And, heal.

I hiked parts of the John Muir trail and it is mental therapy money can't buy. Plus, you can walk in the boot steps of the great John Muir himself, who knew the best way to go inside yourself is to go outside.

The Non-profit organization Restore Hetch Hetchy CLICK HERE offers "Muir's March" trek led the experienced international mountain guiding service California Alpine Guides (CAG).

Muir’s March, which raises awareness and funds for the campaign to bring the Hetch Hetchy Valley back to life,  includes six breathtaking backpacking trips (plus a trip just for families) in Yosemite National Park, from July 29 – August 4, 2012.

California Alpine Guides is a mountain guiding and trekking service with a professional and certified team of mountain guides who have vast experience leading treks throughout California and the world. For Muir’s March, guides will take backpackers and hikers into scenic areas of Yosemite rarely experienced by tourists, literally and figuratively following in Muir’s footsteps.

John Muir called Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley "one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples." Despite his urgent pleas, in 1913 the federal government approved San Francisco's request to clear-cut and flood the valley for use as a reservoir.  The decision horrified wilderness-lovers and helped spur the creation of the National Park Service and the international environmental conservation movement.

Muir’s March participants can choose from six scenic treks, varying in length from one to seven days, where they will enjoy stunning vistas, camaraderie, campfires and stories.

Hikers each raise $90 or more to participate and the funds will be used to support a campaign to educate San Francisco voters and lawmakers and win their approval for the restoration project.

Fundraising requirements vary according to hike length, from $90 to $2100. Hikes are 1, 4 and 7 days in length. Hikers and backpackers of all skill levels and ages are welcome.  Several of the trips are organized specifically for families.

Prospective participants can register or get more information by visiting HERE or by calling 415-956-0401.

Coastal residents will get a preview of future sea levels when a “king tide” occurs as far inland as Philadelphia and Trenton during high tides on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The tidal Delaware River and Bay, otherwise known as the Delaware Estuary, is no stranger to tides.  What makes a king tide unique is its height: a foot or more above normal high tides due to astronomical factors.

This can be amplified in Delaware Bay given how it narrows like a funnel as tides move upstream.  King tides can also be dangerous when combined with storms like nor’easters that bring winds and heavy rain.

“What’s interesting about king tides is how they serve as a window into our future,” said Dr. Danielle Kreeger, science director at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.  “Today’s king tides will be tomorrow’s daily tides, probably in about 20 years.  Most experts believe that sea levels in the Delaware Estuary will rise by three to five feet this century.”

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary recently published a new resource for community leaders dealing not only with surging tides, but also with flooding and record rainfall.  This booklet is entitled “Weathering Change,” and it details different ways people can work with nature for the benefit of neighborhoods and clean water.  Examples include protecting wetlands; installing natural, or “living shorelines;” and planning smart developments, or those that absorb runoff rather than contribute to flooding.

With the approach of both Halloween and the king tide, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary has created the first-ever, king-tide crown.  The crown is free and available for download at DelawareEstuary.org.  The PDE has invited its supporters to post pictures on its facebook page featuring their local king tide or themselves wearing a king-tide crown.

Similar king-tide projects are taking place elsewhere.  These include Barnegat Bay in New Jersey and Puget Sound in Washington state.  In each case, the goal is to educate locals about the future of their coastlines.

Most people are familiar with tides, which flood and ebb along the East Coast twice a day as the Earth spins on its axis.  Far fewer people are familiar with king tides.  Like normal tides, king tides occur when the moon’s gravity pulls at the water in our oceans.

What makes a king tide higher or lower is the added pull of both the sun and moon together.  This occurs when the Earth reaches its closest point to the sun during its annual orbit and the moon reaches its closest point to the Earth during its 27-day orbit.  The two combined make for water levels both higher and lower than daily tides and bi-monthly spring tides.

Here comes the King ...

There’s no need to travel to Munich to celebrate Oktoberfest! Gentlemen, take out your lederhosen, and ladies, put on your dirndl to participate in Palmyra Cove Nature Park’s Oktoberfest festival on Saturday, October 1 from 1 – 5 p.m.

Hosted by the Palmyra Cove Environmental Education Foundation, festivities include traditional hearty German food, Bavarian-style music and autumn beer samplings, as well as family-friendly indoor and outdoor activities.

Attendees can enjoy the fresh outdoors by participating in a wildlife observation hike, orienteering and seining. Back by popular demand is the “turtle lady” and Falconer Jennifer Penna who will provide a spectacular birds of prey demonstration.

Tickets for Oktoberfest are $40 per individual, $75 per couple and $100 per family. Event proceeds benefit education programs at Palmyra Cove.

Advanced reservations are required and can be made by calling 856-829-1900.

  Palmyra Cove Nature Park, located on Route 73 North, under the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, is a 250-acre nature preserve, maintained and operated by the Burlington County Bridge Commission. Open to the public year-round, vsitors can enjoy a variety of interactive exhibits in the Cove’s 10,000 square foot Environmental Discovery Center.  Hours are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  For more information, including various nature hikes and activities, call (856) 829-1900 x267, or visit www.palmyracove.org.

With the Mud Run MS Philly taking place this upcoming weekend (June 11-12) in Newtown Square, PA, the Philadelphia Soul have shown their support by taking part in the Pre-Mud Run events at various Chickie’s & Pete’s around the city.

