Did you know there was a golf course at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park?

The following is an adaptation from Ramble On: A History of Hiking:

"Oh, what a paradise!"

That was Martha Longmire’s reaction upon seeing the lush meadows, spectacular wildflower displays and sublime scenery of Mount Rainier’s southern valley for the very first time in 1885. The name would stick. Today, the most popular area in Mount Rainier National Park is known as “Paradise,” and once you set your own eyes upon it you’ll understand why. In fact, I would rank the Skyline Loop as one of the best hikes I’ve ever taken.

Now, imagine a sprawling golf course marring this beautiful setting – or even worse, a motorcycle rally!

Paradise Park is widely recognized as one of the snowiest places on Earth. On average, the meadow receives roughly 640 inches of snow each year. During the winter of 1971-1972, it received a whopping 1122 inches (93.5 feet) of snow, which set a world record at that time. As a result of the extreme amount of snow that falls each year, the snow-free season at Paradise is quite short, lasting only three months or so. Because of the short tourist season, Mt. Rainier officials experimented with some highly unconventional tactics to attract visitors, thus hoping to raise more revenue for the park. This included opening a nine-hole golf course at Paradise in 1931. Horace M. Albright, the National Park Service Director at that time, rationalized the decision by stating,

Golf is a country game not a city one. It can be justified in parks easier than tennis. Anyway, I want to try out the thing and as the Rainier Company needs revenue more than any other Company I am disposed to let them try the experiment.

Fortunately, after the snow started falling in October of that year, the course was permanently closed. Perhaps the most egregious stunt ever employed by the National Park Service was the staging of a motorcycle hill climb at Paradise in 1922. The event was attended by more than 300 motorcyclists, but “came to a swift end when scars on the hillside became all too noticeable.”

This book on hiking history is now available on Amazon Kindle.

Vulcanization

The following is an adaptation from Ramble On: A History of Hiking:

Until the turn of the twentieth century, rubberized clothing was the most popular choice for staying dry in the outdoors. Hikers and outdoorsmen of all stripes used a variety of India rubber products to stay dry, or keep their gear dry. This included rubberized coats, ponchos, blankets and knapsacks.

India rubber was first used in textiles as far back as 1824. However, before Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization in 1839, the first generation of India rubber products failed to perform as intended. The rubber coating on textiles from that period tended to melt in the summer and crack in the winter. A perfect illustration of the ineffectiveness of the product comes from a U.S. Naval officer who wrote a scathing complaint about this newly issued garment in 1835, exclaiming:

Oh! I wish the rascal were here, who sold it to me! I am up to my knees in water, it runs in, but ‘it won’t run out,’ and the caps leak through every seam, the jacket is not worth a groat.

After the discovery of vulcanization, it would take Charles Goodyear another five years to perfect the process of curing, which made rubber products more pliable, easier to meld, and far more durable. The process that developed from Goodyear’s invention involved mixing sulfur and chemicals with the sap of a rubber tree, which was heated to form a sticky mass. The mass was then rolled into thin sheets, which were then applied to cotton, wool or silk before being steam-heated and cut into garments.

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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• Just released: Ramble On: A History of Hiking

Ötzi the Iceman

The following is an adaptation from Ramble On: A History of Hiking:

In 1991, the remains of an ancient rucksack were discovered in Tyrol, a historic region in the Alps of northern Italy and western Austria. Though it’s the oldest backpack ever found, this wood-frame pack certainly wasn’t the first. Archeological evidence shows that nearly every culture around the world has used some form of bag, sack or pack to carry heavy loads on their backs while traveling.

In September of 1991, two German tourists came across a frozen corpse while trekking off-trail along a glaciated ridge below the precipitous slopes of the Fineilspitze in the Ötztal Alps. Because of the location and the condition of the body, the couple assumed that the individual was the victim of a relatively recent mountaineering accident. Evidence, however, soon revealed that the victim was much older than originally thought. The corpse was actually the mummified remains of a Copper Age man who died around 3300 BCE. Among the artifacts found at the site were a copper-bladed axe, dagger, bow, arrows, two birch-bark containers, and the wooden frame remnants of a rucksack. Though all other evidence was long gone, researchers believe that an animal skin or a net was attached to the frame that would’ve allowed the late Neolithic man to carry his possessions on his back. As a result of being found in the Ötztal Alps, the man was given the name “Ötzi.” It’s believed that “Ötzi the Iceman” was roughly 45 years of age when he died. Moreover, an X-ray taken in 2001 revealed that a flint arrowhead was lodged in his left shoulder, which provided scientists with convincing evidence that Ötzi was likely murdered. The mummified remains of Ötzi and his artifacts are now on display in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.

