Sadly, Roger Taylor, a strong leader in local river preservation and education efforts died of natural causes Monday, died Monday February 22.
Roger can be remember by his books on the history of the rivers in the St. Louis and Missouri region, the Watershed series, and by his three song contribution to the CD River Voices and Songs, that we carry here at Alpine.
His devotion to and enthusiasm for the rivers of Missouri will be greatly missed.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
St. Francis River at Silver Mines on Feb. 21, 2010
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Nice runnable water, on a slight rise, on last Sunday afternoon. Reminders:
1. The Great Canoe and Kayak Event at the Alpine Shop on March 5th and 6th.
2. This river is far the experienced boater;
This reach of the St. Francis River (in lower water levels) has numerous rapids in the class II to III range that can pose problems for lazy or inexperienced paddlers in canoes or kayaks, though none is a serious threat to paddlers in rafts except at very high flows. Strong cross currents, haystacks and small holes around the large rocks that create the rapids demand good planning and execution to avoid pinning and/or wrapping a canoe or kayak.
Most hazards can be scouted from your boat in the river, but if there is a doubt about the best line, then beach the boat and take a look before proceeding. The largest rapids will be in the lower 2.5 miles of this 15.7 mile run. None of the rapids should pose any serious problems for paddlers with at least strong intermediate level whitewater skills.
Highway H bridge one mile west of Syenite at 0.0 miles; SH 72 bridge at about 10.7 miles; Millstream Gardens State Forest at about 13.2 miles; Highway D bridge at USFS Silver Mines Campground at about 15.7 miles. There may be other access points along this reach of the St. Francis river.
Friday, February 19, 2010
AN AMERICAN ICON: UTAH’S RED ROCK CANYONLANDS
While I feel that there are many special places on our planet-not the least of which is our beloved Ozarks-there are few places as unique and wondrous as the canyon country of the Colorado plateau in Utah. It would consume-and has-many lifetimes of determined effort by many individuals to see just a fraction of the secret waterfalls, canyons, cliff dwellings, and ancient rock art that abounds in canyon country.I've been fortunate enough to have gotten to see some of Canada's canoe country wilderness, the High Sierras, the redwood forests which astonished be beyond words, some of the Alps, Rockies, and the Appalachians, but I've never been as awed by God and nature as I always am when I have the pleasure of traveling in Southern Utah. I'm sure this slide show will help other experience a bit of what that part of the Southwest has to offer, even if it does emphasize places that are not yet protected from damage and development.
Rich Orr
AN AMERICAN ICON: UTAH’S RED ROCK CANYONLANDS
Alpine Shop Kirkwood will host a traveling presentation entitled “Wild Utah: America’s Red Rock Wilderness” on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 3 pm.
Robert Redford narrates this multi-media slideshow documenting citizen efforts to designate public lands in southern Utah's spectacular canyon country as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. This 15-minute journey through red rock splendor invigorates and motivates viewers to participate in the movement to protect these unique lands.
“Wild Utah” was made possible through the generous donation of photos, music and words from concerned Utahans who wish to pass this heritage on to future generations. It will be shown in conjunction with a presentation on the current status of the Utah wilderness movement by Clayton Daughenbaugh, Midwest Regional Organizer for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and its partners in the Utah Wilderness Coalition seek to gain local support for the “Citizens’ Proposal” to protect wilderness areas in Utah’s red rock canyonlands. Legislation to do so is currently pending in the United States Congress and administrative decisions by the Department of Interior are ongoing.
“These are spectacular public lands owned by all Americans. As citizens we have a great opportunity to act to protect these special places,” Daughenbaugh said.
Daughenbaugh is also the Chair of the Sierra Club’s National Wildlands Committee and, a former Chicago community organizer, is author of “Common Sense Democracy: How to Complete the American Revolution in Your Neighborhood.”
For more information contact: Rich Orr at 314-775-2144
Monday, February 15, 2010
Official info on bat killing "White Nose Syndrome-WNS"
Hello all MOcavers,
I wanted to clarify some things about our WNS planning at the Missouri Department of Conservation.
WNS is not in Missouri yet. We are checking certain hibernacula this winter--actually most of that is being done by Tony Elliott, my fellow cave/bat biologist from Kirksville, and Derek Shiels, our cave biology assistant. We follow the WNS disinfection rules.
