Barred owls are notoriously aggressive and territorial, and have been , even when seemingly unprovoked. Now, the federal government plans to authorize killing up to 450,000 barred owls across the western United States under a finalized in 2024.

The management plan is not a new proposal, but it follows a long tradition of hikers in the Pacific Northwest reportedly being attacked by the flying predator.

Reports of aggressive owls are well-documented and longstanding. Multiple runners in the Portland area have reported being and left with wounds throughout the years. Stolen hats, visible puncture marks, and advisories to wear hard hats in certain parts of the city have all been associated with the owl attacks. And after a Washington woman was by an owl while walking in the woods near her house in 2022, biologists report that the occurrence is becoming more frequent.

As most true crime fans will recall, the “owl theory” was one hypothesis put forward to explain the death of Michael Peterson’s wife in the Netflix documentary The Staircase.听That’s right, some argue that Kathleen Peterson may have died after .

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) management plan, however, is designed not to save humans from barred owls but to save other, less dominant species of owls, such as the northern spotted owl and the California spotted owl. Barred owls, which are native to the eastern seaboard but only appeared west of the Mississippi in the early 1900s, are classified as invasive to the West and Northwest. In total, the FWS says in its that no more than 15,600 invasive barred owls per year could be killed under full implementation of their approved strategy.

Stretched out over the proposed 30-year management period, this would mean a total of 468,000 barred owls would be euthanized throughout the western United States. However, the FWS added that 鈥渢his is an upper limit that may be removed assuming maximum implementation of the strategy,鈥� adding that, even if reached, 鈥渋t would result in the annual removal of less than one-half of one percent of the current North American barred owl population.鈥�

Tom Wheeler, executive director of the California-based nonprofit , told 国产吃瓜黑料 that a coalition of conservation groups supports the management plan. Wheeler cited a letter co-signed by groups including the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and the Center for Biological Diversity, that stated the “strategy is a necessary conservation action to stop the extinction of the northern spotted owl and to protect other native species impacted by the barred owl鈥檚 invasion.”

“Barred owl removal is also a habitat protection strategy. Barred owls outcompete spotted owls and are driving the species to extinction. BO removal is likely to provide both long- and short-term habitat protection,鈥� Wheeler told听国产吃瓜黑料.

In addition to attacking humans, the FWS notes that barred owls are one of two primary threats to the continued survival of the threatened northern spotted owl, along with habitat loss, because barred owls are 鈥渓arger, more aggressive, and have a wider prey base.鈥� Unlike northern spotted owls, California spotted owls are not yet classified as threatened but 鈥渘ear threatened.鈥� However, this species, too, faces severe displacement from barred owls.

At least 14 national parks are included in the areas where barred owls could be killed, including the Washington national parks Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades, Oregon鈥檚 Crater Lake, and the Sequoia and Kings Canyon, as well as Yosemite, Redwood, and Lassen Volcanic National Parks in California.

Some environmental and animal welfare groups are not pleased by the plan. Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy against the FWS over the plan last year. Last week, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks (CPANP), a nonprofit, published a letter to Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, urging him to vote against implementing the management strategy. The letter鈥檚 author, wildlife biologist Elaine Frances Leslie, called the planned culls an 鈥渦nprecedented and deeply troubling course of action鈥� and one that 鈥渧iolates the spirit of the National Park Service鈥檚 mission.鈥�

Leslie noted that although barred owls are not native to the Northwest and West, 鈥渞ange expansion is a well-documented ecological process鈥� and 鈥渨hile we agree that some of the range expansions are due to climate change, fragmentation, and other human-caused disturbance, the rate of range expansion is inevitable. We have considered policy, but we must also consider moral and ethical concerns. To massacre barred owls to protect the spotted owl in this matter is unethical.鈥�

FWS that the culling will be performed by professional removal specialists who meet training, experience, and competency requirements, which include 鈥渢he ability to accurately identify spotted owls and barred owls using both visual and auditory means, and confidently distinguish between the two species.鈥� The agency notes that no public hunting of barred owls is permitted under the strategy, and that it is unlawful for anyone to kill a barred owl without authorization under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Leslie and the CPANP argue that, among other issues, it will be challenging to ensure that the owls killed are exclusively barred, not spotted, and claim that the plan 鈥渋s a pretext to open up old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, and to allow for incidental killing of threatened northern spotted owls.鈥�

鈥淭here is no way that there will not be incidental 鈥榯ake鈥� (killing or capturing) in a project of this size and scope,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that this plan will be detrimental to both barred and spotted owls.鈥�

The post Inside the Government’s Plan to Kill Nearly a Half-Million Barred Owls appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

A hiker was evacuated by air on October 29 from the rugged and remote Kalalau Trail in Hawaii after he was 鈥渦nable to hike out due to a rapidly worsening infection from an apparent spider bite,鈥� wrote the Kauai Fire Department (KFD) in a .

The hiker, a 57-year-old local from Kauai, survived the ordeal.

The is a challenging 22-mile round-trip trek from Ke鈥檈 Beach to Kalalau Beach, offering the only access to the rugged coastline of the renowned Napali Coast. Characterized by emerald-hued cliffs, towering waterfalls, and dramatically lush valleys, this region is difficult ot access and even more testing to hike through.

KFD said the department received a text-to-911 message from the hiker, who reported that an infection from a spider bite had spread. He was experiencing fever and weakness, and couldn鈥檛 be safely evacuated.

L墨hu鈥榚 Fire Station responded just after the text came in at 9:45 A.M. Rescuers evacuated the hiker from Kalalau trail, which is located on the northern side of the island, to a softball field located in Waimea, on the southern half of the island. First responders, who arrived at Kalalau Beach, said the hiker could walk but was 鈥渋n visible distress.鈥�

After a medical assessment, the hiker was transported to a local hospital for further medical care.

Meghan Wright, public information officer for the Office of the Mayor, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that the Kaua’i Fire Department conducted the rescue and initial medical aid before transferring the patient to American Medical Response for further care. The patient鈥檚 condition is currently unknown.

Although there are many types of spiders in the Hawaiian Islands, there are two species that can be particularly dangerous to humans: the brown widow and southern black widow, according to the .

鈥淭hough rare, spider bites do occur. Your risk of being bitten increases if you live in areas where there is clutter and debris or if their habitat has been disturbed. Widow spiders prefer warm climates and dark, dry places,鈥� writes the department on its website.

When bitten by the southern black widow, the spider鈥檚 venom attacks the nerve endings in muscles that can cause severe pain and muscle cramps at the source of the bite, which can then spread throughout the body. However, only females can bite鈥攎ales are too small, writes the .

Named for their coloring, the less-aggressive brown widow spiders are considered by the in California to be minor compared to the black widow. It鈥檚 theorized this is because the brown widow isn鈥檛 able to inject as much venom as its larger relative.

Brown widow and bold jumping spiders, which measure only a half-inch in size, also have painful bites that can produce redness, swelling and blistering.

If bitten by a spider, the Hawaii Department of Health advises hikers to remain calm and identify the spider, if possible. Bites should be cleaned with soap and water, and cool compresses can help to reduce swelling. If an infection appears to persist, contact your healthcare provider.

