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Show Or- SIPflMMTS Park Record Thursday, June 22, 1989 Page B1 Patience and a few tricks can make trail trips fun for kids by Penny Byrne Record guest writer The following is the second in a two-part series on backpacking and camping with small children, Penny Byrne is an outdoor enthusiast from Logan who has hiked and packed trails throughout the Wasatch Front during the past several years. Backpacking with small children can be fun or it can be awful. One of the things that determines which is the sleeping arrangements provided for the children. I know some folks who believed that buying a sleeping sleep-ing bag for a child was a waste of money, the kid-size bags are almost as expensive as the adult kind, they weigh almost as much (making it certain that no child will carry his own) and the kid outgrows them long before they've been used enough to justify the expense. I guess all of that may be true. On the other hand, if what you're after is a happy experience for even the littlest camper, get a sleeping bag. I found an ideal compromise many years ago. That answer came with the purchase of a kit designed design-ed to "grow" with the child. It had extra bags of down filling to be added to channels in the bag. The first year it was only 35 inches long, then when the next section sec-tion was added the following year it grew to 48 inches. Now, it's a full 76 inches and it's the best bag we have. Kids aren't much for sleeping on the ground or out in the open. We have always used tents, and small backpacking back-packing tents are made to order for kids. They think those little nylon houses are play-houses made especially for them. It's okay for them to think that way just be sure they understand that a tent is fragile. For sleeping on, an inexpensive and lightweight plastic air mattress (even the swimming pool kind) will do a kid just fine. Clothes for kids are the same as for adults, perhaps moreso. Layers, beginning with soft cotton t-smrts and ending with wind-breakers of jackets, depending on weather, can be added or removed. Take a set of long johns for little ones. They can double as pajamas if the weather gets cold. Plenty of dry socks and at least one spare set of sneakers are vital. Creek wading is almost a required activity on camping trips, but so is falling in, so it's wise to take at least two extra changes. Be sure to take a hat for your child. Sunscreen, insect in-sect repellent and antiseptic all the usual outdoor remedies are even more necessary for children. Most kids I've hiked with have loved the camping part. If you can stand to let 'em get real dirty, they'll probably like it even more. If you're in an area that allows campfires, you've probably got it made. And don't forget the marshmallows. If you can't have a campfire, be sure there are plenty plen-ty of flashlights (and spare batteries) so that going to bed isn't a scary proposition. Get a small disposable light for the child to use. And be prepared to be awakened at least once the first night. "That's an owl! Isn't that exciting," is a ploy that usually works. "A real owl, and we can hear him. No, he won't hurt you he's just calling out to his wife." One last suggestiion: be prepared to call it all off. If you get to the trailhead and the sky is gloomy, the rain comes pouring down and the temperature is falling, why persist? Hardened "roughies" would put on ponchos pon-chos and slog ahead. Sensitive parents who want their children to enjoy this stuff won't. The same thing applies if conditions turn bad once underway. Turning around when walking with a four-year-old is okay. Your reward for this approach will come years later when you're hiking with your teen. The clouds will lower, the sleet will begin. You'll be ready to turn around, but your kid, now a roughie, will look surprised. "Come on, Mom you're not gonna' let a little rain slow you down, are ya?" Yellowstone comeback promotes park progress mmxMM by JENNIFER MADGIC Record staff writer If last summer's fires disfigured Yellowstone National Park, the resultant landscape and populace seemed hardly to notice. Buffalo, elk, and bear roam with relative calm. Trumpeter swans gracefully sit atop nests along area rivers and lakes. And, of course, tourists flock with their usual array of RV's, cameras and wide-eyed admiration. It isn't the same park by any means. It is, however, a park in transition. And although debate on the fires of '88 will rage for decades, it is plain to see how Mother Nature is reacting. "The new Yellowstone," as touted by park personnel, is a stronger, more durable place. Aided by one of the harshest winters in years, swollen herds have been reduced giving way for a more evenly-balanced evenly-balanced ecosystem. Ecosystems are tricky. Unlike the stability of our own homes and environment, en-vironment, nature is something we can not and should "not' rely on. Balance is a hoax. Whereas we envision envi-sion balance as uniformity, nature views it in a much larger sense. By some standards, last summer's fires and last winter's winter kill were extremes which could have been avoided. Park officials think otherwise. "The park will take care of itself," said Robert Barbee, park superintendent. "This is a recurring event, happening every 200, 300 years since the Ice Age. This isn't a great big tree farm. We want processes pro-cesses to take place as naturally as possible. There is a growing recognition recogni-tion that fire has a role to play" Pessimism typically follows change. Last summer as fire ravaged ravag-ed over half the park, opponents argued Yellowstone would never be the same. Visitors certainly wouldn't want to spend vacation time in a forest of blackened mat-chsticks. mat-chsticks. Without a doubt, there are patches of Yellowstone National Park which look stricken by war. Long branchless bran-chless tree trunks stand dispassionately dispas-sionately on charred landscape. Hillsides resemble giant porcupines and fallen trees cover the ground. Half burned trees merge with the forest creating a mosaic akin to autumn. From any