My New Favorite Trail Map Series

Easy-to-use trail maps loaded with info for hikers, mountain bikers and winter users

We have every Trails Illustrated map of Colorado and beyond -- in many cases, several increasingly comprehensive editions both before and after National Geographic took over publication. When I was putting things together for a trip that started in Steamboat Springs where I planned to go for at least one hike, I forgot to grab any of them. I neglected to bring a trail guidebook either. My friend, Reed, and I wanted to find an inetresting trail somewhere in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness, which is north of Steamboat Springs. She hadn't brought a map or book either. We picked up some basic US Forest Service trail info sheets to help us decide where to go. She read trail descriptions as I drove, and we both thought that the Three Island Lake Trail sounded really good.

We made a pit stop at the Clark Store, a small general store/post office/video rental center/bakery about 20 miles up Routt County Road 129. There I bought a Steamboat-Mt. Zirkel map put out by Sky Terrain Trail Maps. Like other maps in the series, it is printed on sturdy, waterproof and rip-proof material. It includes 16 US Geographical Survey quadrangles, which is a huge area roughly from near the Wyoming border on the north to Rabbit Ears Pass on the south and east and Sleeping Giant/Steamboat Lake State Park to the west.

These detailed, shaded topographic maps are 1:50,000 scale with 80-foot contour lines. They clearly show hiking trails, singletrack mountain biking trails, ATV routes, winter trails for motorized and non-motorized use, campgrounds, campsites, fishing access and wildlife management areas. Mileage and elevation information is clearly shown, and the maps are feature UTM grids for easy use with GPS units, which I don't use by my husband does.

Sky Terrain maps also feature brief descriptions of selected trails and their highlights. The map and also the USFS information sheet describe the Three Island Lake Trail as "popular"and imply that it tends to get crowded. When we reached the parking pullout off FS 433, three vehicles were parked there. We got a late start, and as we were on our way up, we saw all three parties who were on their way down: four people and two dogs, two people and two dogs, and one person and one dog. That was it for the "crowd."

The lovely lake at 9,878 feet is nestled in a high basin. We sat on a log, broke out cheese and crackers and fresh fruit and enjoyed the wunny, wind-still afternoon. For those of us hike in the Front Range, such wilderness solitude is rare -- and virtually non-existent for a "popular" backcountry route.

Europeans CuttingBack on Vacations

Americans are not the only ones cutting back on their travels

Comment dit-on, Staycation en francais? How do you say "Staycation" in French or German or Italian? I don't know if there's a word for it, but Europeans -- like Americans -- are doing it. According to a USA Today news report, "Europen Vacations are Downsized,"

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) reported that international tourism in Europe is down about 10 percent the first half of this year compared to 2008, but of course, that includes most of the ski season but just the leading edge of summer. When all is said and done, visitation is probably going totake a 7 to 9 percent hit, according to some sources, and those people who are traveling will do so closer to home and will most likeky spend less.

Air Fares & Add-on Fees: Up, Up & Away

The cost of flying Frontier, American, Delta and United continues to climb

Like a jet plane soaring to cruising altitude, the cost of flying continues to climb. "Crisis" is the word most often heard in airline circles. The latest news, tough on travelers but necessary given the unchecked inflation of aviation fuel, includes:

Frontier Airlines, which is already operating under bankruptcy protection, became the latest carrier to jump on the second-bag-charge bandwagon. Just before the long Memorial Day weekend, the Denver-based carrier announced that as of June 10, it will charge $15 per second checked bag costs $25. Also, the surcharge for oversize and/or overweight bags will rise from $50 to $75, and the cost of bringing a pair of antlers climbs from $75 to $100. Don't laugh. With a strong presence in the Mountain States, Frontier flies a lot of hunters -- and if successful, they like to bring their trophies home. Frontier’s mileage club members, active military duty personnel and people who purchase tickets before June 10 will be exempt from the extra bag charge, but presumably not the other increases.

The fee for unaccompanied minors aged five through 14 rises on two carriers. American is increasing it from $75 to $100 each way. Delta, which until now charged $50 for nonstops and $100 for connecting flights, is leveling all fees at $100, connection or no connection.

Pet policies and fees are changing as well -- and not favorably for animal owners. American and Delta are upping the fee for bringing pets into the cabin to $100 each way, up from $80 and $75, respectively. Checking a pet into the cargo hold rises to $150 each way on American, up from $100, and $200 on Delta, up from $150. Frontier is barring pets from airplane cabins altogether starting June 10. I wonder whether flying a live, crated animal will cost the same as a pair of antlers.

American, Delta and United are raising their fares by as much as $60 roundtrip for flights of more than 1,500 miles. People who track such things note that it will be the big airlines' 12th successive increase this year. Meanwhile, big-box retailers are promoting home, garden and patio enhancements for those who have thrown in the 2009 travel towel and are planning a "staycation" instead.

