Kat Sack here! Sometimes Katastrophic Sackrilege to the running community, but most definitely The Mountain Lioness to those who follow and join my adventures. I currently call Tallahassee, FL home. The mountains are my favorite place to be and explore but given my location, I dive into other types of rad places too!

I created this blog as a personal project to document my adventures. Photos are great, but I love text describing more of the story and to recall what I have learned. I am no expert at outdoorsy activities, but I learn as I go! If you end up here, I hope you can get something out of it.

My original focus was on backpacking, hiking, camping, kayaking, and mountain biking. I have thus shifted the scope as I discovered my love for National and State Parks. I have the National Parks Passport and the Florida State Parks passport which have allowed me to discover places I originally would never have seen. Now I write about national monuments, history, run-cations, etc.

At some point I hope to dive into personal growth as well with topics including self-sufficiency and improvement, turning boredom into adventure, steps to heal my body and mind, and overcoming social adversities.

Life is an adventure. Go outside. Pay attention to all that is around you. Get lost in the moment. Everything has a story. Listen for it, even if you do not speak the same language.

*Day 32 - The National Park Service & Environment VS The Federal Government Shutdown*

The National Park Service & Environment 

         VS 

               The Federal Government Shutdown

Day 32 - January 22, 2019

The Politics

Approval Ratings and Potential Impeachment Support

Democratic polling company, Public Policy Polling released its results from a survey of 760 registered voters from January 29-21 with a margin of error of +-3.6%
  • [40% Approve | 57% Disapprove] of Trump
  • [46% Support | 44% Oppose] the impeachment of Trump
The poll also showed that most voters prefer any Democratic 2020 hopeful over Trump.

Stop STUPIDITY (Shutdowns Transferring Unnecessary Pain and Inflicting Damage In The Coming Years) Act

Democratic Senator Mark Warren of Virginia introduces a new bill that would essentially keep the government running by automatically renewing funding at the same levels of the previous year, except for the legislative branch and the Executive Office of President. 

House of Representatives Passes the NATO Support Act with Bipartisan 357-22 Vote

Sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., the bill seeks to prevent Trump from withdrawing from NATO. 

“What we have to realize is that NATO is not just a transactional relationship.” Panetta said. “Our sole focus can’t just be on who pays what and who gets what. Being a member of NATO is not like being a member of a country club.”

Let's see what the Senate does.

Trump's Potential Bargaining Chip is Shut Down by SCOTUS

A win that Trump assumed was his was squashed by SCOTUS today. Trump will not be allowed to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Allegedly, he may have used this to 'compromise' with the Democrats.

Don't worry....Pelosi and Trump are still bickering about the State of the Union Address, among other things

I don't really think I need a source for this.

National Park Service + Environment

The Impact on NPS Instagram Accounts

Marcus Gilmer, Assistant Real-Times News Editor of Mashable, describes the sad silence of the National Parks Instagram accounts. In a time where social media influences everyone's life, whether directly or indirectly, the lack of online presence from a large entity becomes noticeable. It's a stark contrast from the 13 tweets from the POTUS' account today alone [see below].

Words from Former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell

The article National parks and public lands suffer during US government shutdown* is based on an interview from PRI's Living on Earth with Steve Curwood.


The National Parks Service is just one component of the Department of Interior. Sally Jewel held the Secretary position during the Obama administration where she had experienced a government shutdown, but the parks and monuments were closed to protect them. She believes it to be "incredibly unwise" leaving them open this time around. There are over 400 sites under the NPS, and the National Forests under the department of Agriculture are also suffering.

"It leaves the assets that remind us of our history and our past vulnerable to vandalism, souvenir taking and bad action. The number of law enforcement people that are still on staff can't possibly be the eyes and ears that the National Mall or other parks need to make sure that these places are protected.” - Sally Jewel

The shutdown isn't just a risk for protecting the parks' assets and to visitors. It is disrupting research and data collection and also lowering the morale of the employees who know they will inevitably have to clean up huge messes if/when they eventually get back to work.

"I’m really feeling sick about the message the shutdown sends to the men and women who work for the federal government about their value. I'm sick about the impact on the science that we're not going to get back. I am sick about the poaching that I know is going on, the vandalism that I know is going on, the artifacts that I know are being slipped into people's pockets, the work that would be done to help protect our forests from fires, the work that would be done to reduce the risk of invasive species."

Mini National Park Reports

Nothing too crazy to report from Great Falls Park, Everglades National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Shutdown Shines Light on Pre-Existing Lack of Interest, Funding, and Management

Robert N. Meltzer expresses his strong beliefs about improper management, funding failures, and overuse that have been causing a National Parks crisis for decades

Buffalo National River - Arkansas

Buffalo National Park employees work despite furlough*
Fortunately for the employees of Buffalo National River, it's the slow season. However, there is still plenty of upkeep to keep the area within and outside of the national park clean. Volunteer group, The Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, was in town today on day 32 to assist the employees in keeping the park clean.

“Those furloughed national park employees aren’t just at home sitting around the fire, they’re out they did a cleanup project at our local library in Newton County just the other day. They’re out and about and helping out in the community even though they’re furloughed.”
    - Gordon Watkins, President of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance

Dinosaur National Monument - Utah/Colorado

National Parks Traveler - Shutdown In The Parks: Dinosaur National Monument*
"During the ongoing partial government shutdown, Zack Frank, a furloughed National Park Service employee, is striving to create one video per day. Today's video adventure travels to Dinosaur National Monument, which straddles the Utah-Colorado state line."

Great Smoky Mountains National Park - North Carolina (& Tennessee)

Solar Power World - Solar microgrid helps return Great Smoky Mountains National Park land to the wild*
A lone power line travels up the peak of Mt. Sterling to a 60-ft communications tower where it provides power for a radio repeater. It crosses through vegetation and causes a variety of issues during an outage - lots of work for something that doesn't require much electricity. Duke Energy is responsible for the maintenance on the 13-acres of NPS land, from keeping the vegetation away to pole replacements, sometimes requiring helicopters or pack mules to deliver supplies. Don't forget the permits required for maintenance to be performed at the park.

Duke Energy and the National Park Service worked on an off-grid alternative - a solar+storage microgrid providing the power for the tower radio thereby giving it energy independence, minimizing maintenance, and allowing the land to return to its wild self.

"It benefits us because we’re removing unnatural governance from an area that we can now allow go back to its natural state. I think visitors will benefit because that visual of a power line will no longer be there."- Mark Collins, Environmental Protection Specialist at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Utah's National Parks

The Utah Governor's Office of Management and Budget only has enough money to keep the visitor centers open through January having spent $66,000 of the the authorized $80,000. The office intends to share a long-term strategy on January 28, 2019 for Utah's approach to the shutdown if the folks in D.C. haven't figured out any kind of resolution.

The current status of the specific parks:
• Zion: The visitor center will be open through Jan. 30 supported by contributions from the state and local entities.
• Bryce: The Bryce Canyon Natural History Association intends to support the operation of the Bryce Canyon visitor center through Jan. 30.
• Arches: Canyonlands Natural History Association paid for the visitor centers at Arches to be open through Jan. 30.
• Canyonlands: Canyonlands Natural History Association paid for the visitor centers at the Island in the Sky District to be open through Jan. 30.
• Capitol Reef: The Fruita campground is open, but restrooms are closed except for the vault toilet. The scenic drive is closed.

Trump's 13 Tweets of the Day















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