The post How a Spider Bite Became an Emergency Rescue on Hawaii鈥檚 Kalalau Hiking Trail appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

We park deep in the backwoods of Nelson County, Virginia, on the shoulder of a one-lane gravel road. My wife and I dip around a locked metal gate and follow the grassy service route up a steep hillside lined with towering tulip poplars and white oaks. There鈥檚 no one else in this corner of Lesesne State Forest. Only the sounds of our muffled footsteps, the chitter of songbirds, and the breathy cool of an early-autumn breeze in the treetops break the silence.

The road eventually crests the hill and, after a long flat stretch, we鈥檙e treated to half-mile views of lazy, cotton ball clouds drifting over 4,000-ish-foot peaks in the George Washington National Forest鈥檚 Three Ridges Wilderness Area. With a little bushwhacking, we could easily hop on the Appalachian Trail (AT) or the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Distracted by the eye candy, I slip on what feels like a squishy ball of turf and nearly roll an ankle. I start to curse, but my anger morphs to glee as I spot a pair of spiny, fist-sized chestnut burs buried in the shin-deep grass.

A quick scan of the 50-plus-foot canopy confirms that we鈥檝e found what we鈥檝e come for: A dappling of brownish, green-yellow burs cling to the high limbs of some of the rarest hardwoods on the planet. They signify a major step in a nearly century-old effort to overcome a pernicious blight that effectively drove what used to be one of America鈥檚 most important trees into extinction.

We crunch into the dense forest to find one- and two-foot-wide trunks surrounded by broad patches of understory scattered with the husks of old burs and this year鈥檚 ongoing masting. We spend the next hour or so scouring the ground, heeling open the urchinlike orbs and filling a small grocery bag with dark, leathery nuts. For me, the experience is moving鈥攍ike a glimmer of wild hope amid a conservation landscape dominated by the looming catastrophes to come of climate change.

While the hiking in Lesesne State Forest is limited to gated roads like the one we鈥檙e on, it鈥檚 a worthy place for a stroll. In the 1970s, the Virginia Department of Forestry planted an orchard of American chestnut trees here, and it remains the largest and oldest experimental planting of the species in the U.S., according to Cassie Stark, regional science coordinator for . In addition to the orchard, 422-acre Lesesne holds about 30 acres of natural, second-growth woods anchored by American chestnut trees. Some are upward of 60 years old and produce famously delicious wild nuts that few living people beyond foresters, researchers, and volunteers have ever tasted.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not something that we advertise,鈥� says Stark, but backpackers can now explore groves of healthy, effectively wild American chestnut trees across numerous eastern states and forage for nuts for the first time in about a century. The effort behind them, says Stark, 鈥渋s one of the most epic conservation stories ever told.鈥�

Apocalyptic Blight and The Death Of America鈥檚 Tree

The rewilded orchards at Lesesne might seem commonplace to an uninformed trekker. But if you know their backstory and telling characteristics, feels like a real-life miracle.

鈥淲hen the European colonists got here, American chestnut trees were a dominant species throughout most of the eastern piedmont and Appalachian Mountain range,鈥欌�� says veteran forester and TACF board member, John Scrivani, 72. Their trunks could grow to be 10 feet wide and stretch upward of 105 feet into the canopy; limbs spanned an equally wide footprint. The trees could live for three or more centuries and covered an estimated 300,000 square miles of land from Maine to Mississippi.

鈥淭his was the tree of early America,鈥� writes author Susan Freinkel in her book, American Chestnut: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree. Carpenters prized their strong, straight-grained, and decay-resistant wood. Farmers praised their ability to feed and produce world-class livestock. Sportsmen revered them as a primary food source for wildlife. Gourmands celebrated their dry fruit as the world鈥檚 tastiest variety of chestnut.

鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to understate the importance of American chestnuts for the developing U.S.,鈥� Freinkel continues. It came to be known as 鈥渁 perfect tree and had a value and versatility unmatched by any other hardwood.鈥�

Then came a virulent, invasive fungus from East Asia called . Better known as chestnut blight, it was accidentally introduced in New York by way of imported Japanese varieties in the late 19th century and spread like wildfire through eastern forests.

鈥淭he fungus enters a tree through a wound in the bark, spreads laterally around stems and limbs, destroying the vascular system and killing growth above the point of infection,鈥� says Scrivani. 鈥淭he tree eventually dies back to the ground and, while new sprouts often emerge, they rarely grow large enough to flower. Reproduction and natural evolution halt.鈥�

By 1941, the blight had eradicated 3.5 billion American chestnut trees, rendering the species functionally extinct.

鈥淭his is one of the most extreme recorded changes in a natural plant population caused by an introduced organism in history,鈥� says West Virginia University emeritus professor of plant pathology and former TACF president, William MacDonald. Had it been avoided, backpackers on the AT, for instance, would experience a drastically different landscape and be able to roast foraged nuts on their campfires throughout the fall.

Restoration and a Hail Mary Return

While most 1940s biologists forecasted permanent doom for the American chestnut, some clung to a wily optimism.

鈥淭here was tremendous nostalgia around these trees,鈥� says retired West Virginia University professor of plant pathology, Mark Double, who鈥檚 studied American chestnuts with organizations like the TACF and the U.S. Department of Agriculture since the mid-1970s. He recounts the story of a pair of Greatest Generation brothers from Ohio, for instance, who remembered 鈥済athering nuts from a huge tree in their yard to sell at a train station so they could afford new shoes for the winter.鈥�

Similar stories abounded throughout the eastern mountain regions, so interest in restoring the iconic tree rose during the post-war 1950s. A loose cadre of agronomists, foresters, biologists, university researchers, and interested citizens began to take shape. Some studied the blight fungus and looked for clues to how it could be stopped. Others scoured forests for nuts and surviving trees, or gleaned clippings from sapling sprouts that they grafted onto Chinese rootstock for study.

A breakthrough came when an amateur botanist named Robert Dunstan used clippings to cross-breed an anomalous, surviving American chestnut tree from Ohio with a blight-immune Chinese cousin. The result was a hybrid that survived fungal inoculation and bore nuts around 1962. Dunstan presented his findings to fellow members of the Northern Nut Growers Association and his namesake chestnut went on to become a favorite of commercial U.S. orchardists.

The work also caught the attention of conservationists. It and advances like the 1975 discovery of an Italian hypovirus that attacked certain strains of blight helped inspire the formation of the American Chestnut Foundation in 1983. The organization would serve as a central force for disseminating information and furthering research aimed at restoring American chestnuts to the wild. The primary driver of that mission was an ambitious, multigenerational back-cross breeding program that would be to prior efforts what Apollo 11 was to the Wright Brothers.

