NOLS Hudson River Paddle—June 3

Join NOLS-NYC Alumni for a day-kayak in the Hudson River Valley!

The Atlantic Kayak Company will lead an amazing trip in the Bear Mountain area.  Check out the information below.  For more details, including directions, a map of the area, and a ‘What to Bring’ list, download the pdf file: Download KayakPopolopen_CreekDescription.pdf

What:      Popolopen Creek Paddle
When:     Sunday, June 3
                9:30am Meeting time
               4:00pm Approximate end time
Where:    Annsville Creek Paddlesport Center  (see blog for directions and map)

Tour Description:
Depart from the Annsville Creek Paddlesport Center and head north with the current toward the Bear Mountain Bridge.  Crossing the river, paddle past Iona Island and Bear Mountain State Park.  The historic site of Fort Montgomery is a great spot to have lunch and take a self-guided tour of the site or walk to the Bear Mountain Zoo.  After lunch, paddle to the end of the creek, for a beautiful view of the cascading Devil’s Hole waterfalls.  Then turn south with the current for the paddle back to the Paddlesport Center.  Total distance:  6-10 miles.
Cost:      Price of tours is $55, plus $45 equipment fee, if needed. 
To RSVP and pay:
Go to the AKC’s web site, http://www.atlantickayaktours.com/, download the registration form and sign up as the NOLS Alumni June 3 Tour.  Then, send a confirmation email to Sarah Eustis at sarahe2345@yahoo.com.  Only 14 spots are available and the sign up is first-come-first served.

NYC NOLS Book Club - Dec. 4th

You are invited to join the next NOLS Book Club on Monday, Dec. 4 at 8 PM at the Westside Brewery (Amsterdam at 76th) to discuss "The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels" -- "Freya Stark's classic tale of her travels through Persia", first published in 1934.

We welcome new members to the NOLS Book Club at any time. Please feel free to join us!

WHAT: "The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels"
BY: Freya Stark
WHEN: Monday, Dec. 4, 2006 at 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Westside Brewing Company, 340 Amsterdam Ave., NW corner of 76th Street, Upper West Side, Manhattan. Meet us in the BACK ROOM.

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Contact: Melissa Chase at Melissa.Chase@mountsinai.org for more information and/or to RSVP
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See book details below, from Amazon.com:
Editorial Reviews

First published in 1934, Freya Stark's classic tale of her travels through Persia has been reprinted once again and is just as much a gem now as when first published.

At the age of 37, Stark shocked her fellow Brits by moving to Baghdad, befriending the locals, studying Arabic and the Koran, and then setting out on expeditions to remote and uncharted areas of the Islamic world by foot, donkey, camel, and car.

With her fascination for secret Islamic societies, she resolved to travel to the former home of the Cult of the Assassins and locate an ancient fortress described by Marco Polo. (The founder of the cult inspired his recruits to murder through the use of hashish, hence their name Hashishin, from which we get assassin.) There was only one problem: she couldn't find the valley on her map. Intrepid and indefatigable, she found a guide to lead her across the empty Persian plains and crested mountain ranges (Stark leaping like a mountain goat while her guide huffed behind) into the practically impregnable valley. There she found the castle ruins covered with wild tulips and surrounded by breathtaking views of the Elbruz Mountains.

While there, Stark charted the first accurate maps of the region. Stark also used her charm and her understanding of Persian ways to infiltrate Luristan, a dangerous and forbidden place where she hunted for Neolithic bronzes (by persuading the chief of police to help her loot graves) and searched for buried treasure.

The Lurs, a mountainous tribe, were infamous for murder and thievery, but she found them "as cheerful a lot of villains as you can wish to meet, and delighted with us for being, as they said, brave enough to come among them." The Lurs were consistently generous hosts, but thought nothing of raiding her luggage while she slept (stealing being their national pastime and hence nothing to get upset about).

While Stark began as an obscure and idiosyncratic adventurer, she was ultimately backed by the Royal Geographic Society, was considered one of the best adventure writers of the century, and even was knighted by the queen of England. With her lively voice and natural perceptiveness she painted a picture
of a fascinating world inhabited by charming bandits and armed tribesman now largely gone. While she did it for her own pleasure, in the end, the pleasure is ours. --Lesley Reed

Canoe the Bronx River.. Saturday, May 13

On Saturday, May 13th, the Bronx River Alliance is hosting one of its regular full river canoe trips. The event is *free*, and the Alliance provides canoes, paddles, and lifejackets for all participants. Join some of your fellow NOLS alums and get a glimpse of nearby wilderness that many New Yorkers never see.

