The U.S. Forest Service rolled out a “draft” management plan last fall after a series of public meetings. The plan, while clearly labeled “draft”, placed around 700,000 acres of the million or so acres of the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests in management areas deemed appropriate for logging. To say the plan caught some stakeholders off guard is like saying the...
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Lichens are not what you think they are. Not plant, not fungus — they are one of a kind. Lichen is something we commonly see growing on rocks or tree branches, on old wood fences and rotting stumps. But how often do you stop to really ponder lichens? Probably not often. And yet lichens are surprisingly fascinating … and weird … and beautiful! Despite their...
Learn MoreMost people are in the pursuit of happiness. There are economists who think happiness is the best indicator of the health of a society. We know that money can make you happier, though after your basic needs are met, it doesn’t make you that much happier. But one of the biggest questions is how to allocate our money, which is (for most of us) a limited resource....
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Kurt Repanshek, founder and editor-in-chief of National Parks Traveler, the top-ranked website dedicated to daily editorial coverage of national parks, has been awarded the George Wright Society’s Communication Award. The award recognizes outstanding efforts in communicating highly technical or controversial park-related subjects to the public in a clear and...
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The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department launched its 2015 Oregon State Parks Guide, a free, full-color, magazine-style brochure featuring detailed information about more than 200 of the state’s most popular campgrounds, day-use areas, trails, bike ways and heritage sites. The guide has been updated for 2015, with revised or expanded listings for each property,...
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It’s difficult to understand why, but a battle is looming over America’s public lands. Given decades of consistent, strong support from voters of both parties for protecting land, water and the thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits these resources make possible, it’s hard to fathom. Last week, the United States Senate voted 51 to 49 to...
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You know how some hikes can be kinda boring, then have a big reward like an outstanding overlook at the end? Or perhaps others will wind through a stunning forest only to peter out? Well, this hike located in the Greenbrier section of the Smokies has neither problem. The Porters Creek Trail is an exciting adventure from start to finish. I would describe it as a play with...
Learn MoreA tan ribbon of dirt snaking across the landscape serves many functions. It gets us from point A to point B, whether on foot, bike, motorcycle or horseback, and often in an interesting way. How often do you find yourself walking a straight line in the Foothills? Not often. Part of that is the topography doesn’t allow it, but it’s also more interesting for a trail to...
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In an effort to undermine international negotiations aimed at combating climate change, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is telling other countries not to trust President Obama’s promise to significantly reduce the United States’ carbon emissions. In a statement released March 31st, McConnell warned other countries to “proceed with caution” before pledging...
Learn MoreIf you’re looking at something but don’t have anything to compare it to, it’s hard to know what’s really going on. Maybe you meet someone for the first time and think they look a little sick, so you think they’re not doing too well. But if you had met them a year ago when they were terminally ill, you’d think that today’s health was a...
Learn MoreThe hike to Crypt Lake along the Crypt Lake Trail is without question one of the most popular day hikes in Waterton Lakes National Park. You start with a boat ride across Upper Waterton Lake, then hike by four gorgeous waterfalls, climb a steel ladder, crawl through a narrow tunnel for nearly 100 feet, and walk directly above a harrowing cliff as you hold on to a steel...
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This started 60,000 years ago… Aboriginal people across Western Australia have long used trails to connect to iconic landscapes, food sources, social gatherings and deeply spiritual places. Their mode of transport by foot and watercraft; they connected to country and were in touch with nature. Today Western Australians and visitors are able to enjoy “trails” for...
Learn MoreA Reuters analysis finds that flooding is increasing along much of the nation’s coastline, forcing many communities into costly, controversial struggles with a relentless foe. WALLOPS ISLAND, Virginia – Missions flown from the NASA base here have documented some of the most dramatic evidence of a warming planet over the past 20 years: the melting of polar ice, a force...
Learn MoreFor the first time in a century, endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep are back on their ancestral range and headed toward recovery, wildlife officials said. During an ongoing relocation effort, hundreds of bighorn have been captured with nets dropped from helicopters then moved to Yosemite and Sequoia national parks. “We’ve got the sheep where we want them...