鈥淭he idea was to back-cross the hybrids with wild stock, 100 percent American parents through seven generations and produce trees that were genetically identical to American chestnuts, but had enough blight resistance to survive in the wild,鈥� says Scrivani, who鈥檚 spent about four decades spearheading related efforts and research at groundbreaking sites like the one at Lesesne State Forest. New generations were inoculated with the fungus at maturity, 鈥渢hen monitored so that we could pick the ones that showed the highest blight resistance for further breeding.鈥�

The work is painstakingly slow: Each generation takes three to five years to reach maturity, survive inoculation, and bear nuts. But dedication and dogged persistence have brought about 700 large-scale plantings across 2,000 acres of public and private land in the eastern U.S. to date. The majority are managed, monoculture research or nursery orchards aimed at producing increasingly blight-resistant trees through a variety of methods. Some鈥攍ike a Maryland-based program that used high radiation in hopes of triggering favorable genetic mutations鈥攆ailed spectacularly. Others, like the rewilded planting at Lesesne, sought to test newly honed resistance in the wild and see how trees competed with dominant native species like oak and hickory. Hikers can trek through dozens of the sites at any time. Visits to most others can be arranged by emailing the catch-all address for the individual TACF state chapters.

鈥淲hat they鈥檝e achieved at sites [like Lesesne] is really quite spectacular,鈥� says Double. It took decades of breeding to produce trees with enough blight resistance to survive in a controlled forest setting鈥攁nd even then, more than half died. Careful early management of competitors, though, enabled survivors to establish themselves in the canopy and eventually thrive without further intervention.

鈥淭hese stands are now self-reproducing, and you can find occasional seedlings in the understory,鈥� says Scrivani. When you walk through the forest, you鈥檙e experiencing a natural landscape that countless people have helped resuscitate from the brink of extinction.

Breakthroughs and Next Steps

Scrivani, Double, and Stark agree that the possibility of restoration en masse is still a century or more away. But they鈥檙e quick to add that it鈥檚 no longer a question of if, but of when and across how many acres of land.

On one hand, 鈥渢he breeding program has made tremendous advancements over the past 40 years,鈥� says Scrivani. 鈥淲e鈥檙e now only working with trees that exceed minimum requirements for both disease resistance and a high proportion of American ancestry,鈥� and the results improve with each generation.

The progeny of these select trees are now being used to anchor new plantings on public or public-adjacent lands from Alabama to Maine. Half of them will probably die, says Scrivani, but the others could go on to parent groves like the one at Lesesne. Slow, steady growth, coupled with additive peripheral plantings, would drive natural expansion.

Scrivani acknowledges that there have been setbacks鈥攎ost notably a genetically modified, blight-resistant tree called Darling 58, created by researchers at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2012, which showed immense early promise before failing miserably in field plantings. But a slew of other promising advancements reinforce his optimism. Double has been studying the fungus-killing Italian virus for decades and believes it and similar variants can play a vital role in finally beating the blight.

鈥淲e鈥檝e shown that we can safely inoculate trees with the virus and dramatically increase their chances of survival,鈥� says Double. However, USDA regulations forbid the purposeful release of the virus into the wild. Furthermore, it only attacks certain strains of blight.

Double acknowledges the hurdles, but believes they鈥檙e manageable. Ongoing discussions with the USDA are making progress and a genetically modified form of the virus that can attack all varieties of chestnut blight is currently under development. It could eventually be applied to blight-inoculated trees in orchards that are then replanted into the wild.

Scrivani likes to envision a future around the year 2130 where hikers on beloved routes like the AT, Benton MacKaye, and the Long Trail pass through groves of monstrous American chestnut trees and the smell of roasting nuts mixes with campfire smoke in the autumn air. In the meantime, trekkers can visit locations like Lesesne for a taste of what鈥檚 to come.

鈥淚鈥檝e dedicated much of my career working with many others to the goal of making that a possibility for future generations and feel confident that it will happen,鈥� says Scrivani. 鈥淚t brings me joy to think that my great-great-great grandchildren could get to experience something like that.鈥�

Take a Hike Amongst Chestnut Trees

Want to experience an American chestnut grove for yourself? Like Lesesne State Forest in Virginia, these walks carry you through a few of the nation鈥檚 best and most beautiful. Foraging is allowed, but it鈥檚 important to be sparing and practice good stewardship.

Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden, Connecticut

Early chestnut crusader and Brooklyn Botanic Garden curator, Arthur Graves, began planting chestnuts on his family鈥檚 Hamden farm around 1930. He hoped to establish blight resistance in American trees through crossbreeding and compiled a collection that now includes every species of chestnut and its closely related chinkapin worldwide. Graves eventually donated his land to the park and neighboring Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Visit the latter鈥檚 to see his incredible collection, then pursue the 5.1-mile through and an 8-plus-acre plot of rewilded American and hybrid chestnut trees upward of 75 feet tall.

Sugarloaf Mountain Park, Dickerson, Maryland

Explore a fascinating piece of history about 28 miles west of the AT crossing at Harpers Ferry at this 3,400-acre National Natural Landmark. About 15 miles of hiking trails loop around the park鈥檚 namesake 1,282-foot peak and pass through a number of experimental American chestnut orchards. and holds big, gnarly trees grown from 100 percent American irradiated nuts grafted onto Chinese rootstock.

Johns Creek Mountain, Pembroke, Virginia

Find a 4-acre grove of American chestnuts competing in a competitive forest environment in the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson National Forest near the famed Mountain Lake Lodge, where 鈥淒irty Dancing鈥� was filmed. Around 1,200 trees with what was then considered very high blight resistance were planted in a clear-cutting on the slopes of the 3,700-foot ridge. About half succumbed to the fungus, but the 14-year-old survivors are thriving and producing nuts. They鈥檙e located down a 2-mile-long, gated forest road, so contact the Virginia TACF chapter to arrange a visit.

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Just after 1:30 A.M. on the morning of October 5, E, a professor of mechanical engineering at Seattle University, set out with three friends to hike up Cottonwood Creek Trail, a strenuous approach to Colorado’s Crestone Peak.

The jagged summit of Crestone Peak, Colorado’s seventh-highest mountain, looks like a camel’s back, with two rocky pinnacles jutting skyward from the Sangre de Cristo range. One of these prominences is Crestone Peak, and the other is a sub-summit called East Crestone, which is just 418 feet away.

The men reached the summit of East Crestone right before sunrise. Gilbertson鈥檚 goal wasn鈥檛 just to climb the mountain, but to use high-tech surveying tools to measure its precise height.

In an interview with 国产吃瓜黑料, Gilbertson said that his measurements suggest that East Crestone measures 14,299.3 feet high, making it approximately 3.6 inches taller听than Crestone Peak, which is 14,299 feet. This measurement, Gilberton says, reverses the conventional belief that East Crestone is the sub-summit of Crestone Peak.

鈥淭hus, East Crestone is now a ranked 14er, and Crestone is a subpeak,” Gilbertson said. “East Crestone should be added to the list of 53 ranked 14ers in Colorado and Crestone听Peak removed.鈥�

While this measurement may seem minor, it could have major repercussions for the thousands of hikers who climb the 53 peaks that rise above 14,000 feet in Colorado. For decades, Crestone Peak has been on the 14er list, but East Crestone has not. Gilbertson believes his measurements should change the hierarchy of Crestone summits, and remove one 14er from the list while adding another.

But the official bodies that measure peaks in Colorado have yet to weigh in on his findings.

In Pursuit of Peak Bags and Elevation Measurements

To measure the peaks, Gilbertson and his team used professional surveying equipment to take ground measurements at each summit. They did so by mounting receivers on identical tripods that took simultaneous two-hour, 15-minute survey data. A global navigation system, or GNSS, then determined the distance between these receivers and satellites in space, calculating the receiver’s exact location on Earth.

