The grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which includes Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, is growing and not suffering from a loss of genetic diversity, according to a report from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. The analysis shows that the bear population in the ecosystem has continued to grow since the 1980s, as well. Results...
Learn MoreThe creation of the Parque Patagonia conservation area – the brainchild of a billionaire US couple – is a step to creating one of the world’s largest national parks. But what’s the hiking like? “Pain?” asks Jorge Molina, my hiking guide. Yes, there is a little pain, but it’s too late for cold feet. Or, more accurately, it’s too late not to get cold feet, because we’re...
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Wolves faced with a scarcity of potential sexual partners are not beneath lowering their standards. It was desperation of this sort, biologists reckon, that led dwindling wolf populations in southern Ontario to begin, a century or two ago, breeding widely with dogs and coyotes. The clearance of forests for farming, together with the deliberate persecution which wolves...
Learn MoreGreat Smoky Mountains National Park wildlife biologists remind the public to allow bears to forage undisturbed on natural foods during this critical feeding period before winter hibernation. Bears depend on Fall foods such as acorns and grapes to store fat reserves that enable them to survive winter. This year, these foods in the park are extremely rare leading bears to...
Learn MoreNumerous primitive runs for skiing or snowboarding have been illegally cut in a national forest in northern New Mexico, including part of a wilderness area, with a federal investigator estimating that those responsible cut down approximately 1,000 trees. The Forest Service is trying to find those responsible for the cutting spotted this fall by hikers in a high-altitude...
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Here’s a good reason to go outdoors this weekend. Earlier this month, Goran Olsen was on a hike in the Norwegian village of Haukeli when he caught sight of a 30-inch object under some rocks. It turned out to be a 1,265-year-old, wrought iron Viking sword. The artifact is believed to be from A.D. 750, Norway’s Hordaland County Office said. It’s in...
Learn MoreOne of the worst eco-disasters on the planet is currently unfolding in Indonesia. Over the past two months, thousands of forest and peatland fires have been raging out of control, covering the entire region in thick, toxic haze and smoke. The fires have been a public health nightmare, forcing widespread evacuations, killing at least 19, and triggering respiratory...
Learn MoreBob Marshall hiked 288 miles over eight days through the northwestern Montana wilderness in 1928. Marshall would average 36 miles a day during the epic hike, and The Bob Marshall Wilderness would officially be created 36 years later, after Marshall. “Averaged,” says Chris Peterson of Marshall’s daily walks. “I averaged 10, and I didn’t bag...
Learn MoreIn front of a roomful of energy executives, the president of Appalachian Power declared that the war on coal was over, and coal had not emerged victorious. This is in West Virginia, a state where coal mining is the largest industry and employer. Charles Patton, president of Appalachian Power, told energy executives that coal consumption is likely to remain stagnant...
Learn MoreAn interactive, innovative documentary where Greece’s countryside, hiking trails and culture meet Google technology is on the way, according to Stelios Mavrodontis, production manager and head of the four-member team E4. Two years ago, Google launched its Trekker loan program, which enables explorers to borrow a special backpack mounted kit which includes the same camera...
Learn MoreThe Rivanna Trail is bounded by the Rivanna River, two of its tributaries (Meadow and Moore’s Creeks), and a small undeveloped mountain called Observatory Hill. The twenty-mile rustic footpath meanders through the natural greenbelt that surrounds the City of Charlottesville. The area provides a scenic opportunity for hiking, and residents and visitors alike can...
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Sometimes things just don’t go exactly as planned. But making the most of what’s available is what sets hiking apart. Everything doesn’t have to go perfectly to still enjoy the day. Such was the case with this hike across the Plott Balsams mountain range from Waterrock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You’re in rarefied air here, with the entire...
Learn MoreA much anticipated hearing before the House Natural Resource Committee arrives October 28, 2015, and the outcome could be higher fees for national park visitors. Among the potential outcomes outlined in the draft legislation written by U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, (R-UT): motorcyclists and snowmobilers in national parks would face the same entrance fees charged motorists;...
Learn MoreTwo of the most popular national parks in England, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, are set to expand their territory to create the largest area of protected and continuous land for a national park in the country. In 2012, Natural England, the government’s legal adviser on the protection of England’s nature, released variation orders to extend the...
