The green grass and wet winter tricked me. On two January 2019 visits to the Mazatzal Wilderness, I was delighted by carpets of green on the mesas, pools and streams, and early spring flowers—results of a rainy late fall and … Read More
Wildlife are up close and personal in northern Phoenix. A patchwork of desert preserves, parks and arroyos along with an artificial river/ lake environment offer habitat for the original residents of this desert valley. My youngest sister’s house backs right … Read More
Okay, I admit. I’m a bit jealous. David and I met at the UA Ramblers hiking club in 1975. We soon were known as the “hard core” hikers. My minimum backpack day was 15 miles and 20 was about right. … Read More
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. (Psalm 24) A brief talk and book signing officially launched my new youth novel Return to the Wilds Saturday, April 20, at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona. Almost all of … Read More
As posted before, I have been pleased to learn that 6th graders like reading and writers! Last week I expanded my student sample to 70 4th to 7th graders at Syringa Mountain School, a private school just down the road … Read More
Campus Hiking Club Follows Footsteps of 1940s Pioneers… New Jersey native Bill Price came to Tucson in 1943 to study geology at the University of Arizona (UA) and immediately fell in love. “He took one look and fell in love … Read More
Bio: Cindy C. (Chojnacky) Fiction author, explorer, freelance writer, wilderness ambassador Cindy’s background includes forestry reporting, university relations and public affairs and management work for the USDA Forest Service throughout the U.S. and in Washington DC. Jobs included issues management, … Read More
I was terrified. I was the featured Author at the “Inspired Writers” project in Lincoln County Oregon. Over the next four days, I would talk about “The Writer’s Life” and offer writing tips and exercises to 6th grade students: 490 … Read More
Mapping & Clearing Trails: a labor of love… Spend much time in the Chiricahua Wilderness and you may run into Jonathan Patt or John Sumner. Patt, who lives in nearby Portal, hikes the area at least weekly. He plans to … Read More
About a decade ago, I managed a Forest Service program, “Urban Connections,” aimed to connect urban dwellers in Eastern and Midwestern cities with their national forests. We sponsored dialogues with urban conservation and youth groups that led to collaborative projects … Read More
I’m Cindy C and I will be your guide for your next wilderness adventure. David and I have been exploring wild places since our early hikes with the University of Arizona Ramblers in Tucson decades ago. Wilderness Need is based … Read More
Cindy Chojnacky Manager Wilderness Need Association
Wilderness Need Association FOUNDED: May 25, 2018A non-profit organization registered with the State of Idaho BACKSTORY: After uncommon career journey encompassing journalism, science, Forest Service management, international and local forestry consulting, and a few vain attempts to ally with non-government … Read More
Interviews with interesting people who work for or love exploring wilderness.
The Wilderness Need Association is based on three premises We go to the wilderness because we need to go to the wilderness. We share what we see and experience—we are wilderness witnesses. We assist and talk with others who need … Read More
VISION: We explore wilderness and leave good tracks for others. We advocate for good trails and information and management that values public enjoyment as well as wilderness protection. MISSION: Wilderness Need Association advocates for the neglected wilderness visitor by exploring … Read More
I have hiked Zion National Park since teen years in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our 1970s-80s trips to West Rim from Lava Point, Kolob Canyons and a snowy December slog up from Zion Canyon offered solitude; campgrounds and trails were busy … Read More
Three days after Labor Day weekend and the campgrounds and trailheads at Redfish Lake were still packed with people. But we had a plan to elude crowds in overused Sawtooth Wilderness in Central Idaho. We’d take shuttle boat across Redfish … Read More
Our 16-day loop through the Eagle Cap Wilderness in northeastern Oregon offered a week of solitude on rarely-used legacy trails, and a second week of constant company crossing popular loops on overused trails near Eagle Cap Peak. The Eagle Caps … Read More
A loop trip and two brief hikes off the beaten path in July 2018 offered waterfalls, glacial lake basins and miles of unused legacy trails in the soaring Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, just a few miles southeast of John Day, Oregon. … Read More
A dry spring sojourn in 2018 in the West did not prepare us for soggy May hiking in the East. In Arizona, we had planned trips around water; in West Virginia, we kept changing our route to avoid it! We … Read More
Hiking the Crest Trail in Chiricahua Wilderness, we once traversed halls of a great cathedral: shuffling on needle-carpet among towering forest giants: old-growth Douglas fir, white fir, ponderosa pine and even a few Engelman spruce (southern-most extension for this species). … Read More
In January 2018, we visited Mount Wrightson Wilderness—designated in 1985 with 25,260-acres of soaring peaks, deep canyons, grasslands and dozens of trails. From Cave Creek we took the Arizona Trail (AZT) south, swung up Temporal Gulch to a saddle west … Read More
The casual visitor to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument would never know 94% is wilderness. Visitors find the usual National Park Service (NPS) facilities: visitor center, campground, a few hiking trails (old mining roads near the campground) and two scenic … Read More