A New Year, A New You?
FIRST!
howdy
Hello, friends, and welcome to the first official issue of the new Modern Hiker Newsletter here on Substack.
Let me be the first to wish you a happy and healthy 2023. I’m assuming I’m the first here because New Year’s Eve is tomorrow, and this is really as good a time as any to look back at the previous twelve months and perhaps set some intentions for the next twelve.
Of course, you don’t necessarily have to wait until this time to do that – maybe you were invited to an intention-setting Solstice Gathering recently (raises hand) – but there is just something satisfying about taking that old calendar off the wall and putting a new one up, right? I’ve found hitting the ‘forward’ arrow on Google Calendar doesn’t have quite the same effect, but whatever works for you.
Maybe this will be the year you finally tackle Mount Whitney. Or start your journey to stand atop a hundred peaks above 5,000 feet in Southern California. Perhaps you’re setting a distance goal for yourself, or your goal is just to get outside once a week with a group like the 52 Hike Challenge.
As for me? Well, you’re looking at one of my resolutions right now. So far the response to this newsletter has been really inspiring – a few of you have even already shown extreme kindness and generosity by supporting this project financially. So, thank you! As this newsletter grows and evolves, I’ll be figuring out some more fun stuff for anyone who throws a few bucks this way. If there’s anything you’d like to see in the future, leave suggestions as a comment!
And now, let’s get to it …
The Big Story
Something to Talk About
Is it Time to Try Slow Birding?
Do you have any birders in your life? Are some of them a little … intense? Just like hikers who get peak-bagging fever, there is a certain subset of birders that kind of treat their past time like Pokemon Go, focusing on the rare and exotic species and maybe even taking full-on vacations for the chance to spot once-in-a-lifetime species. Honestly, that’s all fine – whatever gets you outside is good in my book – but it can also be off-putting to newcomers in the same way that having your first 2-mile hike called “not a real hike” by some bearded internet commenter. Not to worry, says Margaret Roach in the New York Times. Some of the most common birds we see every day are also the most fascinating. So slow down and enjoy them.
Me? I could watch crows for days. Also, this bizarre and wonderful music video about birding.
Modern Hiking
Good stuff from the Modern Hiker site
Shake Out That Raingear
Well, it seems like the whole country got big ol face-slap from Old Man Winter at the end of 2022, huh? First off, I hope you got through it safely and with minimal headaches. But if you live in the Southwest, you know that a few days after a winter rainstorm are really the absolute best time to be out on the trails. We’ve got some of our favorite post-rain hikes for Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as our favorite waterfall hikes near San Francisco. Get out there!
Your Parks
Your Places
Start New Year with a Hike
Is there a better start to a brand-new year than a solid day spent in the outdoors? Throughout the country, state parks and outdoor organizations are putting together all kinds of events called First Day Hikes. These can range from easy nature walks and history talks to longer day hikes, and I guarantee you’ll be able to find something that’s your speed. California State Parks has announced their First Day Hikes events here. Oregon State Parks are listed here. Washingtonian? Your hikes are here. Arizona? Over here! You get the idea … head to your state’s state park page and you’ll find something fun to do. And Happy New Year!
Overlooked Gems of the National Park System
I’m sort of over the idea of trails or parks that are described as “secret,” “hidden,” or other synonyms that rank well on Google searches, but I’m going to make an exception here for our friends at National Parks Traveler, who have put together their favorite ‘overlooked gems’ of the National Park System. It’s an eclectic mix that shows off the wide range of what national parks can be … and if you’re sick of dealing with the long lines at places like Yellowstone or Yosemite, I can almost guarantee you won’t have those issues at these parks.
Tech Talk
Gadgets, Technology, and Hype
Lassen Goes Modern
At least for one National Park, the days of tracking down fax machines and tying a flimsy paper permit to your backpack for a big trip are over. Starting January 17th, Lassen National Park is ending its paper backcountry permit system and replacing it with online permits via recreation.gov. Lassen follows a number of other parks that have already made the switch, which means you no longer have to show up in person to snag your paperwork. This also makes it easier for the Park Service to gather data on visitation and communicate important news and updates to permit-holders. I will kind of miss flying that little carbon-copy permit on my pack like a victory flag, though.
