| Page 1373 | National Parks Traveler

Antonio - Good catch! You're right; according to a "Big Bend Fact Sheet" on the park website, the correct elevation for Casa Grande is 7,325 feet. I was guilty of copying a caption from the DOI press release without verifying the info. I'll correct the caption on this story. Thanks for the correction.

Aug 14th - 15:38pm | Antonio Ramos

The elevation of Casa Grande in Beg Bend National Park is much more than 5400 ft. The Chisos Basin Campgroung is at least 5200ft.

Aug 14th - 13:54pm | John Cameron

I for one would love to see wilderness areas, parks, conservation areas...whatever you want to call them established without regard for the international border. R. Stefancik excellent story of the trinkets sold out of a basket on the honor system shows what is possible with the vast majority of us humans regardless of location of birth.

Aug 14th - 12:28pm | R. Stefancik

“Building upon our shared history of ecosystem and species conservation, the plan will develop a model of bi-national cooperation for the conservation and enjoyment of shared ecosystems for current and future generations,” said Secretary Salazar.

A Life-Saving Mission Two Miles High in Rocky Mountain National Park

Aug 14th - 16:18pm | Curt Buchholtz

Thanks for highlighting this event and especially detailing the role of the Rocky Mountain Nature Association and the philanthrophy that helped save this man's life. It is very rare to hear about the work of "quiet conservationists" like friends groups or cooperating associations or donors who help support our public lands.

Heat Claims the Life of Boy Stranded for Five Days in Isolated Area of Death Valley National Park

Aug 14th - 15:44pm | Lucy

I think one of the symptoms of dehydration/heat stroke includes delirium, so it's possible that there was a loss of sensible thought. She also could have panicked, especially seeing her child in distress. I don't think eating the dog would really have helped, since they probably needed more water than they had and a cooked dog doesn't yield that much water.

Upon Further Review: "But My GPS Unit Said Go Thataway..."

Aug 14th - 15:30pm | y_p_w

Vehicle GPS has gotten people in trouble when they failed to put their BS meter in gear. My GPS unit always gives a particular route from my house which I know isn't the ideal way to get to the freeway. Sometimes it takes forever for it to get a GPS lock - maybe up to 5 minutes.

Aug 14th - 10:43am | qtluong

I've experienced first-hand the shortcomings of GPS at Chaco Canyon. My Garmin Unit pointed me to a site that was one hour and half away from the real place. If it was not for a road sign, I would not have found it. As a result, I arrived too late and missed the light. Tuan.

Aug 14th - 10:35am | tahoma

Thanks for the very interesting and well-written piece, Jim. I'm enough of a Luddite that I probably wouldn't use a GPS, even if I could afford one. I'm guessing spare batteries might be worth carrying. I'm also ancient enough to have made topographic maps the old-fashioned way with a surveyor's plane-table.

Aug 14th - 10:06am | Chas

I'd like to know which base map they were using: 24K or 100K. I have a Garmin with Topo USA maps but they're 100K so not too useful in canyon country. In fact friendsand I were lost for a couple of hours (missed a side canyon) in the Maze district of Canyonlands and we were using 24K topo maps (pre-GPS).

Aug 14th - 10:05am | JimB

Some good comments! Bob Mishak is right on target with his comment for GPS use "off the road" or even on roads in remote areas. The moral of the story is, never depend on just a GPS, map or compass. Use all three and make sure you know how to use them.

Aug 14th - 09:16am | Bob M

I think the key phrase here is, "That "level of detail" issue came into play on a May morning several years ago in Utah's Zion National Park."

Aug 14th - 09:11am | Anonymous

Great story ----- I have had 2 GPS one from Garmin and one from DeLorme ----- both are much less than accurate in the back country. From my narrow point of view DeLorme has no plauseable excuse because they put out nearly accurate maps in thier gazeteer book maps. I complained and they say "it is two different formats" maybe so but it is the same world.

Aug 14th - 09:03am | Anonymous

My GPS has saved me on many trips in the woods. I started using a GPS before they even have mapping GPSs for road use. Just a screen with the trail I've come from, waypoints that I've added, and lat/lon coordinates. I don't see how this is in any way the fault of the GPS unit. You should learn to use any tools you rely on. I would bet they were not better at reading a map.

Aug 14th - 08:55am | ecbuck

Maybe I missed something but I don't know why you blamed this on the GPS. If the group had plotted an accurate waypoint on their unit before they left, the would have been led to within feet of the exact spot they were seeking.

