Since 1985 Wallowa LLamas has led hikers into the rugged Wallowa Mountains, nicknamed the Oregon Alps, where one of the highest peaks (9,826 feet) is, in fact, called Matterhorn. A llama trek isn’t like a pack trip with horses, where some horses carry riders while others carry tents and stoves. You don’t ride llamas, you hike along with them. The advantage to a llama...
Learn MoreNearly one-third of the New York City’s land is carved out for parks, playgrounds and recreation facilities — so there’s plenty of room to find fresh air. And for those who love the outdoors, there are plenty of trails to hike for peak fall foliage season, which spans a couple of weeks starting around mid-October. “Mark your calendars to hit the trails, burn...
Learn MoreWhen the sun set just after 8 pm on March 23, 1989, nothing was amiss in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The ocean lapped at rocky, seaweed-strewn beaches, boats dotted the horizon, and thousands of sea otters floated serenely on their backs. But all that changed the following morning, when the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground and hemorrhaged 11 million gallons of crude...
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Tribal leaders in the Southwest have outlined a proposal to designate a section of southeastern Utah as a national monument, seeking to become partners with the federal government in managing their ancestral homeland. The proposed Bears Ears National Monument is named for twin buttes that overlook Cedar Mesa. The 1.9 million-acre area would be bordered to the south by...
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Located in the far southern region of the Smokies, near Fontana Village and the Little Tennessee River, Twentymile is an area of the national park that is a little less traveled. Primarily used by backpackers as a means of accessing remote park highlights like Gregory Bald or Shuckstack Fire Tower on the Appalachian Trail, Twentymile can also be enjoyed by day hikers or...
Learn MoreWith a hiking pole in one hand and pruning shears in the other, Ron Dobra picked his way along the Appalachian Trail, snipping overhanging branches and making note of eroding soil. For the past 20 some odd years, he has helped maintain the popular hiking trail, which spans from Georgia to Maine and is seeing more foot traffic each year. “The entire length of the AT —...
Learn MoreWhat is it about autumn weather that makes us stir about? Could it be something within all creatures that causes us to begin getting ready for the change of seasons? Squirrels store supplies for the winter, but we as humans desire possibly a little food for the soul, stocking up for the coming gray winter days that will keep us housebound too long. This seasonal burst of...
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Land trusts are the underrated stars of Maine’s outdoor landscape. Nearly 90 nonprofit land trust organizations dot the state, from Kittery to Aroostook County. While state and national parks are much more visible and widely promoted, the network of land trusts holds some of Maine’s best hiking. This panoply of land trusts is aided greatly by the Maine Land Trust...
Learn MoreAn unusual collaboration between two trail user groups has resulted in an improved trail in Pisgah National Forest. Mountain bikers and members of Back Country Horsemen volunteered their time recently to complete work on a reroute of a section of the Lower Trace Ridge Trail near North Mills River campground. “It is no secret that trail user groups around the nation have...
Learn MoreThe National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to modernize regulations for non-federal oil and gas rights exercised in national parks. The proposal would update current regulations that are now 36-years-old. The proposed updates will provide greater clarity and certainty to industry while improving the National Park Service’s ability to protect park resources and the...
Learn MoreThe Southern Environmental Law Center filed a legal action this week on behalf of conservation groups seeking to overturn a controversial $7 million settlement between Duke Energy and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality over the utility’s extensive coal ash pollution in the state. The settlement came after Duke appealed a groundwater pollution penalty at...
Learn MoreA nocturnal, kid-friendly Halloween event will give visitors a rare glimpse of North Carolina’s Chimney Rock State Park at night, 7:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. Park in the Dark will feature campfire stories, a nocturnal creature program, stargazing with the Asheville Astronomy Club and self-guided night hikes to Chimney Rock, where costumed creatures...
Learn MoreOn a sidewalk in the old Scottish seaport of Dunbar is a statue of a skinny rag of a boy rough-hewed in bronze. He stands in tattered clothes, right arm raised toward a halo of flying birds. Most Americans need no introduction to the shaggy-bearded man he would become. This study of youthful freedom is John Muir, pre-eminent naturalist, author and father of America’s...
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The INOVA STS Headlamp from NiteIze makes hands free illumination simple, versatile and comfortable. It features an innovative Swipe-To-Shine™ interface that allows for simple access to multiple modes – all with a swipe of your finger. Its lightweight body, high quality woven head strap and waterproof construction makes the INOVA STS Headlamp an indispensable...
