High on Life - Driving 100 miles one way to hike 10

Of the many offerings for WDC area hikers last week, I jumped on one to West Virginia's Lost River SP, part of the roads-less-traveled-at-least-by mid-week-hikers series. Discovering Cranny Crow and Big Ridge trails was not to be missed, as WV's protected places put me in the state I seek.

The ratio of miles-driven to miles-walked, something I hear other hikers mention, made me curious to know how much carbon emission the hike generated. Indeed other mid-week hikers opted for a closer-in hike with a more balanced ratio. Googling has its own footprint, I note while finding this information is not so easy to come by.

After some looking I find: "In Europe, the two standard measuring cycles for "litre/100 km" value are "urban" traffic with speeds up to 50 km/h from a cold start, and then "extra urban" travel at various speeds up to 120 km/h which follows the urban test. A combined figure is also quoted showing the total fuel consumed in divided by the total distance traveled in both tests. A reasonably modern European supermini and many mid-size cars, including station wagons, may manage motorway travel at 5 L/100 km (47 mpg US/56 mpg imp) or 6.5 L/100 km in city traffic (36 mpg US/43 mpg imp), with carbon dioxide emissions of around 140 g/km.," supplied at Wiki.

To run the risk of bizarre understatement, many factors complicate the calculation to determine atmospheric carbon dioxide emitted on any particular car trip. However, using above figures with respect to a Toyota Land Cruiser, assuming 15.66 mpg (1/3 of 47 mpg) and thus 3 times the emission rate, emission might be something on the order of 420 gms / km, or .93 pounds / 62 miles. I come up with about 3 pounds of carbon emissions and 13.6 gallons of gas consumed.

I don't know the average fuel economy of our "fleet" of five or so cars carrying around 15 hikers, or the total miles individuals drove to carpooling spots...etc. (But at a rate of $12. per each of 3 occupants, it turns out the driver of this car is not adequately compensated for gas. Again, complements to the driver, with renewed appreciation.) This all presents another picture, somewhat unclear, to ponder. It comes from, somewhat nerdily, seeking balance, and questioning impacts and implications of achieving a certain state, in good company. Searching for snow.

A (Sometimes) 1 Percenter Casts a Gaze at WOC

Where ever water's refreshment is sought, White Oak Canyon remains a primal place to see and smell water's essence on a clean cold day. Feeling pallid and cooped up, though not especially winter-blasted, now that the thermometer often belies the cold season, the gorge delivers a better-calibrated hit of goodness than an oxygen bar. Revival is startling.

Reading William Cronin's provocative introduction to Uncommon Ground - Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, by 15 authors who convened at UC Irvine to "explore contemporary environmental problems from a broadly humanistic interdisciplinary perspective" coincided with this visit. At any rate, trying to snag shots and maintain the pace of 7 hiking companions, I began thinking of ice as one more diminishing resource, one that, I for one, in my small way, do my part to rarefy. I wonder if a week of  sub-freezing weather will occur this decade to convert White Oak Canyon's six falls to massive, scalable ice formations, as the hike leader depicted in images made in the two preceding decades.

The steep rocky path, partially concreted with embedded cobbles, reminds me White Oak Canyon was the principle attraction of segregated Skyland resort before becoming a classic hike in Shenandoah National Park. Enjoyment of SNP recalls 500 families unhappily removed to create the park, many descended from settlers following on the heels of vanquished natives, some in turn, we are reminded, who did some vanquishing of their own.

After editing images last night I read The Week citing CNN.com, "To be counted among the world's richest 1 percent, a single individual has to earn just $34,000 a year. Members of the planet's true middle class, meanwhile, live on just $1,225 a year." That's a picture.