Archive for March 2013

Special Course Discount from True North!

On March 25, 2013   /   News   /   Comments Off on Special Course Discount from True North!
Special Course Discount from True North!

Would you like to volunteer your time to do something that is valuable for the environment … And learn potentially life saving skills while definitely saving some of your hard earned money?  Then read on! Erik has already registered with Paddle Without Pollution (PWP) to volunteer his time on Saturday, 25 May at their cleanup on the Allegheny River near Tarentum.  He believes that PWP is offering another fantastic opportunity to enjoy a wonderful Spring day helping the river and its surrounding region that he has grown to love, while meeting a lot of great people in the process. But Erik certainly doesn’t want to keep such a great opportunity all to himself … He wants all of his friends from the True North community to join in too! So as special incentive for you to join in the event, Erik is offering a 20% discount on True North’s upcoming Wilderness […]

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Our Newest Navigators

On March 10, 2013   /   Adventures, News   /   Comments Off on Our Newest Navigators
Our Newest Navigators

On Friday night, 40 students and staff from a Pennsylvania university needed to be rescued in Kentucky after they got lost while hiking along a popular trail.  Clearly, no one in the group had bothered to learn the basic map and compass skills that would have let them safely find their way, or, more importantly, would have likely prevented their predicament in the first place.  Regrettably, this is the way many people approach the outdoors.  Except, that is, Ian and Skot, who just completed “Basic Wilderness Navigation” yesterday. On what was probably the loveliest day of the year so far — clear skies with a bright sun, little wind, and temperatures in the low 50s — we met at Hartwood Acres County Park to learn the fundamentals of map and compass. We started the first evolution of the course learning the basics of a standard USGS topographic map, and then […]

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Communing with the Dead

On March 4, 2013   /   Equipment, News, Reading   /   Comments Off on Communing with the Dead
Communing with the Dead

On Saturday, my postwoman handed me the latest version of Accidents in North American Mountaineering (ANAM) that I had ordered earlier in the week.  When I get home tonight from a meeting with my friend, J.C., I fully intend to crack open a beer, plop down on my couch with my fresh copy, and, soon after I start to read, begin heavily marking the pages with my highlighter and pencil.  Since it is the sixth year in a row that I’ve been reading this journal, I know that it will probably take me about a week to finish — And I will appreciate every minute of it. Whoa, wait a minute, Erik, isn’t it a little weird to “appreciate” page after page of death, injury, and mortality statistics?  I wrote “appreciate,” not “enjoy.”  Besides, I read it … and often recommend it to my students … for very good reasons.  After […]

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