Drought-stricken California is not the only place draining underground aquifers in the hunt for fresh water. It’s happening across the world, according to two new studies by U.S. researchers, including NASA. Twenty-one of the world’s 37 largest aquifers – in locations from India and China to the United States and France – have passed their sustainability tipping points, meaning more water is being removed than replaced from these vital underground reservoirs. Thirteen of 37 aquifers fell at rates that put them into the most troubled...
read moreThe mental game is huge when you’re in the woods. Alone, the ante is upped considerably. You’re more alert. More cautious. More in tune with what’s going on around you and inside of you. These are all good things, but there’s a downside: There’s no one to commiserate with about aches and pains, no one to consult the map with, or share a difficult passage, or speculate about the weather. No one to laugh or joke or share the beauty and joy with. It’s the first rule of the woods — never go alone. But people do...
read moreNever been hiking with your kids? Great Smoky Mountains National Park is presenting a series of programs this summer to help introduce families to hiking in the park. These ranger led programs will give parents advice on how to prepare for a hike, what to take, what to watch out for, and some fun activities that you can do with children while hiking. Not sure about bringing your toddler or your 5 year old on a hike? There will be some suggestions for bringing along these young ones too. The park is kicking off these family programs on June...
read moreHere’s another powerful benefit to walking. When your brain is completely overloaded and you need to take a life time-out and hit the reset button, nothing will accomplish that better than logging some cleansing miles on foot, solo. No phone, no headphones, just you and your feet. The long walk is a therapeutic tool to not only power up your mind but also to recharge its battery. Which, in turn, leads to much greater creativity once you’ve rebooted. One day, when Marc Andreessen, the money man behind such tech giants as Facebook, Twitter, and...
read moreThe Weather Channel has gone hawkish on climate change. It has started web- and broad-casting short but blunt messages from “25 influential voices on climate change, security, energy and peace.” The “Climate 25” features former Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who warns that failure to take strong action on climate is “radical risk taking” for our economy. Unilever CEO Paul Polman talks about the $300 million in annual climate disruption costs hitting his company. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who explained why the Syrian...
read moreBy Katharine Hayhoe New to Texas Tech, it was my first year as an atmospheric science professor. We’d just moved to Lubbock, the second most conservative town in the United States. A colleague asked me to guest teach his undergraduate geology course while he was out of town. The packed lecture hall was cavernous and dark. Many of the students were glued to their phones; others were slumped over, dozing. I began with the fundamental components of the climate system; I waded through the geologic climate record and ice core data; and finally, I...
read moreIt’s a sound Camelback Mountain regulars have come to expect. Amid the Spotify, busy chatter of teenagers and welcome breezes, the chop of rescue helicopters cuts through the air, its occupants combing the terrain for the latest broken ankle or victim of Valley heat. Phoenix, Arizona mountain rescues spiked by more than 30 percent in 2014 over the previous year, and 2015 so far is keeping up the pace, according to records maintained by the Phoenix Fire Department. By the end of June 2014, Phoenix fire crews had been called out on 120...
read moreMany travelers are familiar with the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage walk, but there is a new journey that seems to be gaining traction with everyone from history buffs and outdoorsy types to those looking for a creative way to disconnect from email and cell phones for several weeks in the European countryside. The inaugural European Peace Walk (EPW) took place last summer, a century after The Great War began. Groups of travelers left Vienna on a six-country, 23 day walk of peace to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World...
read moreMore than 140 years ago, the United States government designated Yellowstone as the nation’s first national park — an untouched Western landscape of geysers, grizzly bears and soaring peaks. The national parks program eventually expanded to include more than 450 sites and has become one of the country’s greatest tourist draws. Now China is trying to do with some of its natural spaces what the United States did during its own industrial boom. Chinese officials and a research center based in Chicago, announced a plan to undertake trial national...
read moreA surprise deal emerged from United Nations climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, this week: diplomats managed to reach a key agreement to compensate developing nations that agree to preserve their forests. And environmental and civil society groups had generally nice things to say about the deal. Deforestation has a huge effect on climate change. Activities like slash-and-burn agriculture account for nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN. Trees, of course, also play a key role in slowing climate change by...
read moreThe Kaibab National Forest is sifting through more than 200,000 public comments that are mostly against an easement through the town of Tusayan that would help make a development near the Grand Canyon possible. Stilo Development Group USA wants to build homes, retail shops, hotels, and cultural centers in the area. The easement would allow utilities to be installed and improved along roads managed by the Forest Service. Kaibab spokeswoman Jackie Banks said the scope of a review of environmental impacts will be determined later this month,...