The museum describes the remains of the rucksack as follows:

A U-shaped hazel rod (approx. 2 m long) and two narrow wooden boards (38-40 cm long) are the only surviving parts of Ötzi’s backpack. The wooden boards and the hazel rod were probably tied together with string, and a hide sack or net was attached to the frame. Backpacks made of wood have a long tradition in the Alps. They were used to transport firewood, for instance.

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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• Just released: Ramble On: A History of Hiking

The Invention of "Carrarmato"

The following is an adaptation from Ramble On: A History of Hiking:

The first major improvement in mountaineering boots came about as a result of a deadly climbing accident in 1935. While descending Punta Rasica, a rugged peak along the Swiss-Italian border, an expedition led by Vitale Bramani was caught in an unexpected blizzard. Unable to descend along the icy rock walls, six members of his party ultimately succumbed to exhaustion, exposure and frostbite. As was the custom at that time, climbers wore heavy, hobnailed boots along the lower slopes of mountains. As they climbed higher, they would exchange their boots for lighter rock climbing shoes, usually made with thin leather and felt-bottom soles that offered little protection against cold temperatures or moisture. Though they worked well in normal weather, the shoes offered virtually no grip in icy conditions.

Convinced that inadequate footwear played the primary role in the deaths of his six companions, Bramani resolved to find a solution to the problem. Two years later he introduced a boot sole with an innovative tread design that he called Carrarmato, which means “tank tread.” The sole was made from vulcanized rubber, and featured heavy lugs that were designed to take the place of hobnails. The rubber lug pattern provided boots with outstanding traction, which allowed them to be used on a variety of surfaces, including uneven forest floors, bare rock, loose scree slopes, and hard-packed snow. Moreover, the rubber soles were highly durable, abrasion-resistant, waterproof, and provided far more insulation against the cold than leather soles. In 1937, with the financial backing of Leopoldo Pirelli, grandson of the founder of Pirelli Tires, Bramani launched his revolutionary new product. Taking the first two letters of his first name, and the first four letters of his last name, Vitale Bramani called his startup enterprise “Vibram.” Almost immediately, the lugged soles caught on with the climbing community, and eventually with hikers in the 1960s and 70s.



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

New edition of "Ramble On: A History of Hiking" released!

Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk in the woods for pleasure?

While there are enough books about mountaineering to fill a small library, very little has been written on the rich and fascinating history of hiking. Ramble On: A History of Hiking is the first book to explore how hiking evolved into one of the world’s most popular outdoor recreational activities.

Extensively researched, this book provides a broad overview of the origins of hiking, as well as the cultural trends, movements, events, and innovations that spurred its growth and allowed it to eventually flourish.

This second edition of Ramble On: A History of Hiking builds upon the original to reflect additional research and to expand more broadly on a few key topics. For example, I wanted to provide a deeper understanding of how the Age of Enlightenment and the Romantic Era influenced art, aesthetics, literature, religion and thought, which in turn allowed hiking to bloom and eventually flourish. I also thought that it was important to chronicle in more detail the crucial role the multi-generational Crawford family of New Hampshire played in the development of hiking in America. This edition also explores how the term “hiking” surprisingly evolved after the Philippine-American War to assume the meaning we understand today.

Praise for the first edition:

"Doran weaves the social, cultural, industrial, and political milieu into this fascinating history. Amusing, astonishing, and sometimes alarming anecdotes .. make this a fascinating and significant account of the history of hiking."

- Priscilla Estes, Appalachian Footnotes, Winter 2018-2019, Delaware Valley Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club


Ramble On: A History of Hiking is now available on Amazon.