My desk (and shelves and floors) here at home is piled high with stuff, and I've admittedly been lax in pouring through it, and winnowing out the good material from the junk.

But alas! I have. So you are about to become victims of a serious house cleaning.

But I promise that you'll pick up a useful tidbit or two of good info on outdoor items of interest. Promise!

So crack a cold one, get comfy, and let's go:

National Trails Day is June 3rd
Mark your outdoor calendar for the 14th annual National Trails Day coming up on Saturday, June 3rd. The event is nationally sponsored by the American Hiking Society and organized locally by trail groups. This year's theme is Experience Your Outdoors. Last year more than 1,000 events were held across the US involving some 125,000 people. And there was plenty going on in Maine and likely will be again this year. So please do get involved and give a little back to our trails and trail groups.

Portland Trails preserves 14 acres on the Presumpscot River in Falmouth
Portland Trails has announced their acquisition of 14 beautiful acres on Sandy Point that includes some 1,650 feet of Presumpscot River shoreline. PT plans to work together with MITA, the Maine Island Trail Association, to protect wildlife habitat and creat public access.

Bill Yeo to attempt Mount Everest climb this spring
Long time LL Beaner and local Yarmouth boy Bill Yeo is heading off on an expedition to climb Mount Everest from the Tibetan side. Bill is outta here on March 8th. Three-month Everest climbing gigs are hugely expensive affairs, so Bill's trying to raise some supporting cash by selling cool hats and T-shirts emblazoned with the expedition's logo and artwork. If you'd like to support Bill and his climbing team, order up your goods today. Hats are $15, T-shirts are $20 (plus $2 shipping). Address to order: 6 Serendipity Lane, N. Yarmouth ME 04097. Or contact Bill directly at yeomomma@aol.com to wish him well and a safe climb and return.

Eastern Trail Guide available
John Andrews of the Eastern Trail Alliance recently gave me a copy of the cool new guidebook to the Eastern Trail, the 62-mile long multi-use recreational route that extends from York all the way up to South Portland. Order your pocket-sized guide to this great resource for a whopping $10 directly from ETA. And while you're at it, please consider joining the ETA. They could certainly use both your financial and physical support. Then get on out there and enjoy!

Appalachian Trail Museum
Did you know there is a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the AT? There is! Currently the museum is online, but there are plans to erect a physical structure somewhere near the ATs geographic center in PA. For anyone who loves the AT this will be an interesting project to follow and support. Check it out online today.

The 100 greatest adventure books of all time
Not only do we all like to get outside and pursue our favorite recreational pastimes, we also like read about others criss-crossing the globe hiking and climbing and exploring and pulling off daring adventures. So for the voracious reader in you all here's just one list of books to start in on. Happy reading! And if you decide to just up and quit your job and hit the dusty trail after a few of these books, well, who could blame you!

Campaign to preserve portions of Maine's western mountains
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is seeking to raise funds to protect 1,150 acres on Mount Abraham, including its spectacular alpine summit, and nearly 1,200 acres on the south side of Saddleback Mountain. Very ambitious, very worthy projects. Both need your support to become reality. Please do what you can, however large or small. And knowing how much these special places mean to us, it all helps.

Augusta Nature Center
The Augusta Nature Education Center just published a new map and guide to this wonderful 175-acre property with five miles of trails where you can walk, run, bike or ski free, every day. I haven't been yet, but it looks like a cool place for a visit, so it's on my short-term "to do" list. Get a free trail map and make a visit yourself soon.

Trails for a Healthy Maine Bond
The effort to get a $10 million trails bond on the ballot didn't quite make it last time around. But efforts by the Trails for Healthy Maine Coalition are underway to make another go at it in the future. Stay tuned to what is happening on this critical initiative for Maine trails and consider lending your support to the coalition too. We want to make certain this becomes a reality the next time around!

Another Triple Crown hiking year
A guy named "Squeaky" was, as of a month or so ago, well on his way to finishing hiking's Triple Crown: a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, after already having completed the Continental Divide Trail as well as the Pacific Crest Trail. To date he'd logged just over 6,900 miles of hiking, all in one year--2005. Not bad. Not bad at all. I'm impressed. Squeaky was supposed to finish atop Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the AT in late December. I can't seem to find evidence of that anywhere, yet. Maybe you can, and can let me know. In any case, hiking the Triple Crown of big hikes is an incredible achievement over the course of one's lifetime, much less in a single year. Way to go Squeaky! (But would you consider changing your trail name??).

New trail network open in Manchester
A great new trail network has just been opened to the public in the 708-acre Allen-Whitney Memorial Forest in Manchester, land owned and managed by the New England Forestry Foundation. Hikers and walkers, skiers and snowshoers, mountain bikers and horse riders--all are welcome to enjoy this beautiful property. The trails are well signed and maps are provided at trailside kiosks.

Sleep in a quinzee
I just learned from National Geographic Adventure magazine (February 2006 issue) that there's a place right here in coastal Maine where you can learn winter camping skills and build and sleep in your very own quinzee (it's likened to an igloo). Cool! The folks at Maine Multisport will take good care of you, treat you to lots of good winter fun, and do it for not a lot money, as I understand it. So check 'em out.

Uncle Carey wants YOU to get outdoors and have some FUN! Dammit!