“There are two easy ways to die in the desert: thirst or drowning. This place is stained with such ironies, a tension set between the need to find water and the need to get away from it. The floods that come with the least warning arrive at the hottest time of the year, when the last thing on a person’s mind is too much water.” The Red Rock Country of...
Learn MoreMountains cover 70 percent of the Korean peninsula, and in South Korea, an estimated 1 in 3 Koreans goes hiking more than once a month. Over the past few decades, hiking has become way more than a weekend activity. It’s part of the Korean national identity. Across the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, second- and even third-generation children of Korean...
Learn MoreThe Appalachian Trail north of Damascus, Virginia, follows a portion of the Virginia Creeper Trail, a popular 35-mile rail trail, before climbing into the high country of grassy bald summits and spruce-fir forests of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, which contains 5,000 acres of terrain over 4,000 feet in elevation. At 5,729 feet, heavily forested Mount Rogers...
Learn MoreNEBO, N.C., July 18, 2015 – An estimated 2 acre wildfire burning on Forest Service land near Bald Knob in McDowell County will require temporary closure of a section of the Mountains to Sea Trail between the footbridge over the North Fork of the Catawba River and Dobson Knob Road (Forest Service Road 106). The trail closure will be in effect until fire is declared...
Learn MoreHartman Creek State Park, covering 1,500 acres in Waupaca and Portage counties in Wisconsin, draws visitors for many reasons. With six lakes within park boundaries or adjacent to it, a stream and several wetlands, well maintained campgrounds (even a teepee), swimming beach, historic log cabin, interpretive programs by a trained naturalist and natural beauty for all...
Learn MoreThere is no shortage of hiking trails and mountains in Cape Town, South Africa but make sure you know the basics before you embark on your voyage. The walking and hiking trail options in Cape Town are virtually endless, from Table Mountain to Lion’s Head, Signal Hill to Kirstenbosch. Just make sure you do your research, carry water, and have a reliable map—and...
Learn MoreThe man who set a new record for speed traversing the Appalachian Trail, Scott Jurek, was issued three summonses by rangers on Mt. Katahdin. After completing his 46-day run, state park rangers issued him summonses for public drinking, littering and hiking with an oversize group. Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and lays inside the boundary of...
Learn MoreDon’t know your karst from your krummholz? Do you think holloway is used solely as a surname? Brush up on your hiking and camping terms with our glossary. That pile of rocks and gravel on a mountainside? There’s a word for that. Wilderness travel takes more than a pair of strong legs; it requires common sense. An ability to read the land and a basic understanding...
Learn MoreCairns have a long history and purpose, one that newer stacks sometimes subvert. The Gorham Mountain Trail at Acadia National park winds up through a forested mountain slope before bursting out onto one of the granite-boulder covered summits for which the park is famous. But once you get up there, following the loop back down would be tricky if it weren’t for rock stacks...
Learn MoreScott Jurek’s wasn’t the only new speed record today. Josh Sanders and his sister Lindsay broke the world speed record for highpointing the lower 48 United States. Driving thousands of miles, hiking hundreds of miles, and climbing over 250,000 vertical feet of mountains in less than 23 days. They began on June 23, 2015 and finished on July 12. 19 days, 7...
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Scott Jurek, renowned champion long distance runner, today broke the Appalachian Trail (AT) speed record previously set by Jennifer Pharr Davis of Asheville, NC in 2011 by just three hours. The difference, over the 2,189-mile AT, was akin to a photo finish. Jurek climbed Mt. Katahdin in Maine on Sunday, July 12, 2015, the 47th day after he started at Springer Mountain,...
Learn MoreFrom the top of a steep hillside covered in lemon trees and grapevines, the village of Manarola tumbles out below, like a handful of pink, orange and yellow blocks that have been shaken, then poured from a toy bag. Manarola is one of five hamlets strewn a few miles apart along the Mediterranean coast in Northern Italy. Each comes with its own personality, and the best...
Learn MoreA new wooden walkway in New York’s Adirondack Mountains takes nature lovers on a tour of the treetops to let them experience the forest from the perspective of the birds and beasts that live there. The $5.5 million Wild Walk is set on the 80 wooded acres of the Wild Center, an interactive natural history museum in Tupper Lake, NY. It opened Saturday, July 4, 2015....
Learn MoreThe 40-year-old dad of four early Thursday, July 9, 2015 trotted down a rain-soaked Longs Peak, completing his inspiring quest for a speed record climbing all 58 points over 14,000 feet in Colorado at 2:21 a.m. — a total of nine days, 21 hours and 51 minutes. Hamilton has raced up and down the state’s highest peaks, setting a blistering pace that eclipsed all who...
