Little Rock Pond, located in the quaint little village of Mount Tabor, Vermont is a perfect hiking destination. Situated along the Long Trail, Little Rock Pond is a pristine mountain lake with crystal clear water nestled in the iconic Green Mountain Range. The hike is quick, easy, and relatively flat, with only 350 feet of elevation gain over two miles. The terrain is...
Learn MoreNew Mexico is often described as lying along the “backbone” of North America — that is, the Rocky Mountain chain and the Continental Divide that separates the river waters of the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean. A rough foot trail — the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, often simply called the Continental Divide Trail or CDT — now parallels this backbone,...
Learn MoreThere were no cellphones when Carolyn “Ravensong” Burkhart, at age 21, hiked the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail alone in 1976. She wore heavy mountaineering boots, carried a 50-pound pack and went for days at a time without seeing another human being. It took her six months, and when she finished on Sept. 30, 1976, she was one of 12 hikers who had signed the register...
Learn MoreIt was the winter of 2013, and Dakota Joe thought he was about to die. Hail was beating a crater into the mountain’s bald face, and his Kmart jacket had stopped keeping the cold out a long time ago. His pants were soaked through to the skin—wet denim is slow to dry and wearing it on the Appalachian Trail is generally a bad idea. Every muscle in his body was tense from...
Learn MoreIf the idea of standing on top of a mammoth pile of nuclear waste sounds appealing, then Weldon, Missouri, is the place for you. The waste lies beneath a structure that resembles an enormous ancient burial tomb. There’s even a platform at the top of the 7-story-high mound where visitors can take in the view. The American government refers to the area as the Weldon Spring...
Learn MorePicture the Blue Ridge Parkway as a crooked spine running through the Appalachian Mountains. Government stewardship of public lands is splashed across the map in confusing variety – a national park at either end, national forests, historic sites, monuments and state parks along its 469 miles. The road snakes through some of the most glorious fall color in North America...
Learn MoreThe North Carolina High Peaks Trail Association will lead one of its most challenging – and rewarding – hikes of the year when the club takes on the Black Mountain Crest Trail on Oct. 18, 2014. The outing will be followed by a pot luck supper and party in the Cattail Community. The 8-mile jaunt will begin at Mt. Mitchell, proceed down to Deep Gap and then descend steeply...
Learn MoreAs summer comes to an end, don’t let the colder temperatures and snow keep you indoors … some of the best hiking is yet to come. Hiking in the crisp autumn air with the blazing colors of fall against a bright blue sky is a beautiful experience. As the season progresses, the quiet calm of new-fallen snow coupled with the sparkling of ice crystals on the ground turns...
Learn MoreLynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver, British Columbia, is part of a luxuriant temperate rainforest. The park contains an informative Ecology Centre, a breathtaking suspension bridge, and several beautiful hiking trails along a pristine river. During the last decades of the 19th century the conifer forests on the mountains located north of the Burrard Inlet were logged...
Learn MoreThis past year Adam Nutting of HikingTheTrail.com put together and orchestrated an awesome trip called Hell Hike and Raft. Together with an outfitter, they took 12 adventure bloggers and social media influencers into the backcountry of Idaho for 6 days of backpacking and white water rafting. The trip went so well that they are going to be doing it again. This time they...
Learn MoreGoogle unveiled panoramic imagery and mapping that was collected by Google Trekkers who hiked some of California’s state parks this summer. The initial launch included imagery of 10 state parks, Point Lobos State Reserve, three state beaches, and more than 25 hiking trails, many of which are in Big Sur. The Mountain View-based company took the technology of its...
Learn MoreGrand Canyon officials have reduced waste by banning disposable plastic water bottles and installing water stations for visitors. But a new problem sprung up: Elk are helping themselves to water at the stations by lifting spring-loaded levers with their noses. Now, officials plan to elk-proof the stations to outsmart the animals, conserve water and protect visitors from...
Learn Moreby Julie Fast The Appalachian trail became my therapist. As a way to recover from a friend’s suicide, I set out on the trail that extends more than 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine. I needed time to follow my thoughts to completion and find peace in nature. What I found instead was a motley crew of diverse people who entertained, challenged, and accepted me with no...
Learn MoreRyan and Rebecca Means recently hiked 75 miles round-trip in Yellowstone National Park. Ryan shouldered a 71-pound pack. Rebecca lugged 54 pounds, including their 5-year-old daughter, Skyla. That’s what passes for a vacation in the Means family. “We cherish our right to be remote,” Ryan said. And they want others to cherish it, too. They’re on a quest to identify and...
