Every summer, they trek through New York on their way from Georgia to Maine — a scruffy bunch whose determination to hike the entire Appalachian Trail finds them pushing through the Hudson Valley in July and August. For many, the roughly 2,189-mile trip is the culmination of a dream. Others aren’t sure why they’re doing it. But most know they couldn’t manage the hike...
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Get ready to discover the beautiful trails of Fairfield Glade and Cumberland County, Tennessee. The Cumberland Plateau has some wonderful scenery and now everyone will have the opportunity to get to know it up close and personal. Registration for the Cumberland Plateau Hiking Trail Marathon kicked off Aug. 1, 2015. Just like a marathon race, this hiking marathon includes...
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“Sputnik” had just emerged from the most remote stretch of the Appalachian Trail – 100 miles of Maine “wilderness” with no stores, towns or even paved roads – when he paused to consider a different ending to the life-changing trek he was about to complete. Behind him lay 2,170 miles worth of footsteps stretching from Georgia to this spot on Abol Bridge offering two...
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America’s national parks have never been so popular: Last year saw the highest-ever level of daily visits and campers to Yellowstone, Joshua Tree, and the 57 other nature reserves. Yet the number of park rangers available to help travelers find the perfect trail, answer questions about area flora and fauna, and enforce rules to protect the environment (and other laws) is...
Learn MoreThe Washington Post reports that Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has already organized a boycott of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, even before it’s released. Never mind the fact that Kentucky state officials expect to meet the plan’s requirements to cut pollution from power plants “with relatively little effort.” In fact, the newspaper’s...
Learn MoreRio Grande Trail commissioners held their first meeting July 29,2015 to discuss creating a 500-mile recreational route through New Mexico. The task before them won’t be easy or quick. There’s a dizzying array of decisions and tasks to undertake before the trail will become a reality. It’s so early in the process, the commission has only a bare-bones digital page, housed...
Learn MoreNEBO, N.C., August 1, 2015 – The Wolf Creek wildfire is burning on the Pisgah National Forest in the Heartbreak Ridge and Jarrett Creek area of McDowell County northwest of Old Fort, NC. The wildfire, reported the evening of July 31st, is moving slowly and is estimated at twenty-five acres and is twenty percent contained. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and N.C....
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Think the Blue Ridge Parkway is beautiful? Well, like many of us, it takes a lot of grooming to look that way. For the third summer, a group of North Carolina teenagers from ages 16-18 years old have been working hard to improve, restore, and preserve the natural and recreational resources of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone and Blowing Rock. The North Carolina Youth...
Learn MoreThese are sights you do not forget, no need for a smartphone or GoPro. The Grand Canyon constantly surprises and delights. And it is at the North Rim, the less-visited but no less sublime national park outpost, where you can experience the Grand Canyon in its purest form – unless, of course, you have the temerity and back-country skills to camp out for days on the canyon...
Learn MorePANTHERTOWN, N.C., July 31, 2015- Nantahala District Ranger, Mike Wilkins, advises everyone that Forest Service road 4673 which accesses the Panthertown hiking trail system from the east side in the Cold Mountain area will be closed beginning Monday morning August 3, 2015 on week days until August 14, 2015 to construct a 9-12 car parking area. The project is a...
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The National Parks Conservation Association issued a report that found some of the country’s most popular national parks are plagued by polluted air and hazy skies — and are decades behind schedule getting rid of them. The report flunked Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree and Yosemite in California — giving each park an F for routinely having unhealthful levels of ozone...
Learn MoreFollowing a number of deaths in recent years and dozens of rescues, residents of Paradise Valley, Arizona are concerned with hiker safety on the Echo Canyon Trail because of a lack of signage marking the trail and warning of its difficulty. One of those residents, Ryan Wooddy, can’t help but notice when rental cars are parked at the Echo Canyon trailhead near his...
Learn MoreWouldn’t it be great if your kids begged to go on a hike instead of playing video games or going to the mall? There are ways to encourage their love for the outdoors and as they develop more of a comfort level in nature, you may find them coming up with new plans to head out a trail. If you’re looking for a place to start, Jennifer Pharr Davis has some practical tips....
