Are you still wondering why so many people support the #NoDAPL protectors? This spill in October, 2015 is part of the reason. Imagine, if you will, tens of thousands of gallons of oil pouring into the river that provides the drinking water for over 10 million people. Would you want to drink it? or swim in it? or eat anything from it? A North Dakota oil well owned by...
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You’re not alone if you haven’t heard of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail before. It, along with the 807-mile Arizona Trail and the 220-mile New England Trail, are the latest additions to America’s 11 national scenic trails as designated by Congress. The most famous of them all, certainly, is the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail that runs from Maine to Georgia....
Learn MoreThe Colville National Forest is looking to fill 50 seasonal jobs in northeast Washington for next summer. Forest officials are going so far as to hold workshops to help applicants fill out forms. Applications must be submitted online at usajobs.gov from Nov. 15-21, 2016. Selections will be made from Feb. 13-17, 2017. Jobs would start anywhere from mid-April to mid-June,...
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Pencil in the weekend of March 24th through 26th, 2017 to kick off the 40th Anniversary celebrations of the Mountains to Sea Trail with an expanded annual meeting, the Gathering of Friends, in Elkin, a friendly trail town between Stone and Pilot Mountain state parks that has enthusiastically embraced the MST. The weekend will officially begin Friday evening with a Hiking...
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Starting at the former site of George Vanderbilt’s Buck Spring hunting lodge near Mt. Pisgah, this hike crosses the summit of Little Bald Mountain before dropping down the watershed to Pilot Rock, one of the many plutons found within the Pisgah Ranger District. The high country is home to thickets of mountain laurel and rhododendron, while various maples, oaks and...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Forest Service has implemented special fire restrictions due to extremely dry conditions, high fire danger and little chance of rain in the immediate forecast. The move comes days after similar restrictions were issued in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests in Georgia, and the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests in North Carolina. Very high wildfire...
Learn MoreThe state of Maine has long been known as a place of ghost stories and otherworldly happenings. Perhaps it’s the landscape that inspires such tales. What makes the state beautiful — it’s jagged coastline, fog-socked harbors, mossy woods and old quaint towns — can also appear spooky and ethereal. Or maybe — just maybe — Maine truly is a hotspot for the supernatural....
Learn MoreFrom trail’s end at 4,973 feet above sea level, resting hikers can view the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the west in New Mexico and to the north in Colorado. The buttes, mesas and bristling cholla cacti provide scenery reminiscent of remote areas of the rugged West. Few would recognize this arid terrain as a part of Oklahoma, but exotic Black Mesa Summit in...
Learn MoreThe Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests will implement fire restrictions due to the extremely dry conditions, high fire danger, and little chance of rain in the immediate forecast. Effective October 28, 2016, the following fire restrictions are in place for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests until further notice: Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire,...
Learn MoreThe National Forests in North Carolina announced that Dave Casey will oversee management and operations as the new District Ranger of the Pisgah Ranger District starting October 31, 2016. “Dave has an excellent record with partnerships and collaborative experience and a tremendous background in natural resource management,” said Allen Nicholas, Forest...
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Want to go for a hike in the Seattle area, but not sure where to go? There’s now an app for that. Seattle Parks boasts nearly a hundred miles of hiking trails. But, with that many options, it can be hard finding the right one for you. “We have destination parks with tons of trails, but we also have lots of neighborhood parks with trails,” said Seattle...
Learn MoreMoab, Utah, surrounded by Arches National Park to the north, Canyonlands National Park to the southwest and the La Sal Mountains to the east, is a hub for desert adventures from rafting to mountain biking and so much more. For some visitors, the act of squeezing through narrow canyons, rappelling into open pools and clawing through loose dirt and bushes — canyoneering —...
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Valles Caldera is a 13.7-mile wide volcanic bowl in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico near Los Alamos. About 1.25 million years ago, a spectacular volcanic eruption created this circular depression now known as the Valles Caldera. The Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000, signed by President Clinton, created the National Preserve. The preserve is known for...
Learn MoreBill Reynolds has been with the national parks service for a decade, and has visited a ton of them—particularly in Florida. It’s fair to say the spokesman is a super-fan. Of the famed Everglades, he crows, “If the National Parks are America’s crown jewels, the Everglades are some of the shiniest!” But it’s not the only gem in the Sunshine State. Florida’s...
