The next fee free day for the National Park Service is coming up! During ten days of the year, all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. “National parks are known for their priceless beauty,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “They are a bargain anytime but on these ten days in 2017, they really will be priceless. We want everyone to visit their national parks and the fee free days provide extra incentive to experience these amazing places.”
During the fee free days, all National Park Service sites will waive their entrance fees for all visitors. Usually, 124 of the 413 national parks charge entrance fees that range from $3 to $30. (The other 289 sites do not have entrance fees.) FYI-The entrance fee waiver for the fee-free days does not cover amenity or user fees for things such as camping, boat launches, transportation, or special tours.
If you’ve never been to Arches, now’s your chance! Get two National Parks from one town, Moab, Utah, and drink good beer to boot.
Mark your calendar for these entrance fee–free dates in Arches and Canyonlands in 2017:
•January 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
•February 20: Presidents’ Day
•April 15-16 and 22-23: Weekends of National Park Week
•August 25: National Park Service Birthday
•September 30: National Public Lands Day
•November 11-12: Veterans Day Weekend
To continue the national park adventure beyond these fee free days, the annual $80 America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass allows unlimited entrance to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including all national parks,. There are also free or discounted passes available for senior citizens, current military members, fourth grade students, and disabled citizens.
The National Park System includes more than 84 million acres and is comprised of 413 sites including national parks, national historical parks, national monuments, national recreation areas, national battlefields, and national seashores. There is at least one national park in every state.
Last year, 307 million people visited a national park. They spent $16.9 billion which supported 295,000 jobs and had a $32 billion impact on the U.S. economy.
p.s. Dogs are not allowed on the trails in Arches or Canyonslands but you can still take them to see natural arches.
Pull your damn pants up, is a frequent thought when I’m standing in a lift line. It’s not like these kids with pants at mid-thigh don’t have belts on. But maybe they’re missing the right belt; one that doesn’t feel like a belt perhaps?
I spotted Arcade Belts in the Venture Out area during the Outdoor Retailer Summer Show in July. The lightweight, stretchy belt with a thin Fastec clip easily adjusts and lays flat on your waist- no bulky buckles, no flapping excess. You can drop it in the wash- still attached to your pants or boardshorts- without damage or wear it through TSA without setting off the alarms. Plus, it comes in fun designs and a youth version for smaller-wasted ones.
Santa Cruz skater and Tahoe Pro Skier Cody Townsend started Arcade Belts with buddies David Bronkie and Tristan Queen to cinch up a tiny space in the adventure sports clothing market. They created a belt tough enough for action sports but comfy enough for everyday wear. “Action sports in general are becoming a lifestyle and we’re designing stuff for that culture,” said Townsend in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “I wanted something that fits in with that unique style. You might think it’s simple but you’ll have an ‘Ah ha’ moment, and ask why haven’t I been using this belt.”
It’s been six years since they first hit the market. Arcade Belts come in just three styles, sold in over 800 retail stores. I personally like the adventure belt in Trailblazer, with the cute little pine trees, but have a look at some of their other designs.
The trunk looked like an advertisement out of Backpacker Magazine- Kelty pack, Kuhl shorts, Hi-Tec hikers, Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag, TheNorthface tent, Black Diamond climbing gear, Ruffwear dog bowls, etc. The theory was that with the right gear I could survive and conquer even what turned out to be my ultimate tolerance test. Elephant’s Perch, aka The Road Trip From Hell.
The beautiful thing about Park City is that it’s less than a day’s drive to just about anywhere. Aspen? Six hours. Vegas? Six hours. Denver? Eight hours. Jackson Hole? Four hours. I’ve driven to San Diego, Calif. (12 hours), Hood River, Ore. (12 hours); even Cloudcroft, NM (18 hours). It’s a no-brainer to hit the open road. Throw your closet in the rear, load the dog and fill the tank. You really could do it alone. Problem is, I’d rather have company.
So the issue becomes, do you say, “Eff it; I’m out,” or post on social media that you’re offering a ride?
Finding A Climbing Partner For Elephant’s Perch
A trip that involves serious hours of drive time -and hang time -with unfamiliar company might create a new best friend or crush you into wishing you had stayed home to pay bills and do laundry.
The excursion began as an idea to climb Elephant’s Perch (aka Saddleback Peak) in the Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho. To digress, a now-defunct love fling introduced the plan. The Boy, a Sun Valley resident, convinced me that the easy six-hour drive would make the perfect romantic rendezvous for us. However, after discovering his status as a convicted felon, the thought of being alone in the wilderness with Brian created too much anxiety and I called the trip- with him- off.
But I was all dressed up with no place to go. Not to be outdone by the gun-toting bank robber, I decided, “To hell with him!” and found another able-bodied rock climber- with three days off work- to take his place. The plan was to hike to Saddleback Lakes in the Sawtooths and climb the 5.9 Mountaineer’s Route at Elephant’s Perch. That was the plan anyway.