Southwest to Bid for Frontier

Leading no-frills, low-fare carrier to bid for Denver-based Frontier. Keep fingers crossed

Frontier Airlines is in bankruptcy protection right now. Republic Airways Holdings seemed poised to take over the Denver-based carrier, its convenient A-Gates at Denver International Airport and, hopefully, bring it out of bankputcy while retaining Coloradans loyalty for this home-grown carrier. A just just-released news from Southwest Airlines indicates that it too is now in the running. Republic indicated that it planned to operate Frontier independently. Whether Southwest would do so is an unknown, but its track record is fantastic. In the best of all worlds as I see it, Southwest's bid would be successful, and that company would run Frontier but under its original colors and with those clever "spokesanimals" on the tail.

Below Southwest's just-out press release as it relates to customers, with the section for the investment/financial community deleted:

Title: Southwest Airlines Developing Bid Proposal in Frontier Airlines Bankruptcy Court Proceeding
Date: 7/30/2009 1:20:00 PM

Low-Fare Carrier Seeks to Acquire Frontier Airlines

Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV)
confirmed today that the carrier is preparing a bid to acquire Denver-based
Frontier Airlines, which will be sold at auction in bankruptcy court next
month. The carrier has submitted a nonbinding proposal in accordance with the
bidding procedures established in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of New York. The bid is worth a minimum of $113.6 million, which is
in excess of the bid currently filed by Republic Airways.

Submission of a nonbinding proposal gives Southwest an opportunity to
engage with Frontier in the due diligence required to determine the scope of a
binding proposal to be submitted by the court's Aug. 10, 2009, deadline.

"We are excited about the opportunity to submit a bid," said Gary Kelly,
Southwest's Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO. "We see a strong fit
between our Company cultures, a mutual commitment to high quality Customer
Service, and similar entrepreneurial roots."

A successful acquisition of Frontier Airlines will allow Southwest to
expand its network with its legendary low fares, add jobs into Southwest, and
boost competition in Denver and other cities. Southwest is a qualified
investor and is still preparing its proposal; therefore, it is premature to
comment on the specifics at this point.

To view a Q&A with a Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President Corporate
Services and Corporate Secretary Ron Ricks, please visit:
http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/southwest-bids-frontier-airlines.

Frontier filed for bankruptcy court protection in April 2008. On June 22,
2009, Republic Airways submitted a bid to purchase Frontier for $108.8
million.

After 38 years of service, Southwest Airlines offers a reliable product
with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the most productive
airline in the sky and offers Customers a comfortable traveling experience
with all premium leather seats and plenty of legroom. Southwest recently
updated its gate areas and improved its boarding procedure to make flying
Southwest Airlines even more convenient and simple. Southwest Airlines
currently serves 66 cities in 33 states, and announced service to Boston
Logan, which begins Aug. 16, 2009, and to Milwaukee, which begins Nov. 1,
2009. Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more
than 35,000 Employees systemwide.

Intrusive New Airport Security Sceening

Explicit "full body scan" in place at six major US airports, including DIA

The Transportation Security Administration is at it again with an invasive new screening process. Denver International Airport (starting yesterday), Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, Los Angeles International, New York's JFK International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International and Albuquerque International Sunport have installed L-3 Communications' millimeter-wave screening devices. These $158,000 machines bounce radio waves off the body to produce what has been described as "a graphic, whole-body image." While it is designed to reveal weapons and explosives that people might hide on their persons, it actually produces a controversial anatomically revealing image that is shockingly intrusive and invasive.

In a piece called "Airport Rolls Out Full-Body Scanning," Denver Post reporter Jeffrey Leib asked about travelers' legitimate privacy concerns:

"Travelers who do not want to submit to millimeter-wave screening can opt
for a pat-down search instead, [David] Bassett, [TSA's federal security director
in Denver] said. The new technology is 'less invasive' than the pat down,
he said. 'Some people don't want to be touched.'... To deal with privacy concerns, TSA is offering protections on whole-body scanning, including blurring the faces on images of passengers being screened, examining the images in a remote room and offering no possibility for images to be stored, printed, transmitted or reproduced, Bassett said.

"Whole-body imaging 'is an extremely high invasion of privacy,' although
TSA's effort to ensure that images are never made public is 'commendable,' said John Soma, a University of Denver law professor and executive director of the
Privacy Foundation. 'The compliance level has to be extremely high,' Soma said
of TSA's need to adhere to its rules in order to protect passengers' privacy. A
sign at the entrance of the millimeter-wave machine at DIA tells passengers to
'Remove everything from your pockets before entering. This includes all paper,
plastic items, pens and wallets.'

"As a passenger stands in the machine, it takes 2 seconds for the image to
be generated and 10 to 12 seconds for a screener in another room to interpret
the scan. On Wednesday, TSA employees stood in the machine to demonstrate its
capabilities. In a tiny, closed room at the back of the checkpoint, screener
Bill Whitlock scanned the image that appeared on his computer screen. It was
graphic and detailed, and the face was blurred. A shirt button, a belt buckle
and underwire in a bra were visible. Whitlock used a two-way radio to tell
another screener stationed at the millimeter-wave machine that the image had
been reviewed and the person could exit the machine. A sign on the door to the
small screening room says, 'Warning: Following items prohibited beyond this
point. — cellphones — video cameras — image-capturing devices. '

"Bassett said millimeter-wave screening will complement other technologies
already installed at checkpoints, including explosive-trace-detection portals,
or 'puffers,' that blow jets of air over a passenger's body and analyze air
samples for explosive residue. 'The puffer is sniffing; this is seeing,' Bassett
said of the millimeter-wave technology."