read moreThe Zagori region in north west Greece is little known among visitors heading to Athens and the islands. But amid its mountains, canyons and ancient villages are superb hiking trails, delicious local fare and top places to stay. Forested mountains stretch into the distance – the craggy peaks still topped with snow – and the clear waters of the Voidomatis River whoosh by below. In a country so blessed with ancient ruins, islands and beaches, people tend to forget about Greece’s mountains as a holiday option. Unspoilt Vikos-Aoös National Park...
read moreWith more than 4,000 miles of hiking trails, it’s not too hard to get away from it all in New Hampshire. But if you want to get even further away, you could head out on the Cohos Trail, one of the wildest, most remote trails in New England. The Cohos Trail is a 165 miles long approximately. It utilizes new trail, moose paths, existing trails, old ways, old rail beds and it gets you where you have to go. The trail begins on the Davis Path in Crawford Notch and ends in Pittsburg at the Canadian border customs stop. Bring your passport and...
read moreNearly 5 million people visit Grand Canyon National Park each year, but many do not get far below its limestone rim. Even fewer head to the bottom. Why? The simple answer is: It’s hard. The hike down to the banks of the chalky green Colorado River, and especially back up, is challenging, even grueling. Even if you’ve trained on stair climbers and hills with a 30-pound backpack, hiking the Grand Canyon will test your endurance and your ability to remain hydrated. But the sweat and sore muscles are worth the experience as you gaze at the...
read moreBackpacker Magazine is throwing a 2,180-mile party from Georgia to Maine! Join in on June 20, 2015 for a record-setting attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail in 24 hours. Bring on the thru-hikers, the section hikers, the weekend warriors. Bring on the dayhikers with sneakers on their feet and baby carriers on their backs. Bring on the AT lifers and those who have never hiked it (but always wondered). Bring on the ridge runners, the trail maintainers, the hiking clubs, the soloists. Bring on anyone who needs another reason to get out on the...
read moreThe Cradle of Forestry in America will celebrate National Get Outdoors Day, June 13, 2015, with outdoor skills demonstrations, activities and crafts. Admission to the site and all activities are free. The USDA Forest Service is a National Get Outdoors Day partner. The campaign encourages Americans, especially youth, to seek out healthy, active outdoor lifestyles, connect with nature, and embrace their public lands. The Forest Service has an ongoing commitment to engage children with nature through various programs in support of President...
read moreThree of America’s most iconic National Parks are getting a helping hand on their waste management practices from Subaru’s zero-landfill experts. It’s unfortunate that some of our most beautiful places, our public lands, are also a place for one of our ugliest habits, wastefulness, to rear its head, but that may be changing, thanks to a partnership between Subaru, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and the National Park Service (NPS). According to the NPS, more than 100 million pounds of waste were generated...
read moreIf you’ve been coming to this site for awhile and paying attention to the sidebar, I’ve been running a poll for the past several months. The poll had to do with carrying a gun when you hike. The specific question was: I was surprised to learn how many people apparently carry a gun when they hike. How about you? Do you carry when hiking? Well, the poll reached a thousand respondents this week, so I thought that would be a good time to close the poll and share the finished results with you. Final Results Yes — 285 —...
read moreIt is technically and economically feasible to run the US economy entirely on renewable energy, and to do so by 2050. That is the conclusion of a new study in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, authored by Stanford scholar Mark Z. Jacobson and nine colleagues. Jacobson is well-known for his ambitious and controversial work on renewable energy. In 2001 he published, with Mark A. Delucchi, a two-part paper on “providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar power.” In 2013 he published a feasibility study on...
read moreHaven’t explored Georgia outside of the metro Atlanta area? There’s a whole lot more to Georgia than you’d think. Georgia’s landscapes are beautiful and staggering in variety, from southern sandy Atlantic coast to lush, green, rolling Appalachian Mountains in the north. Moss and fern-filled forests, breezy mountaintops with stunning views, barrier islands where wild horses roam free, deep-cut canyons filled with waterfalls: Georgia’s beauty leaves a lot to explore. Hike these top Georgia hikes to the state’s most beautiful views: deep,...
read moreHere’s something rare in climate reporting: a bit of good news. Or, more accurately, not disastrous news. China has long exerted an outsize role in global climate change, not simply because it’s by far the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gas, due largely to its enormous population, its rapid growth, and its reliance on dirty coal — but also because of China’s influence over global politics as a hold-out in international climate deals. Now the reigning heavyweight contributor to global warming might be slimming down a bit. China’s...
