Yellowstone, America’s first national park, is one of the USA’s most popular vacation destinations, especially during the summer months. This same park rewards adventurous travelers with a much more intimate experience during the winter when only about five percent of the park’s 3.4 million annual guests choose to visit. For first-time Yellowstone...
Learn MoreA group of avid hikers are coordinating with San Mateo, CA officials to provide more recreational opportunities at Sugarloaf Mountain by creating formal and accessible trails at the city’s largest park and open space landholding. “It’s a little jewel here in San Mateo,” said Marilyn Stockdale Green, a San Mateo resident who sits on the nonprofit Trail Center Board of...
Learn MoreWhile Warren County and Front Royal, Virginia are drawing up plans for extensions of the Appalachian Trail to bring hikers into town, there has been little discussion on the effect hikers have on the economy. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy states more than 2 million people visit some part of the trail every year, spending between $125-168 million annually, with $27...
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From its southern terminus near the Mexican border, the Continental Divide Trail heads north across New Mexico toward Canada. In southern New Mexico, the route is almost entirely unmarked as it crosses semi-desert grasslands where much of the drinking water comes from watering troughs on cattle ranches, never mind the algae and scum. For Iris Russell, the landscape could...
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Trekking poles are essentially a modern-day evolution of the traditional walking stick. Poles are either telescoping or collapsible (the latter of which collapse like tent poles). Telescoping poles offer adjustable lengths, which is useful when climbing or descending. Collapsible poles lack adjustable lengths, but they are often lighter than their telescoping...
Learn MoreIt runs more than 2,000 miles, from Georgia to Maine. The Appalachian Trail, the brainchild of Benton MacKaye had humble beginnings in 1921 and became a continuous footpath in August of 1937. “I learned a lot about life and a lot about people out on the Appalachian Trail,” said documentary filmmaker Sam Henegar. Henegar has a special bond with the trail....
Learn MorePresident Franklin Roosevelt once said, “There is nothing so American as our national parks…. The fundamental idea behind the parks…is that the country belongs to the people.” If you have yet to explore “your” parks – there are 401 of them – then Veterans Day is just the excuse you need. November 11, 2014 is the National...
Learn MoreAvid hiker and author Thomas Spencer penned a new book highlighting the best hikes in central Alabama. Entitled “Five-Star Trails: Birmingham: Your Guide to the Area’s Most Beautiful Hikes” the book lists great hikes within a 75 miles radius of Birmingham and features maps and photos. Spencer grew up hiking and camping in Alabama with his family. He...
Learn MoreLos Angeles County has just launched a new trails website with tons of information for anyone who looking to explore the county’s trails on bike, foot, or horseback. The site promises oft-updated information on trail conditions, weather, and air quality, plus interactive and downloadable maps with directions and elevation info for each path listed—a total of 367...
Learn MoreWhen most people think of Ireland, they imagine bucolic green fields dotted with fluffy sheep, or cobblestone streets lined with signs advertising Guinness. But there is a lesser-known side to the Emerald Isle. It is deep in the grey, barren mountains of the Connemara region, in County Galway, hiking through land that has remained virtually untouched for thousands of...
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For some, hiking the Appalachian Trail is a bucket-list item. Completing the 2,185-mile trail has come to signify extreme stamina and perseverance. But of the thousands who hike the trail each year, says John Odell of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, only a small fraction are through-hikers who complete the whole trail from Maine to Georgia or vice versa. The vast...
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Sweat and muscle for trail work in Rocky Mountain National Park comes, in part, in the form of Conservation Corps provided through the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. This past spring the Conservancy sent 36 conservation corps interns out into the field in six crews for an 11-week internship as part of its Conservation Corps Program. Half of this group worked in the national...
Learn MoreAt three miles long and 2,000 feet in elevation, the hike up Mission Peak is not for the faint of heart: The trail is dry and nearly bald, and climbing it can be painfully hot. The incline near the top is rocky and preposterously steep. But for those who make it to the top, the payoff is big. In addition to a panoramic view of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and,...
Learn MoreThe most important item in your outdoor wardrobe, hiking boots grant you the ability to traverse challenging terrain, work to keep your entire body comfortable and supported while carrying heavy loads and help regulate temperature and dryness. They’re also a difficult purchase to get right, particularly if you’re buying online. Here’s how to do that....