As Mick reported, we are working on our MDC WNS Action Plan, which governs the 290 MDC caves we are responsible for. Actually, we have not closed all 80 known MDC bat caves yet, but that is in the plan once a "WNS trigger" occurs, which would be WNS reliably reported or confirmed in Missouri or an adjacent state. We are working on refining our tiered approach to further triggers, in which we would further control access to other caves. So, the exact sequence of closures is not determined yet.
We did totally close Smittle Cave to permit caving recently. No more permits in the spring and fall for the forseeable future, the primary reason being that up to 500 people were going there, under permits, every year, some from out of state, and we could not adequately prevent the possible accidental introduction of the WNS fungus, Geomyces destructans, with that kind of situation. Smittle Cave is an important site for endangered gray bats year-round, and other bat species. We have seen a decline in the gray bats over the last two years too, so we were concerned about that being caused by too much visitation anyway.
Before I joined MDC in 1998 the official MDC policy was that MDC caves are closed to caving unless signed open or you had a proper permit, which could be granted by certain signs. That was widely misunderstood and ignored by many. With the threat of WNS coming, we think it is necessary to emphasize this existing rule, which is in the Missouri Wildlife Code, adopted by the Conservation Commission many years ago. One change we did make years ago was to remove cave locations from our area brochures, which I changed as MDC's cave biologist. So, we tried to regulate cave access to three types of caves: Class 1 (open if you abide by certain rules), Class 2 (permit access), and Class 3 (closed except for research). These are the same three classes used by the other state and federal agencies in Missouri. With our new emphasis we will be changing our signs to clarify this "closed unless signed open" requirement, especially if WNS hits. But we do not plan to close all of our caves in one move unless it is warranted. We will do it in steps.
Even though we still have our old signs, we have asked our area managers to require that WNS disinfection be required to enter all MDC caves. So, we would appreciate the cooperation of organized cavers, and perhaps y'all could help by informing and teaching others who go in caves.
Some people are questioning the value of disinfecting caving gear, and say that WNS will arrive via the bats anyway. I strongly disagree with that idea. There is strong circumstantial evidence that WNS spreads via both humans and bats, and we need to give our bats the best chance we can. Six specis can be infected so far. We hope to slow the spread of WNS and buy time for our bats and caves in case researchers can come up with an effective treatment method soon. The antifungal, terbinafine, is being researched now.
Some recent news: WNS was confirmed in one bat, Myotis myotis, in a French cave. This revives a hypothesis that WNS came from Europe somehow, possibly via caving gear, and that our bats are less resistant to it. That is just one hypothesis. Other news: A recent test showed that healthy little brown bats got infected after they were introduced into a WNS-infected site in the eastern USA; the site was by then absent of bats and screened to keep the new bats from exchanging. So, once a cave is infected, bats can get WNS from the environment. Also, we recently learned that WNS-infected bats in Pennsylvania had a much higher mortality rate in a site where the cave gate was breached and humans disturbed the bats, than there was in a nondisturbed WNS site. So, human disturbance of bats is still a major factor in their demise, even more so with WNS. Therefore, you can expect to see more cave gates being built on important bat caves, and more enforcement. Those will not solve the entire WNS problem, but there is no one method that will solve the whole problem. We intend to do our part for now, hoping that brilliant scientists will figure out what we can do later on.
We established a Missouri WNS Working Group of biologists, land managers, cave owners and cavers at a meeting on Feb. 5. The purpose of the group will be to exchange information as it comes out from the Fish & Wildlife Service, eastern state agencies, scientists, and our group. I will not be sending out much information until we have completed our MDC WNS Action Plan, we hope by March, maybe later. Many agencies and landowners want to see the MDC plan and possibly follow some of the elements in it, but we do not expect them to simply adopt MDC's approach. They have the right to adopt their own plans. However, MDC does intend to lead an effort to develop a statewide WNS plan, which will mostly be information-sharing and cooperative planning. MDC has state constitutional authority to regulate fish and wildlife in Missouri, so we take that responsibility seriously and hope to help all to work on this problem.
Cavers, master naturalists, college classes, stream teams and others qualified in caving may be able to participate in a cave stewardship program, which MDC hopes to initiate later on. We are not ready quite yet, and it is not really funded yet. Trained cave stewards could help MDC and others by learning disinfection, monitoring abnormal winter bat activity at selected cave entrances, and checking other things under MDC permits. This will not be the style of caving that everyone likes, but I know serious cavers who are already planning to get involved in this.
