Last year, a 44-year-old walked out of her life in the UK and on to the plains and mountains of America. In doing so, Olive McGloin, from Dublin, Ireland, became the first woman in the world to walk the Pacific Crest Trail, from the borders of Mexico to Canada and back again, non-stop. They call it the YoYo when you attempt the return trip in one go – and the test it...
Learn MoreHiking is a year round activity in Colorado, but sometimes the drastic changes in the weather can have some negative impacts on the trails. “That quick thaw of the snow creates havoc on the trail, you get all the mud and you get individuals that choose to walk or run through it,” Steve Hitchcock, Founder of Upadowna. Walking through the mud can cause ruts where...
Learn MoreA new hiking and bicycling trail stretching hundreds of miles through Michigan will officially be called Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail, officials have announced. The trail will run from Belle Isle Park in Detroit to Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula along the border with Wisconsin. Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Keith Creagh said in a...
Learn MoreA proposal to transform an abandoned Missouri rail corridor into a 145-mile, cross-state biking and hiking trail is drawing praise from outdoor enthusiasts and concerns from some landowners. If converted, the Missouri Rock Island Trail would stretch from Windsor in the western part of the state to the Franklin County town of Beaufort in the east while twice crossing the...
Learn MorePenny Studt hasn’t seen her Eco-Literacy English students at Union High School since before Christmas, but for the last three weeks she has been giving them assignments, grading their work and commenting on their class discussions. She’s doing all of these things, not from a satellite classroom or even an office somewhere, but from stops along the Appalachian Trail, a...
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The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation and the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (FMST) are pleased to jointly announce the naming of the Coastal Crescent Trail as an additional option for hikers seeking to walk across North Carolina. The Coastal Crescent Trail will serve as an option in eastern North Carolina until the Mountains-to-Sea State Trail (MST)...
Learn MoreThe Appalachian Trail Conservancy says a record amount of funds were generated from sales of the Virginia Appalachian Trail (A.T.) specialty license plate in 2014. Those funds have been applied to the protection and stewardship of the Trail in Virginia. The Conservancy says $45,000 was generated and will enabled the it to fund projects including open area management in...
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Do you have what it takes to complete the Dirty Dozen Wilderness Hike Challenge? Presented by The Wilderness Society and Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, this challenge is a great way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Wilderness Act, discover new places or revisit favorites, and have the chance to win prizes. 2014-2015 marks the 50th anniversary of The Wilderness...
Learn More“‘Every second, new colours,” said the guide, Dharme, as the sky turned from crimson to gold. As the sun rose, the landscape below took shape – distant peaks soared above valleys which dipped beneath a canopy of mist. Waterfalls plunged, white stupas peeked out from the jungle, and coloured flags were illuminated in the early light. It was 6am on the...
Learn MoreThe agony and angst endured by those who hike for months over the rugged National Scenic Trails are painfully palpable. But they, and the millions of hikers who self-impose these hiking challenges, really have it easy. Think how hard it would be to hike all those miles without trail markers, or without a trail. That’s where the real trail angels come in –...
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An ambitious project that began on the Blue Ridge Parkway to connect children with the great outdoors is getting bigger. Kids in Parks, a signature program of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, has been awarded $921,000 from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation to continue its work helping kids and families reconnect with nature through TRACK...
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Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) recently announced a great opportunity to win prizes for hiking Connecticut’s high peaks as part of a new program – “The Sky’s the Limit” 2015 Hiking Challenge, designed to promote hiking in Connecticut’s state parks and forests throughout 2015. “What a great way to spending time outdoors hiking...
Learn MoreYes, there’s a better way to put one foot in front of the other. Improve your stride, trek farther, and end leg and back pain with this guide to the new science of healthy hiking. “Backpacking used to be a necessary part of survival,” notes author and back-pain specialist Esther Gokhale, who has studied healthy sitting, standing, and walking postures in native...
Learn MoreGreen River Preserve (GRP) is Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy’s largest conservation easement and one of the largest in all of western NC. It contains a plethora of natural treasures and abundance of unspoiled mountain slopes making it one of the biggest and most biologically-diverse private wildlife preserves in western North Carolina. More than 2,600 acres of...
