To the editor:
I was dismayed to read Chris Mays puff piece on behalf of the Forest Service regarding the proposed backcountry trail in Dover ( Forest plan clears way for backcountry trail expansion in Dover, Dec. 25).
Completely unmentioned in this barely disguised public relations for the new management plan is the thousands of acres of clearcutting planned for the Somerset district and other areas of beautiful (for now) Green Mountain National forest.
The most laughable line must be feigned concern for the environment regarding potential harm from hikers walking on the new trail âitâs probably not environmentally cool to be tramping through that either.â Apparently, expanding skid roads, tearing up the soil and streams with massive machinery, and clearcutting thousands of acres of public forest is fine, but hikers walking is a problem.
The perils of hiking while Black
A DISTINGUISHED writer and editor, Joseph Lee Wood, was also a former Eagle Scout and passionate birder, who, the day after his arrival to the Unity ’99 journalism conference in Seattle, Washington, rented a car and drove to the Nisqually entrance of Mount Rainier, nearly ninety miles southeast, with binoculars in hand. He shared breakfast at the Westin Hotel with then Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley, along with seven other journalists and scholars, including Harvard professor Cornel West. He scheduled to meet a colleague the following day and then left for a short hike in the park.
David Goodman In 1987, David Goodman was a fledgling journalist living in Boston when he got a call from the Appalachian Mountain Club. That year, he d written a piece for
Cross Country Skier magazine about the revival of backcountry skiing, a back-to-the-land-esque movement of purists and adrenaline junkies. Disillusioned with the commercialization of downhill skiing, Goodman suggested, they were reclaiming the forgotten mountain trails cut by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. The editors at the Appalachian Mountain Club asked Goodman if he d be willing to write a guide to skiing in the Northeast. Goodman, stunned by his luck, agreed. For the next year, he lived out of his 1974 Dodge Dart, crisscrossing the Northeast in search of the most scenic backcountry tours. When the book came out, in 1988, he figured it might sell a few hundred copies. Instead, it sold thousands.
How the forests in New England are connected to forests everywhere
âIâm trying to impart ⦠a glimpse into the magic.â
By Jas Smith, as told to Rachel HellmanUpdated December 12, 2020, 3:00 a.m.
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A view of the Green Mountain National Forest in Rutland, Vt.Aram Boghosian
As a kid growing up in the wilderness of Maine, I always wanted to know what was around the next ridge. That was my religion. Forget following trails or using maps â it was about somehow getting to that spot at the top of the mountain, knowing thereâs got to be a way to get up there.
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RUTLAND â With additional snow expected in the coming weeks, the U.S. Forest Service is encouraging all riders to put safety first by practicing safe snowmobile practices and observing COVID-19 precautions.
Green Mountain National Forest officials are advising snowmobilers to exercise caution when operating on the National Forest, and all lands, in Vermont this winter. GMNF officials remind snowmobile enthusiasts to heed to all gates and signs and to stay off roads and trails that are closed.
Forest Service employees and several snowmobile clubs throughout Vermont have been working to clear trees and other debris from trails. However, trail users should continue to use extra caution early in the season as some trees may be weak due to snow accumulation and downed tree hazards are likely. Snowmobilers are also asked to adhere to COVID-19 precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with l