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Outdoor gear and sporting goods retailer REI is canceling Black Friday this year. No promotions, no hourly sales, no doorbusters, no waiting in line. In an unprecedented move for the modern-day holiday shopping season, REI’s 143 stores will be closed the day after Thanksgiving. The co-op business plans to launch a campaign Tuesday encouraging people to forgo...
Learn MoreOne second you are bushwhacking through thickets of bamboo in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, pulling yourself up a steep lava slope, toehold to toehold. The next, you turn a corner and sunlight streams through the canopy to illuminate a matted clump of black against a curtain of rain forest green. You’ve known this was coming and still you gasp. Seated perhaps 30 feet...
Learn MoreDespite climbing global temperatures, sea ice coverage around the Antarctic has been increasing in direct contrast to the Arctic ice sheet, which gets smaller each year. Scientists say this is due to a vortex of winds around the South Pole that have gradually strengthened and converged since the 1970s. These winds are pushing and compressing ice into thick ridges that...
Learn MoreA large rockfall recently closed state Route 9 in Zion National Park, prompting a look back at the worst rockfalls and landslides in the park’s history. The most recent rockfall occurred Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015 and closed state Route 9 near the Pine Creek Bridge on a switchback near the Mount Carmel Tunnel, according to Zion National Park officials. The largest...
Learn MoreAfter an investigation found that ExxonMobil has been funding climate-denying organizations—despite the findings of its own scientists on climate change—the world’s fourth-largest oil company is now going after the journalists who revealed it. Evidence that ExxonMobil has been deliberately leading a campaign of misinformation about climate change for decades began...
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Looking for a short, easy, serene getaway in the high country that offers outstanding long distance views of the Blue Ridge Mountains? This is the trail for you. This little stretch of the famous Mountains to Sea Trail will take you from Black Balsam Road, through a dark and deep balsam spruce forest, across Silvermine Bald and on to Chestnut Bald to a splendid overlook...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Department of the Interior has granted permission for the release of Mexican wolves into the state despite objections by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the Socorro County Board of Commissioners. Last week the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notified the director of New Mexico Department of Game and Fish that the Mexican Wolf...
Learn MoreThe Urubamba River rattles and hums like the sound of its own name as we begin the four-day hike. With porters to carry the heavier gear on the mountainous 43km track, our group spreads out along the trail, ducking through forests and crossing alpine pastures. Above us, the 5860m peak of La Veronica keeps watch like a silent, snow-veiled nun. Quechua Indians skim past,...
Learn MoreHave you been invited on yet another hike to an incredible peak? Make this the last time that ever happens by following this handy guide. Your hiking party doesn’t know how lucky they are that they invited you along, so be sure to remind them whenever there’s a lull in the conversation. You spent an entire weekend on the Pacific Crest Trail back in 2002, and have since...
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He calls himself the “Ranger of the Lost Art.” Like Indiana Jones, the adventurous archaeologist who partially inspired the moniker, 69-year-old Doug Leen, of Kupreanof, Alaska, has an all-consuming passion for recovering lost history for the public. For the next 14 months the veteran national park ranger and amateur historian will travel the country on a mission to stir...
Learn MoreAs October shoulders its way into November, the cool sunny days can easily lull us into a sense of comfortable complacency. Hikers call this time of year the “shoulder season,” when the golden days of fall are gone, but full-blown winter isn’t quite here. Most people try to forget about the coming cold, snow, and wind, but the advance of seasons has...
Learn MoreSociety is full of rules. As grownups, we all know not to talk with our mouths full and to always face forward in a crowded elevator. But there was a time when we were young and inexperienced and maybe a little unsure of how to behave. Let’s face it, we’ve all either been that kid (or shared space with that kid) who sneezed without covering his mouth or stared at someone...
Learn MoreCoral reefs cannot seem to catch a break this year. Between a particularly strong El Niño, ocean acidification and increasing ocean temperatures, links between overfishing and reef collapses, and the declaration of a massive coral bleaching event expected to affect 95 percent of U.S. coral reefs by the end of the year, the current state of the global environment has been...
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AussieHikingTours.com is an online booking site for nature-based walking tours. Not just full pack-carry multi-day treks, but also more luxurious accommodated holidays with day-hikes most days, single day hikes, half-day hikes, vehicle tours with a significant nature walking element, and everything in between. There are even day tours where you’ll have the opportunity to...
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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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