After years of planning and more than five months of construction, a link has been established between two of the Chicago area’s most heavily used bicycling and hiking trails. The one-mile link through the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Cook County Forest Preserve District’s Turnbull Woods saw immediate and heavy use. Chicago Botanic Garden Vice President Harriett...
Learn MoreThere is a wealth of backpacking opportunities around New England, but sometimes the hardest part is finding out about them. That’s where the recently revised guide “Best Backpacking in New England” comes in really handy. Authored by Matt Heid and published by the Appalachian Mountain Club, the book is a trove of three-season getaways featuring 37 multiday trips from...
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Explore the Western N.C. towns of Cashiers, Cherokee, Dillsboro, Sylva, Balsam, Cullowhee, Glenville and Sapphire like never before with Jackson County’s new hiking map. The map, which was just released this fall, includes directions to 19 waterfalls, nine hiking trails, three multiple-use trails for riding or biking, five semi-private or public golf courses, three...
Learn MoreDuring his two years confined in harsh imprisonment for the crime of homosexuality, British playwright Oscar Wilde wrote: “Nature, whose sweet rains fall on unjust and just alike, will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide, and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undisturbed … She will cleanse me in the great waters, and with bitter herbs make me...
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by Rod Torrez for Huffington Post Just over a year ago, The New Republic ran a story with a catchy, but slightly insulting title: “White People Love Hiking. Minorities Don’t. Here’s Why.” I took the bait and read the piece, and found it to be well-intentioned, but overgeneralized. Toward the end the author wondered why a Hispanic teenager from...
Learn MoreJoin the High Peaks Trail Association for a jaunt over spectacular Roan Mountain on Sept. 20, 2014. This difficult 6.3-mile trek will reward hikers with great views from the top of one of the region’s signature peaks. Hikers should assemble on the Burnsville, NC Town Square at 8:30 a.m. Transportation will be provided by a Yancey County van for a fee of $5 per person....
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Wondering about all the activity going on at Linville Falls? Thanks to the generosity of community stewards, the Upper Falls Overlook at Linville Falls (milepost 316.4 Blue Ridge Parkway) will welcome more visitors with a larger viewing area, taking them closer to a geological gem, the Linville Falls Thrust Line. A new boardwalk and railing tied together with rock-clad...
Learn MoreThe days are getting shorter, but don’t resign yourself to settling in for a long, lazy season inside. One of West Michigan’s greatest assets is the natural beauty that surrounds the area, with amenities that you won’t even find in many big cities. From small pocket parks to epic-sized Lake Michigan, you’re never far away from a wooded trail, a...
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The deer season for bow hunters begins September 13 across North Carolina for 2014, and the U.S. Forest Service reminds hunters and non-hunters to practice safety when visiting the four national forests. Dates are likely to be similar in other states. The following are just a few tips hunters should follow to ensure they return home safely from the Croatan, Uwharrie,...
Learn MoreWomen will soon be able to hike Palo Duro Canyon State Park with like-minded women who want to enjoy the outdoors. “This is not a ‘get-fit, extreme hiking group,’” according to a news release. The hikes will start at 10 a.m. and end by noon. “The first one is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 17 and will be once a month on Wednesdays, weather permitting,” said Bernice...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Forest Service invites national forest visitors to use the new NCtrails.org web application for planning their fall foliage adventures. Unveiled in May 2014, the searchable web application (web app) offers details on three popular trail systems in western North Carolina, as well as state-of-the-science information on the region’s forests. The Browse Trails...
Learn MoreWhen visiting Spain on vacation, there are a multitude of fascinating hiking trails available throughout the country, but some of the most unusual and beautiful trails and landscapes can be found in the province of Cuenca in central Spain. Some of these landscapes, however, are not completely natural, as in the case of the “Ruta de las Caras” or Route of the Faces,...
Learn More“Huzzah” is a colonial-era way of saying “hurrah,” but the antique word will soon take on new meaning at the Kings Mountain National Military Park. On Sept. 6, 2014, the park near Blacksburg, S.C., will host a festival to call attention to a group called the Huzzah Hiking Club. Representatives from local outdoor attractions, along with hospital and public health...
Learn MoreNewly released US Topo maps for Michigan now feature segments of the North Country National Scenic Trail. Several of the 1,290 new US Topo quadrangles for the state now display parts of the Trail along with other improved data layers. “USGS maps are excellent planning and navigation tools for hikers and other trail users” said Mark Weaver, Superintendent of the...
