This new project would convert an abandoned rail line and Mississippi River levee road into an 84-mile biking and walking trail. Governor Asa Hutchinson, in his weekly radio address, said “I believe in this new vision for the Delta, and I want to do what I can to promote it. I’ve even pledged to take a bike ride along a portion of the Delta Heritage Trail...
Learn MoreFriends of the Mountains to Sea Trail have provided an interactive map that allows you to explore multiple aspects of the MST – the route across the state, terrain, and satellite imagery. They have also added icons to help you find places along the trail where the route has been updated, as well as photos taken along the trail route by FMST members. Learn more about the...
Learn MoreDue to a drier than usual spring and summer, the fall leaf color in the mountains of Western North Carolina should be putting on a more spectacular show than it has in many years, according to Western Carolina University’s autumnal season prognosticator Kathy Mathews. Mathews, an associate professor of biology at WCU, gives her annual prediction of how foliage around the...
Learn MoreThe question arises: why are the three most famous accounts of hiking three of the world’s most famous long-distance trails written by people who did not hike the whole distance? The loneliness and skull-bound nature of a long-distance hike fits quite nicely with the thinking out, if not the actual writing, of books. The dusty back aisles of Amazon are glutted with...
Learn MoreIs it looking like your plan to hike your kids and your 12-year-old nephew 3,000 feet and nearly four miles uphill to the brink of Upper Yosemite Falls—and then, of course, back down—is on the express bus to the graveyard for dumb ideas from overzealous hiker-dads? Hike, backpack, cross-country ski, or do anything physical outdoors with kids regularly, and there will...
Learn MoreThe South Coast track is not like the Overland track, Tasmania’s most popular walk. There are no huts and it’s not guided. We would be cooking all our own food, carrying our gear the whole way and carrying out all our rubbish. The only access to the starting point at Melalueca is by light plane. A false start on day one – the fog was too thick for the plane to land –...
Learn MoreTech. Sgt. Stacy Trosine is on the journey of a lifetime. The Fairchild Air Force Base airman is hiking 710 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, much of it alone, in honor of three soldiers she served with in Afghanistan. She started the trek on Aug. 8. Trosine has been deployed seven times in her 18-year military career, including three stints in Afghanistan, but her most...
Learn MoreA popular Windward Oahu hiking trail sees countless hikers every day. How safe is it? There have been concerns about rocks falling at the Lanikai Pillbox Trail, that danger is currently being addressed, but hikers have brought up new issues about the pillboxes and are worried they could one day come crashing down. Ask any hiker headed up the Lanikai Pillbox trail and...
Learn MoreIn the United States, more than 38 million people annually go hiking and the popular recreational activity has recently seen increased interest in its more competitive and extreme forms. The American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) reminds all hikers, whether avid or recreational, injuries are common and careful planning is essential to reducing the likelihood...
Learn MoreShenandoah National Park protects 79,600 acres along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains between the Shenandoah Valley to the west and the foothills of the Virginia Piedmont to the east. The Appalachian Trail follows in close proximity to Skyline Drive, the park’s popular tourist road. Most weary thru-hikers, on the trail since Georgia, find the week-long, 105-mile...
Learn MoreIn the middle of the woods, the best moves are don’t move, but do trust the technology. Pennington County, South Dakota Search and Rescue said a young woman who was lost while hiking did the exact right thing by staying put, contacting authorities and remembering that modern electronics mean you’re never really lost. The 18-year-old woman and her friends were...
Learn MoreThe Fiery Gizzard is one of the most celebrated hiking trails in the country, but a land dispute could close the Grundy County, Tennessee trail by Dec. 1, 2015. A private property owner has told the state he will no longer grant access to hikers beginning Dec. 1. “What we have is as land gets sold or passed down to heirs, that handshake agreement, that verbal agreement...
Learn MoreHigh-altitude training is important for proper fitness and to avoid health risks like high-altitude pulmonary edema. You’ve signed the dotted line and in a few short months you’re strapping on your boots and heading “into thin air.” Whether it is climbing Mt. Everest or Mt. Evans, you’re going to need to improve your high-altitude fitness,...
Learn MoreAny parent who hikes with young kids is bound to hear a fair share of whining. “Why do we have to hike?” or “This is hard!” And the most common, “How much faaaaarther?” But worry not, dear parents. Paragon Guides near Vail, Colo., offers a fun remedy to prevent such protests: Take a llama to lunch. This half-day, family-friendly, guided tour not only serves as a way to...
Learn MoreThe most sensible approach to the Alpine geological wonderland known as the Dolomites is also the most evocative one. Here’s how it’s done: After the three-hour drive from Venice Marco Polo Airport toward Austria, pull off the autostrada into the inviting city of Bolzano. In the pedestrian zone on Piazza della Mostra you will encounter the town’s best restaurant, Zur...
Learn MoreAlthough out-of-staters don’t particularly know New Jersey for its hiking prowess, the state offers a diverse range of hiking trails and parks that are fitting for those looking for a rocky mountain hike, a beachy shore run or a stroll through flat meadows, which Dawn L. McClennen, co-founder of njHiking.com, is well aware of. “We don’t have the elevation of something...