“We needed to strap a hiking pole on one tripod leg to extend it off the cliffy north face of Crestone to reach rock,” Gilbertson told听翱耻迟蝉颈诲别,听adding that data was processed with three different models. 鈥淎ll results were consistent that East Crestone is 0.3 feet taller than Crestone, with greater than 99.9 percent confidence that East Crestone is taller.鈥�

Gilbertson’s method is different from a 2021 mission to measure the mountains, which relied on light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology. But he believes this measurement was flawed, because it “appeared to pick up a person on the summit of Crestone, giving it an artificially high elevation,” he said. Aerial LiDAR measurements record elevation by pinging pulses of light between a plane and a point on Earth and recording the amount of time it takes for that ping to travel between the two. But because the pulses hit the ground every one to six feet, they can sometimes “miss sharp points in between and under-measure a summit elevation,” which Gilbertson says happened on East Crestone.

A previous U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measurement of the mountain used a theodolite, a land survey technique that measures horizontal and vertical angles between points. That technique only measured Crestone Peak, and not East Crestone. Other measurements, including those done by photogrammetry and an Abney survey, have also been conducted on Crestone Peak. Gilbertson said that it’s likely these surveys simply missed measuring East Crestone.

“I think it’s unlikely the summits shifted. The simplest explanation is they just hadn’t been measured accurately enough until now to know which was taller,” said Gilbertson.

In an Instagram , Gilbertson shared photos of the project. His findings were also posted on the website , but not yet published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

While the data suggests a new peak designation may be in order, the summit has not been officially declared a 鈥渘ew鈥� 14er by the Colorado Geological Survey, the state agency that approves the measurements of geographic features. So, technically, Colorado hasn鈥檛 named East Crestone the newest 14er. And experts don鈥檛 seem to be in a rush to do so.

 

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No Official Update or Designation Has Yet Been Made

Experts within Colorado’s 14er community aren’t entirely convinced that Gilbertson’s data should cause significant changes.

Lloyd Athearn, executive director of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that East Crestone is not necessarily a new 14er, but 鈥渏ust where the highest point is on Crestone Peak and what would be considered a subsidiary point.鈥�

鈥淭his is an interesting surveying effort, but not one that gives us a new 14er,鈥� said Athearn.

Vince Matthews, a retired director of the Colorado Geological Survey, said that regular refinements in the elevation of Colorado peaks have caused some changes over the years. Matthews said that there is a simmering disagreement about the height of the state’s highest peak, Mount Elbert. Some researchers believe the mountain is 4,438 feet high and not 14,440 feet, which was the elevation determined by a survey in the early 21st century. A prior survey pegged the mountain at 14,443 feet before that. In the early 1870s, Elbert’s elevation was measured to be 14,351 feet, Matthews said.

“Moreover, the federal agencies currently have a project at Mount Elbert to use the best, most up-to-date instruments, models, and analytic techniques to determine a precise elevation for its highest point,” said Matthews, adding that these results will be used throughout the U.S. to revise elevation datasets.

But to get on the Colorado Geological Survey’s official list, the peak must have gone through the USGS naming procedures and reside in the Geographic Names Information System.

Matthews also told 国产吃瓜黑料 that whether the latest recorded height of East Crestone would add it to the list of 14ers 鈥渄epends on whom you ask.鈥� He pointed out that multiple peaks rise above 14,000 feet in the so-called Crestone Cluster, a collection of pinnacles that includes Crestone Peak, including the 14,195-foot Crestone Needle, 14,165-foot Kit Carson Peak, and 14,070-foot Humboldt Peak.

鈥淎ll of the 鈥榩eaks鈥� in the Crestone Cluster exceed 14,000 feet in elevation,” Matthews said.

Other mountains in Colorado have multiple pinnacles that rise above 14,000 feet, but climbers agree that they are all part of the same mountain. “For instance, Mount Massive has about seven discrete, little topographic peaks, but only the highest is named,鈥� Matthews added.

Federal Agencies are Responsible for Designating Features

The USGS is responsible for naming and mapping geographic features in the country, while NOAA鈥檚 National Geodetic Survey (NGS) does the job of measuring them.

Matthews sent 国产吃瓜黑料 the 鈥渂est, most up-to-date鈥� list of summits above 14,000 feet compiled by the Colorado Geological Survey, according to information from the USGS and NGS. In it, there are 58 named peaks in Colorado exceeding 14,000 feet, many of which are cross-checked against USGS topographic maps and NGS satellite data.

The Colorado Mountain Club ultimately declares what is and is not a 14er to serve as a guide to peak baggers, says Matthews.

The discrepancy between the 58 named peaks and 53 14ers is due to the “” that the Colorado 14ers group follows. For a peak to qualify as a bona fide 14er, there must be at least a 300-foot drop in elevation between it and an adjacent peak above 14,000 feet. That’s why multiple high points on a ridge, for example, don’t count as individual 14ers.

鈥淚 suggest that the measuring and naming of peaks be left to the federal agencies responsible for those matters,” Matthews said.

In other words, if East Crestone is to someday replace Crestone Peak as a 14er, more rigorous, peer-reviewed research is needed to confirm Gilbertson’s findings. Having surveyed over 60 peaks around the world and climbed the highest peak in 147 countries, Gilbertson now plans to submit his findings to a scientific journal.

If East Crestone is to someday replace Crestone Peak as a 14er, Gilbertson doesn’t believe that the thousands of hikers to have ascended 53 14ers should have to go back and re-climb East Crestone.

鈥淲e would propose that anyone who has already completed the 14ers or another list, including Crestone, is grandfathered in and still considered a finisher. Moving forward, climbers should climb East Crestone to complete the ranked 14ers list and centennials list,鈥� he said.

The post New Data Suggests This Colorado Mountain Is a 14er. Not Everyone Is Convinced. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

For most of us, the first 鈥渨ild animal鈥� we meet doesn鈥檛 growl, forage, or maul salmon in a stream. It鈥檚 round, fuzzy, and named something like Mr. Snuggles. Before we ever hike a trail, we鈥檝e already hugged a bear.

That bond isn鈥檛 trivial. Before understanding ecosystems or conservation, we often form an emotional connection with plush versions of animals. They shape our earliest ideas of what nature is. And those impressions tend to stick.

Despite their reputation, teddy bears were born out of bloodsport and politics. Their origin story starts in 1902, on where President Theodore Roosevelt famously refused to shoot a cornered black bear. A cartoonist turned the moment into satire, a candy鈥憇hop owner turned the cartoon into a stuffed animal, and suddenly the rough鈥憆iding president had accidentally invented the world鈥檚 most huggable mascot.

Fast鈥慺orward a century, and scientists are now asking a question no one saw coming: Did 100听years of plush redesign turn the wild鈥檚 most feared predator into a comfort object鈥攁nd change how we think about nature itself?