Learn MoreBe Aware. Outside of developed recreation areas, hunting is permitted throughout the National Forests in North Carolina. Hunters must have the proper licenses, or permits needed to hunt. Hunting is a seasonal activity and state regulations for seasons, dates and licensing apply on national forest land. For information about specific dates and times, please visit:...
Learn MoreUntil a few nights ago, I hadn’t thought about mountain lions much as I walked The Colorado Trail. I’m always looking for signs left by my forest neighbors — tracks and scat in the trail and around watering places. I’m always listening and looking for what the squirrels and jays are gossiping about, but usually it’s about me. I’ve seen one...
Learn MoreNext time you go trekking in the mountains, carry beet juice with you, as researchers have found for the first time that drinking beet juice can help the body cope with low levels of oxygen at high altitudes. Mountain climbers have always struggled with a basic problem – altitude sickness, caused by lower air pressures which affect the ability of our bodies to take...
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This sprawling parcel of land in northern New Mexico that’s home to vast grasslands and one of North America’s few super volcanoes became part of the National Park Service this past weekend. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, members of the state’s congressional delegation, tribal leaders and others gathered at Valles Caldera National Preserve for a celebration to...
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“Let the people walk,” reads the quote on a sign at Arches National Park, taken from Ed Abbey’s classic of nature writing, “Desert Solitaire,” about his two seasons as a ranger there. Despite Abbey’s connection to the park, the quote is an odd choice: Arches and its location of Moab, Utah, have become virtually everything “Cactus Ed” hated. The road he opposed turned...
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Millions of Americans once wanted to smoke. Then they came to understand how deadly tobacco products were. Tragically, that understanding was long delayed because the tobacco industry worked for decades to hide the truth, promoting a message of scientific uncertainty instead. The same thing has happened with climate change, as Inside Climate News, a nonprofit news...
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When Capt. Moses Harris and his troops from Company M, First Cavalry marched into Yellowstone in August 1886, the world’s first national park was in chaos. Fourteen years of corrupt or incompetent management by political appointees threatened its existence. There had been little protection of the park’s natural wonders. Congressional funding was an afterthought....
Learn MoreNorth Carolina native Nancy Weaver has always loved the outdoors, so camping and hiking seemed natural to her. In more than forty years of hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail, Weaver, now 88, has learned a few things: be prepared for rain and the occasional bear, pack lightly, and expect kindness from strangers. “Trail Magic,” they call it, and it comes...
Learn MoreFor the third time in recorded history, a massive coral bleaching event is unfolding throughout the world’s oceans, stretching from Hawaii to the Indian Ocean. A group of ocean scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed this bleaching event is being brought on by a combination of a strong El Niño pattern, a warm water mass in the...
Learn MoreAs October gives way to November, winter begins to arrive in the high country. The fall color fades and the trees shed their leaves. The summits and peaks get their first serious dusting of snow, and dirt trails vanish under a white or leafy blanket. As a result, hiking in the mountains changes. Backcountry exploration in late fall can present dangers that far exceed...
Learn MoreAmerica’s national parks cover nearly 52 million acres — an area roughly the size of Kansas — and contain some of the most incredible natural landscapes in the country. Sweeping valleys, frosted mountain peaks and immaculate waterways host a range of incredible wildlife, many of which are threatened or endangered. National parks are also public lands, maintained by the...
Learn MoreFall is a great time to hit the trails. Colorful scenery, cooler temperatures, less bugs and lower humidity all contribute to make a very pleasant experience. But, are you ready to take to the trails? Hiking, particularly in mountainous regions, may lead you to strenuous climbs that will require some serious integration of muscle activity. These muscles include, but are...
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Discover Dominica Authority, in collaboration with the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, has announced that a number of Dominica’s hiking trails are open. Seven segments of the Waitukubuli National Trail, the Caribbean’s longest walking trail, are ready to welcome the adventurous hiker. Some trails were closed after the passage of Tropical...
Learn MoreGov. Steve Beshear, first lady Jane Beshear and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray announced a Kentucky statewide trail master plan. The master plan would connect Kentucky’s existing 12,000 miles of trails and would allow people to hike, cycle or ride horses across the state, Jane Beshear said. The plan was put together by the Office of Adventure Tourism and will be an...
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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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