When: Saturday, 5/13
Where/How: The Bronx River! (details to follow by e-mail for participants)

RSVP: Participants must register, so contact Matt mggurgel@hotmail.com  or Sarah saraheustis@lycos.com if you'd like to canoe the river.

Take a Hike! Sunday, April 30

 

Want to get out of the city this weekend? Join us for a day hike in the Gunks on Sunday. Chris Saxman and Matt Gurgel have both volunteered their cars for the trek out and back. Dinner/drinks are an option for weary hikers afterwards...

When: Sunday, 4/30
Where: The Gunks (aka The Shawangunk Mts, in the Catskills)
How: Cars leaving Manhattan Sunday morning. Let us know and we might even pick you up in Brooklyn...

RSVP: If you haven't already contacted Chris, send an e-mail to Matt at mggurgel@hotmail.com

Since You Live on the Island at the Center of the World,

why not read all about it with the NOLS NYC Book Group on Tuesday, April 18, 2006 when we discuss Russell Shorto's Island at the Center of the World:  The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America.  Island was a NY Times Notable Book in 2004 and has received heaps of praise for its story about the original Dutch settlers of the Manhattan wilderness.  Scroll down for more info and review highlights.

As always, newcomers are welcome to join us, even for one book.

What:  Island at the Center of the World:  The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America
Author:  Russell Shorto
Publisher:  Vintage Books, 2005 (paper back edition)

When:  Tuesday, April 18, 2006 at 8:00 p.m.
Where:  upstairs at The Old Town Bar
Location:  45 E 18th St (Between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue)
Phone:  (212) 529-6732
Transit:  L; N, R; 4, 5, 6  at 14th St-Union Sq
Contact:  Elyssa East at elycleoe@yahoo.com for more information and/or to RSVP

Book Description from Amazon.com
When the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappear into myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and a cartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages of its records–recently declared a national treasure–are now being translated. Drawing on this remarkable archive, Russell Shorto has created a gripping narrative–a story of global sweep centered on a wilderness called Manhattan–that transforms our understanding of early America.

The Dutch colony pre-dated the “original” thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these two strong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture. The Island at the Center of the World uncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective on our own.    

About the Author from Amazon.com

Russell Shorto is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine, and the author of two previous books: Gospel Truth, about the search for the historical Jesus, and Saints and Madmen, about psychiatry and religion.  The hub of his research for The Island at the Center of the World was the New Netherland Project at the New York State Library, where the archives of the Dutch colony centered on Manhattan are being translated. He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with his wife and their two daughters.

Review Highlights from Amazon.com
  "Astonishing . . . A book that will permanently alter the way we regard our collective past." --The New York Times

“A tour de force. . . . The dramatic story of New York’s origins is splendidly told. . . . A masterpiece of storytelling and first-rate intellectual history.” --The Wall Street Journal

“As readable as a finely written novel. . . . social history in the Barbara Tuchman tradition.”  --San Jose Mercury News

“Literary alchemy. . . . Shorto’s exhaustively researched and highly readable book is a stirring re-examination. . . . Brilliant and magisterial narrative history” —Chicago Tribune

“Masterly . . . A new foundation myth . . .Shorto writes at all times with passion, verve, nuance and considerable humor.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Rattlingly well told–a terrific popular history about a past that beautifully illuminates the present.” —The Sunday Times [London]

“A dramatic, kaleidoscopic and, on the whole, quite wonderful book. . . . This is one of those rare books in the picked-over field of colonial history, a whole new picture, a thrown-open window. . . . [A] full-blooded resurrection of an unfamiliar American patriot.” –The New York Observer

“Deserves to be a bestseller . . .narratively irresistible, intellectually provocative, historically invaluable” –The Guardian

“A spry, informative history. . . . Shorto supplies lucid, comprehensive contexts in which to see the colony’s promise and turmoil. . . . [D]elivers the goods with clarity, color and zest.” –The  Seattle Times

“As Russell Shorto demonstrates in this mesmerizing volume, the story we don’t know is even more fascinating than the one we do . . .Historians must now seriously rethink what they previously understand about New York’s origins . . .” –The New York Post

“Russell Shorto fires a powerful salvo on the war of words over America’s origins . . . he mounts a convincing case [that], in Shorto’s words, ‘Manhattan is where America began.’ Readers . . find themselves absorbed in what can only be described as a plot, revolving around two strong men with conflicting visions of the future of Dutch North America.” –America: The National Catholic Weekly

“Fascinating. . . . A richly nuanced portrait set against events on the world stage.”  --Time Out New York