From Predator to Plush鈥攖he Design Drift

A century after Roosevelt鈥檚 hunting trip, the teddy bear has gone on a complete evolutionary detour. In 2025, researchers led by ecologist Nicolas Mouquet published a study in that did something hilariously scientific: they treated teddy bears like a species. Using morphometrics鈥攁ctual measurements of body parts鈥攖hey analyzed 436 plush bears and compared them to 11 real species.

The result? Teddy bears don鈥檛 just differ from real bears. They orbit a different aesthetic galaxy. As the researchers put it, 鈥淭he cutest teddy bears are located in the upper right of the principal component analysis鈥� characterized by large chests, juvenile muzzles鈥� homogeneous coloration and long front legs.鈥�

That 鈥渦pper right quadrant鈥� of the chart might as well be called the Teddy Bear Cutetron. If real bears lived there, they鈥檇 have three-inch legs, moon-pie faces, and pastel fur. Spoiler: none of them do. Even pandas鈥攑oster child of adorableness鈥攄on鈥檛 match the plush ideal.

Why do these design tweaks work so well? They tap into what ethologists call the , or 鈥渂aby schema,” a bundle of traits like big eyes, oversized heads, and round faces that humans instinctively find cute because they remind us of babies. In nature, those cues help us care for infants. In plush design, they鈥檙e cranked up to guarantee we care for polyester ones. But cuteness alone doesn鈥檛 explain why so many of us still have a childhood bear tucked away in a closet鈥攐r why losing one can feel like a small emotional crisis. There鈥檚 more going on than button eyes and baby-face math. It turns out, teddy bears don鈥檛 just look sweet. We believe they feel something, too.

The Psychology of Attachment: Why Your Teddy Bear Felt So Real

In his 1953 paper, 鈥�,鈥� psychologist Donald Winnicott referred to teddy bears as 鈥渢ransitional objects鈥濃�攃omfort items that help children navigate the uncertain space between themselves and the world. A bear, a blanket, a ragged bunny: they鈥檙e not just toys, they鈥檙e emotional life rafts.

And here鈥檚 where the connection deepens. Children don鈥檛 just cling to teddy bears; they animate them. In a by researchers at the University of Bath, children were significantly more likely to attribute thoughts and feelings to their own cherished toy than to other familiar toys. Mr. Snuggles isn鈥檛 just soft鈥攈e鈥檚 sentient.

There鈥檚 a recipe behind that illusion. Make something soft and face-having, and the human brain will happily anthropomorphize it. A published in the Journal of Cognition and Development added another layer: children often prefer their original, unique teddy over an identical replica. Ownership, combined with history, makes the bond feel irreplaceable.

That鈥檚 what makes the teddy bear so powerful鈥攁nd so quietly risky. When your first animal is soft, silent, and always within reach, it鈥檚 easy to forget that real nature is louder, messier, and not always comforting. For more and more kids, that plush ambassador isn鈥檛 just the first creature they connect with鈥攊t may be the only one.

Nature, Replaced a.k.a. the 鈥淓xtinction of Experience鈥�

Childhood used to come with mud, bugs, and scraped knees. Now, for many, it鈥檚 more screen time than stream time. In their influential Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, ecologists Masashi Soga and Kevin Gaston coined the term 鈥渆xtinction of experience鈥� to describe the progressive loss of direct human contact with nature.

When forests, streams, and critters fade from childhood, something else takes their place: symbolic wildlife. Emotional templates for nature are increasingly composed of stuffed animals, cartoons, and viral pet videos. As the authors warn, 鈥淎s direct contact with biodiversity fades, symbolic representations gain power.鈥�

But when our stand-ins for nature are this far removed from reality, the connection begins to blur. The average toy bear looks more like an animated sidekick than a grizzly. So what happens when your first bear is plush, purple, and named Cupcake? The emotional bridge may feel real鈥攂ut it leads you to a synthetic wilderness. However, it may still work. Cuteness pulls us in, makes us care, and it鈥檚 been steering our instincts for a long time.

Cute Is Powerful鈥擝ut Also Biased

Let鈥檚 be fair: cuteness works. It sparks empathy and creates protective instincts. That鈥檚 why panda mascots rake in donations and why campaigns to 鈥渟ave the seals鈥� feature big-eyed pups instead of, say, mussels. Plush versions do the same job at home鈥攈ooking us emotionally before we know anything about ecosystems.

The reality is that our care isn鈥檛 evenly distributed. We care about what鈥檚 cute, not what鈥檚 ecologically vital. Conservation groups know it. Toy companies know it. Scientists are now starting to warn about the potential side effects. As one recent put it, 鈥淚f the bear that comforts a child looks nothing like a real bear, the emotional bridge it builds may lead away from, rather than toward, true biodiversity.鈥�

That disconnect matters because the teddy bear has become more than a bedtime buddy. As scholar Donna Varga describes in her essay “Teddy Bear Culture: Childhood Innocence and the Desire for Adult Redemption,” it is now a 鈥済lobal ambassador of comfort.鈥� That鈥檚 a lot of weight for something stuffed with fluff.

The risk? We may be raising generations whose emotional connections are to animals that don鈥檛 exist outside the plush aisle. Great for sales. Not so great for biodiversity. The teddy bear isn鈥檛 going anywhere. However, if it鈥檚 going to continue representing nature, it may need a bit of a redesign.

So What Do We Do, Besides Cry into a Build-a-Bear?

Researchers behind the study suggest a simple solution: diversify the plush aisle. A little less pastel, a little more ecological truth. Bigger paws, shaggier fur, maybe even the occasional rough edge. If we want kids to care about the full spectrum of biodiversity, the toys that introduce them to 鈥渨ildness鈥� shouldn鈥檛 all look like they鈥檙e straight out of a Saturday-morning cartoon.

The conservation world offers a useful parallel. Campaigns mix emotion with facts: a panda poster paired with habitat stats, a dolphin calendar paired with data on overfishing. Why not do the same with toys? Pair the plush with field trips, storybooks, or classroom lessons that link the stuffed animal to the real one. Educators are already experimenting with storytelling that blends cuteness with biology鈥攁nd it works.

This isn鈥檛 about rejecting comfort. It鈥檚 about recalibrating the connection. If we want kids to carry their love of nature beyond the toy box, maybe the first bear they hug should look a little more like the one they鈥檒l never meet in the woods.

The post Rethinking an American Mascot: Why New Research Says the Teddy Bear Needs a Facelift appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Chuck Norris may be in his golden years, but he isn鈥檛 over the hill just yet. In fact, he鈥檚 on top of it.

The famed听American star of Walker, Texas Ranger and Delta Force fame, celebrated his 85th birthday in classic form鈥攂y climbing California’s Lassen Peak, a summit of 10,457 feet.

“What a day! I had the pleasure of hiking Lassen Peak once again. While it was heartbreaking to see the damage left behind by the 2021 Dixie Fire, the park鈥檚 beauty still shines through. Walking those trails brought back so many wonderful memories,鈥� Norris wrote on . 鈥淢y wife grew up around these parts, and I鈥檒l always be grateful she introduced me to such magnificent sights.鈥�

 

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Located in northern California, Lassen is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range. It most recently erupted multiple times between 1914 and 1917, which led to the establishment of the surrounding Lassen National Park. Along with听Mount听Saint Helens, Lassen is the only volcano in the continental U.S. that has erupted during the 20th century.

