The Great Outsmores

The first annual Outdoor Bloggers Summit is headed for St. Louis March 28-30. For those of you not familiar with the Summit, you can check them out at their website or view the Outdoor Bloggers Summit post on the ODB Blog.

They have a number great resources on blogging, outdoors pursuits, and is a great place to network with fellow outdoors bloggers. It’s also a great cause to get behind if you’re writing online about the outdoors, or have a interest in conservation. Check ‘em out, or better yet - add the badge to your blog roll and support the Outdoor Bloggers Summit.

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A heads up to you outdoors folk….  TheGearJunkie.com is giving away some very cool stuff every week in celebration of it’s one year anniversary.

Here’s the gear:

•  Jetboil PCS Camp Stove
• GoPro Digital HERO 3
• Osprey Circuit
• Ahnu Footwear’s SoMa travel shoe
• Kelty Lightyear 15 (Women’s) Sleeping Bag
• La Sportiva Onix GTX-XCR
• Origo Pedometer Watch
• Primus EtaPower Multifuel backpacking stove
• SOLE DK+ footbed
• Gregory Z22 backpack
• Osprey Talon 11
• Outdoor Research Men’s Furio Jacket
• Outdoor Research Women’s Enigma Jacket
• Pacsafe DaySafe 100

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Here’s a one of my personal favorites from Lake Burton in Northeast Georgia. For more photos, you can visit the Lake Burton Civic Association’s Gallery.

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What’s next, calling off wet t-shirt contests? We finally got some rain today… about a tenth of an inch, which leaves us about 16.9 inches short this year. Drought conditions in the deep South are reaching epic proportions, with legal battles heating up over the region’s main water source, the Chattahoochee River. The problem is, residents from three states get their water from the ‘Hooch and the Corp. of Engineers are mandated by law to release enough water from Buford Dam to save an endangered shellfish. That said, Buford Dam impounds Lake Lanier, the source of most of the drinking water for Metro Atlanta’s four million residents.

Now, I live about a half mile from the Chattahoochee, and go running next on the banks a couple times a week. The river appears to be normal, but drastic measures, even rationing, may be in store for a lot of people if don’t get some water here. I’ll keep ya’ll posted on the insanity, in the meantime consider this my virtual raindance:

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Georgia Power has elected not to drop water levels on Lake Burton, Seed, and Rabun for the first time since their construction in the 20’s. GA Power thinks it prudent due to the recent inflows into Lake Burton in the midths of a record drought. The fear is, if they release water for hydro electric power during the winter as normal, they may not get the rain needed to replenish it by spring. It’s that bad. So what’s unfortunate for paddlers, may prove interesting for fishermen that normally have difficulty getting boats in the water once it’s below most of the boat ramps. As a conservationist, and paddler, I hate to see the drought effect on our community, and the hell that it must be playing on our local enviorment. But, as a fisherman……………………….

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As many of you know, today is the international blog action day for the environment.  In that spirit, I wanted to cover one of the ways that land owners can conserve America’s natural areas, and save a whole bunch on their tax bills.  Here’s an introduction to the three largest Land Conservation Trusts operating in the USA today.

The Land Trust Alliance
The Land Trust Alliance promotes voluntary private land conservation to benefit communities and natural systems. We are the national convener, strategist and representative of more than 1,600 land trusts across America.

Sportsmens Land Trust
As a result of loss of access, future generations may never get the chance to enjoy the outdoor traditions that sportsmen have cherished for centuries. Unfortunately, loss of access to quality hunting and fishing seems to be more and more common. The Sportsmen Land Trust was founded to reverse this trend. Our mission is to preserve open space and wildlife habitat with guaranteed access for future generations to carry on the tradition of hunting and fishing.  We are nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Massachusetts but can accept, acquire and manage land resources in all states. We are an organization of sportsmen for sportsmen helping the original conservationists in this country take the lead in resource conservation.

The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come.

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This was reportedly taken on the South African coast, and is was verified as real by snopes.com:

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The Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper is guiding a paddling trip through the Suatee Valley to HWY 115 this Satuday. If anybody is interested in paddling, new to the sport, or new to the area, this is a great opportunity to check out some of the most beautiful paddling in North Georgia. From the UCR website:

Our river trip begins on Sautee Creek in the Nacoochee Valley downstream of Helen, Georgia. Sautee Creek enters the Chattahoochee after about 1/2 mile. The first river section, which consists of eight miles of Class I-II whitewater, has very little flatwater. It is very secluded and is the most beautiful section of the entire upper Chattahoochee. Changing fall leaves should make it even more beautiful. The second five-mile river section runs from Hwy 255 to Hwy 115. It is also very pretty with some flatwater, including a section named the Dead Sea and one Class II-III rapid at Smith Island. Beginners can run this rapid with instruction.

Meet at Wildwood Outfitters on the river at Hwy 384 in White County at 10:00 am. Wildwood will be closed, so we will need to provide our own shuttle, but rental boats can be arranged. Bring your own lunch, snacks, drinks and dry clothes, just in case you need them.

If you have any questions, call Gary Gaines: 770.654.5501 - Directions to Wildwood: Take Hwy 985 North from Atlanta approximately 20 miles past Gainesville to the 3rd red light. Take a left on Hwy 384(Duncan Br Rd) and travel about 5 miles to the bridge across the Chattahoochee. Turn right next to sign with kayak on top.

I’ve done the first section, and while it’s not challenging, it’s a lot of fun and a great experience.

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First sunrise picture in the sunrise, sunset series:

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SAVANNAH — An alligator attack killed an elderly woman whose mauled body was found in a pond, according to an autopsy performed today.

A biologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources says it was the first time an alligator killed a person in Georgia since 1980.

Read the whole article here.

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