Wilderness Break

I've stumbled upon two lovely short videos about possibly my favorite place in the world: the Sierra Nevada of California, the mountains that shaped my childhood and began my love for the wilderness and for camping.  One is a trailer for a film about the John Muir Trail (Yosemite to Mt. Whitney, over 200 miles).  The second is a timelapse of Yosemite Valley.  They filled my heart with joy this morning, so I wanted to share them.  Watch them on full screen.

Almost There - The Muir Project from The Muir Project on Vimeo.

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Link Day

Almost everyone (including hipsters) derides Thought Catalog for being a den of hipster iniquity, but they do some really great stuff over there.  So I don't care, I'll like it all the same.  Check out this piece by Stephanie Georgopulos called "Who You Used To Be."  And in lighter fare (maybe), Brad Pike's "Dumb Day."  I think every day for the past month has been one for me.

In much more serious news, a crowd of prospective students trying to get into University of Johannesburg in South Africa trampled a student's mother to death and injured others.  There were several thousand students and parents waiting outside the school to register for a few hundred final spots, and the crush at the gates had tragic results. The NYT coverage is here.  This story just broke my heart and is so indicative of the difficult place in which South Africa is currently situated--politically, socially, and economically.

California is set to close seventy state parks in July of this year.  What a huge shame.  As always, environmental issues get short shrift in budget negotiations: environmentalists' hands are tied and must vote Democrat, and Republicans, generally, just don't give a shit.  Furthermore, 20% of state rangers and all seasonal lifeguards will be laid off.  It's clear that the California governmental system is broken.  Outside Magazine has more information, including the video below.  It's a trailer/short film for The First 70 by Heath Hen Films, which recently reached surpassed its goal on Kickstarter (awesome idea, BTW) of raising $35K to complete a film about the seventy parks and the effect of the closures on communities.  The three-minute version below is awesome.




In breaking and important news, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's new baby, Blue Ivy Carter has, among other things, a $600,000 gold rocking horse.  I know that gossip blogs are not bastions of journalistic integrity (though who is, anymore?) but D-Listed has the story (warning: D-Listed is not 100% safe for work or sensitive eyes.  Never stopped me though).  I am disgusted with everyone.  Additionally, you can kill me with fire for (1) knowing the name of Jay-Z and Beyoncé's baby, (2) caring about any of this, and (3) forcing you, dear reader, to look at it.

Finally, via Belle, Japan-born and SF-based Toshio Hirano, who has a serious jones for some old-school folk-country-bluegrass Americana.  I feel you, sir.  And I'll look out for you next time at HSB.  Below, he sings Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'."  Want more?  Check out his incredible version of Jimmie Rodgers' "Peach-Pickin' Time in Georgia."

Spirit Bears, Tar Sands, and Conservation

SPOIL from EP Films on Vimeo.

The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival took place two weekends ago.  The film Spoil took home the prize for Best Film - Mountain Environment.  This documentary is an advocacy piece for the conservation of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, which is currently threatened by plans for a tar sands oil pipeline that would put massive oil tankers off the coast.  The film is under forty-five minutes and well worth a look--in the time it takes to kill your brain with The X Factor or Glee (guilty on both counts, don't you worry), you could learn a little something about tar sands and the Great Bear Rainforest, listen to some nice music, and drool over incredible nature footage. 

The film follows the efforts of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) as they put together an environmental campaign to stop the tar sands plans.  Along the way, you'll see the lengths to which nature and wildlife photographers will go for that perfect shot--including tromping around (respectfully) in bear country, dodging spawning salmon, and braving jellyfish stings to the face.  There are otters, bears (my favorite animal), wolves, whales and plenty of gorgeous forest and ocean shots.  It's worth a watch for the natural eye candy alone--put it in full screen for the best effect.

The film also discusses the importance of the area to the Gitga' First Nation, whose members guide the iLCP photographers and take a few nice photos along the way as well.  The Gitga Nation opposes the oil pipeline, which endangers their livelihood.  The coastal waters through which the supertankers must navigate are treacherous.  In one poignant scene, the director chose to compare maps between the "relatively easy" route of the Exxon Valdez and the proposed channel for the new tar sands pipeline, which requires five angled turns to the Exxon Valdez's one.  We all know how that story turned out--and these new supertankers will carry almost ten times as much oil.  Tar sands extraction is also extremely damaging to the environment.  Of course, big bucks are at stake--this project is meant for foreign export, mostly to China.  The discussion of this BC oil proposal makes the Keystone XL Pipeline, a joint Canadian-American project currently on hold (thanks for something, Obama!) look like an even stupider idea.  An oil spill in this area, or in any area, would be catastrophic, as we have seen only too recently. 

It becomes clear over the course of the film that the real star of Spoil, however, is the Spirit Bear--a black bear with a recessive gene that turns its coat white.  Spirit Bears are important to the Gitga' and a tourist attraction for the adventure travel crowd.  National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen heads out with local guide Marven Robinson, who has been around bears for many years and knows some of them from when they were cubs.  After twelve days of searching, they come across a white bear, who passes within two feet of them.  Nicklen described how close they came: "You could smell his breath, you could look into his eyes."  In the end, it is this moving encounter (yeah, I cried a little bit) that gives the greatest argument for protecting and conserving this unique area. 



If you're interested, you can see National Geographic's coverage from its August issue: Spirit Bears, Paul Nicklen's photos, and more on the BC tar sands project.  If you can't see the film at the top, you can go here.  If you think you'll dig the films from Banff, check out their awards page for more films or the schedule for their world tour.  And if you'd like to get involved, visit PacificWild.org.