Learn MoreRoute 113 weaves back and forth along the Maine–New Hampshire border between Fryeburg and Gilead for 30 miles, threading a route through some of the prettiest mountain country in New England. Between Stow and Route 2, the road slices through the White Mountain National Forest, where a bounty of foot trails leads deep into the wild and rugged country that characterizes...
Learn MoreSome people feel the need to do big things, to do things others can’t or won’t, and to do them alone. These people go further, climb higher, dive deeper and move faster than the rest of us dare. No one sees their pained expressions, hears their cries of frustration or knows the moments of doubt that haunt their quiet thoughts. These adventurers are completely alone in...
Learn MoreIn today’s job market, there are all kinds of opportunities for adventurous souls if you know where to look. That’s the point of Outside Magazine’s seventh annual Best Places to Work project. The 100 amazing companies on the 2014 list made it through a year-long vetting process overseen by an independent research partner, come in many forms, but they all agree that...
Learn MoreOutdoors enthusiasts tend to think of the San Juans and B.C.’s Gulf Islands as a water-recreation paradise, not a hiking destination. Outdoors writer Craig Romano makes the case that these archipelagos are just as majestic by foot as by boat. To prove his point, he wrote the recently published “Day Hiking the San Juans and Gulf Islands”, with 136 hikes on both the...
Learn MoreAs the weather turns cooler and more hikers head out to Congaree National Park in South Carolina, they’ll find the trails easier to navigate than a few months ago. The trees that crashed across trails during last winter’s ice storm have been cut or pushed out of the way, and a new trail marking system is almost completely installed, according to Superintendent Tracy...
Learn MoreMinnewaska State Park Preserve in Ulster County, New York offers breathtaking views from some of the most unique vantage points the Empire State has to offer. “There’s so many different trails to see,” said Eric Humphrey, superintendent of the Minnewaska State Park Preserve. “But the accessibility of some of them, to get to some of these rugged...
Learn MoreASHEVILLE, NC – September 30, 2014 — Just in time for the fall leaf season, a new waterfall guide for Android phones and tablets is ready for download! Starting today, you can visit 50 of Western North Carolina’s popular waterfalls using this guide on your Android device. It’s packed with the same information provided by the developer’s popular...
Learn MoreA hundred years ago, when Robert Falcon Scott set out for Antarctica on his Terra Nova expedition, his two primary goals were scientific discovery and reaching the geographic South Pole. Arguably, though, Scott was really chasing what contemporary observers call a sufferfest. He set himself up for trouble: Scott brought Manchurian and Siberian ponies that quickly fell...
Learn MoreA sense of anticipation can be felt in the forest now. The leaves are changing from green to yellow and the air feels fresh and cool. Soon the aspen will be gloriously golden. Fall is the perfect time to get out and explore some of the hikes south of Taos, NM in the Carson National Forest. Flechado Canyon Trail is a lightly-traveled hike that follows a stream through...
Learn MoreClosing in on 30 and coming off a three-year stretch he likens to a country song, Jared McCallum decided he needed more adventure. So the former Marine from Florida set out April 1 to hike the Appalachian Trail. Nevermind that he’d never hiked before – or even camped. In August, as he neared the end of his five-month, 2,180-mile adventure, McCallum decided the best way...
Learn MoreIt was a great day for a walk and a history lesson. Nearly a dozen people gathered at Prophetstown State Park near Battle Ground, Indiana to participate in a historical hiking trail. The hike was a special event for September, which is archaeology month. Participants learned how artifacts found at archeological digs have helped the park tell the story of the Native...
Learn MoreRescue teams searched Sunday for dozens of climbers who were caught by the sudden eruption of a volcano in central Japan a day earlier. Mount Ontake unleashed a huge cloud of ash on Saturday morning that billowed down the mountainside and engulfed hikers in its path. Forty-five people remained trapped in several cottages on the mountain, and at least 23 other people are...
Learn MoreHiking the Backbone Trail is the slowest and most gratifying 65 miles you’ll ever travel in Southern California. In a region built for cars and speed, the Backbone Trail represents a return to the simple pleasures and challenges of taking your time, putting one foot in front of the other, and seeing how far you can go. Stretching through the Santa Monica Mountains from...
Learn Moret’s ironic so many American success stories happened at a spot named for one of history’s iconic failures. But that’s how it is with the Donner Pass near Truckee, Calif. The first wagon train to successfully cross the Sierra Nevada squeezed through the tiny granite gap in 1844. In the 1860s laborers built massive walls and 15 tunnels through the pass to...
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