This week this website turns 10 years old. A lot has happened during that time, with the world, with hiking, and with Meanderthals. I’m still here because of you… the more than 1,350,000 of you who have visited and supported me over the years. There are more than 300 trail reports from 15 states included in the content, with an additional 70 of the newly...
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Accidents happen. No matter how well prepared you are for a hike, you could become sick or injured due to many circumstances. And in the wilderness, even the smallest hurt — such as a blister — can really put a damper on your experience. While it takes special training and experience to treat many medical issues, anyone can learn a few first aid skills to take care of...
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The Catawba Falls trail in the Grandfather District of Pisgah National Forest near Old Fort, NC will be temporarily closed next week, from March 29 through April 2, 2021. The trail closure is necessary to ensure public safety while engineering work is being performed along sections of the trail. Contractors will be performing geotechnical investigations, drilling holes...
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State lawmakers in Hawaii are considering legislation that would make some hikers pay for their own rescue when they get lost or endangered because of their own recklessness. Senate Bill 700 would allow local governments to recoup the cost of search and rescue operations, which can run upward of $10,000. A second bill, SB 363, also working its way through the state...
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By Carrie Thompson for the NY Times On the first day of 2020, my anxiety roared as I approached the summit of Mount Pierce in northern New Hampshire. At about 4,300 feet elevation, the wind was picking up, the visibility dropping to near zero. I was about to turn around in defeat when I heard faint voices ahead of me: two women, zipping up their coats as I approached....
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Supported by community fundraising efforts, Utah’s Snow Canyon State Park is in the process of developing a trail designed to inform visitors about the Mojave desert tortoise. The Tortoise Education Trail is scheduled to be the first new trail built within the park in more than a decade. The trail will showcase perhaps the most compelling and hotly debated creature...
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If you’re thinking about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail this year, you might want to think again. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) is discouraging people from attempting to hike the entire 2,190-mile trail — called thru-hiking — and has said it will not recognize attempted thru-hikes until the coronavirus pandemic is “under control.” The group —...
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Central Texans may soon have a new outdoor activity available: hiking from Austin to San Antonio. The Great Springs Project is a local nonprofit that’s aiming to build a network of trails connecting the two cities and four springs: Barton, Comal, San Marcos and San Antonio Springs. “You’ll be able to hike or bike basically from the Alamo to the Capitol,” says Deborah...
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Future park visitors will have another opportunity to get up, get out and enjoy the wide-open spaces of Big Bend when work is completed on a new hiking trail next year. The Lone Mountain Trail will circumnavigate the base of Lone Mountain, an imposing feature just north of park headquarters at Panther Junction. After a long drive to Big Bend and arrival at Panther...
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For the past few years, Amy Eversole and the ‘Trailblazers’ have been hiking all over the Great Smoky Mountains. Some of them have earned their 500-mile pins from the park service. Others are following closely behind. All of them have been supporting each other through life’s ups and downs. “They’re the best women ever,” Amy Eversole...
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Major changes may be coming to to Graveyard Fields. A project is now open for public comment. The National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service are partnering on this effort to improve access at the often-crowded trail system on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Haywood County. Under the proposal, the nearby John Rock Overlook would be used as an additional access point for...
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It’s the season where in Arizona we all want to be outdoors. The desert, so cruel for so long, welcomes us again with open arms. If the blast-furnace heat of summer kept you off the trails for months, you’ll want to ease into things. To work yourself back into hiking shape, start with some easy trails. Just don’t let the rating undersell their attractions. Even trails...
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When the Virginia Capital Trail was first proposed back in 1999, critics derided the idea of the 51.7-mile multi-use path as overly-ambitious and too expensive. Today, the east-west trail connecting Virginia’s first capital of Jamestown with the modern seat of government, Richmond, faces concerns about overcrowding, and there’s now a sister trail in the pipeline. Far...
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The Schoodic Peninsula is home to a remarkable landscape of dense spruce forests, jack pine woodlands, shrubby heaths, cobble beaches, granite headlands, deep harbors and rugged islands. Bounded by Frenchman Bay to the west, Gouldsboro Bay to the east and the Gulf of Maine along its southern margin, the peninsula is a true natural gem of Maine’s bold Downeast coastline....
