How to Get Really Close to Tigers

by Jonathon Morgan on

Ever been on safari, and wished you could get up close and personal with animals? Normally that’d be too dangerous, but one German performance artists has found a novel solution for keeping himself self while out in the elements.

He’s protected by a giant ball of steel wire. Not only that, the design of the ball allows him to move at will — propelling himself and the contraption simply by shifting his weight in a walking motion.

It’s part of a 220-mile publicity stunt to raise awareness for those who need psychiatric help. Seems a little random, but according to Arnd Drossel, the artist: “the whole concept is about finding the courage to do something and inspire courage in those who have lost their confidence along with much else.”

Drossel envisioned the idea after suffering a personal low, and realizing how little help there was for people in bouts with depression. So he enlisted the help of psychiatric patients around the area to build his unique traveling device, then set off at a pace of nearly 13 miles a day.

If nothing else, it certainly appears to have the tigers’ attention.

[via Spluch]

Mail A Postcard from Underground: Carlsbad Caverns

by Jamie Rhein on

Willy ‘s post on underwater mailboxes reminded me of my own experience mailing postcards at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. At the end of the tour, before you head up the elevator to the surface, you can buy a postcard, write a “Wish you were here missive,” affix a postage stamp and drop it in a U.S. mailbox. There’s an ink pad and message stamp so you can add, “Mailed at 750 feet underground.”

Since Carlsbad is a wet cave, I seem to remember a certain dampness about this endeavor. Mailing a postcard isn’t the only thing you can do underground at Carlsbad. There’s a restaurant/snack bar as well.

Mailing a postcard and eating lunch underground aren’t really the reasons to head here; the caverns are enough. In the summer, if you stick around until dusk, you can watch the hundreds of Mexican free-tailed bats swarm out of the cave’s entrance. These bats are what tipped off, cowboy Jim White in 1901 that there was something unusual in the distance. He thought he was seeing smoke.

For someone else’s account of mailing postcards, check out Carlsbad Caverns National Park on Tour of America Airstream Life’s Web site.

Blue Ridge Party Hearty

by Erik Olsen on

Every year for the last twenty or so, hordes of granola-chomping backpacker types (and those wearing absurd funny glasses) descend on the town of Damascus, Virginia for a week of frolic in the wild. The town’s population jumps from 10000 to over 20,000 and live bands, gear extravaganzas, cookouts and funnel cake sales-people clog the streets.

Appalachian Trail Days is the name of the event and it has become one of the largest annual backpacker fetes around. This years fest goes from May 12-20 and offers the opportunity to hang out with outdoorsy folks, to pitch your tent and start a fire or two (OK, I don’t know that for sure…there may be a strict no fire rule). No matter, this sounds like a heap of fun. I am heading to Norway myself about that time, but if I can talk my wife into going for just a weekend, we might check it out.

Use A Condom to Make Fire?

by Willy Volk on

So you’re out in the woods hiking alone, and you want to cook some Ramen. Dang, you forgot your matches. And your lighter. But you’ve got a condom and some water. Think you can start a fire? This guy can.

Hiking Hollywood: The M*A*S*H Trail

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s not so often that one can combine Hollywood sightseeing with a hike in the mountains. And yet, if you happen to be in Los Angeles (naturally) there is a wonderfully challenging and beautiful hike that takes you deep into the Santa Monica Mountains and into the heart of Korea.

Well, actually, the hike takes you to the location where the classic M*A*S*H television series was filmed. Remember all those tents, jeeps, and helicopters dropping off wounded American GIs? Yep, Santa Monica, California. Not Korea.

The movie location is located in Malibu Creek State Park. The 4.5 mile hike follows Malibu Creek past Rock Pool (where Planet of the Apes was filmed), Century Lake and eventually onward to the M*A*S*H site itself where fans of the series can reminisce over a stripped-down jeep and ambulance. Not much else remains from the show.

A whole slew of movies were filmed in Malibu Creek State Park and this hike provides a wonderful opportunity to witness the locations in their true natural beauty. Be sure to research before hand, however, so that you can better identify such locations as the cliff from which Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid jumped.