Study Show High-Risk Areas for Lyme Disease Growing

The geographic areas where Lyme disease is a bigger danger have grown dramatically, according to a new government study published this week. U.S. cases remain concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwest. But now more areas in those regions are considered high risk. “The risk is expanding, in all directions,” said the lead author, Kiersten Kugeler of the...

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Temporary Trail Closure Announced Due to Wildfire in McDowell County, NC

NEBO, N.C., July 18, 2015 – An estimated 2 acre wildfire burning on Forest Service land near Bald Knob in McDowell County will require temporary closure of a section of the Mountains to Sea Trail between the footbridge over the North Fork of the Catawba River and Dobson Knob Road (Forest Service Road 106). The trail closure will be in effect until fire is declared...

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Hartman Creek State Park, Wisconsin trails are up for adoption

Hartman Creek State Park, covering 1,500 acres in Waupaca and Portage counties in Wisconsin, draws visitors for many reasons. With six lakes within park boundaries or adjacent to it, a stream and several wetlands, well maintained campgrounds (even a teepee), swimming beach, historic log cabin, interpretive programs by a trained naturalist and natural beauty for all...

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Where to Go Hiking in Cape Town

There is no shortage of hiking trails and mountains in Cape Town, South Africa but make sure you know the basics before you embark on your voyage. The walking and hiking trail options in Cape Town are virtually endless, from Table Mountain to Lion’s Head, Signal Hill to Kirstenbosch. Just make sure you do your research, carry water, and have a reliable map—and...

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Appalachian Trail record breaker summonsed on Katahdin

The man who set a new record for speed traversing the Appalachian Trail, Scott Jurek, was issued three summonses by rangers on Mt. Katahdin. After completing his 46-day run, state park rangers issued him summonses for public drinking, littering and hiking with an oversize group. Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and lays inside the boundary of...

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A beginner’s glossary to hiking and camping

Don’t know your karst from your krummholz? Do you think holloway is used solely as a surname? Brush up on your hiking and camping terms with our glossary. That pile of rocks and gravel on a mountainside? There’s a word for that. Wilderness travel takes more than a pair of strong legs; it requires common sense. An ability to read the land and a basic understanding...

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Idaho mining dispute raises questions about the future of wilderness

A grandfathered mining claim has opened the doors to development in the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness. “Nothing in this Act shall prevent within national forest wilderness areas any activity, including prospecting, for the purpose of gathering information about mineral or other resources, if such activity is carried on in a manner compatible with the...

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Land and Water Conservation Fund Protects Trail Experiences

Major national scenic trails such as the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail traverse thousands of miles across our beautiful country. Hikers attempting a thru-hike or continuous hike of the trails travel through literally scores of national forests and national parks, and scattered parcels of private land. The private land along the...

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Something’s Changing in North Carolina: First Major Wind Project in the South Breaks Ground

Big news from North Carolina – wind company Iberdola and retail giant Amazon broke ground on a new wind farm in northeastern North Carolina that’s not only the first major wind farm in the state, but the first major wind project in the South. It’s an empty field now, but this area in northeastern North Carolina will soon be home to some towering wind...

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How Big Water is trying to stop the National Park Service from cleaning up plastic bottles

The National Park Service thought it had a good strategy for reining in the discarded water bottles that clog the trash cans and waste stream of the national parks: stop selling disposable bottles and let visitors refill reusable ones with public drinking water. But Big Water has stepped in to block the parks from banning the plastic pollutants — and the industry found...

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Conservationists Want You to Stop Building Rock Piles

Cairns have a long history and purpose, one that newer stacks sometimes subvert. The Gorham Mountain Trail at Acadia National park winds up through a forested mountain slope before bursting out onto one of the granite-boulder covered summits for which the park is famous. But once you get up there, following the loop back down would be tricky if it weren’t for rock stacks...

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Green Label Organic T-Shirts

Green Label Organic is a family owned and operated business located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. It was co-created by a long time T-shirt designer and his wife, an organic grower and environmentalist. After learning about the severe environmental impact of conventionally grown cotton, they set out to educate and inform as many people as possible to the...

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Nature Is Speaking

Nature doesn’t need people. People need Nature. Human beings are part of Nature. Nature is not dependent on human beings to exist. Human beings, on the other hand, are totally dependent on Nature to exist. The growing number of people on the planet and how we live here is going to determine the future of Nature . And the future of us. Nature will go on, no matter...

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New Highpointing Speed Record

Scott Jurek’s wasn’t the only new speed record today. Josh Sanders and his sister Lindsay broke the world speed record for highpointing the lower 48 United States. Driving thousands of miles, hiking hundreds of miles, and climbing over 250,000 vertical feet of mountains in less than 23 days. They began on June 23, 2015 and finished on July 12. 19 days, 7...