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Perhaps you’ve hiked the Alum Cave Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the last few weeks. Then you know that The Friends of the Smokies Trails Forever crew is making progress on the restoration of this popular trail. The 11-person National Park Service crew is joined by 21 Conservation Corps members on Monday through Thursday. The trail work started in May...
Learn MoreLee County, Florida Parks & Recreation invites visitors and residents to explore the new hiking and equestrian trails at Conservation 20/20’s Buckingham Trails Preserve located in east Fort Myers. The preserve provides a newly built parking area and trail system totaling more than 7 miles. There are 2.3 miles of hiking trails and 4.8 miles for both horseback riding...
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After more than two months of walking, the generosity of strangers is what surprises Natalie Koffarnus the most. The Wisconsin resident on May 3 set out on the Ice Age Trail from St. Croix Falls with the goal of walking the entire 1,200-mile path to Potawatomi State Park by Aug. 1. It’s the kindness of people she’s never met that has helped her along the way....
Learn MoreGreat Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the temporary closure of three trail sections in the lower Forney Creek Trail area for a trail rehabilitation project that will include work on the Lakeshore, White Oak Branch, and Forney Creek trails. Mechanized equipment will be used to significantly improve the condition and sustainability of these trails. The...
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Within the deep emerald twilight of the north woods, as the smell of pine and moss gives way to the lake-crisp air and the windblown expanse of Lake Superior washing up against the sandstone cliffs and rocky beaches, it’s easy to forget all of the stresses of civilization. On the North Country Trail — the longest and one of the wildest trails in the U.S. — you can....
Learn MoreThe same elevation changes crowded into a small space that make Payson so diverse when it comes to scenery, plants and animals, also provide some of the most scenic and interesting hiking, biking and horseback riding trails in Arizona. For starters, the area boasts hundreds of miles of trails through the national forests, along streams, lakes and ridgelines. But that’s...
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The hills surrounding the Vail Valley in central Colorado really come alive in the summer months, when aspen leaves quiver in the wind and blankets of wildflowers spread across miles of meadows. Hit the trails with some help from the new Vail Hiking Center in Lionshead, located near the Eagle Bahn gondola at the base of the mountain. “The Vail Hiking Center is our new...
Learn MoreThe National Park Service maintains over 800 miles of trails (walking and equestrian) within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Whether your interests lie in a handful of hiking experiences or completing all the park has to offer, it goes without saying that good planning and organization is required. If you want to expand your hiking experience and tackle all of...
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by Jennifer Pharr Davis Recently, I have been getting a lot of e-mails and questions about how to make a living or start a business in the Outdoor Industry. So I thought I’d write a post about my experience and nine lessons I’ve learned as the founder and owner of Blue Ridge Hiking Company. There are risks and hardships that are involved in backcountry camping and...
Learn MoreA dozen writers and photographers from five eastern newspapers were on top of Springer Mountain, southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. They were poised to take the first step of a 2,158-mile adventure along one of the world’s premier hiking trails, a serpentine footpath tripping over the ridge tops of 14 states from Georgia, through Pennsylvania, to Maine. It...
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This summer it will be increasingly obvious to Jenny Lake visitors that Inspiring Journeys—the multimillion dollar renewal effort at Jenny Lake for the NPS centennial in 2016—is well underway. The second of four construction seasons started in May and, as with last year, the primary focus is on backcountry trail work. In September, physical changes in the frontcountry...
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This July we’re celebrating 30 years of Park and Recreation Month and the enduring importance of parks and recreation for the world. From the start, parks were created to serve the people—to give them a place to appreciate nature, exercise, socialize and have fun. This mission lives on and will continue to intensify into the future. This July, let’s celebrate the past,...
Learn MoreWhen her marriage ended in divorce after 10 years, Carol Schaffer wasn’t eager for a fresh start. Still shaken up by the split, Schaffer said she held tight to the people and pastimes she loved and only introduced new things into her life (hiking, “Seinfeld” binge-fests) if they helped her heal in some way. “You can’t change everything about...
Learn MoreThe average American boy or girl spends as few as 30 minutes in unstructured outdoor play each day. Only 6% of children nine to 13 play outside on their own in a typical week. But if you’re reading this, you probably already know that outdoor play is essential for children’s health and well-being. Here are several science-backed reasons that prove you’re right. Better...
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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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