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Even as the changing fall scenery gives us picture-perfect views, many North Carolinians are still reluctant to explore the outdoors. Some people don’t venture out to North Carolina’s parks, forests and trails because they don’t know about all that the state has to offer. Others are worried they aren’t in good enough shape to take on nature, or that they might get lost...
Learn MoreFirefighters are responding to a wildfire burning along Old NC 105 (Kistler Memorial Hwy / SR 1238) near Linville Gorge, north of Lake James in Burke County, NC. The Paddy’s Creek Fire was reported Monday afternoon, October, 24, 2016 in the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest. The fire is located near the south end of Linville Gorge, adjacent to...
Learn MoreFarming: For most of us, the word conjures images of geometric rows of vegetables, cows contentedly grazing in well-mown pastures, and carefully pruned and tended orchards bearing grocery-store-bin fruit. In Western North Carolina, however, that traditional image of farming is being met with an alternate view: of the cultivation of ginseng and other medicinal native...
Learn MoreSome 2 million chickens and at least 4,800 pigs drowned after Hurricane Matthew hit North Carolina earlier this month. The storm inundated massive pools of hog feces and piles of chicken manure, spreading pollution from North Carolina’s thriving pork and poultry industry into the surrounding woods, rivers, and swamps. “I’m seeing a lot of devastation out there,” said...
Learn MoreThe Dick’s Creek Fire burning on the Nantahala National Forest and private land near Sylva, NC, is estimated at 200-250 acres. The fire is located to the southeast of Dick’s Creek Road. Firefighters are building hand and dozer lines and a helicopter is dropping water. Firefighters are also working to clear brush and leaves away from homes and other structures...
Learn MoreWhen it was all over, Jeff Garmire couldn’t quite believe he had actually done it. Around 5 p.m. on Oct. 15, 2016, the 25-year-old Oregon State University graduate found himself standing at the Mexican border somewhere southeast of Lordsburg, New Mexico, where a concrete monument marks the southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail. Running along the spine of the...
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The Río Grande del Norte National Monument is comprised of rugged, wide open plains at an average elevation of 7,000 feet, dotted by volcanic cones, and cut by steep canyons with rivers tucked away in their depths. The Río Grande River carves an 800 foot deep gorge through layers of volcanic basalt flows and ash. Among the volcanic cones in the Monument, Ute Mountain is...
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At first glance, Stacey Kozel looks like any other serious hiker: strong and completely in her element in nature. The 41 year old from outside Cleveland is both of those things but she’s also incredibly determined. Because unlike most hikers, Stacey is paralyzed from the waist down but has, amazingly, accomplished what many able bodied people don’t even...
Learn MoreThe Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division at the U.S. National Park Service provides scientific support to all the national park units. Its researchers help park administrators understand the current state of their resource conditions and what the effects of pollution are on visitor experience and wildlife, and give them suggestions for how they might reduce pollution...
Learn MoreThe Catawba Falls trail and parking lot in McDowell County will be temporarily closed beginning Monday, October 24, and is expected to reopen Saturday, October 29, 2016. A contractor will be delivering and placing a new trail bridge across Chestnut Branch. The Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest has been working to improve access to Catawba Falls...
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Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve protects the tallest sand dunes in North America, and a whole lot more. From the San Luis Valley floor to the crest of the 13,000 foot peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains — the park and preserve contains ecosystems ranging from sand sheet to dunes to tundra — each supporting specially adapted plant, animal and...
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With its cooler days and colorful foliage, fall is an ideal time to hike one of the Kids in Parks TRACK Trails. Now there are even more to explore. Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation just added trails at Mount Mitchell State Park (off the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 355), Shenandoah National Park, and Prairie Ridge EcoStation in Raleigh, North Carolina. At Mount Mitchell,...
Learn MoreJoin the celebration for the opening of the Boone Fork Bridge on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in the popular Price Lake Picnic Area, milepost 297 Blue Ridge Parkway, this Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 10 a.m. This 80-foot pedestrian span allows hikers to avoid wading across Boone Fork as they trek from the Boone Fork Trail to Shulls Mill Road, where the path continues to...
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Carving out the Florida National Scenic Trail began in 1966, and now the hiking path from the Everglades to the western Panhandle visits springs, manatees, wetlands, alligators, white beach, turquoise ocean and bird life not seen in more famous wilderness walks. But the 1,300-mile adventure also has 300 miles of gaps, where hikers are now routed away from nature to trek...
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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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