Today, mud runners can come out to Chickie’s & Pete’s on the Boulevard for the last race packet pick-up, where they can meet SOULMATES from 4-7 p.m.

The Mud Run itself will be held on Saturday and Sunday, where SOULMATES and Soul Staff members will be cheering on all of the participants as they get muddy to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis.

The culmination of this partnership will be at the Soul’s next home game, Friday, June 17, as they face the Tulsa Talons. The top fundraisers for Mud Run MS Philly, known as the Dirty Dozen, will receive tickets to this game, and the Soul will also be honoring those who are living with MS throughout the night.

Five dollars from every ticket sold to the Soul’s next home game on June 17 against the Tulsa Talons will benefit the National MS Society when the code “SOULMUD” is used.

The Philadelphia Soul’s next home game will be against the Tulsa Talons, which will be on Friday, June 17 at 7:05 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center.

Pro-rated season tickets start around $50, with individual tickets starting at $13.

Fans may order tickets by calling the Soul sales department at (215) 253-4900 ext. 3, or request contact from a representative by filling out the form on www.philadelphiasoul.com.

Register with Pinelands Preservation Alliance by contacting Mike Hunninghake at 609 859-8860 x24 or mikeh@pinelandsalliance.org

Start Time: 9:00 AM
Date: Satruday 6-4
End Time: 12 noon

The Academy joins more than 1,300 museums across the country offering the benefit through Blue Star Museums, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families.

The offer comes just in time for the Academy’s new summer exhibit, Fore! The Planet.

This highly interactive exhibit features 18 holes of indoor miniature golf in which players test their putting skills along with their environmental know-how. Fore! The Planet is open through Sept. 25.

Founded in 1812, the Academy of Natural Sciences is America’s oldest natural history museum and a world leader in biodiversity and environmental research.

For nearly 200 years, the Academy has carried out its mission to encourage and cultivate the sciences, exploring the remarkable diversity of our natural world and sharing these discoveries with the public through innovative exhibits, publications, and educational programming.

HOURS: Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturday–Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ADMISSION: $12 adults; $10 children 3-12, seniors and students; free for members, children under 3, and active military and up to five family members May 30-Sept. 5. $2 fee for Butterflies! PHONE: 215-299-1000.

Title: REI Bike Maintenance

Location: Marlton

Link out: Click here

Description: Learn how to lube a chain, fix a flat tire in record time, and make other minor adjustments to your bike.

Start Time: 7:00 PM

Date: Tonight

Scallop boats that fish out of Cold Spring Fisheries on Schellenger’s Landing help make Cape May the second busiest seaport on the East Coast

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Cape May Harbor, 2011 Harbor Fest will feature a new exhibit “Cape May Harbor and Commercial Fishing, a Century of Prosperity and Progress” on Saturday, June 18.

The multifaceted and interactive exhibit will examine the growth of Cape May’s commercial fishing industry, which is now the second largest on the east coast, over the last 100 years.

The outdoor exhibit will be housed next to the popular “Great Scallop Challenge” at the Nature Center of Cape May under a large tent and will include the following:

• Historical maps and photographs of Cape May Harbor and the evolution of Cape May’s fishing fleet through the decades.

• Identification of three primary Cape May fisheries’ species: scallops, surf clams and squid, along with information on their habitats, locations and need for conservation.

• The equipment used aboard ship and in processing such as dredges, nets and rakes … past and present.

• The biographies, training and protection of fishing crews through the years.

• Hands-on activities such as deployment of a life raft, donning of survival suits, EPIRB and flare demonstrations and shucking of scallops and clams.

• Live, costumed interpreters will describe firsthand what the life of a commercial fisherman is really like.

• Cape May’s bounty is shipped to destinations all around the world. “Pack-Out to Plate,” provides a step-by-step description of the journey a fish makes from the moment it is caught to the consumer’s plate it lands upon, including audiovisual footage of fishery processing.

Exhibit Curator Mark Allen is excited about the upcoming exhibit, saying:

“Mention Cape May and most people think of great restaurants and Victorian architecture. These are the same people who drive into Cape May right past the very jewel that defines our economy and our culture, Cape May Harbor. Home to the second busiest commercial fishing port on the east coast, the finest sport fishing fleet in the world, and the Coast Guard’s sole recruit training facility, Cape May Harbor is the very engine that drives the region’s year-round economy.”

Harbor Fest will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday, June 18, along the banks of picturesque Cape May Harbor on Delaware Ave. and on the Nature Center of Cape May’s environmental education campus. For more information about Harbor Fest events and activities, contact the Cape May Chamber of Commerce at (609) 884-5508. Or, visit the Harbor Fest website at www.capemayharborfest.com

The Medford Memorial girls 4x100 relay team claimed third place at the Penn Relays over the weekend in the South Jersey Middle School division.

Jenna Maladra, Gianna Pizoli, Arianna Gerber and Rachel Winiarczyk clocked a 54.6 to record the first medal at Penn Relays for the Memorial girls, according to head coach Tom Tursi and assistant coach Lynda Acchitelli.

Medford placed behind defending champion Winslow Township and Delsea.

Nick writes that sandworms and bloodworms, clams and herring chunks are reeling Stripers from 23 to 30 inches in the Delaware Bay.

To see more of Nick's report, click HERE