For a PG-13 version of how the system works, click here and follow the obvious links. The videos seem to be L-3 Communications', so they appear quite innocuous. The device works quickly and could, in theory, speed up the security process, but checking in has become such a long and tedious process that gaining a little time per passenger seems a high price to pay for this assult on personal privacy.

There are unpleasant side effects too. In addition to an intrusive new system inflicted on any one of us card-carrying Americans, our government now abuses our foreign visitors both coming and going. We fingerprint and photograph them when they enter the country as if they were under arrest, and we now can subject them them to a revealing full-body scan when they leave. Did I mention that this millimeter-wave scanning device is also being sold to "justice centers" (i.e., courthouses and jails).

Hotel Review Sites: Useful or Misleading?

Thoughts about hired reporters vs. "volunteers" who post about travel

A few months ago, I needed a last-minute hotel/motel room in Santa Monica. I foolishly booked online without doing due diligence and found myself trapped in the Pacific Sands Motel, which I have described to friends as the "worst motel in the country." I blogged about here. Had I read the traveler-generated reviews on, say, TripAdvisor.com before booking, I might have suspected that it is a pit. But then again, when I looked later, I saw some positive write-ups that might not have deterred me. I've always suspected that some of the good reviews of bad places (and defensive comments to negative reviews) were plants.

Pauline Frommer, whose budget travel genes are as pure as Prince Charles's to the English throne, recently addressed that very topic, "Some marketing folks spend their time posting bogus reviews for the hotels that hire them. The practice of 'buzz marketing' has now become so widespread that TripAdvisor has recently started posting warnings on reviews it thinks may be fake. (I doubt very much they’ll be able to catch more than a small fraction of the fake reviews.)"

She went on to describe Oyster.com, which focuses only on hotels and, more significantly, "sends out a small army of young journalists (right) to write reviews....[who] post numerous pictures, crawl around on the floor looking for scuff marks and cigarette burns (or at least they say they do in their posts) and most importantly, compare and contrast the properties in an informed way."

Frommer praises their energy and accepts their objectivity, but she cautions that prices and price categories are the new site's major weakness. For instance, in examining the listings and reviews in New York, with which she is up-to-date familiar, she finds several properties misplaced, pricewise, and also believes that the averages were calculated in January and February, "the two cheapest months of the year." She added, "The reviewers also seem to be so focused on what’s going on in the hotel that they tend to ignore a key factor in picking where to stay: location. The amenities and charms of particular neighborhoods over others are glossed over lightly on the site." That is directly to contrary to the dreadful Pacific Sands Motel across from the Santa Monica pier, whose location for many people trumps its abundant flaws.

From where I sit in a fly-over state, a glaring flaw that still currently exists is its extreme geographic limitation: currently Aruba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Las Vegas ("coming soon"), Miami and New York. Three Caribbean destinations and three mainland cities. That's it.

My travel plans include none of the above, and when I go to New York, my favorite and most economical accommodation is the Hotel Fold-Out Couch at a friend's place. Still, Pauline Frommer's recommendation, even with caveats, carries considerable weight, so I share it here.

Southwest Will Win Friends with Two-Bag Allowance

Low-cost carrier retains traditional checked-bag policies

On the heels of American Airlines' ill-conceived decision to begin levying a $15 charge for the first checked bag for most passengers and several carrier's recently instituted second-bag fee of $25, Southwest just sent out the following statement, which I quote in its entirety:

"Today's New York Times story on American Airlines' plan to charge for all checked luggage included a reference to Southwest Airlines that said, 'Other major American airlines, including Southwest Airlines, said Wednesday that they were considering matching the fee.' That is not true. The next line quotes a Southwest spokesperson saying, 'We're doing everything we can do to boost revenue, but it's not our goal to nickel and dime our customers.' That is true. We want to assure you that Southwest Airlines still allows you to check up to two free bags when you travel with us, and has no plans to change that. You can still count on Southwest Airlines to provide high quality air travel at a low fare, without a lot of extra fees. We look forward to seeing you onboard very soon. (And bring your luggage!)"

As I noted in my blog post yesterday that included news of this American Airlines "revenue enchancer," I believe that this surcharge will backfire and many passengers will avoid American whenever they can. Fifteen dollars is not a fortune, but for the proverbial family of four on a tight budget, that additional $60 each way to check just one bag apiece, the new fee can make or break a trip. Now, perhaps driving becomes a more reasonable option -- and so is staying home and enjoying what has come to be called a "staycation."

The entire issue of surcharges set travel consumer advocate Christopher Elliott off on a recent rant. He wrote "Five Airline Fees That Make Absolutely No Sense Whatsover" -- and that was before American decided to impose a fee for even the first checked bag.