Although it is only 10,400 feet high, Lassen is actually one of the most extensive lava, or plug, dome volcanoes on the planet. Dome volcanoes are formed from very slow, gradual eruptions of highly viscous, thick lava. Unlike other forms of volcanoes, where lava flows freely and quickly away from the vent, a dome volcano鈥檚 thick lava moves so slowly that it piles up and solidifies over and around its vent. This gives the resulting summit a distinctive 鈥渕ound-shaped鈥� appearance.

The National Park Service to Lassen鈥檚 summit 鈥渟trenuous鈥� and estimates that the trail takes four to five hours round-trip. It covers five miles and features approximately 2,000 feet of vertical gain, with hazards including lingering snow cover, sun exposure, altitude, and unpredictable weather.

All in all, no small feat for a guy halfway through his ninth decade. Then again, it鈥檚 Chuck Norris we鈥檙e talking about鈥�

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The battle of the chonk is back, and Alaska’s Fat Bear Week is officially in full swing.

Hundreds of thousands of fish have returned to the salmon runs of Alaska鈥檚 Katmai National Park and Preserve to spawn, and with them, the fat bears. For weeks now, the region鈥檚 brown bears have been gorging on salmon in the Brooks River, packing on the pounds as they compete for the title of fattest bear鈥攁n honor that comes with social media fame.

Fat Bear Week, a March Madness-style contest that pits a dozen of the state鈥檚 beloved brown bears against one another in single-elimination brackets, is now in its eleventh year. Over that time, it has grown from a cheeky one-day event created by a former park ranger to a global sensation, with thousands of people from around the world monitoring the live camera streams beaming out the bears from the Brooks River and Brook Falls.

More than one million people voted in last year鈥檚 contest for the bear they thought had succeeded in putting on the most weight鈥攇enerally a best guess from before and after images since there is no final weigh-in. This year鈥檚 ursine champion will be crowned on September 30.

Salmon numbers along the Brooks River are especially high this year, organizers say, surpassing anything seen in recent memory. With the bears already displaying an impressive heft, the National Park Service and decided to kick things off a few weeks ahead of the contest鈥檚 usual October timing.

Although around 100 bears arrive at Brooks River every year to fatten up, only 11 are featured in the 2025 Fat Bear Week. A few fan favorites have already returned to the limelight, including 2023 and 2024 winner Grazer鈥攖he first mother bear to ever win the contest who is now raising her third litter.

Last year鈥檚 1,200-pound runner-up, Chunk, is also back. He turned up to the river in June with a broken jaw, suggesting he had been injured in a fight with another bear. That might make him less competitive this year, but so far, park staff say he has adjusted his behavior to avoid other large males, and learned to eat salmon without the full use of his mandible.

Notably absent is Otis,听a four-time winner famous for his fishing strategy of patiently sitting on the shore of the Brooks River to scoop up fish, rather than hunting in the water. But Otis is鈥攐r was鈥攏earing the age of 30, the end of a bear鈥檚 lifespan in the wild. He also failed to turn up to Brooks River last year, causing rangers to speculate he may have already passed.

Still, there are plenty of chubby newcomers in the mix this year, ranging from young males to single females battling for the bulge.

Vying for the honor of being named the chonkiest bear is about much more than stardom for these bruins. Fat means survival. And in this arena, Katmai鈥檚 bears are better at bulking up than almost anyone else.

Why Bears Feast Every Fall

When the bears arrive at Alaska鈥檚 salmon springs in early August, they are entering a physiological state known by scientists as 鈥攁 frenzied period of gathering food and gorging before the long, cold winter arrives. Scarfing down as many calories as possible allows the bears to survive hibernation when they won鈥檛 eat for months.

Many species like to load up on calories when food is plentiful in the late summer and early fall. It鈥檚 what drives squirrels to collect nuts and urban black bears to rummage through garbage with increased vigor.

鈥淪ome animals store food as food, like squirrels and chipmunks and pikas. But others store it as fat. And that鈥檚 what bears are specialized to do,鈥� says bear biologist , who has spent more than 40 years studying grizzlies in British Columbia. “They鈥檝e got to make hay when the sun shines. A bear can store a season of abundant food in fat.鈥�

In Alaska, though, everything is ramped up a notch.

鈥淏ears on salmon streams have that enormous pulse of energy and protein that indeed allows them to max out their intake and fat storage capability,鈥� says , director of research at Washington State University鈥檚 Bear Center, who studies the nutritional requirements of bears.

While Kodiak brown bears and polar bears are larger than Katmai鈥檚 brown bears, bear in the park听gain the most weight proportionally in a concentrated period of time. During the peak of the salmon runs, a single bear will eat between 10 and 40 salmon per day, or about 112 pounds of salmon, explains Robbins. That would be equivalent to a human consuming around 30 pounds of salmon every day.

An adult male bear can therefore easily go from around 700 pounds at the start of the fishing season to toppling more than 1,200 pounds.

Part of the appeal of Fat Bear Week is that its contestants are roughly on equal footing. There are no men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 finals to split up the bruins. Male bears are nearly twice the size of females, but both can rapidly balloon up from their individual starting weights.

Over the past decade, three winners have been female鈥擥razer, Beadnose,听and Holly鈥攁nd two have been male鈥擮tis and 747.

鈥淎ll brown bears try to max out their intake and weight gain in the fall,鈥� says Robbins. 鈥淭his is driven evolutionarily by the fact that the largest males do most of the breeding, and the fattest females have the highest probability of producing surviving cubs.鈥�

Still, some female bears can hit the glass ceiling of Alaska鈥檚 salmon streams, missing out on the best fishing positions. Past research has found that females with cubs due to the risk of an aggressive male bear killing her young. In turn, those females tend to be significantly lighter and have a harder time in winter.

鈥淭he big dominant males hog the best sites,鈥� says McLellan. 鈥淪ometimes you鈥檙e watching them and you get mad at these guys because they are so fat, and catching so many fish, and the moms with cubs are having a hard time getting enough.鈥�

During Hibernation, Bears Lose Up To 40 Percent of Their Body Weight

Following the blubber blowout, Alaska鈥檚 fat bears will retreat from the spotlight to their winter dens, tucked into hillsides or under hollowed-out trees of Katmai. Here, they鈥檒l enter a deep, sleep-like state that runs from around late October to April.

During hibernation, bears lose an enormous amount of body weight. The bear鈥檚 heart rate drops. Its metabolic rate slows. It takes just one breath every minute. The bear does not eat, drink or defecate during this time. To sustain itself, the animal burns off stored fat. Its body recycles urea and other nitrogenous wastes into proteins to stave off muscle loss. By the end of hibernation, the bruin will have lost nearly a third of its body weight, without sacrificing muscle or bone density鈥攁 feat not possible in most other species.

Expectant females will wake around January or February to give birth in the den, caring for the cubs until they emerge later in spring for the green-up. Female bears experience a unique reproductive phenomenon known as “delayed implantation.” After mating, the fertilized embryo remains dormant and will only implant on the female鈥檚 uterine wall once she has accumulated enough body fat, about 20 percent, to get her and the pregnancy through hibernation and the cub-rearing stage.

