Don't Go Chasing Fake Waterfalls
Plus, more on mountain parking permits, poetry in the national parks, a sale on comfy boots, trails on iPhones, a bad news bear, and more
The Big Story
Something to talk about
Parking Fee Fiasco
Well, last week I wrote about an apparent (and oddly quietly-implemented) change in parking fees in some of the public lands administered by the Forest Service in Southern California, after being tipped off on a YouTube video by HikingGuy’s Cris Hazard. Unfortunately, it seems like this change is being corroborated by the prolific SoCal hiker and Redditor Hikin Jim, who has posted that in addition to the new regional pass near Big Pines, other SoCal areas are in the process of being carved out and handed over to concessionaires:
Instead of one Adventure Pass for all of the Cleveland, Angeles, San Bernardino, and Los Padres National Forests, many passes would be required by sub area with multiple different passes for each forest.
On Jim’s post, he’s created an excellent draft letter to send to the Supervisors of the San Bernardino, Cleveland, Los Padres, and Angeles National Forests, and another Redditor has chipped in with the contact info for the five Congressional representatives who cover the Angeles National Forest / San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. If you live in those districts, definitely mention it, but if you use or care about the National Forest-managed land in Southern California, I’d still encourage you to write in.
Jim’s sample letter has an great breakdown of some of the major reasons why this is a bad idea for the Forests, but it also runs counter to all of the equitable access efforts the region has been making so much progress on in the past decade.
I have a board meeting for an outdoor group in the area next week, and I’ll see if I can dig up any more info or tactics to share here.
Until then, get messaging, everyone!
Your Parks
Your Places
Poetry in the Parks
Earlier this year, U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón edited and collected an anthology of other poets called You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World. The book is a collection of previously unpublished works dealing with our connection and disconnection from nature, and Limón is currently touring national parks and landmarks throughout the country to unveil site-specific poetry installations at seven different national parks.
The participating parks and their events can be found here (the kickoff event on June 14th will be live-streamed, too). Both the book and the site-specific installations are part of the Poetry in Parks project—the first partnership between the Library of Congress, U.S. Poet Laureate, Poetry Society of America, and the National Park System … and as someone who loves both parks and poetry, I am super jazzed about this.
If you’re near one of the parks where Limón is going to be, I recommend checking out the events—she’s a terrific reader and is very lovely and inspiring in person.
West coast parks include Mount Rainier, Redwood, and Saguaro National Parks.
Tech Talk
Gadgets, Technology, and Hype
iPhone Trails
If you’re one of the estimated 124 million iPhone users in the United States, your phones are about to get loaded up with some new hiking information—assuming they will be able to run the new operating system iOS 18. At the company’s World Wide Developer Conference this week, Apple unveiled a slew of new updates, including many new improvements to the mobile operating systems that runs its iPhone line.
One of the major themes of the conference seemed to be “Hey there’s a third-party app that does something well, let’s just put it in the OS instead” (aka ‘Sherlocking,’ for you Apple nerds). In this case, Apple seemed to be taking aim at AllTrails, because in iOS 18 users will be able to search for trails in its Maps app, then download offline guides with voice direction and topographic maps for free (AllTrails charges an annual fee for downloading offline maps, but also has a bunch of features that Apple Maps doesn’t seem to be getting). Users will also be able to create and save their own routes.
It is not quite clear what the scope of the coverage will be or where Apple will be getting its trail information from—and that’s’ my big question right now. I like using services like AllTrails to look around for hikes in a new area, but I always try to consult a guidebook or local hiking blog or site for a guide written by someone who knows what they’re doing, and not someone who gave a trail one star because it was muddy or whatever.
Hoka Hiking Boots on Sale
OK. I am not a gear guy, and I am definitely out of the loop on this, but apparently the running shoe company Hoka One One (pronounced “HO-ka OH-nay OH-nay,” I learned a few years back, even though they’ve officially dropped the One One part of their name) makes hiking shoes, and apparently they are very comfortable and also on a rare sale at REI right now, according to Men’s Journal.
I have not had the pleasure of hiking in Hokas yet, but I switched to a pair of Clifton 9’s for my running shoes last year and oh man, I am never going back. I am aware the style levels on these shoes is … let’s just say a matter of personal taste … but the comfort level is absolutely through the roof. If you’ve hiked in Hokas, let me know how you like ‘em!
Aurora Tips
If you missed the big show-stopping aurora borealis a few weeks back, don’t worry—you’re not alone, and there’s a decent chance you may have some more opportunities to catch similar shows in the next year or so.
Outside magazine recently ran a piece from author Stephanie Vermillion, who just wrote an upcoming National Geographic book on nighttime outdoor adventures. Vermillion talks a bit about the science behind the recent uptick in aurora activity, some useful sites and online resources for tracking the solar activity, and even some camera settings tips and locations to check out for stargazing, too.
Wildlife Crossing
Wildlife and the Outdoors
First Deadly Bear Attack in California
In November, 2023, a 71-year old woman named Patrice Miller was found dead in her home in Downieville, California. Although a black bear had broken into her home and investigators saw evidence of a bear attack on Miller, it was initially determined that the bear had fed on her remains after she had died. Long story short, new evidence has determined that Miller was actually killed by the bear, which makes this the first ever recorded incidence of a fatal black bear attack in California’s recorded history.
As you might imagine, the full story is very complicated, and many of the humans involved here were not exactly following best wildlife practices when dealing with black bears or other animals.
For more tips on what to do if you encounter a bear, this advice from the National Park Service is an excellent place to start.
One More Thing
Oh yeah, before I go …
The Yuntai Waterfall in China’s Yuntai Mountain Park is 1000 feet high and is billed as the tallest and one of the most beautiful in the country. But a hiker recently posted a video to social media that showed the impressive cascade was being artificially fed via a water pipe. Because it’s social media and everyone is incentivized to copy trends, I couldn’t find the original but did find this version:
The park eventually explained that the pipe was there to provide “the most beautiful appearance” of the waterfall even in drought seasons. According to this coverage in CNN Travel, many commenters on China’s Weibo site didn’t see a big deal with this, saying things like “The source of a waterfall is not what people came to see anyway, I don’t think it counts as lying to the public.”
Which … oof. Nature-Deficit Disorder, anyone?
Until next time,
Happy Trails.
And I hope the waterfalls you see are real.