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Warrior Hike is a walk back to civilization, back to a life left behind and back through history. Sean Gobin, a combat U.S. Marine Corps veteran, started the nonprofit organization after he returned from multiple deployments to the Middle East, undertook a four-month through hike of the Appalachian Trail, and realized this could provide the ideal way for soldiers...
Learn MoreFall foliage season is a popular time for hiking in Pennsylvania. But fall hiking on state game lands might be prohibited if a new regulation under consideration by the Pennsylvania Game Commission is approved. The commission is scheduled to consider a new rule Jan. 27, 2015 that would forbid hiking and other non-hunting activities on state game lands during fall and...
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Re-measurements and relocations of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) have brought the total mileage of the footpath to 2,189.2 miles, an increase of 3.9 miles from last year’s mileage of 2,185.3. This mileage is carefully documented in the Trail’s official guidebooks, which include the Appalachian Trail Data Book and the Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers’ Companion. Both books...
Learn MoreOne of the highlights of winter hiking in the Sierra Nevada is the surreal calm of the forest under a blanket of snow. There are very few leaves to rustle and, when the snow is powdery, not even footsteps make a noise. That’s why the sudden burst of birdsong on a recent trip to Chickadee Ridge was such a pleasant surprise. One moment a group of Tahoe Rim Trail...
Learn MoreMount Olympus is worthy of its association to the gods in Greek mythology for numerous reasons. First, it is Greece’s highest mountain, and, naturally, the gods wouldn’t live on a puny little hill. Second, it is the second highest mountain in the Balkan Range. Finally, it beckons thousands of people each year to tackle its hiking trails and reach its summit. Mythology...
Learn MoreWhile the West—with its high altitudes, rugged peaks and chill, outdoorsy vibe—has quietly claimed the mantle of quintessential hiking paradise, don’t write off everything east of the Mississippi. After all, seemingly endless wilderness stretches along the Ozark Highland, North Country Scenic and Appalachian Trails, so missing out on the chance to climb a 14er...
Learn MoreBaked by time like some multi-layer geologic tort, Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah features a landscape cut by canyons, rumpled by upthrusts, dimpled by grabens, and even pockmarked, some believe, by ancient asteroids. Just outside of Moab rises a kaleidoscope of tilted and carved geology laid down over the eons. There’s the red and white Cedar Mesa...
Learn MoreFor much of the year, Shenandoah National Park is a gorgeously overgrown place. The underbrush sneaks over the trails, threatening to erase them. Off-trail, the views are densely wooded in every direction, tangled in Virginia creeper and prickly greenbrier. This is why you come in December, to search for things that are obscured when the park’s hollows and hillsides are...
Learn MoreEnjoy this stunning graphical presentation from the NY Times to aid in choosing your 2015 vacation. Untrammeled oases beckon, once-avoided destinations become must-sees and familiar cities offer new reasons to visit. Go here…...
Learn MoreFrom the temperate rainforests of Kootenai National Forest to the badlands around Fort Peck, every page of the Montana atlas offers something to explore. Each Forest Service road and tiny blue line on the map represents the possibility of great things, all within the broad and diverse bounds of the Montana landscape. The Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, which passed...
Learn MoreIf trolls really did exist, this would undoubtedly be their domain; massive boulders littered the scrubby vegetation, extensive glaciers sucked in the feet of unsuspecting intruders and a gaping canyon make limbs tingle. This is Earth, at the very least, though nothing about the situation seems realistic. Especially this destination, whose landscape defies expectations....
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The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) has announced that for fiscal year 2014, 5,617 volunteers reported 241,936 hours to maintaining and protecting the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) for hikers to use. Since the ATC began collecting reports in 1983, individuals have contributed more than 5 million hours to the A.T., resulting in a volunteer network that is recognized...
Learn MoreUp on the mountain this week, one of those “moments of clarity” hit people across snow country. What they saw was like looking into a crystal ball and seeing their future. With clear weather, plenty of snow and a firm snow surface, all of the stellar trailheads were popular destinations with snowshoers. For many, the exhilaration was pure ecstasy: their first snowshoe...
Learn MoreWho is the one person you can always count on to go for a hike whenever you feel like it? Well, it’s not a person. It’s man’s best friend: your dog. A fit, healthy dog will likely be more excited to hit the trail than you. Most dog breeds will enjoy a jaunt in the woods, but some dogs have backcountry survival in their blood. If you’re a hiker of the avid variety,...
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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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