Imagine strolling through Yosemite Valley some 140 years ago with naturalist John Muir listening to his poetic descriptions of Half Dome and learning about his legendary adventures. As one of Yosemite Conservancy’s unique Outdoor Adventures in 2012, visitors to Yosemite National Park can take a step back in time by retracing Muir’s steps with his great-great-grandson...
Learn MoreAre you up for a challenge in 2012, a challenge that will lead you toward discovering and hiking in new areas, enjoying the outdoors while you improve your health and well-being? The East Bay Regional Park District hopes that residents of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California will rise to the challenge, and that this year’s numbers will top the more than...
Learn MoreThe Blue Ridge Parkway was recently selected for inclusion in Rand McNally’s Best of the Road program based on submission materials prepared by the Blue Ridge Parkway Association in collaboration with Parkway staff. National Parks Traveler has created its newest guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway in a collection of National Parks Traveler’s Essential Park...
Learn MoreWinter can be a deceptively great time to take a hike in Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and many other national parks. Why? Along with fewer folks out on the trails, winter in the Southern Appalachians brings the year’s clearest distant views. The lack of leaf cover often reveals things you otherwise might not see during the summer...
Learn MoreI don’t think many other owners are as clear-eyed about their dogs’ limitations as I am about mine. They think their dogs actually listen. Such a mistaken belief results in lots of, “Mollie, come here. Come here. Here. Did you hear me? Mollie come. Now. This time I mean it. I won’t say it again. Mollie come. Come here.” I’m of two minds regarding dogs hiking off the...
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Falls Creek Falls is a double cascade in the northeast corner of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness in upstate South Carolina that free falls more than a hundred feet. In winter there is a distant view of the top of the falls from 800 feet below at the trailhead on Falls Creek Rd. From the falls, Hospital Rock Trail climbs Standingstone Mountain along Falls Creek for ridge...
Learn MorePeople are often surprised to learn that Susan Wefald, a former North Dakota Public Service Commissioner and violinist with the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony, is also an avid hiker. She hikes for fun, exercise and to relieve stress. She even seeks out hiking trails while on vacation. And after retiring in December 2008 after 16 years as a member of the Public Service...
Learn MoreHitting the trails is one of the best ways to explore the natural landscape of the Chattanooga area. Figuring out which trail to traverse is the difficult part—there are so many to choose from. “There are at least 100 trails within the Chattanooga area,” Che Carico, a hike coordinator with the Chattanooga Hiking Club, said. “We are incredibly blessed by the geology of...
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For those who are passionate day-hikers like me, you are always looking to lighten your pack and heighten your emergency preparedness. I’ve had my eyes peeled for a portable, packable water filter that is very lightweight with a small footprint. Pump water filters work great but are somewhat bulky, taking quite a bit of valuable pack space. Enter the PurifiCup™...
Learn MoreIn a decision that could bring an end to the national Adventure Pass program, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. Forest Service cannot charge for hiking, walking, picnicking or visiting undeveloped areas of national forest land. In the unanimous ruling released Feb. 9 in favor of four hikers who objected to paying a fee to visit the forest, Judge...
Learn MoreJoin Friends of the Smokies for a guided hike along Kephart Prong Trail, followed by a visit to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and Mountain Farm Museum, Saturday, March 17. The four-mile hike will be led by hiking enthusiast and outdoors author Danny Bernstein, who will share cultural history along the route, including a former CCC camp. The hike is part of the Friends...
Learn MoreDepartment of Conservation and Natural Resources officials joined neighborhood, city and state leaders in the dedication of a newly restored, highly popular trail along the Schuylkill River that draws thousands of people each year to Philadelphia’s Manayunk section. “One of the major ways to encourage people to get outdoors and enjoy the natural world around...
Learn MoreSt. Lucie County’s Environmental Resources Department is continuing its weekly winter Nature Series with guided, educational hikes in March. These free weekly programs run through May and give participants a chance to explore some of the 42 miles of hiking trails that are located throughout the County’s 7,000 acres of Environmentally Significant Lands. Anyone...
Learn MoreAn MBA student at Washington University was beaten and starved as a child, and then was homeless as a teen. Michael McLaughlin has now turned his life around, but he hasn’t forgotten where he came from. He’s devoting his life to helping other children who are suffering, and hiking 2,500 miles to raise awareness. Each step forward for McLaughlin is a step away...
Learn MoreThis spring, thousands of students will get the chance to visit national parks around the country as part of the National Park Foundation’s new Ticket to Ride program. Kids will learn about the benefits of healthy living by studying the lifestyles of the historic Timucuan Indians at Timucuan Ecological and Historic National Preserve, realize the achievements of...
Learn MoreWith some volunteer and recreational activities on hiatus during the winter months, public land managers and friends groups often turn their attention towards planning for the busy spring and summer months. Friends groups, in particular, can spend winter months developing marketing and fundraising plans to attract new donors and volunteers to their public land site. To...
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Those of you who are regulars here may have noticed there is a black hole of missing content from February 6th through today. Unfortunately my web host encountered a series of errors with hardware failures that made complete recovery impossible. They suffered a disk failure on the server that hosts Meanderthals and their disk array recovery mechanism did not work...
Learn MoreVisitors to Custer State Park will have the opportunity on Saturday, Feb. 11, to experience the winter sights and sounds of the popular park, by way of a pair of snowshoes. The Lover’s Leap Snowshoe Hike will guide participants through a dense pine forest, meandering near Grace Coolidge Creek. The three-mile hike is geared toward beginners, allowing participants...
Learn MoreThere’s no telling what you might stumble across when hiking in Western Washington. Bigfoot, vampires, bundles of cash. Maybe even Paul Bunyan. The region is steeped in nearly as much intriguing pop culture as it is in good options for cool-weather hikes. Here’s a list of lowland hikes that will get you in the right frame of mind to meet up with legends...
Learn MoreThe deepest gorge in the world, towering limestone cliffs and ancient Zagori stone villages are all part of the Pindus Mountains of Northern Greece. The Pindus Range stretches from Albania to central Greece. Scattered throughout these mountains are Zagorian stone villages nestled on the sides of precipitous mountains. The inhabitants are descendants of semi-nomadic...
Learn MoreAs the sun rises and the mist settles, we make our way over Inti Punku, the Sun Gate Pass, and get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas, nestled deep within the Andean mountain range in Peru. The descent past ruins, terraces and sacrificial altars is the culmination of a four-day and three-night backpacking trip over three mountain passes and 26...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. My regular hiking companions have designated me the lead hiker, so I suppose that makes me the slowest Meanderthal. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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