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While hiking hundreds or thousands of miles, particularly all alone, is no small feat — between the weather, the physical exertion and the mental and emotional discipline — hiking little-traveled routes adds still more challenges. Kelley Wiley Lane learned that firsthand this summer when she hiked the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, which meanders for 1,200...
Learn MoreIn 1914, one of the most unusual events in Northern Colorado’s history was an invitation tendered to two Arapaho elders living on the Wind River Reservation by the Colorado Mountain Club. Gun Griswold and Sherman Sage were selected by Colorado Mountain Club during a trip to the reservation. It was believed that these individuals had lived in the Estes Park region...
Learn MoreIn early October 1775, Gen. Benedict Arnold and a contingent of 1,100 American soldiers made the portage over the Great Carrying Place between the Kennebec River and the Dead River in Maine on their wilderness expedition to Quebec City. The lengthy and difficult portage greatly weakened Arnold’s army, which ultimately failed in its attempt to wrest control of the city...
Learn MoreHalfway down the track, Nixon stops. He thwacks his machete into a stump to free his hands and reaches over a stone wall, groping for something in the vegetation beneath. A moment later he pulls up a clear plastic bag and hands it over. It is full of human bones. “Incas.” Since the Spanish never found this place, Nixon, the custodian, is surely right about the bones....
Learn MoreKen Czarnomski has always loved sketching and writing, but as a department chair for the sustainability and construction management programs at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, his projects consisted mainly of razor-straight lines and technical engineering language. There wasn’t a lot of room for freehand sketches or colorful commentary. After retiring,...
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The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has announced a five-year strategic plan that will advance the health and long-term management of the Appalachian Trail. The plan, which was the culmination of a two-year collaborative process between the ATC and the ATC’s board of directors, is a vision and strategy that will build on the organization’s stewardship of the trail while...
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Blue Ridge Parkway officials announce the closure of a small section of motor road between existing gates at Milepost 420.3 near US Forest Service Road 816 (Black Balsam Road) and Milepost 423.3 at NC Highway 215. Both lanes of the motor road in that section will be closed to all visitors beginning November 3, 2014 through May 2015. During this closure, Devil’s...
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Newly released US Topo maps for Maine now feature segments of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (A.T.). Several of the 715 new US Topo quadrangles for the state now display parts of the A.T. along with other improved data layers. “Located within a day’s drive of 2/3rds of the U.S. population and open year-around to all visitors, the Appalachian Trail is America’s...
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Along with neighbouring Banff, Jasper National Park is a Unesco World Heritage site, recognised for its beauty, animal and plant life, and staggering variety of landscapes; including glaciers, alpine meadows, steaming hot springs, cerulean lakes and some of the highest peaks in the Rocky Mountains. The 44km Skyline Trail is one of the most beautiful – and challenging –...
Learn MoreThis past week, the Society for the Protection of NH Forests announced that The Everybody Hikes Mt. Major fundraising campaign has acheived its goal of $1.8 million for acquiring 980 acres on and near the mountain. “We are very grateful that the campaign received more than 1,900 gifts ranging from $2 to $340,000. Gifts came in from 31 states, from as far away as...
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Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is closer to the forefront of popular culture. But tackling the 2,650-mile trail during winter is an unheard-of feat — for now. That’s something backcountry adventurers Justin Lichter and Shawn Forry want to change. The two men are embarking on an attempt to traverse the entire route during a season when conditions are at their most...
Learn MoreThirty square miles of sand, more Saharan than Coloradan, appears as though it has been dumped into a nook of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The tallest dune rises 750 feet. With 250,000 annual visitors, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is not the most popular national park in Colorado. Not by a long shot. But flip a quarter and you may very well catch a...
Learn MoreOn October 28, 2014, the public is invited to join trail project partners to celebrate the 5-mile extension project joining the Saugatuck and Aspetuck trails – a connection that will provide hikers, joggers and others a continuous 18-mile long trail system in the heart of Fairfield County, Connecticut. Aquarion Water Company, the Connecticut Forest & Park...
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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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