Power Station Beneath Niagra Falls
We live in an era of shrinking frontiers. Or do we? There is a hidden side to the spreading artificial landscape that makes up our cities and suburbs. Michael Cook and a few friends have a passion for exploring and documenting the secret passages and underground liars of forgotten civic works.
The Vanishing Point is remarkable, not simply for Cook’s ballsy spelunking of rotting man-made subterranean caverns but because of his exquisite documentation of his travels. This is guerilla history, folks, with a keen eye and ear for what Cook calls “human geography.”
What most amazes me is Cook’s jaw-dropping industrial photography. From the looks of it Cook and his mates must travel with a half dozen strobe lights, slave units and tripods and spend considerable time setting up these shots. All while midnight trespassing in dripping rat-filled chasms. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
Other urban spelunking sites:
GORP, the backpacking staple of the 70s, stands for Granola, Oatmeal, Raisins and Peanuts. Add some freeze-dried Ants, Spiders and Scorpions and what to you get? In the video above the much-braver-than-I staff at Backpacker Magazine tests prepared creepy-crawlies which are surprisingly high in nutrition, unsurprisingly high in fear factor.
The reviews? “Tastes like M & [...]
I’ve been conducting a little experiment for the past couple of months - reading the Bible as if I was having a direct conversation with God. For instance, I’ll ask a question and then see if my daily Bible reading has the answer. Now I’m sure some of you may consider this to be like [...]
In the first week of May this year 3-year-old Joshua Childers decided to go on a hike. His adventure lasted three days and two nights through a heavy rain and in 40 degree temperature in Missouri’s Mark Twain forest, 53 hours in all. When he was found by search teams what he wanted most was [...]
As I’ve said before, I can’t remember how to tie a knot to save my life. Maybe that’s why I don’t get invited to necktie parties.
Here’s a great tip from Make Magazine’s blog: wallet-sized knot tying reference cards to help you remember whether the rabbit goes over the fence or down the hole.
Another great resource: [...]
California’s dire budget crisis has left vacationers with the very real fear that up to 220 California State Parks could be closed by the end of the season this September. Right now there’s no telling whether this is a political power play on the part of Governor Schwarzenegger, or how many parks would actually be [...]
Witch hazel is something you may have seen in your mother’s medicine chest, but she probably didn’t tell you why she was using it. Consequently you may not have discovered the extract’s many magical properties.
Fact is, witch hazel is good for a lot of things, some that you can talk about in mixed company [...]
Fitz Cahall of the most excellent Dirtbag Diaries, has a most excellent side project blog in connection with Steve Bohrer and Danny Maynor. Three dads working together to “keep the Stoke” through that long season we call parenthood. The Outdoor Parent is a different kind of blog…one that doesn’t tell you how to keep your [...]
“When Steve van der Woerd couldn’t persuade his friends to hike with him, he started compiling a list of people who would…” [Via HikerEnthusiast]
And that’s how it starts. If you want your friends to stay friends…and your family to stay family…then you might have to go outside the fold to find a few trail buddies. [...]
Sespe Creek snakes through the heart of the Los Padres forest like a coronary artery. It starts below Oak Springs, south of Ventucopa and flows east until it smacks into the foot of the Hopper Mountain bioregion, finally emptying into the Santa Clara River after a 55 mile journey.
Last weekend, while the rest of [...]
Perhaps the quickest way into the Sespe Wilderness area lies just north of Fillmore. Follow A Street to Goodenough Road and keep going past where the pavement ends. Forest Road 6N16 is a bumpy but well-graded road that just about any vehicle can manage if you take it slow and easy. There are several water [...]
Translated roughly into English, Camino Cielo means “skyway.” The name is apt, seeing that the road follows the ridgeline of the Santa Ynez mountains above Goleta. The views are spectacular, especially to the west of Condor Point.
I rode this route on my dualsport bike this past week. It’s a nice, easy way to start getting [...]
If you’ve done any hiking in Ventura County, chances are that you’ve been to the Punch Bowl. This natural swimming hole at the base of an impressive waterfall is a favorite spot for swimming, cliff-jumping, getting drunk and painting rocks. It’s also as good a way as any to get quick access into the Los [...]
Last weekend my mother needed a ride to Fish Camp and I needed some time in the Sierras.
My original idea was to take Jackson Road (Forest Road 6S07) to Fresno Dome and camp near there. Next morning I would head further up the road and pack up to Chain Lakes, spend the night, hike down [...]
Tread Lightly just announced, in partnership with BF Goodrich Tires, 2007’s Outstanding Trails for 4WD enthusiasts. One of the criteria includes trail maintenance and conservation efforts. This means that you can feel good about yourself while you destroy the planet.
The trails are:
Whipsaw, Princeton, British Columbia
The Rubicon Trail, California
Crushers, Tillamook, OregonÂ
Poughkeepsie Gulch, Colorado
Redbird State Riding Area, [...]
This is a nice little trail running along the Tecuya Ridge of the Emigido Mountain range just above Frazier Park. The trail goes all the way to the summit of Tecuya Mountain and dead ends a little farther on. Motorcycles can continue on to 9N21.
The trip is about 3.3 miles one-way and extremely rocky in [...]
Russell Bell notes that you can have a hell of a time hiking in the US, what with Devil’s Heart Peak (warning, big-ass Forest Service map download) in the Sespe wilderness, Devil’s Playground near Mojave (Flickr set), and Devil’s Hole, spawning ground of the Devil’s Hole pupfish.
mmmm….Devil’s Hole pupfish…
Summary: A hike up one of the most scenic canyons with year-round running streams. The first two miles are an easy walk on even surface with two easy water crossings. After two miles the trail becomes increasingly difficult to follow, with lots of boulder hopping and scrambling beneath overhanging branches. Numerous pools and a double [...]
Summary: Apache Canyon Road (8N06) is flat, well graded ten mile stretch of road that winds through a Pinyon pine habitat back to the Nettle Spring campground. There are several creek crossings that could present a challenge after a rainy season. OHV Trail 103, Apache Canyon Corridor, follows a sandy wash to Nettle Springs [...]
LifeHacker posts that Google Earth now shows hiking trails. The Trimble Outdoors Trips layer features hiking trails with GPS coordinates. Perhaps the coolest feature is the ability to send map info to your cell phone. If your phone has GPS software, apparently you can send waypoint info as well.
I blogged earlier about the USGS map [...]
