Hardwear Sessions

"Urban farming" is the hip new thing.

Maybe it's the economy. Or maybe Americans are just going through a "green" phase. Suddenly, urban farming is everywhere--it's in the news, in magazines, on television. Artists are getting on the bandwagon, too. Urban farming is so trendy that the New York Times even ran an article about hip young urbanites who replaced their lawns with home orchards. Composting is sexy now.

The urban farming concept is simple: grow good food close to home. Advocates of urban farming argue that the practice eliminates unnecessary fuel consumption, reduces our carbon footprints, and encourages good eating habits. For some families, a successful kitchen garden helps stretch the paycheck. Some families even manage to supplement their paychecks by selling extra produce at local farmers' markets.

In these hands, gardening becomes more than a leisure activity, rejoining the household economy. Before the 19th century, only the very wealthy could afford to keep decorative gardens. You and I would have spent our time digging around in our kitchen gardens, growing herbs, fruit, and other edibles to supplement our diet. Certain garden forms--such as the English cottage garden or the Italian courtyard garden--once existed not for pleasure, but for sustenance.

Today, advocates of "urban farming" hope to take us back to gardening's utilitarian roots. Whether we call them "urban farms," "kitchen gardens," "Victory gardens," or some hybrid of these terms, these spaces are supposed to produce useful things, like food.

This morning, Freddie Wilkinson revealed that he's recently began writing for the Huffington Post's "Green" page. He has a nice opinion piece on China's "Olympic" summit, and another on "Yard Sale economics."

These pieces show a different side of Freddie. if you've enjoyed Freddie's pieces on climbing, you'll like these pieces.

View more Photographs from Will's trip

By Will Meinen

On the west coast of Canada, just north of Vancouver, you can find one of the best climbing destinations that the country has to offer.

With a slow start to the alpine rock season here in the Rockies, I've been doing a lot of road tripping to less wintery destinations, such as Red Rocks and Zion, trying to get my fix of long rock routes. On a whim, I booked some tickets to Squamish. It had been several years since my last visit there, and I figured it was time for a return visit.

View Dawn's Photographs

By Dawn Glanc

Our trip left Seattle and headed to Glacier Bay National Park on June 13, 2008. Saturday morning, the day began with a long breakfast at the lodge. This would be our last meal for awhile in which we would be sitting at a table, drinking coffee from ceramic mugs. I soaked in the last moments of luxury and then headed down to the boat dock. Our expedition was about to begin.

The boat we were going to take to the Reid inlet was the Alaska Dream, Captained by Jim Kearns. The boat ride was about 3 hours. We cruised along the water enjoying the scenery of Glacier Bay National Park. We spotted quite a bit of wildlife along the way. We saw otters, birds and my favorite, hump back whales. It was an amazing way to start the approach to a climb.

Eventually we made our way the shore of Reid Inlet. Jim landed the boat right on the beach. We eagerly jumped ashore and moved our gear onto the beach. The farewells were quick. We took many photos and said goodbye to Dan and Kit who had come along for the boat ride. The boat pushed away and you could see the look of worry in Kit's face. She waved goodbye with such emotion. As the boat engines faded into the distance, the trip was a definite reality. We were left on the beach with 21 days of food, skis, sleds, tents, sleeping bag, two full climbing kits, and all of our own personal kits. Due to the risk of bears, we had to get the entire load at least 1 mile away from the beach and onto the glacier.

View Will's photographs from Mixed Meister

By William Meinen

Cutting your Teeth on Alpine Rock: Mixed Meister 5.10d 2400'

With the weather slowly shaping up for alpine rock routes in the Rockies, I was looking for something to kick off the season.

Although some find his style of routes setting controversial, Andy Genereux has established more high quality multi-pitch routes in the Bow Valley than anyone else I can think of. Mostly done ground up while bolting on lead (using natural gear whenever possible), Andy Genereux has a natural eye for classic lines.

In 2007, along with a handful of other great first ascents, Genereux (with help from Urs Kallen) pushed a very direct line up the tallest aspect of Goat Slabs and called the creation Mixed Meister. I have climbed several of Andy's routes and had a great time on all of them. I read a review posted by someone who attempted Mixed Meister and he accused Andy of not actually climbing the route, but suggested he rapped down and placed some bolts on the last several pitches and called it a route. He then advised fellow climbers not to climb the route due to loose rock, difficult route finding, and run-out nature. If you ask me it sounded like the perfect way to train for the alpine!

