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On June 28th, The Cahaba River Society and Nature Conservancy teamed up with Mountain High to take a group of customers on a free trip down the Little Cahaba River. This was a "first-come, first-serve" offering via Montain High Email. Be sure you're on our email list !
We put in at Bulldog Bend and paddled to Bibb County Glades. The original trip was planned for Bibb County Glades to Pratt's Ferry but the water was too low. (This is a great April/ May trip) Yes, there was some still some walking but the shallows mostly just kept the paddling challenging.
The weather was fantastic all day. We covered some basic canoe instruction, and had some amazing talks about Mussels, snails and fish with a little catch-and-release fun. We located some Threatened Round Rock Snails, and some Pebble snails once thought to be extinct.
Alabama is the number 1 most biodiverse state - in freshwater turtles, mussels, snails, etc. It's now a fragile ecosystem that is threatened by pollution and development, among other factors. Our group learned a lot and had a great time. Many thanks to Paul Freeman of The Nature Conservancy, Gordon Black, Environmental Educator for Cahaba River Society, and Randy & Shannon Haddock.
More details and trip pictures here: http://sites.google.com/site/preservethecahaba/
Even with the short notice, gloomy weather, and cold temperatures, a large group of 60+ climbers and nature enthusiasts came out to support the Moss Rock Preserve area for the cleanup. The day started at 9:00 with the arrival of nearly 120 cubic feet of bagged mulch, donated by the City of Hoover, thanks to city forester Colin Conner. The Moss Rock Preserve is located within the City of Hoover in Birmingham, Alabama.
With rakes, wheelbarrows, and shovels in tow, people hauled the heavy bags into the boulder fields and began to spread it out amongst the rocks. With such a big turnout, the last bags were put out well before lunchtime, when the bar-b-q arrived, donated by Mountain High Outfitters.
With everyone well worked, well fed, and ready to take advantage of the cold weather, the climbing competition began. The feel of the comp was more of a big climbing session some said, with all climbing together and sharing beta. Everyone was psyched, and projects were sent up until around 4:30, when the awards and prizes were given out.
The whole day went off without any problems, and the turnout was better than any could hope for. I think this is due to the areas impact on the local climbers that regularly come out, and see the new spray-paint, trash, and broken bottles lying around their beloved rocks. It is great to see people traveling from areas all around the Birmingham area, and from as far away as Huntsville and Tuscaloosa to do something about it.
Special thanks go out to the following: Primavera coffee, for donating three large coffee dispensers for all to enjoy, David Camp of Camp Construction for the rental port-o-let, the Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC) for taking care of miscellaneous expenses and for all the support, the City of Hoover for the LARGE donation of mulch, and especially to the local climbing community for putting this all together and spreading the word.
Where: Whitehorse, Yukon What: Yukon Arctic Ultra 2008 100 mile race Time: 31 hours Conditions: low of -58F; snowing for most of the race; ankle to knee-deep snow Guidebook: No chance.. Difficulty: Extreme
February, 2008 - Mountain High sponsored athlete Will Laughlin won 1st place in the Yukon Arctic Ultra, a 100 mile winter footrace near Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, Canada. It's always cold in the Yukon in the winter, but this time some records were set--it was -58F at the start of the race. About seven runners were hospitalized with severe frostbite, but with skill, a little luck and some Icebreaker Merino Wool baselayers, Will managed to get away with just a little frostnip on his fingers, nose, and earlobes. The Yukon Arctic Ultra 100 mile race tends to attract a very small batch of hard-core ultra runners. When these seasoned runners arrived in White horse this year, the hotel thermometer registered balmy -49 degrees.
During the pre-race training session, one competitor developed severe frostbite in the few brief minutes it took to demonstrate his stove-lighting skills. In the required drill, he took his outer gloves off, leaving on only his thin liners. The instructor's update was something along the lines of:
Over-all beta: Do the Snowbird Mountain Trail only in the dead of winter unless you just want to punish yourself. Logging scars keep old growth timber limited to the more inaccessible drainages along the Big Snowbird Trail. There are numerous large campsites along the river (a few are overly impacted) but few along the ridges. Trip Report: The Huddle House in Robbinsville was brand new. We got out of our cars and stood in the freshly asphalted parking lot before entering for our last meal in the front country. I couldn’t help but think that a few years earlier we would be confused with a paramilitary search party fueling up for another foray into the backcountry in hopes of locating Eric Rudolph. The place was clean and as expected, none of the food served matched the photos on the menu. We ate, drank coffee, and contemplated the gray skies and unknown terrain ahead. The weather channel had been predicting clear skies for today and tomorrow with only a slight chance of rain on Sunday. The look on my dog’s face said otherwise. (click here for the full trip report)
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