Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/118157
BOOK REVIEW LUSH RUSH MOUNTAIN-THON The ultimate forest dash is North and West Vancouver's Knee Knack-er-ing North Shore Trail Run, which follows the Baden Powell Trail from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove. The course features 4,800 metres of vertical climband-descent spread over 48 km. kneeknacker.com TRAIL RUNNING is for joggers with attention deficit disorder – a fact made dramatically clear in B.C. action photographer Rich Wheater's new guidebook Vancouver Trail Running: The Good, the Rad and the Gnarly. In other words, there's no way to get bored booting it over the root-and-rock-riddled "technical ground" of the city's rainforests. One misstep and your ankle is toast. Conversely, every correct step on a soft understorey is easier on the joints than the Stanley Park seawall. As well, Wheater has helpfully mapped all the woodsy routes, from Pacific Spirit Park right around Burrard Inlet to the western reach of the Baden Powell Trail – eliminating any need to queue for the Grouse Grind. HOW TO RUN IN THE WOODS Vancouver Trail Running: The Good, the Rad and the Gnarly (2011, Quickdraw Publications; $29.50) ECO-WATCH Wildest Dreams BC PARKS describes this province as having one of the largest park systems in the world. Yet the fact that the list of its endangered plants and animals continues to grow suggests even more wilderness needs protecting. Some scientists — including Dr. Faisal Moola, director of science and terrestrial conservation at the David Suzuki Foun16 W E S T W O R L D p14-17_FreshTrax.indd 16 >> SUMMER 2012 dation and adjunct professor of forestry at the University of Toronto — even propose that half of our land base must be safeguarded "to give plants and animals a fighting chance to cope and adapt to climate change." >> B.C.'s Wilderness Committee (BCWC) agrees. And this summer, the nonprofit is welcoming volunteers for trailbuilding expeditions in proposed new parks — or to vote online for their favourite. HOW TO CREATE A PARK: Suggestions for new parks: newparks@wilderness.committee.org BUSH LEAGUE Currently, 14.27 per cent of B.C.'s land base is protected as parkland — compared to the more than 30 per cent set aside for parks, conservancies and ecological reserves in small but forwardthinking countries such as Tanzania, New Zealand and Costa Rica. (runner) Ryan Creary/AllCanadaPhotos, (graph) DT Graphix 4/19/12 7:07:03 AM