If she doesn鈥檛 gain enough weight, her body reabsorbs the embryo. This allows for natural crowd control during bad food years.

鈥淔atter females produce cubs earlier and they produce either more milk or better quality milk,鈥� says Robbins. 鈥淭he combination of these two things means that cubs born to fatter females have longer to grow in the den before they emerge, they grow faster, and therefore they are larger when they come out of the den and are better able to stay with their mother.鈥�

Coming out of the den bigger and fatter than other bears also makes spring foraging easier, says McLellan, because the bears can stick closer to home.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 often the time when males kill cubs,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f females can stay in a remote basin and not eat much through May and June, then her cubs will do well. But if she鈥檚 skinny and she has to go down where the food is best, then she takes the risk that others might kill her cubs.鈥�

Can’t get enough of fat bears? An听excellent way to pick your bear for each day of the bracket is to try to figure out which one speaks to you the most鈥攖he real you, if you were a bear lucky enough to live in the salmon-rich waters of Katmai. We鈥檝e made that process easier by building a quiz to help you determine your match.

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Two hikers fell to their deaths in separate events at different popular wilderness areas in late August. The tragedies prompted rescuers to reiterate the importance of practicing safety on both technical and non-technical hiking trails.

After motor vehicle deaths and drownings, falls鈥攗sually while hiking鈥攁re the in U.S. National Parks. Incidents like these highlight the importance of both hiking within one’s physical limits and staying on established trails.

On August 27, a 73-year-old woman fell from the Highline Trail in Montana鈥檚 Glacier National Park, according to the National Park Service. She was hiking with a large group between the Big Bend and Triple Arches formations when she stumbled and slipped off the side of the path, out of sight of her companions. Rescuers found her body 450 feet below the edge of the trail.

The accident marks the second major accident involving a fall in Glacier this year. In July, three hikers in the park were rescued after falling into a gorge while trying to take a selfie, two of whom were revived with CPR.

Two days after the tragedy in Glacier National Park,听a 24-year-old man fell 40 feet from the top of Whittleton Arch, a sandstone formation located in听Kentucky鈥檚 Red River Gorge.

鈥淲hile alert and oriented, it became readily apparent the patient鈥檚 condition was critical,鈥� the responding outfit, Powell County Search and Rescue, posted on . Though the hiker was successfully evacuated to a local hospital, he later died from his injuries. Officials did not release the man’s identity.

The same unit responded on September 1 to another hiker who had fallen 15 feet at the base of a large sandstone formation known as Gray鈥檚 Arch. The hiker was safely evacuated after being found with 鈥渁 laceration on his head, arm, and potentially a sprained ankle.鈥�

The incidents prompted Powell County Search and Rescue to post a warning to hikers on its Facebook page.

鈥淲hat may usually be a simple slip can be life-threatening when at height. Stay vigilant of the ground around you and be sure to always stay a safe distance from the edge!鈥� the SAR team wrote.

In addition to proper planning and packing, the NPS notes in its 鈥溾�� tips that it鈥檚 crucial for hikers not to overestimate their abilities and experience level when embarking on outdoor adventures. Elevation and climate are just two factors that can dramatically change a hiking experience. A five-mile hike at sea level, for instance, is quite different from a five-mile hike at 9,000 feet.

When considering whether to venture into an area, NPS hikers to ask themselves the following questions:

• What is my experience level with hiking? Do I go hiking often or is this my first time hitting the trails?
• How much equipment, food, and water (weight) can I comfortably carry in a backpack? How long can I carry a backpack with all the essentials?
• Am I physically fit for the hike I would like to do? Have I practiced hiking up and down steep hills or am I more comfortable on flat, paved paths?
• Have I ever hiked in this type of environment before? Environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity take time to get used to, especially if you live in a different environment from the park you are visiting.
• Am I able to go to higher elevations? More effort is required to hike at higher elevations due to the reduced amount of oxygen available in the air. Remember that at 8,000 feet you are at risk of altitude illness, a potentially life-threatening condition. If you don鈥檛 know, ask your healthcare provider.
• Am I hiking alone or do I plan to bring a friend? It is safer to hike with a companion, but if you prefer go solo, take extra measures to ensure that you are prepared since you will be traveling alone

The NPS also recommends setting a gentle pace to avoid exhaustion that could cause stumbles and falls. If you can鈥檛 talk to your companions while you鈥檙e hiking, you鈥檙e probably moving too fast.

The post In Separate Events, Two U.S. Hikers Fall to Their Deaths appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Happiness is best when it鈥檚 shared, and as any dog parent knows, outdoor exploration is exponentially enhanced when our furry best friend is along for the ride鈥攐r run, bike, hike, ski, any outdoor activity, really. that people with pets are more likely to spend more time outdoors, exercise more frequently, and generally feel happier than those without pets. In the spirit of International Dog Day, which is celebrated on August 26,听国产吃瓜黑料 team members share听their most incredible outdoor adventures alongside their canine companions.

The Time My Good Boy Helped My Now-Husband Propose

We鈥檇 just hauled heavy backpacks up five miles of trail听to San Leonardo Lake in northern New Mexico. The birds were chirping, the alpine lake glittered beneath the setting sun, and I was hangry, tired, and generally grumpy as I fumbled to set up my backpacking stove.

鈥淏abe, I think Squeaker has something for you,鈥� my husband called from across the campsite. 鈥淗ang on,鈥� I snapped, laser-focused on getting dinner cooking. Then, I glanced down and saw a small box hanging from one of my dogs鈥� collars. I struggled to untie it, and when I looked up again, my now-husband was down on one knee.

Needless to say, I said yes, and now, after a wedding and two kids later, my husband knows never to leave the house without plenty of snacks to ward off my hangry side. 鈥擜bigail Wise, brand director

Brodie鈥� on The Bruce!

Dalmatians have incredible endurance鈥攖hey are the Arabian horse of dog breeds, known for their never-ending energy and stamina. The Bruce Trail, a roughly 558-mile trail on the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario, is literally in our backyard, and Brodie loved long hikes along this scenic trek. Limestone rocks, cedar roots, mud, and stream crossings were all part of the adventure.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, we signed Brodie up for the fundraising event Woof Walk, where he quickly completed his target of 310 miles. His favorite spot was a wooden bench where he鈥檇 stop and take in the scents of the forest and, of course, some well-earned snacks. Hiking was fun, but getting to the trailhead was just as enjoyable. He loved rides in our Volkswagen Westfalia Camper Van! Brodie has since gone to the Rainbow Bridge, but his presence continues to be with us when we head out on The Bruce and every International Dog Day. 鈥擫indsey Ryder, FinisherPix operations manager

The Best Campsite I鈥檝e Ever Had, According to My Dogs

It was the summer in which my second pup was finally old enough to keep up on real trail miles, and I headed for Sun Valley. By some miracle on the July 4th weekend, I found a lakeside campsite in the Sawtooth Mountains in central Idaho with no one else around. Wildflowers spilled across the meadows, the dogs bounded ahead on the trail and drank from streams, and we hiked until their tongues lolled and their paws dragged with that satisfying, bone-deep exhaustion only a good day outside can give.