read moreWell known Smoky Mountains author and off-trail hiker Jenny Bennett is missing. She was scheduled to move to Vermont on June 1, 2015, but has not been seen. She evidently went for one last hike in the Smokies on Saturday, May 30 or Sunday, May 31 and did not return. The movers arrived at her house on Monday, June 1 and she was not there. She has not been seen or heard from since. All readers of Jenny’s blog in the NC / TN area please let everyone she knew know about this. It is imperative that we try to locate her as soon as possible. If you...
read moreSeveral trails have been closed today, June 7, 2015, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park after a bear attack. The trails are closed in the Hazel Creek section of the park. Park officials say last night at about 10:30 p.m. a 16-year-old male from Ohio was pulled from his hammock by a bear. The incident happened at campsite 84 approximately four and a half miles from the Fontana Lake shoreline. According to officials, the victim’s father was able to drive the bear away from the campsite. The victim and his father hiked to the...
read moreA gnarled old oak tree sits atop Bly Gap at 3,800 feet on the Appalachian Trail, famously marking the boundary between Georgia and North Carolina. The Tar Heel State, the second on the northbound thru-hiker’s agenda, wastes no time with fancy introductions, putting a couple of brutally steep 4,000-footers directly ahead: Courthouse Bald and the aptly named Sharp Top. North of the Georgia line to the Smokies, the trail follows a meandering route through the 531,000-acre Nantahala National Forest. Nantahala is Cherokee for “Land of the Noonday...
read moreMore people are visiting Arches National Park every year, and the park superintendent is proposing a reservation system during the busy season to ensure they don’t have to turn people away. But the idea is fiercely opposed by the business community in nearby Moab, Utah, who rely on tourists and fear the system would be confusing and lead to fewer impromptu visits. The issue flared up again Memorial Day weekend when the state highway patrol closed the park entrance because of overcrowding and dangerous traffic conditions. Visits to...
read moreThe UK has lost almost all its native wildlife, especially its forests and big animals. Rewilding would bring back everything from beavers to bears. Britain once looked very different. In place of sheep-strewn fields and treeless uplands, there were vast natural forests, glades and wild spaces. Within them, wolves, bears and lynx roamed the land. The first Britons lived alongside woolly mammoths, great auks and wild cows called aurochs. All that is now gone. Humans chopped down the trees to make space for farms, and hunted the large animals...
read moreChinese miners last year dug up 3.87bn tons of coal, more than enough to keep all four of the next largest users – the United States, India, the European Union and Russia – supplied for a year. The country is grappling with the direct costs of that coal, in miners’ lives, crippling air pollution, expanding deserts and “environmental refugees”. Desire for change contends with fears that cutting back on familiar technology could dent employment or slow growth, and efforts to cut consumption do not always mean a clampdown on mining. This...
read moreThe Environmental Protection Agency released a draft assessment of its long-awaited study on the impact of hydraulic fracturing — also known as fracking — on drinking water resources in the United States. The report found that although fracking has, to date, been carried out in a way that has not led to widespread and systematic impacts on the country’s drinking water, the process creates several key vulnerabilities that could potentially undermine the health of drinking water in the United States. “From our assessment, we conclude there are...
read moreJocelyn Hebert needs no encouragement from Hollywood to hit the hiking trail all by herself. For years, she’s ventured deep into the woods with only her backpack for company. Animals, accidents and creepy strangers aren’t worries for her, although occasionally the whisper of the wind gives her the shivers. “Seriously, the wind can be eerie,” Hebert says. Not every woman wants or needs to trudge hundreds of miles solo to find her mojo. But with summer’s arrival — and with or without inspiration from Wild — women...
read moreVandalism on federal lands isn’t limited to hoodlums and miscreants these days, it’s becoming commonplace, according to information provided by the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest of northeast Oregon. Recently, an outraged visitor on the Deschutes National Forest watched as a family of three etched their names into a railing at Tumalo Falls. A photo of the trio in action – in which the daughter flashed a peace sign – went viral on the internet. Vandalism on large and small scales is a constant problem on the Wallowa-Whitman...
read moreKatherine Gividen greets most people wearing hiking clothes and a big smile. Her passion is hiking, which she promotes as an instructor of the LSU leisure backpacking class, president of the Louisiana Hiking Club and through her job as an outdoor specialist at a local retail store. But it wasn’t hiking trails that brought her to Louisiana. It was food. Following her career as a trained chef, she came to Louisiana after John Folse hired her in 1995 to serve as his head pastry chef. “Someone said I should write a hiking cookbook, so I did,” she...
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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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