This spring, I learned how to make jam. For years I'd stayed away from making jam, convinced that the process was somehow arduous. It turns out that jam-making is simpler than it seems. There are only 2 potentially tricky stages in jam-making:

(1) Getting the jam to set, or gell, properly.

Pectin, a natural substance found in most fruits, causes jam to "set," or harden. We made our jams with the help of store-bought pectin, but there are pectin-free recipes out there that rely solely on the fruit's natural pectin. Different fruits contain different amounts of pectin. Learning the proper combination of sugar, lemon, and pectin can be tricky. Certain stone fruits (like plums) take longer to set. The jam appears watery. And then, suddenly, it's solid.

(2) Getting the jam jar to seal.

If the jar doesn't look like it's going to seal all on its own, pop it into a boiling water bath. Pad the bottom of the pot with a little dishtowel, so the jars don't bounce around and break.

If they still refuse to seal, keep the jam in the fridge!

View Neil's photographs from the Outer Hebrides

By Neil Gresham

'THE MAD MINGULAYANS'

...or so we were called by Patrick, our skipper, whose unenviable task was to sail us to the island of Mingulay in the Outer Hebrides in June 08. My regular climbing partner Mark Garthwaite had been trying to get a team to Mingulay for the last four years, but every year we made our excuses. The amount of effort involved seemed disproportionate to the rewards. We had heard tales of teams who were stranded in their tents for a fortnight having managed no climbing whatsoever. But with Garth's persuasion we finally agreed to take our chances on what the Climbers Club website describes as 'the best sea cliff in the UK'. We can put up with a few days of rain with a claim like that.

We set sail from Ardfern and took turns to help Patrick sail throughout the night. Our main tasks were to make him tea and keep watch for lobster pots which might tangle with the propeller - God forbid that he would trust a bunch of sleep deprived climbers with anything more serious. My shift came at 4am as we turned passed Mull and headed out into the open water and I was awe struck as the sun turned the ocean turned crimson beneath the etched silhouettes of Rhum and Col.

By Jon Bowermaster

For two weeks we'll be exploring the northwest coast of Africa, delving into the far corners of a pair of the smallest countries in the populous continent, stopping off on Spanish islands a few hundred miles from the mainland and ending in one of the most romantic desert hideaways in literary history. Along the way we'll meet fishermen and farmers, shopkeepers and historians and take an up-close look at a pair of environmental issues damning all of Africa (overfishing and desertification). The most intriguing discovery we'll make? Pyramids in the Canary Islands "discovered" by Thor Heyerdahl? Muslim men in Morocco campaigning for Hillary Clinton? Or salt farmers working a pink lake outside Dakar? Follow along for an unusual glimpse inside the lesser-seen corner of the planet's most mysterious continent.

Visit www.jonbowermaster.com/dispatches

By Will Meinen

It's 11:14 on Wednesday June 25th, 2008. I check my Gmail. Nothing new. I check the Alpinist website for some newswires. I check the Mountain Hardwear blog for any updates. Ooo, an Alaska report. I read the story and look at the photos. Then I stare at the pile of papers on my desk that I'm suppose to process for my boss.

Click, Click, Clacker, Clack, Click. All I hear are mice clicking and keyboards typing at a rapid pace. Everyone around me is busy doing something. Busy little worker bees ensuring the shareholders a healthy profit margin. Filing, calculating, and double checking their work, in hopes of getting a good annual review.

It's 11:24 now. My life is wasting away in front of my eyes. And for what? A crummy paycheck that barely covers my rent and groceries in the over-priced city. I need to get back to the climbing life. This job sucks.

I open Microsoft Outlook and type up an email.

Illustration by Karl Urban. To see more of Karl's coloring book drawings, visit the National Park Service's Northwest Wildflower Drawings Coloring Book website.

Story by Cynthia Houng

Sierra hikers with a sharp eye for detail may have noticed strange, skull-shaped pink blossoms dotting the subalpine forest floor.

These flowers belong to the longhorn steer's head (Dicentra uniflora), a close relative to the familiar bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa), a common garden plant.

Only an inch or so in height, the Longhorn Steer's Head is a jewel-like plant with lacy green leaves and delicate, almost dusty rose blooms. It is an early season bloomer, and like the snow plant, is often found near patches of retreating snow.

As California's population approaches the 40 million mark...what is the future of water in America?

Read the Producer's Notes on this documentary.

By Pat Deavoll

Trying to justify expedition climbing in the Greater Ranges to a non climber is sometimes hard, but to justify travelling half the way around the world to fail for the second time on a chosen peak can be particularly torrid. Throw in the fact you've been climbing in country renown as a stronghold for Islamic terrorism, and most people shake their head in miscomprehension.