“Shorto brings this . . . deeply influential chapter in the city’s history to vivid, breathtaking life [with] a talent for enlivening meticulous research and painting on a broad canvas. . . . In elegant, erudite prose, he manages to capture the lives of disparate historical characters, from kings to prostitutes.” –Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Remarkable. . . . [C]ompulsively interesting. . . . . Shorto argues that during the brief decades of its Dutch colonial existence Manhattan had already found, once and for all, its tumultuously eclectic soul.” –New Statesman

“Shorto delineates the characters in this nonfiction drama convincingly and compellingly.” –Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“[An] absorbing, sensual, sometimes bawdy narrative featuring whores, pirates, explorers and scholars. With clarity and panache, Shorto briskly conveys the complex history of the age of exploration.” –Times Literary Supplement

“Shorto’s book makes a convincing case that the Dutch did not merely influence the relatively open, tolerant and multicultural society that became the United States; they made the first and most significant contribution.” –American History

“Shorto’s prose is deliciously rich and witty, and the story he tells–drawing heavily on sources that have only recently come to light–brings one surprise after another. His rediscovery of Adriaen van der Donck, Peter Stuyvesant’s nemesis, is fascinating.” –Edward G. Burrows, coauthor of Gotham:  A History of New York City to 1898, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History

“A landmark work . . .Shorto paints the emotions and attitudes of his characters with a sure hand, and bestows on each a believable, living presence.” –The Times (London)

“A triumph of scholarship and a rollicking narrative . . . an exciting drama about the roots of America’s freedoms.” –Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin:  An American Life    

Winter Camping: Live Freeze or Die

No that's not an endorsement that we go to the White Mountain State,  but come to Kabin on 2/6 to find out more.

Howdy y'all, Welcome all interested potential winter campers and then some to the blog. 

The details: Weekend winter camping adventure
When:  the weekend of Feb 18
Who:  many
Where: tbd

Logistics:
Step One:  Planning and get-to-know-ya get togetha! 
When:  Monday, February 6th starting at 7:30
Where: Kabin, 92 2nd Ave, between 5th and 6th Streets (212-254-0204)
Transit:  F, V to 2nd Ave or 6 to Astor Place
More Info:  Contact Dan Lilienthal at god781@yahoo.com

Come Chase the Sea with NOLS NYC on January 17th, 2006

Join the NOLS-NYC Book Group at the Half King on Tuesday, January 17th, 2006 at 7:00 pm to discuss Tom Bissell's Chasing the Sea: Lost Amongst the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia. Tom Bissell's other writing has been anthologized in the 2005 Best American Travel Writing anthology edited by Jamaica Kincaid. Scroll down to read the review.

*** PLEASE RSVP TO LET ELYSSA EAST (elycleoe@yahoo.com) KNOW IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING.

TITLE: Chasing the Sea: Lost Amongst the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia

AUTHOR: Tom Bissell

PUBLISHER: Vintage Departures (October 12, 2004)

WHEN: Tuesday, January 17th, 2006 at 7:00 pm

WHERE: The Half King
503 West 23rd Street at 10th Avenue

TRANSIT: E/C to 23rd Street or M23 Bus

TEL: 212.462.4300
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From Publishers Weekly

Bissell's first journey to the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1996 was cut short by heartache and illness. Memories of that failure dog his return in 2001 to write about the rapidly deteriorating ecosystem of the Aral Sea. Once the size of Lake Michigan, the sea has already lost most of its water and will likely disappear by the middle of the next decade, leaving thousands of square kilometers of salty desert. Journalist Bissell examines that story, but also ponders broader questions about Uzbekistan and its people. Hooking up with Rustam, a young interpreter, he sets off on a road trip across the country. The format of the ensuing travelogue-cum-history lesson resembles that of itinerant political commentators like Robert Kaplan, right down to the repulsively exotic cuisine (e.g., boiled lamb's head) and digressionary mini-essays on the history of European imperialism in Central Asia. But Bissell rails against the way other authors "pinion entire cultures based upon how [their] morning has gone," aiming for a more accurate and balanced portrayal. An ongoing dialogue with Rustam over the region's history and culture, and the extent to which both were shaped by the Soviets, adds a personal dimension. The account doesn't flinch from portraying the region's corruption-crooked cops appear regularly on the scene-but despite the frequent bouts of despair, for both the region and himself, Bissell refuses to give up on the Uzbeks entirely. The humor and poignancy in this blend of memoir, reportage and history mark the author as a front-runner in the next generation of travel writers.

Gather Round the Campfire with NOLS NYC's November Reading Group

Join the NOLS-NYC Book Group at the Half King on Wednesday, November 16th at
7:00 to discuss Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Last American Man.  The Last American Man was a finalist for the National Book Award and named a Notable Book in 2002 by The New York Times.  Scroll down to read the review.