park entrance it is easy to see that fires indeed covered 50 percent of the park's 2.2 million acres. But remember, half the park is still intact. Pockets of unscathed trees appear like oasises. Shoots of grass and wildflowers are in abundance. abun-dance. Roads once cut through dense timber are open, allowing for greater sunshine and visibility. Most animals were able to escape last year's eight fires. People are mistakingly blaming the fires for record animal deaths. It is believed almost 30 percent of the park's bison died as a result of the harsh winter, and 20 percent of the elk population. In comparison, fire is being blamed for only 250 deaths. Park employees have been busy moving roadside carcasses back from roads to prevent conflict. If you've been to Yellowstone during dur-ing the past decade, you can attest to high bison and elk numbers. They litter meadows and highway shoulders, being blamed for over grazing. Smaller herds and greater grazing area will help the situation, which will in turn help the larger animals. Jordan Pederson, Utah Division of Wildlife spokesman and grizzly bear advocate, believes park bears should see a surge in population. He says an abundance of winter kill has left behind a smorgasbord for grizzlies and fire swept areas have provided greater forging grounds. A health adult female population, coupled with the healthy food supply encourages Pederson who believes the next 10 years will be productive ones for Yellowstone Park bears. The status of the grizzly has been ' questionable during the past decade. Once allowed to graze on area garbage gar-bage dumps, aggressive measures were taken to rid the park of problem pro-blem bears and avoid bearhuman conflict. The grizzly and black bear situation situa-tion has not been an encouraging one. If a balanced ecosystem is desired, you don't knock off one its 9. 1 7 j mmm. Kfsm Ml'-. TTM t . x ar iiw. . S fif'O' iir.., Resilient bison feeds along highway near West Entrance. Herds were reduced by last winter's harsh conditions. Jenniler Madgic greatest contributors. The bear, as well as the wolf, are an integral piece of the Yellowstone puzzle. After wiping out the wolf and coming close to doing the same with the bear, park officials are finally putting put-ting a foot down on returning Yellowstone to its natural state. But "natural" requires education. The public is often confused by the wilds. Fires should be extinguished, wolves shot, starving animals fed to make life better for number one. Yellowstone National Park is going through one its biggest educational programs ever. Public relation efforts ef-forts are going full force, making the public aware that human interference in-terference will cause Yellowstone bigger problems in the future. Chief park naturalist George B. Robinson believes the fires will "significantly improve" wildlife habitat. "All our beliefs are geared to suggest sug-gest that fire is bad. But here, nature replaced an aging and decadent growth of lodgepole pine with something that will be much more diverse." Aside from increased black and grizzly bear habitat, Robinson said "birds will reappear in larger numbers, especially cavity nesters such as the three-toed woodpecker, the great gray owl and the mountain bluebird." Superintendent Barbee asks the public not to treat Yellowstone as a "zoo." "Death is a hard sell," he said. You'll find death of vegetation and animals does not mean death of Yellowstone. Jennifer Madgic A young bull moose finds plenty to eat on river bottom. Muckers manhandle Portneuf, stand 2-1 in Grey Cup utrftyr " '.: !.,.;., :,; Mark Cotgrove prepares to receive the pass in Saturday's 13-0 Mucker win over Portneuf Valley of Pocatello. Dan Pambianco by DAN PAMBIANCO Record staff writer All it took was a little finesse. That's right, finesse to win a rugby match. Of course there was also some brutality mixed into the Park City Muckers 13-0 victory over Portneuf Port-neuf Valley Saturday at City Park. "Usually their forward plays pretty pret-ty physical," said Park City's Paul Carpenter. "But our whole team played that way, which won us a lot of balls." The Muckers will try to continue the winning Saturday with another match at City Park, this one against Orem United. Action gets underway at 1 p.m. Saturday's fine-tuned effort was obvious early, with several near-tries near-tries resulting but no points to show for them as the half wound down. The visitors from Pocatello managed manag-ed a couple of breakaways of their own, but likewise failed to cross the goal. The first scoring opportunity came on a penalty kick attempt by Carpenter from 35 meters out. Despite the tough angle, the Mucker drilled the ball right down the middle, mid-dle, only to have it hit dead center on the crossbar and deflect out. "I thought it was going to be good, but it came up just short," he said. "I've done that four times now this year." A moment of controversy followed the miss when a Park City player fell on the live ball for an apperent try. The officials waived off the points, however, leaving the match scoreless in the dwindling minutes prior to the break. The Muckers seemed to gain momentum after Carpenter's miss, and made the most of the time remaining re-maining in coming up with a try right before halftime. Mark Cotgrove took a backline kick and advanced it 50 yards before passing to Zuke Garceau. Garceau, facing an imminent tackle, left the ball behind for John Haas, who scooped it up and downed the try in the end-goal. end-goal. The conversion kick failed, placing plac-ing the Muckers on the up- end of a precarious 4-0 lead. The surge continued con-tinued into the second half, however, making the situation a bit more comfortable. com-fortable. Another try extended the lead when Charlie Slusher broke free for a slick piece of running. Slusher, a relative newcomer to the team, made a wise decision to pass as he approached the goal and was about to have his route cut off. The lateral found it's way into the hands of John Ott, trailing on the play, who placed the ball dead center in the end-goal for four more See RUGBY on B2 x |