Learn MoreTracing the footfalls of Ulysses S. Grant and visiting the room where Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson breathed his last can be experienced within a day’s drive of the nation’s capital, ringed by battlefields where thousands of soldiers fought and bled and died in the Civil War. Protected by the National Park Service, these hallowed grounds still echo the conflict they once...
Learn MoreCulmination season is ramping up as northbound thru hikers are reaching the end of their journeys. Every hiker knows the grim reality behind that glorious moment at the end of their 2,000 mile trail. Once the photos have been snapped and descent has been made, there is only one place to go for most hikers: Home. This is wonderful at first (not at all the grim part)....
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Hiking has grown in popularity in recent years. The number of participants in the U.S. hiking has risen from 29.9 million in 2006 to 34.6 million in 2012. Members of the baby boom generation, who are now in their 50s and 60s, are particularly drawn to the sport. Hikes can range from backcountry hikes, where people spend days camping in the wild, to luxury hikes, where...
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Before you know it, the trees in Minnesota will be turning bright shades of yellow, orange and red. Some of the most spectacular views in the state can be found along the Superior Hiking Trail in the Arrowhead region. “It’s a whole different world out here,” said Dan Carr of Two Harbors, who hikes the trail regularly. “You just have to get off Highway 61.” The Superior...
Learn MoreWhile you can’t go wrong with when it comes to hiking in Marin County, California, there are some areas you undoubtedly must visit at least once. Considering Marin’s seemingly endless selection of open space and trails, creating a list of the best hikes the county has to offer is no easy feat. But here’s a shot, with a mix of cardio-pumping routes and...
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The past winter was so brutal that only the thought of a week-long hike through hell could keep Scott Gauvin warm. Gauvin, 37, of Springfield, IL, is one of 14 outdoor bloggers from all over the country to undertake the six-day Hell Hike and Raft — named for the trip through the Seven Devils mountain range and the Snake River running through Hell’s Canyon in Idaho. It...
Learn MoreThe far side of the Olympic National Park, on the west coast of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, is indeed rain forest. Its Hoh River Valley is drenched with a dozen feet of rain a year. Think 50 shades of green in a wondrous tangle of trees, moss, ferns. Yet Olympic National Park is so vast – almost 1 million acres of mountains, forest and ocean beaches – that you can...
Learn MoreThe heat is slowly on its way out, so the time is on hand to experience the many trails that leave from the edge of the Crooked River Ranch in Central Oregon. Actually, summer was a good time to go, too, because the trails lead to the cool waters of the Deschutes and Crooked rivers. Hiking early or late in the day helps beat the heat. The Crooked River Ranch is a...
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The plan was to hike the Colorado Trail, a 500-mile path through the Rockies that links Denver with Durango. It crosses eight mountain ranges, travels through remote wilderness areas, and climbs nearly three times the height of Mt. Everest. Most of the trail is above 10,000 ft., so the air is thin, the danger of lightning strikes is severe, and nighttime temperatures...
Learn MoreGrand Canyon National Park is trying to fight overcrowding and the accumulation of clothing, food and even human waste along trails by requiring permits for organized groups and limiting them to 30 people. Starting Sept. 15, 2014, any group taking organized, rim-to-rim or extended day-hiking and running trips in the inner Canyon will have to pay $175 for a permit....
Learn MoreThree teenagers said the survival skills they learned during Girl Scouts saved two high school boys trying to hike Pikes Peak. Rebecca Clark, Jordan Wilson and Tristina Altman set out on Pikes Peak last weekend. They thought their toughest challenge would be summitting Pikes Peak. “We packed sleeping bags, tents, fire building stuff, water, toilet paper,...
Learn MoreIt’s been over a decade since American psychologists Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich concluded that doing things makes people happier than having things. “To Do or to Have? That Is the Question” was the title of the study they published in 2003, and it’s been cited hundreds of times since. Many people now recognize that spending money on, say, a plane ticket for a...
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An impromptu appearance of a dozen hikers was affirmation for the 50 people sitting at a ceremony on folding chairs that Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy had succeeded in their goal of expanding access to the Hickory Nut Gorge’s growing trail network. The ceremony along Highway 74-A was hosted by CMLC and Henderson County Parks and Recreation to celebrate several...
Learn MoreThe Cradle of Forestry in America will offer “Afternoon Tea with Llamas” on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. The llamas will carry your lunches or snacks on this easy walk along the Forest Discovery Trail at the Cradle of Forestry. Organizers will provide ice tea and cups. As the group walks the Forest Discovery Trail, children can take turns...
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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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