Oh, the place we'll go … - Sierra Club Outings

Sierra, March-April, 2003

With over 350 trips to unique destinations around the world, it's hard to pick favorites ... but we can try! We thought we'd take this opportunity to highlight just four of the amazing regions where we travel, and let our volunteer leaders tell you in their own words what makes these areas so special. Why not join us in 2003 on an exciting adventure to one of these great places?

The Southwest As Southwest Service Subcommittee Chair for National Outings, Susan Estes has spent plenty of time immersed in the splendor of this treasured area. "On service trips, we try to understand both the human and the natural history of an area," says Susan. "We return again and again because the experience is so satisfying, and because we can't possibly take it all in with just one adventure." Theresa Titone shares Susan's sentiments. Theresa, who this year leads her 11th service trip to Hovenweep National Monument, says she never wanted to go home after attending a service trip in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. "The Southwest is just so rich in diversity, "says Theresa. "There are mountains, deserts, canyons, and mesas, not to mention a diversity of cultures."

But this region is not without its problems: the area faces serious threats from mining, oil, and gas development, just to name a few. Roger Grissette, who leads backpack trips here, hopes his efforts on outings do something to change that. "I lead trips in the Southwest because I want to heighten our members' awareness of the challenges facing this area. We must get more people from outside this area to experience it firsthand and appreciate what we stand to lose."

America's Redrock Wilderness Act, now before Congress, would give wilderness protection to more than nine million acres of federally owned land in southern Utah, including most of the Grand Staircase--Escalante National Monument designated by President Clinton. You can read more about this issue and find out what you can do to help protect this beautiful area: www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/utah

The Sierra Nevada Talk just about any of our leaders who run trips among this stately and stunning mountain range, and they'll all tell you the same thing: the Sierra Nevada is truly special. "The area is so large, you really are a long way from civilization," shares John Livingston. Frances Reneau agrees with him: "If you can read a map and actually use a compass, you can leave the dust and crowds and noise, go cross-country, and see no one." It is this isolation and solitude that draws many people back here year after year to explore this California gem on one of our numerous backcountry trips.

Logging, development, pollution, and an onslaught of tourists (it is the home of Yosemite National Park, after all) have left their marks. "Signs of fire pits and human trampling are everywhere," says Frances. But as leader Melinda Goodwater points out, there are plenty of positives. "Fortunately most of the rugged and visually striking parts of the Sierra have already been preserved in national parks and wilderness areas. However, we now know that even the surrounding national forests and foothill areas also need to be preserved for a healthy overall ecosystem." You can learn more about responsible backcountry travel and how to minimize your impact on the land by reviewing our Wilderness Manners: www.sierraclub.org/outings/national/wilderness.asp

Alaska and Arctic Canada What's unique about this remote and lesser-traveled corner of the world? "Wilderness," avers Carol Hake ... and she's seen plenty of it. For the past 12 years, Carol has led trips through Alaska's much-debated Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. With the spotlight on this threatened area due to the Bush administration's plan to allow oil drilling here, conservation efforts to protect the refuge are stronger than ever. And there are other battles to fight as well. There's the ongoing effort to preserve southeast Alaska's pristine Tongass rainforest, and Drew McCalley notes that "global warming is believed to have a greatly disproportionate effect on the high latitudes." Carol Dienger, Alaska Subcommittee Chair for National Outings, adds that "as a state with land still available for development, Alaska is just one conservation issue after another."

The areas of Alaska and Arctic Canada where we run a variety of very special trips really do offer one-of-a-kind experiences. The word "vastness" pops up often in conversation, as do the Northern Lights and the abundance of wildlife. Leader Eric Rorer remembers "crossing a glacier in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, getting disoriented in a white-out at the top, descending into the wrong canyon, and realizing that we were in a place that perhaps no other humans had ever visited." Drew shares that "during my trip this past summer on the north slope of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, we were hunkered down in our tents during a snowstorm and were roused to some interesting sounds outside, only to find a large group of about 1,000 caribou--including many newborn calves--streaming by to seek shelter from the storm in our valley." Russ Taichmann offers a somewhat humorous, yet sadly realistic, viewpoint of this uniqueness: "Other than deep sea or space, there just are few places left on this planet as unspoiled and that provide such a sense of adventure."