Celebrate Pinelands Month and explore the Black Run Preserve while learning about the vision of Evesham’s proposed “Open Space and Recreation Plan.” Join Evesham and Cherokee High School teachers and students, Environmental Commission members and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance on May 5 for a guided hike into the “Black Run Preserve,” the township’s...
Learn MoreNature enthusiasts will flock to Roan Mountain this weekend for a host of hikes, workshops and programs highlighting the region’s rich natural history as part of the 54th annual Spring Naturalists Rally. The event will be held Friday through Sunday, May 4-6, at Roan Mountain State Park in Tennessee. Registration and information desks, as well as the evening programs,...
Learn More
Usually when you come here you will find a cheerful description of a scenic hike that was fun, and that I recommend for your enjoyment. Instead, I am going to suggest that you stay away from this hike if you value your safety and security. The Brush Creek and Burnett Gap Trails are so terribly maintained as to make them virtually impassible. I’m sure at one time...
Learn MoreThe recent acquisition of 720 acres of land in the Plott Balsams in North Carolina has helped set the table for the first major park to be created along the Blue Ridge Parkway in six decades. The pieces of property help make up Maggie Valley’s watershed. Neil Carpenter, head of the sanitary district for the town, said the recent purchase was a relief. He’s worked at...
Learn MoreHalf Dome in Yosemite National Park, an iconic visual representing the American West, is famous for many reasons. Many of us grew up seeing Half Dome memorialized in the black-and-white photographs of Ansel Adams. However, for nature lovers and backpackers, Half Dome represents one of the most arduous trails in North America, especially the final 400 feet of...
Learn MoreHiking Blogs is a directory of the best active hiking and backpacking blogs on the Internet. They go to great pains to remove dead links and inactive blogs from the directory, so you don’t waste your time visiting sites that are not regularly updated. Additionally, users like yourself have the opportunity to vote for their favorite blogs, so that others can easily...
Learn MoreTrekking and Hiking have always been popular ways to break away from a routine. In Maharashtra, India between one urban jungle and another lie vast untouched locations and it is these beautiful places that invite enthusiasts from all over to explore and rejuvenate. The Marathas that once ruled over the area built awe inspiring forts. Around these forts, in due course,...
Learn MoreWhen it comes to global warming, many simply scan the headlines, turn off extra lights and mentally scold the big corporate polluters. They think of climate change as a nebulous threat, one that lurks in the future. Outdoors writer and adventurer Michael Lanza believes otherwise. Lanza is the author of “Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to...
Learn MoreIf you have ever crossed Italianos Canyon Creek when it was glittering in the summer sun or stood on top of Gold Hill with its awe-inspiring view of the Taos Valley in the fall, you’ve been to the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Study Area. It might surprise you to know that although this area has been designated as a study area since 1980, it is not permanently protected....
Learn MoreThis article introduces the criteria of maximum profile grade relative to existing cross slope (fall line) as key to the development of natural surface trail projects that are sustainable. Natural travel surface sustainability criteria include: soil types, trail profile grade relative to existing cross slope, aspect, exposure, season of use, type of use, volume of use,...
Learn MoreIf you build the stairs, they will come. That’s the idea behind massive improvements to the popular Outcroppings Trail at Chimney Rock State Park — the trail that leads to the top of the Chimney. The park reopened the Outcroppings Trail after a four-month closure. The elevator to the Chimney has also been closed for improvements for the past year, so there has been no...
Learn More
The collapse of Northern California logging ended the McCloud River Railroad’s line to Burney. In 2009, citizens and local organizations formed a partnership to acquire the right-of-way. The trust won a $350,000 state grant this month to purchase the right-of-way. Called the Great Shasta Rail Trail, the route spans more than 80 miles through forested mountains. The...
Learn MoreWhen Stephanie Fox went to see the puppy almost three years ago at New England Border Collie Rescue, she knew the breed didn’t always make the best pet. As an experienced owner of other border collies, she was well aware of their need for constant work and attention. So how much more of a challenge would it be if she adopted one with deformed front legs? “The only...
Learn MoreOn Saturday, May 5th, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) will host an event to celebrate the arrival of the spring hiking season at the ATC’s Visitor Center in Harpers Ferry, WV. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. The beginning of May marks the arrival of northbound thru-hikers in HarpersFerry, the psychological half-way point of...
Learn MoreThere’s a saying about park rangers: “You get paid in sunrises and sunsets.” That’s really true. You don’t do the job for the pay. Sometimes you have to wonder why they work so hard to get those federal positions. The people who are attracted to the job are outsiders — they enjoy solitude, they enjoy nature. It’s the most unlikely...
Learn More
People who venture onto the trails in Yellowstone National Park this summer will see new signs warning them about avoiding bears and what to do if they should encounter one. Last summer two people were killed in the park in separate bear encounters. Neither hiker carried bear spray. One ran when attacked and one was hiking alone. The park recommends hiking in groups,...
Learn More
With so much interest in The Hunger Games movie, I thought it was time to head out to DuPont State Forest for a dawn hike to Triple Falls, one of the scenes in the film. Triple Falls is a tiered cascade on the Little River that drops 120 dramatic feet and was also featured in the Last of the Mohicans movie. A photo of Triple Falls was used by the Friends of the Falls...
Learn MoreTwo men were arrested after allegedly rigging booby traps near a trail in South Fork Canyon. Benjamin Rutkowski, 19, of Orem, UT and Kai Christensen, 21, of Provo, UT were booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor. Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said a forest service officer was...
Learn MoreA new walking and biking trail system is now in use near Jamestown Dam thanks to the efforts of a Jamestown, ND man and his 16-year-old son. Back in May 2010, Bill Steinmetz proposed a new single-track trail system to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates and maintains the Jamestown Dam area. Steinmetz said he noticed Jamestown had a shortage of easily...
Learn MoreThe author had the rare opportunity to go hiking with a couple dozen scientists. A mix of natural and social scientists, the group included botanists, ecologists, geologist, linguists, geographers, archeologists, and experts from many other disciplines. The common thread among them was the geographical focus of their research: the Sonoran Desert. That, and the invitation...
Learn MoreIn 1884, the second USGS Director John Wesley Powell briefed Congress on the need for a national mapping program, stating, “The map once constructed should be enduring…” In keeping with that spirit, The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has publicly released more than 161,000 digitally scanned historical maps spanning in excess of 130 years and covering the...
Learn More
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. 
Recent Comments