You are browsing the archives of 2009 March.

Invented in 1936, and applied toward the heating of water and food for millions of campers and backpackers since, the Esbit solid fuel tablet is a compact and quick alternative heat source to white gas and cartridge-based camp stoves. The tablets — based on a chemical compound called hexamethylenetetramine — ignite at the touch of [...]

I was hiking in the Raven Cliffs Wilderness a couple years back with my girlfriend Deana and two friends. There was a sweet smell in the air characteristic of the north Georgia mountains in late summer after a rain shower—some perfect combination of the damp earth, old wildness, and the fragrance of native flora like [...]

  What, you mean you can’t quit your job and spend six months hiking the Appalachian Trail from end to end? You’re not alone. Most people can’t upend their lives for a really, really long backpacking trip. Instead, they attack the A.T. in sections, knocking off precious miles year after year until they become official [...]

NC runner competes in famous Sahara multi-day run

He’s 65, wears hearing aids, hails from Boston originally, did his time in the military, and now devotes his life to taking care of the Appalachian Trail and the people who hike it. Bob Peoples, owner of Kincora Hikers’ Hostel in Hampton, Tennessee, is one person that every thru-hiker should shake hands with. What’s it [...]

Only half of those who start the 2,175-mile A.T. trek make it to Harper’s Ferry, W.Va., and only half of those reach Katahdin. Most never even make it out of Georgia. Randy Motz and his wife, Georgia Harris, spent five years preparing themselves physically, mentally, and financially for their 2006 thru-hike. They trained, tested gear, [...]

Care Bear and Growler’s Excellent AdventureIn 2008, two recent college grads who had never been backpacking attempted to thru-hike the A.T. Brandon “Care Bear” Winters and Drew “Growler” Alexander spent 97 days in the wilderness, made it all the way from Georgia to Vermont, and hiked more than 1,600 miles before an injury and hiking [...]

Winton Porter owns Mountain Crossings, an outfitter and hostel strategically placed 31 miles from the southern terminus at the Walasi-Yi Center in North Georgia. By the time thru-hikers reach Porter’s doorstep, most of them realize they have no idea what they’re doing and turn to Porter for help. Porter and his staff sort through and [...]

Some think they’re idiotic, others say they’re mandatory.

It is the most honored and storied footpath in the world. It stretches 2,175 miles from Georgia to Maine, and some people hike it from end to end. Shelters along the trail allow you to sleep and commune with mice. But that’s about all that most people know about the Appalachian Trail. BRO’s Massive and [...]

Grayson Highlands State Park is an easy portal to the vast 120,000-acre Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in Southwest Virginia. In fact, Grayson Highlands was originally called Mount Rogers State Park when it opened in 1965.  The Highlands  are an expansive windswept grassland with fields of rocky outcroppings, which offer spectacular views of the region’s [...]

Grow up and realize that everything is not always fun. Some days, your hands get cold breaking ice to repair the hydroelectric system, or your hands get blistered from hoeing the garden weeds. It’s not a push-button, instant-success world, despite how many Americans currently live. We’re addicted to feel-good fun stuff, but that’s not reality. [...]

He lives off the land, starts fires by rubbing sticks together, and dresses in the skins of animals he has eaten. He thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail wearing a loincloth for most of the trek, and survived almost exclusively by what he hunted and gathered. He rode across the country on horseback in 103 days, setting [...]

Obama signs monumental land protection bill

The Southeast is the most biologically diverse region in the United States. What does that mean? In layman’s terms, our forests are full of really, really cool animals—squirrels that fly, elk that spar, bears that growl, alligators that smile, and even fireflies that can keep time. Use this guide to find out where the wild [...]