5.14.2010
5.12.2010
Groovin' in the high country
Recently noticed a good story by R. Scott Rappold at the Colorado Springs Gazette about the growing problem of human waste from backpackers in the Colorado high country. He writes that:
"The Conundrum Hot Springs near Aspen is among Colorado’s most magnificent natural wonders — warm pools near timberline, surrounded by the jagged peaks of the spectacular Elk Mountains, reached only by a nine-mile hike into the wilderness.
"But the springs are also nine miles from the nearest bathroom and, until last summer, most of the 2,000 backpackers who visited the springs each year were relieving themselves anywhere.
"'Our biggest issue in there is pretty much human waste. Unburied human waste and toilet paper were evident at 71 percent of (camp) sites,' said Martha Moran, a recreation manager with the White River National Forest.
"The waste was washing into the very springs people were swimming in, resulting in high fecal coliform levels in the water."
Yes, it seems that it is well past time for backpackers to adopt the same standards as river-runners and to acknowledge that if too many well-meaning people camp in the same places, then they are going to have to use a portable waste system. On the river, those systems are called "groovers." In the backcountry it seems that campers are going to have to be prepared to use the many available lightweight products - bags with gel, mostly - for packing out their own waste.
Most backpackers go into the backcountry with high standards and ethics. Now, if they are going to popular destinations like Conundrum Hot Springs, they need to go in with groover bags too.
It's kind of weird, but many otherwise sophisticated people, who are now even used to picking up after their dogs, won't be able to handle the thought of managing their own waste in a way that is considerate of other campers. On long river trips, as people began to break things down to their elementary level, the state of the groover generally becomes a humorous source of fireside obsession and conversation.
With time, people might gradually grow up and deal with their own waste in the backcountry in an enlightened fashion. In the meantime, it sure is something to think about while soaking in the less-than-pristine hot springs.
"The Conundrum Hot Springs near Aspen is among Colorado’s most magnificent natural wonders — warm pools near timberline, surrounded by the jagged peaks of the spectacular Elk Mountains, reached only by a nine-mile hike into the wilderness.
"But the springs are also nine miles from the nearest bathroom and, until last summer, most of the 2,000 backpackers who visited the springs each year were relieving themselves anywhere.
"'Our biggest issue in there is pretty much human waste. Unburied human waste and toilet paper were evident at 71 percent of (camp) sites,' said Martha Moran, a recreation manager with the White River National Forest.
"The waste was washing into the very springs people were swimming in, resulting in high fecal coliform levels in the water."
Yes, it seems that it is well past time for backpackers to adopt the same standards as river-runners and to acknowledge that if too many well-meaning people camp in the same places, then they are going to have to use a portable waste system. On the river, those systems are called "groovers." In the backcountry it seems that campers are going to have to be prepared to use the many available lightweight products - bags with gel, mostly - for packing out their own waste.
Most backpackers go into the backcountry with high standards and ethics. Now, if they are going to popular destinations like Conundrum Hot Springs, they need to go in with groover bags too.
It's kind of weird, but many otherwise sophisticated people, who are now even used to picking up after their dogs, won't be able to handle the thought of managing their own waste in a way that is considerate of other campers. On long river trips, as people began to break things down to their elementary level, the state of the groover generally becomes a humorous source of fireside obsession and conversation.
With time, people might gradually grow up and deal with their own waste in the backcountry in an enlightened fashion. In the meantime, it sure is something to think about while soaking in the less-than-pristine hot springs.
5.07.2010
Gathering for Ideas
It's almost time once again for the annual gathering that is the Aspen Ideas Festival.
A partial list of those planning to attend this summer was released this week and it's possible to group the speakers into several categories.
While we're glad everyone on the list is coming to Aspen, the first group might be called by some “Surely You Have More Important Things To Do Than Come to Aspen, Even If It Is Fourth-of-July Week.”
In this group, you'll find Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the chief of staff of the United States Army, Eric Holder, the attorney general of the United States, Peter Orszag, the director of White House Office of Management and Budget, and James Steinberg, a US Deputy Secretary of State.
Another group this year kind of sticks out. The Aspen Institute, which puts on the event, seems to have to invited more red-blooded Republicans than in years past.
This category of attendees could be called “Least Likely to Normally Be Found Relaxing In The Democratic Outpost That is Aspen.”
The group includes Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, Fred Barnes, the executive editor of The Weekly Standard and host of Fox News’s “Beltway Boys,” Thomas Donohue, the president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, and Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee.
The third group includes "Media Heavyweights on Vacation." It's a long list, and includes Bob Schieffer, the moderator of “Face The Nation” and chief Washington correspondent for CBS News, Martha Raddatz, a senior foreign affairs correspondent for ABC News, Tavis Smiley, the host of PRI’s “The Tavis Smiley Show,” David Sanger, the chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times, Kai Ryssdal, the host of American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” and Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a foreign correspondent with National Public Radio.
It also includes Tom Friedman, a columnist for The New York Times, E.J. Dionne Jr., a columnist for The Washington Post, Elisabeth Bumiller, the pentagon correspondent for The New York Times, Maria Bartiromo, the anchor of CNBC’s “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo,” Peggy Noonan, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Tom Gjelten, the national security and intelligence correspondent for NPR, and Andrea Mitchell, the chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News and the host of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports."
And the media list includes Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, Pattie Sellers, an editor at Fortune, Michael Gerson, a columnist at The Washington Post, Jeffrey Brown, a senior correspondent for “PBS NewsHour, ” Vijay Vaitheeswaran, a global correspondent for The Economist, and Vivian Schiller, the president and CEO of National Public Radio.
