The U.S. Forest Service invites national forest visitors to use the new NCtrails.org web application for planning their fall foliage adventures. Unveiled in May 2014, the searchable web application (web app) offers details on three popular trail systems in western North Carolina, as well as state-of-the-science information on the region’s forests. The Browse Trails...
Learn MoreWhen visiting Spain on vacation, there are a multitude of fascinating hiking trails available throughout the country, but some of the most unusual and beautiful trails and landscapes can be found in the province of Cuenca in central Spain. Some of these landscapes, however, are not completely natural, as in the case of the “Ruta de las Caras” or Route of the Faces,...
Learn More“Huzzah” is a colonial-era way of saying “hurrah,” but the antique word will soon take on new meaning at the Kings Mountain National Military Park. On Sept. 6, 2014, the park near Blacksburg, S.C., will host a festival to call attention to a group called the Huzzah Hiking Club. Representatives from local outdoor attractions, along with hospital and public health...
Learn MoreNewly released US Topo maps for Michigan now feature segments of the North Country National Scenic Trail. Several of the 1,290 new US Topo quadrangles for the state now display parts of the Trail along with other improved data layers. “USGS maps are excellent planning and navigation tools for hikers and other trail users” said Mark Weaver, Superintendent of the...
Learn MoreTracing the footfalls of Ulysses S. Grant and visiting the room where Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson breathed his last can be experienced within a day’s drive of the nation’s capital, ringed by battlefields where thousands of soldiers fought and bled and died in the Civil War. Protected by the National Park Service, these hallowed grounds still echo the conflict they once...
Learn MoreCulmination season is ramping up as northbound thru hikers are reaching the end of their journeys. Every hiker knows the grim reality behind that glorious moment at the end of their 2,000 mile trail. Once the photos have been snapped and descent has been made, there is only one place to go for most hikers: Home. This is wonderful at first (not at all the grim part)....
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Hiking has grown in popularity in recent years. The number of participants in the U.S. hiking has risen from 29.9 million in 2006 to 34.6 million in 2012. Members of the baby boom generation, who are now in their 50s and 60s, are particularly drawn to the sport. Hikes can range from backcountry hikes, where people spend days camping in the wild, to luxury hikes, where...
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Before you know it, the trees in Minnesota will be turning bright shades of yellow, orange and red. Some of the most spectacular views in the state can be found along the Superior Hiking Trail in the Arrowhead region. “It’s a whole different world out here,” said Dan Carr of Two Harbors, who hikes the trail regularly. “You just have to get off Highway 61.” The Superior...
Learn MoreWhile you can’t go wrong with when it comes to hiking in Marin County, California, there are some areas you undoubtedly must visit at least once. Considering Marin’s seemingly endless selection of open space and trails, creating a list of the best hikes the county has to offer is no easy feat. But here’s a shot, with a mix of cardio-pumping routes and...
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The past winter was so brutal that only the thought of a week-long hike through hell could keep Scott Gauvin warm. Gauvin, 37, of Springfield, IL, is one of 14 outdoor bloggers from all over the country to undertake the six-day Hell Hike and Raft — named for the trip through the Seven Devils mountain range and the Snake River running through Hell’s Canyon in Idaho. It...
Learn MoreThe far side of the Olympic National Park, on the west coast of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, is indeed rain forest. Its Hoh River Valley is drenched with a dozen feet of rain a year. Think 50 shades of green in a wondrous tangle of trees, moss, ferns. Yet Olympic National Park is so vast – almost 1 million acres of mountains, forest and ocean beaches – that you can...
Learn MoreThe heat is slowly on its way out, so the time is on hand to experience the many trails that leave from the edge of the Crooked River Ranch in Central Oregon. Actually, summer was a good time to go, too, because the trails lead to the cool waters of the Deschutes and Crooked rivers. Hiking early or late in the day helps beat the heat. The Crooked River Ranch is a...
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The plan was to hike the Colorado Trail, a 500-mile path through the Rockies that links Denver with Durango. It crosses eight mountain ranges, travels through remote wilderness areas, and climbs nearly three times the height of Mt. Everest. Most of the trail is above 10,000 ft., so the air is thin, the danger of lightning strikes is severe, and nighttime temperatures...
Learn MoreGrand Canyon National Park is trying to fight overcrowding and the accumulation of clothing, food and even human waste along trails by requiring permits for organized groups and limiting them to 30 people. Starting Sept. 15, 2014, any group taking organized, rim-to-rim or extended day-hiking and running trips in the inner Canyon will have to pay $175 for a permit....
Learn MoreThree teenagers said the survival skills they learned during Girl Scouts saved two high school boys trying to hike Pikes Peak. Rebecca Clark, Jordan Wilson and Tristina Altman set out on Pikes Peak last weekend. They thought their toughest challenge would be summitting Pikes Peak. “We packed sleeping bags, tents, fire building stuff, water, toilet paper,...
