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Biography: Michael Fay, Wildlife Conservationist
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In September 1999, wildlife conservationist Michael Fay began a 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile) trek through the central forests of the Republic of the Congo and Gabon. Traveling with ten Pygmies, Fay documented the natural diversity of this Colorado-size wilderness that has been his home and office for much of the past 15 years. (Revisit his Congo Trek journey at nationalgeographic.com/congotrek.)
To find and buy the best gear for his 15-month hike, Fay turned to the Web, saving hundreds of hours of search time. “I have spent most of my time in the woods in central Africa since the Internet really hit the mainstream. The past two months have been an amazing crash course,” Fay said at the outset of his trip. “I have discovered, like most of the world, that the Web is the most powerful tool since electricity.”
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Why These Are Favorites
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Cascade Designs
[www.cascadedesigns.com] |
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“We need to keep things dry and sleep well—I wouldn’t be in the woods without SealLine backpacks and Therm-a-Rest mats.”
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Central African Regional Program for the Environment
[carpe.gecp.virginia.edu] |
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“This is a great gateway to all the conservation activity in my neck of the woods.”
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Eureka! Timberline Tents
[www.jwa.com/camping/eureka/timb.html] |
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“Eureka! Timberline tents have been my mainstay house in the woods for over three decades. They weigh a ton, but man do they stand up to abuse.”
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Garmin
[www.garmin.com] |
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“I need to track my path and geo-locate all of my data, images, sound, and notes, and the Garmin GPS [global positioning system] is the one we have discovered works under the forest canopy.”
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Iridium
[www.iridium.com] |
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“Far and away the single most amazing thing that I have discovered is the Iridium satellite telephone and pager system—Captain Kirk almost didn’t have it this good.”
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Patagonia
[www.patagonia.com] |
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“Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard donates one percent of gross or 10 percent of profits—whichever is greater—to grassroots conservation...he is making the world a better place.”
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Space Imaging
[www.spaceimaging.com] |
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“This site reminds me that the world is an incredibly small and fragile place.”
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Teva
[www.teva.com] |
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“Shoes are an obsession in the tropical forest. If you wear boots...your feet literally wear to bare flesh in a matter of weeks.”
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Turner Foundation
[www.turnerfoundation.org] |
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“I look to [Ted] Turner’s site for indications that he may someday be a great supporter of the remaining wilderness in Africa; it is still the cheapest place on the planet to save wilderness.”
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Find Out More About Michael Fay
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Congo Trek—A Journey Through the Heart of Central Africa @
nationalgeographic.com
[www.nationalgeographic.com/congotrek/index.html] |
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Michael Fay filed dispatches, audio, and video clips from the trail
during his 15-month, 1,200-mile (2,000-kilometer) journey through
the equatorial forests of Gabon and the Republic of the Congo.
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The Green Abyss—Megetransect, Part 2 @ National Geographic Magazine Online
[www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0103/feature1/] |
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Installment two from National Geographic magazine: Writer
David Quammen and photographer Nick Nichols report on Fay’s progress on the Megatransect trail. Get online-only
photos and assignment field notes from the writer-photographer
team.
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Megatransect @ National Geographic
Magazine Online
[www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0010/feature1/] |
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Writer David Quammen and Photographer Nick Nichols chronicle
the first leg of Fay’s epic expedition in the October
2000 issue of National Geographic magazine. Get more
photos and behind the scenes takes online.
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Webcast: Crossing the Heart of Africa @
nationalgeographic.com
[www.nationalgeographic.com/lectures/2001spring/congo.html] |
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Fresh off the completion of their Megatransect
expedition, Michael Fay and photographer Nick Nichols spoke
about their experience at a February 2001 lecture at National
Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C.
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Photograph by Michael Nichols
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Where does 