On July 2nd my climbing partner Malcolm Bass (UK) and I turned back at 6400m on our attempt to make the first ascent of Beka Brakkai Chhok (BBC) (6940m) in the Batura region of northern Pakistan.

For me it was the second retreat- I'd failed on BBC the previous year with my friend Lydia Bradey. I was devastated- to the point of not wanting to return home because of the reaction I thought Id get from friends, family and sponsors. Malcolm dealt with our failure more philosophically. The climbing was too dangerous to be justifiable, he said, and anyway, lots of well known climbers have failed on routes twice, Mark Twight and Nick Bullock for instance.

That was two weeks ago and in the interim I have come to the realisation that maybe the summit isn't as important as I was making it to be. I'm starting to look back with fondness on the expedition - the people around us, the beautiful area, Malcolm's company and the time we spent on the mountain, the whole experience of being in a country as exciting as Pakistan.

Yesterday, American Public Radio's "Marketplace" ran a short, provocative story about alternative fuels.

Listen to the story, "Driving Past the Biofuel Pump," on Marketplace's website.

Scientists at UC Berkeley hope to study the water cycle by tracking raindrops. Learn more about their project in this short video documentary, produced by KQED's Quest.

In California's tinder-dry environment, even the smallest spark can ignite a wildfire.

Fire fighters blame target shooting for the Telegraph Fire, an intense wildfire burning just west of Yosemite National Park. (See a map of the fire, courtesy of the Firefighter Blog.)

The fire started on Friday afternoon (July 25, 2008), near the junction of Telegraph and Sherlock roads, and quickly spiraled out of control. The fire jumped quickly from 1,000 acres to 16,000 acres. As of Monday morning, the fire has spread to cover 26,000 acres. Residents of Midpines and Mariposa received evacuation orders. Authorities cut the electrical power to Yosemite National Park. The Park remains open, running on generator power.

The Telegraph fire joined with a second fire (the Mt. Bullion fire). Cal Fire deployed 268 fire engines, 12 airtankers, and 12 helicopters. Blackhawk aircrews were called in to help work the steep, treacherous terrain. According to the Modesto Bee, 2,000 firefighters, some "from as far away as San Diego," were called into Mariposa County.

The Telegraph fire burns hot and furious, due to the dense, brushy terrain (filled with oily chaparral plants like manzanita) and the heavy fuel load (the area hasn't burned in over a century). Residents describe the fire as akin to an atom bomb. Thick, mushroom shaped clouds loom over the foothills, while white-hot flames lick the sky. Ash and soot have drifted as far west as the cities Fresno and Modesto.

Firefighters anticipate a difficult battle. The Merced River Canyon is a rocky, narrow river canyon, complicated and difficult to navigate. As of Monday morning, only 10% of the fire has been contained. Dry, hot, windy conditions, coupled with a high fuel load, present fire crews with significant challenges.

By Cynthia Houng

We're just heading into the dog days of summer, but I'm already thinking about my cool-season kitchen garden. For Northern California gardeners, Sunset recommends starting seeds in August and September.

Over the weekend, I thumbed through seed catalogs and garden manuals, dreaming.

As I plan, I find myself drawn to the rare and the unusual. Heirloom varieties move me the most. There's something tender and wonderful about maintaining that living connection to the past, to taste the same flavors as someone who lived a hundred years ago.

Sentimentality aside, there is a very real and very sensible reason to preserve heirloom varieties of domestic plants -- their survival ensures that we conserve genetic diversity, providing insurance against outbreaks of diseases, pests, and other disasters.

Mountain Hardwear athlete Andrew McLean appears in this little video about Mountain Unicycling.

Jessa Goebel and her crew tear it up in Wyoming!

All photographs by Jessa Goebel, Kevin Wilkinson, and Alli Rainey.

View more photographs of Kevin, Jessa, and Alli on Flickr

Join us in Salt Lake City for this year's Wasatch Wobble fun run. Sign up at the Montrail booth at OR (#26013). We will donate your $10 entry fee to the Conservation Alliance. Show up in front of the Salt Palace at 6 am sharp on Sunday, August 10th, to catch the shuttle bus to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.

Space is limited -- we have slots for only 300 participants, so sign up early!

View our flyer for the Wasatch Wobble.

Sponsored by Montrail, TrailRunner, Nuun, Jetboil, Adventure Medical Kits, Nathan, Mountain Hardwear, and Allterrain Co.