I would like to compliment CRF, MSS, Chouteau Grotto, Hi Lonesome Master Naturalists, Springfield Plateau Grotto, Kansas City Area Grotto and many other cavers who are preparing wholeheartedly for WNS. We still need skilled cavers to map, photograph and document caves, bats and other resources. We will all have to be more cautious about entering bat caves in the future, including common caves with eastern pipistrelles (tri-colored bats), as they are susceptible too.
Thanks!
Bill Elliott
Missouri Department of Conservation
I wanted to clarify some things about our WNS planning at the Missouri Department of Conservation.
WNS is not in Missouri yet. We are checking certain hibernacula this winter--actually most of that is being done by Tony Elliott, my fellow cave/bat biologist from Kirksville, and Derek Shiels, our cave biology assistant. We follow the WNS disinfection rules.
As Mick reported, we are working on our MDC WNS Action Plan, which governs the 290 MDC caves we are responsible for. Actually, we have not closed all 80 known MDC bat caves yet, but that is in the plan once a "WNS trigger" occurs, which would be WNS reliably reported or confirmed in Missouri or an adjacent state. We are working on refining our tiered approach to further triggers, in which we would further control access to other caves. So, the exact sequence of closures is not determined yet.
We did totally close Smittle Cave to permit caving recently. No more permits in the spring and fall for the forseeable future, the primary reason being that up to 500 people were going there, under permits, every year, some from out of state, and we could not adequately prevent the possible accidental introduction of the WNS fungus, Geomyces destructans, with that kind of situation. Smittle Cave is an important site for endangered gray bats year-round, and other bat species. We have seen a decline in the gray bats over the last two years too, so we were concerned about that being caused by too much visitation anyway.
Before I joined MDC in 1998 the official MDC policy was that MDC caves are closed to caving unless signed open or you had a proper permit, which could be granted by certain signs. That was widely misunderstood and ignored by many. With the threat of WNS coming, we think it is necessary to emphasize this existing rule, which is in the Missouri Wildlife Code, adopted by the Conservation Commission many years ago. One change we did make years ago was to remove cave locations from our area brochures, which I changed as MDC's cave biologist. So, we tried to regulate cave access to three types of caves: Class 1 (open if you abide by certain rules), Class 2 (permit access), and Class 3 (closed except for research). These are the same three classes used by the other state and federal agencies in Missouri. With our new emphasis we will be changing our signs to clarify this "closed unless signed open" requirement, especially if WNS hits. But we do not plan to close all of our caves in one move unless it is warranted. We will do it in steps.
Even though we still have our old signs, we have asked our area managers to require that WNS disinfection be required to enter all MDC caves. So, we would appreciate the cooperation of organized cavers, and perhaps y'all could help by informing and teaching others who go in caves.
Some people are questioning the value of disinfecting caving gear, and say that WNS will arrive via the bats anyway. I strongly disagree with that idea. There is strong circumstantial evidence that WNS spreads via both humans and bats, and we need to give our bats the best chance we can. Six specis can be infected so far. We hope to slow the spread of WNS and buy time for our bats and caves in case researchers can come up with an effective treatment method soon. The antifungal, terbinafine, is being researched now.
Some recent news: WNS was confirmed in one bat, Myotis myotis, in a French cave. This revives a hypothesis that WNS came from Europe somehow, possibly via caving gear, and that our bats are less resistant to it. That is just one hypothesis. Other news: A recent test showed that healthy little brown bats got infected after they were introduced into a WNS-infected site in the eastern USA; the site was by then absent of bats and screened to keep the new bats from exchanging. So, once a cave is infected, bats can get WNS from the environment. Also, we recently learned that WNS-infected bats in Pennsylvania had a much higher mortality rate in a site where the cave gate was breached and humans disturbed the bats, than there was in a nondisturbed WNS site. So, human disturbance of bats is still a major factor in their demise, even more so with WNS. Therefore, you can expect to see more cave gates being built on important bat caves, and more enforcement. Those will not solve the entire WNS problem, but there is no one method that will solve the whole problem. We intend to do our part for now, hoping that brilliant scientists will figure out what we can do later on.
