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 featured Photo Essays. Over the years I have conducted Interviews with hiking aficionados and authors, reviewed hiking gear, books, and films, and kept you abreast of the latest News about hiking and the outdoors, and conservation and the environment.

We all are 10 years older now. I don’t have quite the stamina as I did back then, so the big hikes are a thing of the past, but I have come to love and appreciate Nature a little more fully because of it. I have made many great friends along the way, and shared my stories with you.

Now begins the second decade for Meanderthals Hiking. With your continued encouragement I will try to bring you more stories about the places that I love and cherish, and tell you about how to get there yourself. Thank you so much for guiding me along the way.

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 minor, common issues that occur during hikes. Here are five items to pack in your personal first aid kit for hiking, along with the skills required to use them.

• Blister treatment
• Bandages and abrasions
• Carefully labeled pills
• Emergency nourishment
• Splint for a twisted ankle

Get more details about each here…

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 within the trail and areas of recent landslides using heavy equipment. These geotechnical investigations are used to determine the stability of the underlying rock in order to design retaining structures to stabilize the trail. Heavy equipment will be blocking the trail to the point where it will be impassible.

This work is one of the initial steps as the Grandfather Ranger District works to improve public access from lower Catawba Falls to Upper Catawba Falls. Engineers are working to design structures that will allow the public to safely travel along the steep slopes to the upper falls. This work is supported by funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, the NC State Recreation Trails Program, and McDowell County. It is part of the larger Old Fort Trails Project that will bring a wide range of trail improvements and additions this area of Pisgah National Forest.

For more information about the closure, contact the Grandfather Ranger District at 828-652-2144.

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 Senate, would go further and impose fines for illegally hiking on closed trails and private property.

The legislation, which mimics similar rules in multiple other states including California, would penalize hikers who disregard warning signs, trespass or take other risks in their quest for off-the-beaten-path adventure.

Hawaii, which greets more than 10 million tourists yearly and where tourism makes up nearly one quarter of the economy, would be sending a strong message to visitors. At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has caused a significant drop in tourism-related revenue, the cash-strapped Hawaiian government hopes the bills will reimburse taxpayers for costly rescues and discourage irresponsible behavior that puts both tourists, and their would-be rescuers, at risk.

If either bill passes, hikers who ignore “no trespassing” signs at the head of famous, but off-limits, trails like Red Sand Beach, which sits on private land along Maui’s breathtaking Hana Highway, may soon be risking more than their lives.

Cite…

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.

“Are you heading for the summit?” I asked. “Could I tag along?”

We left the shelter of the tree line, leaning forward slightly as gusts of wind whirled blinding snow around us across the open mountaintop. When we reached the peak, they waited patiently as I held out a battered green hat, took a picture of it and threw a tiny bit of ashes into the snow. It wasn’t until we descended back to the safety of the trees that they asked about the hat.

“It was my son’s. I lost him to suicide in July.”

There was a long silence. Then the older woman told me she lost her sister too. I remember thinking my son had brought us together. We connected over our shared stories, and they understood — something so rare for me those days.

My son, Ben, 23 when he died, was always most at home when he was outside. As I struggle with his unimaginable loss, I’ve found peace in the rush of rivers and streams, the open majesty of the New Hampshire mountaintops where he spent his childhood.

The year after his death, I hiked 48 of the state’s tallest mountains in his memory. Hiking has been a way to hide from the trauma of loss, the judgment and stigma of suicide and the reaction to my family’s openness about it. Every step, trail and summit — whether socked in or wide open — has been a way to heal.

Read full story…

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 found in Snow Canyon. Park naturalist Jenny Dawn Stucki said that park managers have spent years brainstorming a way to answer visitor questions about the desert tortoise while highlighting the importance of recreating responsibly within its habitat.

“It’s all tied together,” she said. “Knowing they’re here and understanding more about them helps to enhance appreciation of our landscape across the board.”

The project is currently in the planning and design process; Stucki said that many components still need to come together before breaking ground. When complete, the trail will feature several informational panels providing visitors with insight on the desert tortoise and its habitat, diet, family life, adaptations, survival and conservation, as well as ways to be mindful and appreciative of its presence in the park.

Cameron Rognan, administrator of the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan, highlighted the importance of visitor education in the preservation of vulnerable species like the desert tortoise as the recreational demand on southwest Utah’s public lands continues to rise. By providing both designated trails and learning opportunities, Rognan said that Snow Canyon and other parks can enhance the visitor experience while protecting native wildlife and habitat.

Read full story…

  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 — which manages the multi-state trail — also said it will not distribute hangtags, the plastic tags given to aspiring thru-hikers to promote sustainable hiking practices and celebrate their attempt.

“Due to the pandemic and the risk that interstate travel could spread COVID-19 (including the emerging variants that could be even more contagious), the ATC has been advising hikers to postpone their hikes until the CDC has deemed the pandemic ‘under control’ or a COVID-19 vaccine or effective treatment is widely available and distributed,” the ATC said on its website.

“We do not feel it is appropriate to provide what could be perceived as a reward for long-distance hiking, which we are actively discouraging until one of the above conditions is met,” the group added.

The group said it hasn’t distributed hangtags since March 2020 because of the pandemic.

Those who want to be considered thru-hikers have to complete the entire 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail in one trip within 12 months — though it typically takes between five and seven months.

Cite…

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 Morin, co-founder and board president of the Great Springs Project.

“80% of Texans (live) within a three hour drive of this area. So instead of thinking about driving eight hours to Big Bend, you could come here and immerse yourself in nature.”

The idea for the project is to protect the Edwards Aquifer by creating a contiguous greenbelt across the area. Morin and her friends have been talking about it for 25 years. It wasn’t until recently that they realized that the rapid growth in the area could soon make the effort impossible, so they decided they had to act fast.

The group is working with a local design firm and the National Parks Service to plot out new trails, figure out ways to connect existing ones, design crossroads with bridges and tunnels, and try to pay for them.

Read full story…

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 Junction Visitor Center to plan their adventure, many visitors seek out hiking in the immediate area, where no trails now exist. The new trail will offer a moderately challenging 3-mile loop through the Chihuahuan Desert, conveniently beginning and ending in Panther Junction. Highlights of the route include spectacular views of the Chisos, Rosillos, and Dead Horse Mountains; a wide variety of desert plants and animals; and the interesting volcanic features of Lone Mountain itself.

“With over 200 miles of trails, Big Bend is a world-renowned hiking location,” says Big Bend National Park Superintendent Bob Krumenaker, “and we’re proud to add this new opportunity for visitors to enjoy their park even more. I’m delighted to make this decision, concluding a planning process which took far too long, and move forward in building this hiking trail.”

Construction of the new trail will occur in 2022 by the Big Bend National Park trail crew and volunteers. Initially, no additional parking area or facilities are planned, but if usage warrants it, the NPS will consider alternative parking or trailhead configurations at a future date.

Read full story…

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 said. “They’re like sisters and I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

The group tries to organize hikes together at least twice a month. “We’re all different in so many ways,” Melanie Bissell said. “But, one thing we do have in common is a hiking trail.”

It’s also a chance for them to hang out, talk and enjoy the outdoors. “It’s just such a great bond that we have together, supporting each other through everything,” Stacy Dickerson said. “Whether it’s through sad times through illness through happy times.”

“We just support each other and everything we do,” Amy Eversole said. “Sisterhood is so important at all ages. Get outside and go play in the mountains. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

Cite…