Learn MoreBOISE, Idaho, Aug. 10, 2015–After the successful funding of their first sleeping bag hammock, the couple behind the Bison Bag G1 are back with the next version of their sleeping bag hammock: the Bison Bag G2. The new polyester design features triple layer insulation ensuring that minimal body heat escapes during overnight adventures. The sleeping bag hammock is...
Learn MoreInspired by a love of the outdoors and memories of a 2010 tornado, Girl Scout Alison Campbell organized a team that worked 30 hours this summer clearing 4,250 feet of trail at Old World Wisconsin that had been untouched for five years. The project, which makes the Old Railroad Forest Trail safe to hike once again, was the culmination of Campbell’s Girl Scout Gold...
Learn MoreSean Longstreet witnessed four days of startled reactions when he backpacked over Piute Pass above Bishop, CA this summer in the Eastern High Sierra. The popular Beaumont school district music instructor was not behaving oddly. He didn’t pick his guitar strings or blow his trumpet as he walked the steep trails. Instead, his companion attracted stares of surprise and...
Learn MoreUnbearably hot. Dry. Lifeless. Those are a few terms that the word “desert” all too often conjures up. While deserts are loved by many wilderness enthusiasts, it’s far too easy for the general public to overlook these areas when thinking about wilderness. No doubt, deserts can be hot and dry, but look a little closer and the life within them is...
Learn MoreIn 1899, the Appalachian National Park Association began discussing the concept for a 12,000-square-mile park in parts of North and South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee. During the next century, many individuals, organizations, politicians and nature advocates worked to establish what is now the country’s most visited national park – the Great Smoky Mountains....
Learn MoreEvery summer, they trek through New York on their way from Georgia to Maine — a scruffy bunch whose determination to hike the entire Appalachian Trail finds them pushing through the Hudson Valley in July and August. For many, the roughly 2,189-mile trip is the culmination of a dream. Others aren’t sure why they’re doing it. But most know they couldn’t manage the hike...
Learn MoreGet ready to discover the beautiful trails of Fairfield Glade and Cumberland County, Tennessee. The Cumberland Plateau has some wonderful scenery and now everyone will have the opportunity to get to know it up close and personal. Registration for the Cumberland Plateau Hiking Trail Marathon kicked off Aug. 1, 2015. Just like a marathon race, this hiking marathon includes...
Learn More“Sputnik” had just emerged from the most remote stretch of the Appalachian Trail – 100 miles of Maine “wilderness” with no stores, towns or even paved roads – when he paused to consider a different ending to the life-changing trek he was about to complete. Behind him lay 2,170 miles worth of footsteps stretching from Georgia to this spot on Abol Bridge offering two...
Learn MoreRio Grande Trail commissioners held their first meeting July 29,2015 to discuss creating a 500-mile recreational route through New Mexico. The task before them won’t be easy or quick. There’s a dizzying array of decisions and tasks to undertake before the trail will become a reality. It’s so early in the process, the commission has only a bare-bones digital page, housed...
Learn MoreThink the Blue Ridge Parkway is beautiful? Well, like many of us, it takes a lot of grooming to look that way. For the third summer, a group of North Carolina teenagers from ages 16-18 years old have been working hard to improve, restore, and preserve the natural and recreational resources of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone and Blowing Rock. The North Carolina Youth...
Learn MorePANTHERTOWN, N.C., July 31, 2015- Nantahala District Ranger, Mike Wilkins, advises everyone that Forest Service road 4673 which accesses the Panthertown hiking trail system from the east side in the Cold Mountain area will be closed beginning Monday morning August 3, 2015 on week days until August 14, 2015 to construct a 9-12 car parking area. The project is a...
Learn MoreFollowing a number of deaths in recent years and dozens of rescues, residents of Paradise Valley, Arizona are concerned with hiker safety on the Echo Canyon Trail because of a lack of signage marking the trail and warning of its difficulty. One of those residents, Ryan Wooddy, can’t help but notice when rental cars are parked at the Echo Canyon trailhead near his...
Learn MoreWouldn’t it be great if your kids begged to go on a hike instead of playing video games or going to the mall? There are ways to encourage their love for the outdoors and as they develop more of a comfort level in nature, you may find them coming up with new plans to head out a trail. If you’re looking for a place to start, Jennifer Pharr Davis has some practical tips....
Learn MoreGreat Smoky Mountains National Park says more than 4.3 million people visited between January and June, an 8 percent increase from the first half of 2014. The park is the most visited of the national parks. More than 1 million people visited in May, the most for May since the National Park Service began tracking monthly visitation in 1979. Visitation increased 26 percent...
Learn MoreThe most popular trekking trail in Nepal escaped damage during April’s devastating earthquake and is safe for hikers to return, an assessment team said. Kit Miyamoto of the California-based engineering firm Miyamoto International assessed the 125 miles of trekking trails around Mount Annapurna, and said that the only hazards were found at three spots and appeared...
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