*** PLEASE RSVP TO LET ELYSSA EAST KNOW IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING.

TITLE: The Last American Man

AUTHOR: Elizabeth Gilbert

PUBLISHER: Penguin: Reissue edition (May, 2003)

WHEN: Tuesday, November 15th, 2005 at 7:00 pm

WHERE: The Half King
503 West 23rd Street at 10th Avenue

TRANSIT: E/C to 23rd Street or M23 Bus

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Gather ‘Round the Campfire for Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Last American Man

If Eustace Conway III, the subject of Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2002 nonfiction book-length profile The Last American Man, had his way we’d all be eating nuts, seeds, and berries; sporting loin cloths of buckskin; and living like primitive man in harmony with the earth, but not in that hippy-dippy way you’re imagining.  We’d shoot the deer that provided the buckskin and cure the hide with its brains.  We’d also dumpster dive and salvage road-kill or even, possibly, a dead cat for dinner.  We’ll be so swayed by Conway’s Davy Crockett-like looks and utterly convinced that he is the real thing, we’ll move into teepees and relinquish power tools and trips to Home Depot and follow his stringent philosophy of subsistence-based living, all in the name of saving the earth. 

While Conway is single-handedly converting you, me, and everyone else from crack addicts in Tompkins Square Park to an African American family enjoying their back-yard reunion—which he crashes on horseback during a record-breaking coast to coast ride—he’ll be pining away to sire thirteen children with some beautiful bohemian chick. By the end of Gilbert’s book, Conway, nearing forty-years old, won’t have any kids or a romantic partner, but he will have roped one of his girlfriends into riding 2,500 miles across the Great Plains and into Canada in a horse-drawn buggy.

Gilbert recounts these and other adventures from Conway’s life and vision with the skilled craft and humor of the best campfire storytellers. She expertly places her protagonist in a larger context of iconic American masculine archetypes, utopian visionaries, and self-consciously crafted pioneer characters such as Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. Along the way, she carefully exposes Conway’s vanities, weaknesses, and ironies—he may live in a teepee, but he dreams of big, walk-in closets. But Gilbert never ridicules her subject.  She draws a full portrait of a complex and captivating character with an astonishing drive and a list of remarkable, if not absurdly visionary achievements.  Though The Last American Man is laugh out loud funny, the care with which Gilbert tells Conway’s life story brings us in touch with the full scope of one man’s struggle to realize a utopian dream. The Last American Man was a finalist for the National Book Award and named a Notable Book in 2002 by The New York Times.  It will no doubt become a classic of contemporary nonfiction writing.

NYC Alumni Devour Wolves & Honey - Memoir of the Finger Lakes

Join the NOLS NYC Alumni Book Group on Tuesday, July 12 to howl about Wolves and Honey: A Hidden History of the Natural World.

DETAILS:

BOOK: Wolves and Honey: A Hidden History of the Natural World by Susan Brind Morrow (this isn't the easiest book in the world to get hold of so order or take out of library now).

WHEN: Tuesday, July 12th at 7:30 pm

WHERE: The Half King (hopefully we can get a table in the back garden) 505 West 23rd at 10th Ave.

RSVP: Kristen Daly - hobsondaly@aol.com or 917 309 0042

BACKGROUND: From Publishers Weekly

In this lyrical memoir, Morrow (The Names of Things) muses on New York State's Finger Lake region, where she grew up. Her ruminations are loosely based on her memories of two men-one a trapper, the other a beekeeper-whose ability to connect with nature had a profound influence on the way she views the world. In a poetic narrative, she contemplates the natural history of the area and tells of the people who have inhabited it-the Seneca, spiritualists, fur traders, artists, scholars, scientists and nurserymen. Morrow goes beyond the obvious, allowing each observation to remind her of something else and searching for the inner meaning of words. The sight of a flock of crows, for example, reminds her of a poem by the Greek poet Pindar, and this leads to a meditation on what it means to be a poet. The apple tree, which grows so plentifully in the region, is a "talisman that one could follow through the layers of Finger Lake soil, through layers of memory and history," and this prompts thoughts on the Swedenborgian missionary John Chapman (known as Johnny Appleseed), spiritualism, the molecular structure of sweetness, Lucretius and the origin of apples in the mountains of Kazakhstan. Morrow's language is rich and sensuous, for she thinks like a poet.

Poundin' the Pedals

A honed group of NOLS Alumni, including NYC area denizens, recently completed a five-day mountain biking trip on the North Rim of Arizona's Grand Canyon.

They negotiated potholes, braved slickrock, guzzled gallons of cowboy coffee, glimpsed rare (and exceedingly large) California Condors and made one instructor's honeymoon particularly memorable...

Lance Armstrong, watch your back.