, where does it end? The common complaint amongst motorists about cyclists is that they ride in large groups. Instead of being in a single file formation, they resemble a cluster and ride dangerously close to road lanes. I frequently observe cyclists on the wrong side of the road, ignoring traffic laws, going through red lights and often fail to indicate their intention of turning. I strongly believe that something needs to be done in order for this unfortunate situation to not be repeated. If cyclists want to be treated like a motorist...
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...Hiking 1. Explain and demonstrate the main points of good hiking practice, such as pacing, speed, resting, and etiquette. Because hiking is a recreational experience, hikers expect it to be pleasant. Sometimes hikers can interfere with each others' enjoyment, or that of other users of the land, but they can minimize this interference by following good etiquette. For example: * When two groups of hikers meet on a steep trail, there may be contention for use of the trail. To avoid conflict, a custom has developed in some areas whereby the group moving uphill has the right-of-way. In other situations, the larger of the two groups will usually yield to the smaller. * Being forced to hike much faster or slower than one's natural pace can be annoying, and difficult to maintain consistently. More seriously, walking unnaturally fast dramatically increases fatigue and exhaustion, and may cause injury. If a group splits between fast and slow hikers, the slow hikers may be left behind or become lost. A common custom is to encourage the slowest hiker to hike in the lead and have everyone match that speed. Another custom is to have an experienced hiker sweep up the rear, to ensure that everyone in the group is safe and nobody straggles. * Hikers often enjoy the silence and solitude of their surroundings. Loud sounds, such as shouting or loud conversation, disrupt this enjoyment. Some hikers purposely avoid loud sounds, out of deference to other hikers. Staying quiet will also...
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...mountain in Peć. This was the first time that a peak in Kosovo was climbed. Even though people started to show interest shortly after, many mountains were near border areas and people needed special permission to visit them due to the political issue at the time. That is the reason why people were able to actually become active hikers only after the war, especially in 2003-2005. The vast majority of the terrain of Kosovo is mountainous.[2] Central mountains are not sufficiently hard to climb, yet they make a good hiking trail, their height goes from 800–1200 meters. The Mirusha river splits these mountains in two groups. The first one is located in the south-west of central mountains and includes the following: Millanoviq mountains, Gajrak, Zatriq, Bajrak and Gremnik.[3] The second group consists of Crnoljeva, Goleshi, Berisha, Kosmaqi, Drenica, Qyqavica mountains. Surrounding mountains are located near border areas. They are harder for hiking because of their steep trails and require a lot of experience and agility. Mountains that are in this group are: east ridge mountains of Albanian alps, Hasi mountains, Pashtriku peak, Sharr mountain, Kortnik, east mountains of Gallak, Kopaoniku and...
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...Glacier National Park is a natural beauty located in Montana that draws tourist wanting to experience hard and soft ecotourism. It is also a location where tourist can seek out nature, wildlife, and adventure tourism. The vast area is home to 762 lakes, dozens of glaciers, waterfalls, and trails for hikers. The park has even been named the world’s first peace parks because of the tranquility (National Geographic, 2012). Glacier National Park has been untouched until mining, oil searching, housing, and logging projects have been proposed. The once undisturbed park now has a potential threat to its wildlife and natural and environment. Unless the projects are kept minimal or diminished altogether, Glacier National Park will lose its natural appeal for ecotourism. The persistence of mining and the search for oil is a hazard to the environment of the park and logging or housing depletes the nature of the park. It is extremely important for the park that these activities be limited to ensure the quality of the future for this park. The only way the park can maintain nature and the natural environment it possesses is to sustain the area so it remains untouched. The involvement of the U.S. Forest Service, government, and the Blackfeet Tribe are essential in protecting the park. The Blackfeet Tribe has controlled this area for the past two centuries and they are a key part in sustaining the park as well as the rich culture of the park (National Geographic, 2012). These entities are...
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...Trail Magic and its Affect on the Appalachian Trail Inside the Appalachian Trail (A.T.), an unique culture comes with it. Alongside the wonders of trail names becoming your identity, random acts of skinny dipping, and not showering for long periods of time, there is also trail magic. Trail magic is best described as an unexpected occurrence that lifts the spirits of hikers. This includes, but is not limited to, driving hikers into town, offering food or drink, and maintaining and protecting the trail. Within trail magic, there are trail angels, who are responsible for all of these acts of kindness. This paper will examine how trail magic, despite its critics, give hope to hikers and creates a larger sense of community. Long- distance hikers on the A.T. are often extremely grateful for any and all trial magic they come across. One hiker, Paul “Big Tex” Bunker, explained his gratitude of trail magic and its...