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If a love of hiking is the only thing that takes you to northeast Iowa’s Effigy Mounds National Monument — where 14 miles of trails wind through the elegant 2,526-acre monument — you won’t come away disappointed. The immaculately groomed trails, 4 feet wide, of fine gravel or wood chips, hairpin up and along 400-foot-high river bluffs, providing views of the...
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Frigid temperatures and even a flurry don’t have to send people scurrying indoors as a little preparation can go a long way toward enjoying the great outdoors all year long. “I used to hibernate all winter because I was so convinced that there was no way I could ever really enjoy winter adventure,” Kristy Matheson said. “I joined the Dayton Hikers in the winter, so one...
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Outdoor enthusiasts can now hike a brand new section of the Continental Divide Trail in the Gila National Forest. The New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors partnered with the Continental Divide Trail Coalition earlier in October to reroute part of the trail in the forest’s Black Range west of Truth or Consequences. The chairperson for New Mexico Volunteers for the...
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The long-anticipated opening of the Blue Ridge Tunnel trail will soon be a reality. The roughly 2.25-mile trail is scheduled to open to pedestrians and bicyclists Saturday November 21. A portion of the trail runs through a railroad tunnel that was constructed between 1850 to 1858, which was led by engineer Claudius Crozet. At a distance of nearly 1 mile, it was the...
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100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and the Carolina Blue Ridge, an essential guide for avid hikers, has been updated for the first time in 25 years. The guide features a full-color map printed on waterproof paper for hikers to keep track of trails. 27 of the trails featured in the guide are found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Originally created in 1966 by...
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Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s Flint Hills Trail and Prairie Spirit Trail state parks recently received America’s highest trails honor when they were designated National Recreational Trails by the National Park Service. Both state park trails are operated by KDWPT’s Parks Division. “This is significant, not only for those parks and our state parks...
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It’s time to celebrate Mother Nature, so lace up your hiking boots, collar your dog, get some water and a snack and hit the trails on National “Take a Hike Day,” which is Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. This is day hosted by The American Hiking Society, whose mission is to envision a world where everyone feels a sense of belonging in the hiking community and has lasting access...
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In March 2020, America began to feel the first impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which would upend almost every aspect of our daily lives. Eight months later, COVID-19 infection rates continue to rise and a widely distributed vaccine or treatment is still not available. We also find ourselves adapting to a constantly shifting political, social, and economic landscape....
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When they wake up broke, broken, and far from home, how do thru-hikers find the will to go another mile? We usually focus on the pleasures of a long-distance hike. We tell ourselves the pain will dissolve into a march of panoramas from Mexico to Canada. But the truth of thru-hiking is that it is brutally physical. This excerpt from recently published Journeys North by...
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A couple hiking in northeastern France came across an unusual historical artifact – a carrier pigeon message dating from 110 years earlier. Jade Halaoui said he was hiking with his partner in the Ingersheim area when they spotted a tiny aluminum cylinder on the ground. “I dug it up and I cut it to see what was inside,” Halaoui recalled....
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The holidays are drawing near, and it should be the season to be merry, but let’s face it — sometimes it isn’t. Unfortunately, the demands and heightened emotions this time of year can occasionally cause stress and anxiety. That stress may also lead to weight gain in addition to other factors such as sleep deprivation and parties with excessive food and alcohol. John...
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It’s been a terrible year for all of us, especially kids. The pandemic has eliminated the kind of routine social interaction we’ve all taken for granted. No team sports, no movies, no museums, no sleepovers, no playdates. Parents face the dual tasks of making sure their kids are getting the physical activity they need as well as trying to replace the lost hours of...
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While wooded hikes are popular in Minnesota, the woods are not required, as the tallgrass prairie region in the southwestern corner of the state offers unique places to get out and view the diverse landscape. Getting lost in the woods while on a walk is a common problem in fairy tales, and in renowned horror stories. Even if you leave bread crumbs behind, in the style of...
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The Italian region of Calabria is bookmarked by two seas with mountains and beaches in between. And now a new trail has opened that will allow hikers to explore Calabria from coast to coast and experience the stunning nature that it’s known for. The Kalabria Coast to Coast Trail connects the town of Soverato on the Ionian Sea to the town of Pizzo on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
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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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