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Jurek beats Davis’ Appalachian Trail record by mere hours

Scott Jurek, renowned champion long distance runner, today broke the Appalachian Trail (AT) speed record previously set by Jennifer Pharr Davis of Asheville, NC in 2011 by just three hours. The difference, over the 2,189-mile AT, was akin to a photo finish. Jurek climbed Mt. Katahdin in Maine on Sunday, July 12, 2015, the 47th day after he started at Springer Mountain,...

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Hike through vineyards and lemon trees in Italy’s Cinque Terre

From the top of a steep hillside covered in lemon trees and grapevines, the village of Manarola tumbles out below, like a handful of pink, orange and yellow blocks that have been shaken, then poured from a toy bag. Manarola is one of five hamlets strewn a few miles apart along the Mediterranean coast in Northern Italy. Each comes with its own personality, and the best...

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Black Balsam Knob and Sam Knob Summits, Pisgah National Forest

There is a notch between two wildernesses in the Pisgah National Forest high country. Shining Rock Wilderness is to the northeast, and Middle Prong Wilderness is to the west of this pie-shaped cut in the topology. In between are two bald mountaintops that exceed 6,000 feet elevation. To the locals the area is called simply… Black Balsam. The air is fresh (usually),...

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Wild Walk gives NY museum visitors treetop view of forest

A new wooden walkway in New York’s Adirondack Mountains takes nature lovers on a tour of the treetops to let them experience the forest from the perspective of the birds and beasts that live there. The $5.5 million Wild Walk is set on the 80 wooded acres of the Wild Center, an interactive natural history museum in Tupper Lake, NY. It opened Saturday, July 4, 2015....

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President Obama protects three new national monuments

Conservationists work tirelessly to protect America’s most wild and treasured parks, forests, monuments, wildlife refuges and other public lands. President Obama has responded by protecting natural wonders in California, Nevada and Texas as national monuments, to be cherished and enjoyed for generations to come. Berryessa Snow Mountain, in California, showcases the Inner...

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An Unprecedented Number Of Canadian Wildfires Send Smoke Pollution Across The United States

Fueled by unusually high temperatures, hundreds of wildfires are burning across Western Canada — and they’re sending their smoke south across the United States border. Wildfire danger throughout Western Canada is “very high,” according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS), with the majority of fire activity taking place in three provinces:...

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Nevada’s “Basin and Range” set to be protected permanently?

Just a couple hours’ drive from Las Vegas, the Basin and Range area comprises Garden Valley and Coal Valley as well as corridors connecting the surrounding Timpahute, Pahroc, Worthington, Mt. Irish, Seaman, Golden Gate, Grant and Quinn Canyon mountain ranges. Among other things, Basin and Range’s rugged landscape is considered a monument to the awesome span of geological...

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Andrew Hamilton breaks speed record climbing Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks

The 40-year-old dad of four early Thursday, July 9, 2015 trotted down a rain-soaked Longs Peak, completing his inspiring quest for a speed record climbing all 58 points over 14,000 feet in Colorado at 2:21 a.m. — a total of nine days, 21 hours and 51 minutes. Hamilton has raced up and down the state’s highest peaks, setting a blistering pace that eclipsed all who...

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Trails Forever crew making progress on Alum Cave Trail

Perhaps you’ve hiked the Alum Cave Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the last few weeks. Then you know that The Friends of the Smokies Trails Forever crew is making progress on the restoration of this popular trail. The 11-person National Park Service crew is joined by 21 Conservation Corps members on Monday through Thursday. The trail work started in May...

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Restoration work to help improve aspen forests on Kaibab National Forest

The National Forest Foundation (NFF) recently expanded its partnership with the Salt River Project (SRP) to restore imperiled aspen forests on the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. A leading partner of the NFF’s reforestation efforts, SRP has been supporting landscape-scale reforestation in northern Arizona through their Trees for Change program since...

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Explore SW Florida history at Buckingham Trails Preserve

Lee County, Florida Parks & Recreation invites visitors and residents to explore the new hiking and equestrian trails at Conservation 20/20’s Buckingham Trails Preserve located in east Fort Myers. The preserve provides a newly built parking area and trail system totaling more than 7 miles. There are 2.3 miles of hiking trails and 4.8 miles for both horseback riding...

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Wisconsin veteran hiking entire Ice Age Trail

After more than two months of walking, the generosity of strangers is what surprises Natalie Koffarnus the most. The Wisconsin resident on May 3 set out on the Ice Age Trail from St. Croix Falls with the goal of walking the entire 1,200-mile path to Potawatomi State Park by Aug. 1. It’s the kindness of people she’s never met that has helped her along the way....

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Smokies Trail Sections in the Forney Creek Area Closed Temporarily for Trail Rehabilitation

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the temporary closure of three trail sections in the lower Forney Creek Trail area for a trail rehabilitation project that will include work on the Lakeshore, White Oak Branch, and Forney Creek trails. Mechanized equipment will be used to significantly improve the condition and sustainability of these trails. The...

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Toxic Fracking Water Being Used to Water Crops During California Drought

Many crops in the drought-stricken state of California are actually being irrigated with fracking wastewater. Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure, which allows the gas to flow out to the head of...

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