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...Do you really know all there is to know about the natural world? Why is it so important for us to connect to nature? When people are outside, I bet most of them do not take the time to actually take in all the nature that is around them. They don’t explore everything that the natural world has to offer. When you stop and take the time to explore and focus your attention on all the trees, flowers, or rocks you will discover there is so much more to nature than what you see. It is important to connect to the natural world because of the beautiful scenery you will have the privilege of seeing, it allows you to escape from daily pressures, and there is so much history you can learn from it. A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold and “Winter Creek” by Kathleen Dean Moore describes all of these reasons for why it is important to connect to the natural world in great detail. I love the example Kathleen Dean Moore gave...
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...twentieth century approaches and our world becomes more and more urban our knowledge of nature is increasingly second-hand. Those of us in cities, whose non-human neighbors tend toward rats, pigeons and dandelions, are dependent on the media for our understanding of the natural world – or at least that part of it not adapted to urban life. It is from movies, television and packaged tourism that we derive our sense of nature. For the last half century, it has been Walt Disney and his corporate estate that have provided that sense. In doing so Disney has instilled an appreciation of nature in generations of media consumers. Many environmentalists and animal-rights activists credit Disney with awaking their concern for the environment. But this appreciation has not been delivered in a value-free package. From the outset Disney’s nature films have supported the notion that the natural world’s chief value lies in the profit that industrial society can extract from it. At first this support took the form of simple paeans to the righteousness of logging, mining and urban development. Now, amidst the increasing commodification of everything from tribal myth to basmati rice, the value extracted from nature is the right to define nature. Disney covets that right and will gain it at our peril. Not much besides hindsight distinguishes the company’s early work from its predecessors and competitors. Where nature appeared, it was in its traditional role of deadly threat, or in the form of humanoid...
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...Concept of Naturalism in “To Build a Fire” In literature, naturalism has some fundamental characteristics. The plot involves man against nature and the burden of survival requires either adaptation or destruction of the characters involved. In this style of writing, nature or the natural world is continuously pushing man to his limits. When man heeds the warning signs, he may conquer it. But, when he ignores these warnings, it will defeat him. Naturalism is a general understanding of reality and humanity’s place with reality. It mirrors the events of daily life and shows how humans have to be careful when dealing with the natural world. In naturalism, nature is always waiting for man to make a mistake. Jack London in “To Build a Fire” focuses on the idea that nature is indifferent to man. He shows how violent and uncaring nature is. This short story features an unnamed man and his dog venturing into the Alaskan wilderness in the middle of winter. “To Build a Fire” is a short story that illustrates the concept of naturalism and how the natural world, which is dangerous, will gain the upper hand and man will perish. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”, the narrator makes it clear that the “unnamed” man is in a dangerous situation with the elements. The man is facing weather seventy-five degrees below zero and he is not prepared to survive. Jack London writes that the cold, “did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon man’s frailty...
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...Rules for the Ethical Exploitation of Nature : ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS Duties to and Values in the Natural World by Holmes Rolston III With insider traders run amok on Wall Street and unscrupulous former officials getting nabbed for illegal lobbying, a book about an ethics that includes Lousewort and Devil's Hole pupfish may seem like a case of misplaced priorities. But in "Environmental Ethics--Duties to and Values in the Natural World," Holmes Rolston III makes a strong argument for establishing just this sort of philosophy as a foundation for all ethics. "Nowadays it is easier to get lost conceptually in the natural world than physically," writes Rolston, a professor of philosophy at Colorado State University. So he offers himself as "a wilderness guide" into the "radical and revolutionary" realm of environmental ethics. The philosophical trek begins with a formal demonstration that the natural world has 14 values, ranging from life-support to economic, recreational, scientific, aesthetic, and religious value: "The wilderness works on a traveler's soul as much as it does on his muscles." Then, stating that "value generates duty," he considers humankind's responsibility to the environment. Rolston dismisses the notion, set forth by such contemporary philosophers as Tom Regan, that non-human animals have "rights." He also rejects the "biocentrism," of the "Deep Ecology" movement, which holds humankind to a strictly egalitarian position in the biosphere. But his acceptence...
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