Learn MoreWith Women’s History Month upon us, the Department of the Interior interviewed Betty Reid Soskin, who at 93 is the oldest active ranger in the National Park Service. Great-granddaughter of a slave and a file clerk in a Jim Crow union hall during World War II, Reid-Soskin began her career with NPS at the age of 85 at Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical...
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After nearly 100 years, the National Park Service holds some of the most beautiful and historic places in the country, though there’s also an $11 billion backlog of unfunded maintenance and a visitor base that’s aging and mostly white. With its centennial approaching in 2016, the park service will launch a major campaign this week in New York City to raise...
Learn MoreFor those who live in the Oakland flatlands, there’s little respite from the constant grind of city life. Many residents, especially those who rely on public transit, lack the resources to escape urbanity and enjoy Northern California’s wilderness — or so they think. What many people don’t realize is that Dimond Park, located only about two and a half miles away from...
Learn MoreFor most people, hiking means hitting a local trail on a weekend afternoon to enjoy a couple hours of scenic cardio, fresh air and perhaps solitude. But others crave a more all-consuming experience: a physically and mentally demanding – yet immensely rewarding – long-distance hike that takes them hundreds or thousands of miles through untamed wilderness and arduous...
Learn MoreDawn’s golden light caught the tops of the snowcapped Himalayas and gradually crept downward as the rising sun lit up a sweeping arc of soaring peaks, at once forbidding and starkly beautiful. The stunning vista from the top of Poon Hill — at 10,475 feet, the highest point of this family’s six-day trek in Nepal — was among many highlights of a “Lord of the Rings”-like...
Learn MoreBridge repairs will require a roughly nine-mile-long stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina to close for about two months beginning April 1, 2015. Parkway officials say the closure is necessary to to make critical repairs to Deep Gap Bridge at US 421. A detour will be signed in the area from Milepost 269.8, at Phillips Gap north of the bridge to Milepost...
Learn MoreSince President Ulysses S. Grant signed the first national park, Yellowstone, into law in 1872, the national parks have provided American citizens and visitors from all over the world unique experiences with nature. The arches of Yellowstone National Park at the park entrance displays the Theodore Roosevelt quote, “for the benefit and enjoyment of the...
Learn MoreThere is no better vantage point of historic Newburgh and the northern entrance to the Hudson River’s highlands than Snake Hill – maintained through a partnership of Scenic Hudson and the Orange County Land Trust. Ascending the only route up Snake Hill – a closed asphalt road – a rosary of erratic rocks line its right shoulder, the largest being a yacht-sized boulder and...
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There are lots of little maintenance trails alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway that don’t show up on any trail maps or have any signs to let you know they are there. One of those is a hidden gem in the high country at milepost 420 directly across from the Black Balsam spur road. It’s great for an hour stroll to brighten you senses, or if you’re looking...
Learn MoreAfter the longest winter in the history of mankind, Spring is finally here. And that means it’s time to get out the hiking boots, fill up the water bottles and hit the trails. It may seem impossible to see all of the incredible hikes, treks and trails available in Virginia’s great outdoors, but there’s no time like the present to start trying and no better place to start...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Forest Service plans to conduct a prescribed burn during the week of March 29, 2015 on 450 acres of the Appalachian Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest. The prescribed burn will take place off of Max Patch Road in Madison County approximately 25 miles northwest of Asheville. The prescribed burn will reduce the amount of dead grasses and woody debris on the...
Learn MoreA recording-breaking adventurer from North Wales has claimed the title of National Adventurer of the Year following his epic journey across landlocked Mongolia. Ash Dykes, 24, who is nicknamed the ‘lonely snow leopard’, last year impressively spent 78 days alone, crossing 1,500 miles of the unforgiving Gobi Desert and the vast Mongolian steppe. The...
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Venturing more into the central part of Tennessee to the Cumberland Plateau has been a goal of mine for some time. The name “Walls of Jericho” kept cropping up, so that clinched the destination. So what is this hike with the biblical name? The place known as the Walls of Jericho is a narrow canyon, about a half-mile long, with 200-foot-high vertical limestone...
Learn MoreWhich side of the Columbia River Gorge do you like best for hiking? Flip a coin, hem and haw, pick one and change your mind . . . they are both great. Typically the Washington side better in spring, because it faces south and gets more sun. That gives it more openings in the forest and more room for dense concentrations of wildflowers to grow, though you could say that...
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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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