Back at camp, we swam, built a fire, and watched the light drain off the peaks. With no cell service, my two spoiled house pets immediately rebranded themselves as wild animals鈥攕niffing, digging, howling at the moon, and rolling in whatever smelled the worst. At one point, they looked so wolfy that I half-expected them to take off and never return, but by nightfall, they were snoring in my sleeping bag like the well-groomed suburban pups they are. But honestly, I felt a little feral out there too: no screens, no people, just trails, a dirty body, and two tired dogs. 鈥擲ierra Shafer, lifestyle editorial director

Ruka and the Whale

Ruka Bleau was my soul dog, and over the course of our 17 years together, we summited peaks, visited dozens of national parks, rafted whitewater, and cast our fair share of flies. Though Ruka did everything in his power to keep me happy, his blue merle border collie brain had an affinity for rolling in anything dead, decaying, or otherwise putrid. In 2015, Ruka and I donned our overstuffed backpacks for a 25-mile trek along Northern California鈥檚 .

At one point, Ruka bolted ahead of our girl-team trio to bound headfirst into a small lagoon filled with a bloated whale carcass. We did our best to scrub away the stink, but it鈥檚 safe to say we smelled like a beached whale for days to come. Ruka crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2023, but his spirit lives on in my two menacing Australian Shepherds, Cholla and Poppy. Ruka reminds us every year to celebrate International Dog Day to the fullest. 鈥擬adison Dapcevich, associate editor

That Time I Took My 60-Pound Dog to Europe

My family and friends thought I was more than a little crazy when I announced my husband and I were moving to Europe, with our 60-pound puppy in tow. Hazelnut, a Great Pyrenees and German Shepherd rescue, quickly realized that life across the Atlantic is a pup’s paradise. Welcome everywhere, from restaurants to museums, she pranced her way across six countries.

While she loved eating calamari in Venice and checking out Christmas markets in Austria, her favorite memories鈥攍ike her mom’s鈥攚ere those that involved outdoor adventures. She did snow zoomies on the cross-country trails under the Matterhorn, hiked between the villages of Italy’s Cinque Terre, and learned to swim in the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic Sea. Now that we’re back in America, she’s wondering what’s up with all these “no dogs allowed” signs. 鈥擬ikaela Ruland, editor-in-chief of National Park Trips

Born to be a Power Hound

We brought Oakley home in mid-March, at eight weeks old, which, in听Colorado, still meant听snow season. He showed zero hesitation when we took him to play after a storm and immediately displayed a love for the white fluff. This got me excited to take him on a few light backcountry tours to share my favorite activity when he鈥檇 be old enough the following winter. After a full year of training, including a significant amount of recall work, it was time.

Oakley broke trail to the top like he鈥檇 done it before, and was a powder rocket on the way down, tongue out and tail wagging the whole way. Every few turns on the first run, I looked back to see unbridled puppy joy chasing me鈥攎y wife close behind, keeping an eye on him鈥攗ntil we got to the bottom. That first day out is still my favorite.

Oakley does most activities with us, but splitboarding seems to be his favorite. Conditions don鈥檛 matter to him; he鈥檚 just pumped there鈥檚 snow on the ground. We鈥檙e always careful with the areas and routes we choose when taking our dog into the backcountry, and keep him close by to our skin track when heading uphill.
鈥擜dam Trenkamp, lab test editor

Let Dogs Be Dogs

We adopted Cameron from a family who needed to give him up, but he had been a pound puppy before then. A bit shy, but sweet as could be, we noticed he didn鈥檛 participate in a lot of the 鈥渄og stuff鈥� other dogs do鈥攏o toys, hesitant to play chase, didn鈥檛 hang his head out the window in the car.

One weekend, we took him along on a hike to our favorite place: Crater Lakes here in Colorado. We went at his pace so he could take in all the new sights and smells as we wound along the path. We let him sniff around as we set up camp among the conifers and wildflowers.

Suddenly, he started barrelling through the blooming flowers, just running as fast as he could with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth! It was the first time we got to see him truly be a dog, and it brought us immense joy. At 12 years old now, Cam doesn鈥檛 barrel through the wildflowers anymore, but he still loves to snuggle up in the tent next to a lake. 鈥擩en Woodson, engineer

Built for Brunch

Hike a mountain or chill by the lake? Our French Bulldog doesn鈥檛 even pretend to struggle with that choice, especially on International Dog Day. He has a body built for brunch and the personality to match. This little guy is an excellent reminder for us that any time spent outside is time well spent, and it doesn’t always need to be an epic adventure for it to be memorable. 鈥擜lan Crisp, VP business development

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This year, experts predict 21 states across North America will experience the most vibrant fall foliage, making these the top stops for leaf peeping in the coming months.

Most states will begin to experience fall foliage around mid-September through early November. Those located in the northern and midwestern U.S. states can expect to see fall foliage by late September, according to . Areas in New England, the Pacific Northwest, and the Blue Ridge Mountains will see peak foliage by mid-October.

When tree leaves change color depends on the latitude in which they鈥檙e located. As the days get shorter and temperatures cooler, trees slow their growth and production of the green pigment chlorophyll, shifting foliage from shades of green to deep hues of red, orange and yellow.

September 22 marks this year鈥檚 Autumnal equinox, when the Earth鈥檚 equator is directly aligned with the sun鈥攐ne of just two days each year with roughly equal amounts of daylight and darkness.

The Best Places to Leaf-Peep This Fall

According to the Almanac, these are the top 21 places you can see fall foliage this year:

1. Acadia National Park, Maine
2. Ozark Mountains, Arkansas
3. Adirondack and Catskill Mountains, New York
4. Traverse City, Michigan
5. Black Hills, South Dakota
6. Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia and North Carolina
7. Kancamagus Highway, White Mountains, New Hampshire
8. Pere Marquette State Park, Illinois
9. Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
10. Jackson, Wyoming
11. Connecticut River Valley, Connecticut
12. Logan Canyon Scenic Byway, Utah
13. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
14. Buckhorn Lake State Park, Kentucky
15. Vogel State Park and Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia
16. Door County, Wisconsin
17. Poconos, Pennsylvania
18. Green Mountain Byway, Vermont
19. Gatlinburg & Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
20. The Berkshires, Massachusetts
21. Taos, New Mexico

A time-lapse map showing predicted peak foliage of these areas and more can be viewed .

Since 1792, The Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac has predicted weather forecasts, calculated tides, and compiled sunrise and sunset times. Forecasters at the Almanac听compile their fall foliage predictions based on reports by readers. Though the publication claims 80 percent accuracy, others suggest they are only .

Regardless, foliage peepers say it鈥檚 best to visit these places when the weather is calm, as rain can make trees look soggy and wind can cause trees to prematurely lose their brightly hued leaves. Not all trees change color, so be sure to visit areas rich in broad-leaf deciduous trees, or those that shed their leaves annually, such as oak, birch and beech trees.

If you want to scout out the fall foliage ahead of visiting in person, the webcam site has dozens of livestream views of fall foliage across North America, from Sitka, Alaska, to Rising Fawn, Georgia.

The post Expect Peak Leaf Peeping This Fall in These 21 States, According to the Farmer鈥檚 Almanac appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.