We established a Missouri WNS Working Group of biologists, land managers, cave owners and cavers at a meeting on Feb. 5. The purpose of the group will be to exchange information as it comes out from the Fish & Wildlife Service, eastern state agencies, scientists, and our group. I will not be sending out much information until we have completed our MDC WNS Action Plan, we hope by March, maybe later. Many agencies and landowners want to see the MDC plan and possibly follow some of the elements in it, but we do not expect them to simply adopt MDC's approach. They have the right to adopt their own plans. However, MDC does intend to lead an effort to develop a statewide WNS plan, which will mostly be information-sharing and cooperative planning. MDC has state constitutional authority to regulate fish and wildlife in Missouri, so we take that responsibility seriously and hope to help all to work on this problem.
Cavers, master naturalists, college classes, stream teams and others qualified in caving may be able to participate in a cave stewardship program, which MDC hopes to initiate later on. We are not ready quite yet, and it is not really funded yet. Trained cave stewards could help MDC and others by learning disinfection, monitoring abnormal winter bat activity at selected cave entrances, and checking other things under MDC permits. This will not be the style of caving that everyone likes, but I know serious cavers who are already planning to get involved in this.
I would like to compliment CRF, MSS, Chouteau Grotto, Hi Lonesome Master Naturalists, Springfield Plateau Grotto, Kansas City Area Grotto and many other cavers who are preparing wholeheartedly for WNS. We still need skilled cavers to map, photograph and document caves, bats and other resources. We will all have to be more cautious about entering bat caves in the future, including common caves with eastern pipistrelles (tri-colored bats), as they are susceptible too.
Thanks!
Bill Elliott
Missouri Department of Conservation
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Jackson Kayak Demo Boats Arrive at Alpine Shop Kirkwood
Back in 2003, I was on pace to hit about 70 days on the river in a whitewater kayak. That June alone, I was planning on spending 17 of the 30 days of the month either creeking or in a playboat clinic.
A funny thing happened, though, on my way to the St. Francis River take out on Memorial Day that year. While playing in a pour-over not 200 yards from my car, I tore my rotator cuff. (Or, at least that's all I thought had happened.) After over six months of pain, three doctors, eventual surgery for impingement syndrome and then three months of recovery, I came out of my "non-boating" period in 2004 with a completely different life: went in single, came out married; had a different job with Alpine Shop, a new house and a completely different lifestyle. The closest I would get to 70 days on the river was a five day trip I took in October of 2004. Chalk it up to the rigors of family life - and the incredibly hard transition involved with caring for our disabled daughter who arrived in 2005.
So, why the long back story? Because 2010 is the year it looks like I'm getting back on the river. Alpine Shop just got in its first shipment of demo boats from Jackson Kayaks and we're getting everything together for our first demo days in February down on the St. Francis River.
Here's a few shots of the new 2010 boats:
2010 Jackson Fun (L: 6'5", W: 25.2625", weight range: 135-180 lbs.
Then there's the 2010 All-Star:
(L: 5'10", W: 25-3/4" weight range: 130-200 lbs.)
And here's a great shot of the length and volume differences between the 2010 Superstar (on top) and the '10 2 Fun on the bottom. The Superstar is for paddlers between 160 to 230 lbs and is a half inch shorter than the 2 Fun (below) which is for paddlers between 110 and 155 lbs.
Demo Days begin on Saturday, February 13. See you then!
A funny thing happened, though, on my way to the St. Francis River take out on Memorial Day that year. While playing in a pour-over not 200 yards from my car, I tore my rotator cuff. (Or, at least that's all I thought had happened.) After over six months of pain, three doctors, eventual surgery for impingement syndrome and then three months of recovery, I came out of my "non-boating" period in 2004 with a completely different life: went in single, came out married; had a different job with Alpine Shop, a new house and a completely different lifestyle. The closest I would get to 70 days on the river was a five day trip I took in October of 2004. Chalk it up to the rigors of family life - and the incredibly hard transition involved with caring for our disabled daughter who arrived in 2005.
So, why the long back story? Because 2010 is the year it looks like I'm getting back on the river. Alpine Shop just got in its first shipment of demo boats from Jackson Kayaks and we're getting everything together for our first demo days in February down on the St. Francis River.
Here's a few shots of the new 2010 boats:
2010 Jackson Fun (L: 6'5", W: 25.2625", weight range: 135-180 lbs.
Then there's the 2010 All-Star:(L: 5'10", W: 25-3/4" weight range: 130-200 lbs.)
And here's a great shot of the length and volume differences between the 2010 Superstar (on top) and the '10 2 Fun on the bottom. The Superstar is for paddlers between 160 to 230 lbs and is a half inch shorter than the 2 Fun (below) which is for paddlers between 110 and 155 lbs.Demo Days begin on Saturday, February 13. See you then!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Help Preserve an Ozark Wonder!