Learn MoreJust in time for peak tourist season, Montana’s Glacier National Park is on fire. As of July 28, some 3,200 acres of the park were engulfed by wildfire, which began a week ago and caused park officials to shut down three separate campsites throughout the park as well as close off the St. Mary Visitor Center. As of the 29th, the wildfire was 56 percent contained, and...
Learn MoreClimate change is set to hit the Southeast United States hard. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Risky Business Project, a nonprofit that focuses on the economic impacts of climate change. The report, which focused on 12 states found that the increased heat and humidity that these states are expected to experience as the climate changes will put the region’s...
Learn MoreGreat Smoky Mountains National Park says more than 4.3 million people visited between January and June, an 8 percent increase from the first half of 2014. The park is the most visited of the national parks. More than 1 million people visited in May, the most for May since the National Park Service began tracking monthly visitation in 1979. Visitation increased 26 percent...
Learn MoreThirteen giant companies joined the Obama administration’s Act on Climate initiative, announcing at least $140 billion in new low-carbon investment and more than 1,600 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy, the White House said. The pledge from Coca-Cola, Walmart, Apple, Google, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and other big-name companies comes in advance of the United...
Learn MoreThe most popular trekking trail in Nepal escaped damage during April’s devastating earthquake and is safe for hikers to return, an assessment team said. Kit Miyamoto of the California-based engineering firm Miyamoto International assessed the 125 miles of trekking trails around Mount Annapurna, and said that the only hazards were found at three spots and appeared...
Learn MoreThis summer has brought extreme temperatures to many U.S. states. Human hikers know that it’s important to carry enough water, wear loose-fitting clothes and wear a wide-brimmed hat when venturing out in temperatures that have been getting up to 100 degrees. But what about their canine companions? They don’t have the same options to shield them against the heat; all they...
Learn MoreOn the 26th of March 2015, the United States’ senate voted to pass SA 838, a budget amendment that constitutes the first step in allowing the transfer of certain types of federal land into the stewardship of individual states and paving the way for the sale of these lands to private concerns. The amendment, proposed by Alaskan senator Lisa Murkowski, garnered 51 “yeas”...
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Record-setting speed hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis, of Asheville, has been elected to the board of directors of The Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The board is responsible for communicating the mission of the ATC, and enhancing the public standing of the ATC by ensuring legal and ethical integrity and practicing fiscal responsibility. Davis is an avid hiker and Appalachian...
Learn MoreThe Idaho Centennial Trail is more of an idea than a completed trail. Running from the desert bordering Nevada clear to the cool mountain forests of north Idaho, the trail covers between 900 and 1,200 miles of the state. “I would guess 10 people have thru-hiked it,” said Clay Jacobson. “In history.” Jacobson’s goal this summer is to join the...
Learn MoreIt is fairly well understood by now that releasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere imposes an economic cost, in the form of climate change impacts. In most cases, however, those responsible for carbon emissions are not required to pay that cost. Instead, it’s borne mainly by the world’s poor and low-lying countries, and of course...
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Taking a stroll in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve mental health, according to a new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature. Most of us today live in cities and spend far less time outside in green, natural spaces than people did several generations ago. City dwellers also...
Learn MoreIn what may prove to be a turning point for political action on climate change, a breathtaking new study casts extreme doubt about the near-term stability of global sea levels. The study—written by James Hansen, NASA’s former lead climate scientist, and 16 co-authors, many of whom are considered among the top in their fields—concludes that glaciers in Greenland and...
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Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) announced a bipartisan agreement to permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The law’s current 25-year authorization expires on September 30, 2015. “This is a huge step forward at a critical time because the program’s current authorization...
Learn MoreCalifornia is fortunate to be home to nine national parks, more than any other state. With such a plethora of natural and national treasures, it may not come as a surprise that two of the state’s most spectacular parks, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, are often overlooked. While typically referred to together, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are actually two...
Learn MoreSeveral items are essential for exploring the magical Southern Alps mountains that run across New Zealand’s South Island: insect repellent, rain gear and ear plugs. The repellent is to ward off sandflies, those annoying black bugs that are the itchy scourge of hikers in Fiordland National Park. The park, which is bigger than Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks...
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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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