Dry January Update
Hi my name is Casey and it’s been 0 Days since I went on a Social Media Dry January
Another one of my resolutions is trying out a Social Media Dry January. Since it hasn’t officially started yet, I’ll let you know what I’m doing:
Unfollowing distracting accounts from my personal social media accounts and putting those on snooze
Deleting Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram apps from my phone
I am not going to delete accounts yet, and I will be using some scheduling software to continue to post to the Modern Hiker Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts but I will be getting the amount of time I spend on those things as close to zero as possible.
I’ll be honest – I’m a little worried about shutting down the Modern Hiker socials completely. Part of this reasoning is that I genuinely do find good stories through there, and I do have a lot of friends and groups I respect from the outdoor online world, and these accounts are often where we first met and where we do most of our communication. I will miss these interactions, as well as the thoughtful conversations I have had with Modern Hiker readers.
But those thoughtful conversations have become much less frequent over the past few years – and that’s not to say that my readers aren’t thoughtful, it’s saying that social media in general has downplayed thoughtful posts and amplified more inflammatory language and outrage generators instead. If your business model relies on eyeballs coming back to your apps to show them ads, this makes sense – how many of us have responded to some outrageous comment or story with our own righteous indignation, then checked back in multiple times a day to see who agreed with us (or how stupid those who disagreed with us were)? I’ve definitely done that.
And while that might feel good in the moment, it’s not good for us in the long run. When I’m engaged in those comment section ragefloods, I’m amped up. I’m agitated. I can feel it in my body … and I’m most certainly not being thoughtful, productive, or kind. Oh, and that’s a really easy way to lose an entire afternoon and have absolutely nothing to show for it.
I am hoping that by not engaging in that, I’ll be able to spend more time reading, hiking, and writing – and hopefully still having those great conversations we used to have – just here in email instead.
I’m going to be checking in with you each week as this project continues, and I will be honest with you about the things I miss and don’t miss … and maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to keep it going.
One More Thing
Oh yeah, before I go …
A few years back on the site, I wanted to celebrate the Icelandic holiday of Jólabókaflóð (your guess is as good as mine on how to pronounce that), which roughly translates into “Christmas book flood.”
The idea is after you unwrap presents on Christmas Day, you spend the rest of the day in comfy clothes curled up with hot drinks and books. Turns out (shocker) this holiday is not exactly celebrated the way it’s been sold to us, but it’s still a good idea and one that honestly just sounds like heaven for my fellow introverts who can sometimes be exhausted by holiday festivities.
For a few years I’d write these posts out on the Modern Hiker site, but as the books I read got less explicitly focused on the outdoors, I figured maybe there wasn’t interest anymore. So now they’re here!
These are all the books I read in 2022 – maybe you’ll find something you’ll dig for your own reading list. In order:
· The Poison King: the Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy – Adrienne Mayor
· Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles – Rosecrans Baldwin
· Mort – Terry Pratchett
· Stop Saving the Planet! An Environmentalist Manifesto – Jenny Price
· The Adventures and Misadventures of the Extraordinary and Admirable Joan Orpí, Conquistador and Founder of New Catalonia – Max Besora
· Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World – David Epstein
· How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry – Edward Hirsch
· Always Crashing in the Same Car: on Art, Crisis, and Los Angeles, California – Matthew Spektor
· Endless Endless: A Lo-Fi History of the Elephant 6 Mystery – Adam Clair
· The Book of Form and Emptiness – Ruth Ozeki
· The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores – Diana Marcum
· The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity – David Graeber
· Vladimir – Julia May Jonas
· To Speak for the Trees: My Life’s Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest – Diana Beresford-Kroeger
· How You Get Famous: Ten Years of Drag Madness in Brooklyn – Nicole Pasulka
· Don Quixote (Book 1) – Miguel de Cervantes
· Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands: Kate Beaton
· Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency – Chen Chen
· Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America – Pekka Hamalainen
· The Stars Did Wander Darkling – Colin Meloy
· The Nineties: A Book – Chuck Klosterman
Also hey - if anyone wants to share their own outdoorsy or non-outdoorsy New Year's Resolutions, feel free! Inspiration for everyone, right? :)