As shown in this link to the River Hills Traveler, this April the Mark Twain National Forest is asking for volunteers to help restore the old mill and cabin at Falling Spring in Oregon County, near the Arkansas border.This very special and unique natural and historic area is about as isolated and unspoiled as it gets in Missouri. But it's very remoteness means that it is very susceptible to neglect and vandalism. The 1920's mill and nearby cabin are wonderful historic relics of the past located in one of the most spectacular parts of the Ozarks near the Eleven Point River and the heart of the Irish Wilderness, a federally designated wilderness area.
This area abounds in natural and historic wonders, ranging from the nearby Wilderness Cemetery to Turner's Mill, spring, and cave on the Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River.
That makes this is a wonderful opportunity to get to see one of Missouri's wildest corners and help protect and rebuild an important cultural resource for future generations to enjoy!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Rollin' for Charity! Alpine Shop Employees & Elite Cyclists Race 100 Miles Indoors for Charities
Two of St. Louis’s top cyclists will go head-to-head this weekend in an indoor race for charity. The inaugural Rollin’ for Charity Indoor 100 Bike Race will pit man versus woman and mountain bike versus road bike in a race to raise cash and ride 100 miles on bicycle rollers at Alpine Shop’s Kirkwood store.
Chris Ploch, the reigning and four-time Missouri State NORBA Mountain Bike Champion, and Carrie Cash, the current Missouri State Cyclocross Champion, will be competing for over four hours to raise funds for the ALS Association St. Louis Regional Chapter and the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer, respectively.
Alpine Shop, employer for both Ploch and Cash, has offered a $500 prize with $350 going to the charity of the first racer to complete the 100 mile race and $150 to the second-place racer’s charity.
The truly unique aspect of this race will be each participant’s bike. While both will ride on rollers - a type of treadmill for bikes known for its difficulty - Ploch will be racing on his Gary Fisher Superfly mountain bike and Cash will be on her Team Vera Bradley Foundation Specialized Amira road bike.
“100 miles on indoor rollers is going to be uncomfortable,” says Ploch. “But nowhere near what my grandmother went through with ALS.”
“Racing 100 miles - especially indoors - is like a puzzle,” says Cash. “You start with a lot of pieces. Eventually, the fewer pieces you have left, the better the picture looks.”
Both riders are aiming to raise $1500 for their respective charities through this competition. Anyone wishing to support Ploch and the ALS Association St. Louis Regional Chapter or to support Cash and the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer can visit alpineshop.com for links to the specific charities. Pledge amounts may be made in any amount. All supporters will be entered to win in various drawings throughout the day.
The race will begin at 11 am at Alpine Shop Kirkwood (440 N. Kirkwood Road, 63122) and will run for approximately four hours. To make this fun for both racers, as well as those who come out to support them, mini-competitions will be held each half-hour during the race with prizes given to the winning racers’ supporters.
The Rollin’ for Charity Race is part of the Outdoor Fitness Festival going on Saturday, January 9 at Alpine Shop Kirkwood. Various clinics will be held throughout the day giving tips on using the outdoors to accomplish your 2010 fitness goals.
About Carrie Cash
The current Missouri State Cyclocross Champion, Cash is the co-founder of Team Revolution – a cycling education and advocacy non-profit organization for women. Following three years of racing for her own organization, Cash is heading into her first year as a professional cyclist racing for Team Vera Bradley Foundation. In 2009, Cash had 14 top 20 finishes in major competitions including five top 10 placings.
About Chris Ploch
Chris Ploch is a four-time Missouri State NORBA Champion and currently races for both Team DRJ-Racing and the Gary Fisher 29er Crew Racing Team. He was also the 2009 champion of the Alpine Shop Short Track Dirt Crit Series and has made the move to the Semi-Pro status heading into 2010. Last year, he also participated in the Missouri River 340 River Race and competed with the Alpine Shop Adventure Racing Team at the Goomna 6 Hour Duathlon.
About The Alpine Shop
The Alpine Shop began life in 1973 as a small climbing shop. Today, through its three locations in Kirkwood, Chesterfield and Columbia, Mo., it serves almost every type of outdoor enthusiast—be they backpackers, campers, cyclists, hikers, paddlers, skiers, snowboarders or climbers—with a friendly and knowledgeable staff, cutting edge products and a wide variety of how-to clinics for all activity levels.
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