If news breaks that week in Aspen, we'll be covered.
There are also some new media types coming, including Evan Williams and Biz Stone, the co-founders of Twitter. Also coming is Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist.org, who newspaper executives love to blame, in part, for the loss of classified ad revenue from newspapers. Put them in the category of "Most Likely To Be Doing Some Aspen House-Hunting On The Side."
Rounding out the affair are some big names from the category of "General Wealth, Power and Influence," including Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, Bill Gates, attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson, Bill Clinton, Sandra Day O'Connor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr, and Alan Greenspan. Stay tuned for "General Wealth, Power and Influence: Audience Division."
Get the idea?
A partial list of those planning to attend this summer was released this week and it's possible to group the speakers into several categories.
While we're glad everyone on the list is coming to Aspen, the first group might be called by some “Surely You Have More Important Things To Do Than Come to Aspen, Even If It Is Fourth-of-July Week.”
In this group, you'll find Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the chief of staff of the United States Army, Eric Holder, the attorney general of the United States, Peter Orszag, the director of White House Office of Management and Budget, and James Steinberg, a US Deputy Secretary of State.
Another group this year kind of sticks out. The Aspen Institute, which puts on the event, seems to have to invited more red-blooded Republicans than in years past.
This category of attendees could be called “Least Likely to Normally Be Found Relaxing In The Democratic Outpost That is Aspen.”
The group includes Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, Fred Barnes, the executive editor of The Weekly Standard and host of Fox News’s “Beltway Boys,” Thomas Donohue, the president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, and Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee.
The third group includes "Media Heavyweights on Vacation." It's a long list, and includes Bob Schieffer, the moderator of “Face The Nation” and chief Washington correspondent for CBS News, Martha Raddatz, a senior foreign affairs correspondent for ABC News, Tavis Smiley, the host of PRI’s “The Tavis Smiley Show,” David Sanger, the chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times, Kai Ryssdal, the host of American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” and Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a foreign correspondent with National Public Radio.
It also includes Tom Friedman, a columnist for The New York Times, E.J. Dionne Jr., a columnist for The Washington Post, Elisabeth Bumiller, the pentagon correspondent for The New York Times, Maria Bartiromo, the anchor of CNBC’s “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo,” Peggy Noonan, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Tom Gjelten, the national security and intelligence correspondent for NPR, and Andrea Mitchell, the chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News and the host of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports."
And the media list includes Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, Pattie Sellers, an editor at Fortune, Michael Gerson, a columnist at The Washington Post, Jeffrey Brown, a senior correspondent for “PBS NewsHour, ” Vijay Vaitheeswaran, a global correspondent for The Economist, and Vivian Schiller, the president and CEO of National Public Radio.
If news breaks that week in Aspen, we'll be covered.
There are also some new media types coming, including Evan Williams and Biz Stone, the co-founders of Twitter. Also coming is Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist.org, who newspaper executives love to blame, in part, for the loss of classified ad revenue from newspapers. Put them in the category of "Most Likely To Be Doing Some Aspen House-Hunting On The Side."
Rounding out the affair are some big names from the category of "General Wealth, Power and Influence," including Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, Bill Gates, attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson, Bill Clinton, Sandra Day O'Connor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr, and Alan Greenspan. Stay tuned for "General Wealth, Power and Influence: Audience Division."
Get the idea?
5.04.2010
The Aspen antidote
I rode under Times Square in a subway car the night of the failed car bombing, happily oblivious to the surreal scene of empty streets at “the Crossroads of the World.” The subway trains, at least on the 1 Line, were not hindered by the police activity taking place on the surface.
So I didn’t learn about the non-bombing until the next morning when I read about it in the local papers. Slightly cynical Aspenite that I still am, one of my first thoughts was “This ought to be good for the price of Aspen real estate.”
After being in New York for two months, it is easy to appreciate the role Aspen plays for New Yorkers who vacation in Aspen or own property there. It is truly a place of peace to ponder amidst the daily chaos and noise and ruckus that is the city. And it easy to imagine that Sunday's close brush with explosive carnage was enough to spur those wondering if was now time to move to Aspen altogether and leave the city behind.
This week, there are more police visible in the subway stations, just as there were the first few days after the subway bombings in Moscow. New York’s finest stand, and watch, but who knows how effective they will be against a determined suicide bomber who manages to slip onto a train looking calm and collected.
And yet the city lurches forward each day, carrying on, reveling in its din. Meanwhile, I understand it is relatively quiet, and safe, in Aspen today…
So I didn’t learn about the non-bombing until the next morning when I read about it in the local papers. Slightly cynical Aspenite that I still am, one of my first thoughts was “This ought to be good for the price of Aspen real estate.”
After being in New York for two months, it is easy to appreciate the role Aspen plays for New Yorkers who vacation in Aspen or own property there. It is truly a place of peace to ponder amidst the daily chaos and noise and ruckus that is the city. And it easy to imagine that Sunday's close brush with explosive carnage was enough to spur those wondering if was now time to move to Aspen altogether and leave the city behind.
This week, there are more police visible in the subway stations, just as there were the first few days after the subway bombings in Moscow. New York’s finest stand, and watch, but who knows how effective they will be against a determined suicide bomber who manages to slip onto a train looking calm and collected.
And yet the city lurches forward each day, carrying on, reveling in its din. Meanwhile, I understand it is relatively quiet, and safe, in Aspen today…
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