Photo courtesy Mountain Project
The Sawtooth Range is home to some stellar sport and big wall climbing. There are nearly 20 trad routes ranging from 5.9-5.13 but no one was with earshot or sight on this particular trek. Mountaineer’s is mostly 5.5 and lower, with occasional sections up to 5.9. leader. It seemed doable.
Having graduated law school, I’m often asked what kind of law I’d practice if I weren’t a writer. I reply, “Murphy’s.” The weekend in Idaho grew to be a prime example of my specialty.
Climbing with Strangers is a Bad Idea
As my new buddy and I pulled onto I-80 a distinctly pungent odor assaulted my nostrils and I realized my passenger must have been so excited about the trip he forgot to wash. “Oh dear God!” I thought. “If it smells this bad now, what would happen in three days after strenuous hiking and climbing?” But how could I tell him about hygiene without hurting his feelings and ruining the weekend? Luckily (and unfortunately), I felt an oncoming cold, with its requisite stuffed nose, to save the day.
Before we got to the mountains, an Idaho state trooper pulled me over for speeding. (“87 in a 65?” not true, Officer!) I let Joe drive the rest of the way because, as he boasted, “I never drive over the speed limit.” The bank robber probably couldn’t say the same.
Getting To Elephant’s Perch
To get to Elephant’s Perch we had to drive to Redfish Lake Lodge, one-hour north of Sun Valley, fork over $$ to ride a ferry across the Lake, hike three miles of mellow trail to the climb’s approach, and then a one-mile scramble straight UP to the base of the route.
I twisted my ankle, a mosquito bit my eyelid, my cold constricted every muscle in my body and Joe was upwind. I tried to whine only at the appropriate intervals.
The route Joe chose consisted of five moderate pitches (stages to get to the top) of crack climbing. I was still a novice climber and had never done more than three single sport routes in one day. I figured I could handle the challenge (please note the sarcasm). Besides, Joe hadn’t come all this way to turn around without “doing the Perch.”
Photo courtesy Mountain Project
Cold, tired, sore and sneezing, I looked up at this 1000-foot mammoth wall and a voice in my head whispered, “Let’s not and say we did.”
After zigzagging from crack to crack looking for the way up, Joe shouted down to me from 40 feet. I slowly made my way up to him to tell him I wasn’t going to climb. At this pace, there was no way to reach the peak before nightfall. And I was downwind from Joe again. It’s hard to climb when you refuse to breathe. We aborted the mission and barely reached the dock to catch the return ferry.
To Hell and Back
We drove home in silence, weary and defeated. I was annoyed that Joe wasn’t the great route finder he portended to be nor was he accustomed to soap and deodorant. My cold faded as Joe began to sneeze.
Like the red gas idiot light that blinks to remind you to fill the tank, the spoiled onions aroma tickled my nose to remind me of why I shouldn’t invite strangers on a roadtrip. I missed my cold. I was bummed the weekend didn’t go as planned. But sh+t happens. Yet another lesson that can’t be learned in law school.
If you’ve ever done three tram laps at The Bird, you can appreciate the simplicity and relief that comes from a chairlift ride and the proverbial footrest. Younguns would argue that they “hate that thing”; they bonk you on the head coming down, you struggle to raise them in time to eject and bro-brahs see them as a sign of weakness. However, as we ski bums age the pride takes a backseat to commonsense.
Coloradan Lionel Starr created this hilarious riff on the ‘bar’ for the annual Telluride TV Video Awards.
What began as a one-off for outdoor gear brand Cotopaxi in 2014, the 24-hour adventure scavenger hunt that takes place in over 50 North American locations, circles back to its home state for Questival 2017, and there’s still time to register!
This zany, all-consuming trek gets teams of 2-6 friends to complete some 300+ “challenges” (from doing a yoga pose in the wilderness to give a dollar to a homeless person) while earning points, bonding with teammates and checking off adventures from your bucklist.
The Questival event kicks off with a welcome party Friday July 28, 2017, 6 p.m., with live music and food trucks, where you get your list of challenges, the Cotopaxi swag backpacks and a “totem.” As you complete a challenge you take a photo with the totem to prove you’ve succeeded and upload it to the free Questival app. Different challenges are worth a certain number of points.
The categories of Questival 2017 challenges range from adventure and survival to service and social media. You can ride a slide at a public park for two points or drive to a national park for 30 points. You’ll wrack up the most points by completing the outdoor challenges over the urban ones. There is time to get a little sleep as well. You gain additional points by turning off the app from 1 a.m.- 5 a.m.
The more challenges you complete, the more points you earn. (Here is the list of last year’s challenges). The top ten point-scoring teams will then move onto “peer judging”. All Questival 2017 competitors will swipe left or right on photos and videos submitted by teams. Back in the day, winning teams could get an all-expense paid trip to Machu Picchu. Now they get prize packs with airline vouchers and gear worth approx. $4200 per team.
In the end, you’re competing against thousands of your neighbors in a fun, friendly, albeit frenetic, event so even if you don’t come close to one of those 10 spots you’ll come out a winner, learning more about your city, your friends and your stamina.
To here learn more about Cotopaxi and Questival 2017.