Learn MoreIt’s been over a decade since American psychologists Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich concluded that doing things makes people happier than having things. “To Do or to Have? That Is the Question” was the title of the study they published in 2003, and it’s been cited hundreds of times since. Many people now recognize that spending money on, say, a plane ticket for a...
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An impromptu appearance of a dozen hikers was affirmation for the 50 people sitting at a ceremony on folding chairs that Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy had succeeded in their goal of expanding access to the Hickory Nut Gorge’s growing trail network. The ceremony along Highway 74-A was hosted by CMLC and Henderson County Parks and Recreation to celebrate several...
Learn MoreThe Cradle of Forestry in America will offer “Afternoon Tea with Llamas” on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. The llamas will carry your lunches or snacks on this easy walk along the Forest Discovery Trail at the Cradle of Forestry. Organizers will provide ice tea and cups. As the group walks the Forest Discovery Trail, children can take turns...
Learn MoreIf you want to experience a beautiful slot canyon with the family, Kanarra Creek, Utah is slow-moving and not too difficult to access. Hikers of Kanarra Falls Trail can expect to encounter multiple waterfalls, including two that are 8 feet or taller, and breathtaking sandstone colors throughout the slot canyon. While it’s not something for small children or those new to...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Forest Service has reopened all trails and roads in the Trace Ridge and Wash Creek Area after completing an ecosystem improvement project in the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest. All roads and trails have been reopened to their designated use, including Wash Creek Road, which restores motorized access to the Trace Ridge Trailhead. The roads and...
Learn MoreWagon wheel ruts remain in sun-baked soil atop the mountain pass named for the man who left his mark there. John Mullan was an Army first lieutenant in the 1850s and tasked with building a road that would connect two outposts and help speed the travel of troops, travelers and commercial freight across the Continental Divide. He was to construct a road across plains and...
Learn MoreIt’s the tour for those who like to follow. Visitors to Wales can now enjoy sheep trekking; roaming the Brecon Beacons national park in the company of wooly farmyard friends. The concept – which is new to the region – is being offered by Good Day Out along with Aberhyddnant Farm, who have trained a flock of Jacob sheep for the purpose. Visitors can select their own...
Learn MoreYou have to walk quite a few miles, climb your share of hills and wear out an army’s stock of shoe leather before getting to the point of considering backpacking in Iceland. Sixty-one-year-old Jim Foster, who refers to himself as a reformed attorney, has walked Patagonia, climbed Kilimanjaro, trekked New Zealand, backpacked the American west, and in 2007, hiked the...
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A large swath of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Southern Cascades will be shut down beginning August 23, due to the growing activity of the 790 Fire. The closure covers roughly 25 miles from Oregon Highway 140 north to the boundary of Crater Lake National Park, the U.S. Forest Service said. The closure includes most trails in the popular Seven Lakes Basin of the Sky...
Learn MoreThe Phoenix Parks Board meets next week to discuss a proposal to install parking meters in the parking areas of the city’s most popular hiking trailheads. The idea of “fee-based parking” was approved by the Parks Board in 2010 but never implemented. Now, with a looming city budget deficit, the idea is being revived to bring in extra revenue. Deputy...
Learn MoreFor adventurous hikers looking to traverse the paths less traveled, author Justin Rohde said his new book provides a detailed guide to the region that straddles the Oregon and California border, which contains the highest concentration of undammed wild and scenic rivers in the United States. Rohde, who worked as a guide on hiking trails near Cave Junction in...
Learn MoreThe loss of eastern hemlock could affect water yield and storm flow from forest watersheds in the southern Appalachians, according to a new study by U.S. Forest Service scientists at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory (Coweeta) located in Otto, North Carolina. The article was recently published online in the journal Ecohydrology. “Eastern hemlock trees have died...
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The National Park Service has developed an interim policy prohibiting the use of unmanned aircraft, also known as drones, on NPS managed lands of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. This is a new park use that could affect park resources, staff, and visitors in ways that the National Park Service has yet to identify, analyze and examine. It is the National Park...
Learn MoreLong before yoga pants made their first appearance in Runyon Canyon, a health guru helped Angelenos discover their local mountain trails. Beginning in 1924, on the first and third Sunday of each month, members of the Wanderlusters Hiking Club followed Paul C. Bragg into the hilly terrain around Los Angeles. Dozens of them traipsed through Altadena’s Millard Canyon...
Learn MoreProvided you know how to find your way, there are miles of prairie and woodland trails offering scenic overlooks, opportunities to view wildlife, and areas to enjoy a picnic lunch alongside flowing water. It’s all to be found in the seven Renville County, Minnesota parks, where it soon could be a lot easier to find your way. Mark Erickson, community and environment...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. 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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