Fatal Fall from Angels Landing in Zion National Park

Aug 14th - 14:39pm | Clyde B

My wife and our two friends arrived at Scout's Landing about 45 minutes after her fall. We passed the family going back down on Walter's Wiggles but did not learn of the fall until we reached Scout's Landing. Needless to say, we did not continue up to Angel's Landing. Our heartfelt condolences goes out to Nancy and her family. This was truly a tragic accident.

Aug 14th - 12:03pm | judith andrews

I was hiking the morning this happened, you are warned about the skill level it takes to do this hike. There were many children on the hike ..It was a simple slip and fall, so you must be careful..all we need is MORE government telling us what we can and cannot do....

Volunteers Needed to Help Monitor Sea Turtle Nests at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Aug 14th - 14:39pm | Kurt Repanshek

Renardo, Call the number in the last graf, 252-216-6892.

Aug 14th - 14:34pm | Renardo Daniel

how do you become a volunteer.i am very interested,love sea turtles and have some working knownledge and free time.

Web Page Provides Keys To Finding Olympic National Park's Waterfalls

Aug 14th - 12:42pm | Kirby Adams

That's a cool offering. Marymere is pretty easy, since there's a well-trodden trail right to it. Some of the others can be a bit dicey. I notice they don't point out Service Falls up at the head of the Queets Valley. Gorgeous, big waterfall, but supposedly only a couple people have ever managed to see it from the ground. Olympic certainly has some remote attractions.

Glacier National Park Officials Decide to Remove Grizzly Bear Family From Park

Aug 14th - 12:05pm | MRC

@ R. Stefancik: With your excellent background you should be able to deduce yourself why it would be harmful to move a Rocky Mountains Grizzly to Alaska, where she could reproduce. Small hint: We are talking about a protected specie in protected areas.

Aug 14th - 10:47am | R. Stefancik

MRC,

Aug 13th - 13:21pm | MRC

@ R. Stefancik: Yes, the genetic differences. It would not be wise to mix gene pools between the Rocky Mountains and Alaska. So maybe it would be an option to neuter the bears before moving them outside their natural range. But then they would be useless for the population.

Aug 13th - 11:43am | R Stefancik

Is there some reason that the bear and her cubs can't be relocated to a remote part of Alaska? I too am troubled by grizzly cubs born in the wild being relegated to a life sentence in a zoo through no fault of their own.

National Park Mystery Photo 12 Revealed: It's Voyageurs National Park

Aug 14th - 11:06am | R. Stefancik

As long as we are talking about Voyagers NP and the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness, I would at least like to give praise to the Canadian Quetico Canoe Wilderness just over the border from the Boundary Waters. The Canadians issue fewer backcountry permits and the 3 times I visited there, I found a much more serous wilderness experience.

Entrance-Fee-Free Weekends Are Costly To National Park Service, But Seem to Be Boosting Visitation

Aug 14th - 10:19am | Peter Wiechers

As the price of something goes up, demand goes down. As the price goes down, demand goes up. Is the National Park Service stating something else? Seems rather suspect.

Aug 14th - 09:54am | Kitty Benzar

"The bottom line, according to the Park Service analysis, is that there was no obvious trend." A stunning statement. I'm no statistician, but my takeaway from their numbers is that 87% of the units had higher visitation on the fee-free weekends than on either one or both of the weekends before and after. Seems like a pretty clear trend to me.

Aug 14th - 09:23am | Kurt Repanshek

Anon: Anecdotal evidence from the free weekend in June showed that some sales were up, some were down in the bookstores, restaurants, etc. Beyond that, those fees go to concessionaires and not to the NPS, so any increases wouldn't offset the loss in entrance fee dollars to the NPS.

Aug 13th - 20:12pm | Anonymous

The two questions I am curious about are: (1) Where they have an entrance fee waived, is their an increase in the amount spent on refreshments and bookstore items that could offset the loss of entrance fees, and,

Aug 13th - 19:10pm | y_p_w

I've entered some NPS areas after the entrance kiosk staffs were gone for the night. I've heard that there are some areas that have low fees coupled with relatively low visitation (in particular one of the national historic sites in Hawaii) and often the NPS won't even staff the entrance stations because it costs more to do that than they take in.

Aug 13th - 16:39pm | Regular Park Visitor

We were in Glacier the weekend following the last "free" one, and the traffic @ the West Glacier entrance was getting backed up well onto the main highway - so they opened the gates to everyone without charge! We have an annual passport to the parks, so it was of no consequence to us. But I wonder if this is a common practice at Glacier as well as many other of the more popular parks?

Aug 13th - 09:55am | Anonymous

Decrease your income and increase your costs. That's a good way to keep the parks funded. Of course the government doesn't seem to exist in reality. Next we'll hear how tax revenues are down and funding to the parks is being cut which causes all sorts of problems.

National Parks Will Waive Entrance Fees on September 27, National Public Lands Day

Aug 14th - 09:25am | Kurt Repanshek

Cecile, They've renamed the Golden Age Passport. It's now called "America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – Senior Pass," and costs $10.

Aug 14th - 08:30am | Cecile Hogue

I wouldlike to know more about the Golden Age Passport.

Pinnacles National Monument: Should It Be Labeled A National Park?

Aug 14th - 02:42am | qtluong

I'd agree with Paul. Having visited all the 58 parks, I'd probably "rank" Pinnacles slightly above Cuyahoga and Hot Springs. This is the "bottom," and certainly not the "middle of the pack" mentioned by congressman Farr does.

The First NPS Area to be Officially Tsunami-Ready? Redwood National and State Parks

Aug 14th - 00:20am | Information Abo...

Nice post. World has been facing varied natural disasters in which millions of people have died and amounting of losses increased.But we can't control the natural disasters. Tsunami occured on 26 December 2004. It happened at the epic centre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. 230,000 people died in over 11 countries, the tsunami waves were as high as 30 meters that is 100 feet high.

Aug 13th - 13:00pm | tomp

Several of the more isolated towns along the northern California coast have tsunami warning systems and plans, as there's historic record of their occurrence.

Fall From Tokopah Falls Kills Visitor to Sequoia National Park

Aug 13th - 23:35pm | Anonymous

I was there at Lodgepole Monday Aug. 10, and watched as the rangers (about 6 of them), prepared to make the 1.7 mile trek to Tokopah Falls to help this young man. Yes, it is a moderate hike, but with the rocks and some up-hill portions of the trail, it would take at least an hour for someone going at a very fast pace to reach the falls.

Aug 13th - 20:57pm | Andrea Cooper

Dear Diana,

Aug 13th - 16:53pm | Diana Rodriguez

He was my brother, and it was pretty devastating to hear. Its a shame he couldnt get help sooner or else he would still be with us. He will be missed extrememly and always loved. R.I.P. kevin and i love you

Another Entrance-Fee-Free Weekend in the National Parks

Aug 13th - 17:21pm | MBSchwietz

Some interesting chat. I am grateful to have had the opportunities to visit several of our National Parks. My dad who is over 80 has enjoyed his "senior pass" for 10-15 years. I believe the yearly pass, which allows a person or their significant other, and a carload of their closest friends access to ANY of the National Parks, is the best bargain available from the Government.

Aug 13th - 12:22pm | lucas

nature doesnt ask for our money. it wants us to enjoy whats their and take in more than words will ever be able to describe, its a feeling a lot of you will never understand. asking for money to see something that was there before you thats now property of someone is ridiculous.

Aug 13th - 12:13pm | Lucas

why do you need to charge for nature in the first place? this land was here before us and now its property of someone. entrance fees are ridiculous in my eyes. i want to enjoy whats out there. money ruins that for me.

Understanding Mountain Lions at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Gets A Boost From New Lion

Aug 13th - 16:46pm | Kathy

I hike in the Santa Monica Mountains a lot and particularly in the area adjacent to Hidden Hills. I've never seen a mountain lion and I don't want to. This is a highly urbanized area with housing developments bordering the parks. I worry that someday some runner or mountain biker is going to be mauled or killed as happened in Orange County a few years ago.

Panoramic Photography, Or "How Do I Get All of the Teton Range in the Picture?"

Aug 13th - 15:06pm | Web Design Company

Thanks for you tips... Regards, KAte,

Managing Elk at Theodore Roosevelt National Park – The NPS has Released Its Plan

Aug 13th - 12:52pm | tomp

Everyone is assuming that using volunteer hunters to cull the elk will be cheaper than paying professional hunters. Given the cost of training, regulating, and supervising the volunteer hunters so that the right animals in the right areas are culled, earlier estimates were that it would cost more to use volunteers than professionals.

Climate Change and National Parks: A Survival Guide for a Warming World -- Coral Reefs

Aug 13th - 12:50pm | Kurt Repanshek

Pick your news source:

“There’s Only 58, So Get Over It!”

Aug 13th - 11:03am | tomp

d-2-- Sorry, I wasn't arguing that the park & preserve units shouldn't be counted twice. The San Jose Mercury News has an article today: "What's in a name? Congressman wants to put Pinnacles on the National parks A-list" http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_1304785

Reader Participation Day, Fine Arts Division: Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, or Maynard Dixon?

Aug 13th - 10:35am | jsmacdonald

Moran - Bierstadt is a little too much of a romantic painter; Moran paints the experience I remember even if it's not true to a photograph ... I don't really know Dixon.

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