Blue Ridge Outdoors - The best, free, outdoor magazine of the southeast! Travel, Hiking, Biking, Camping, Skiing, Environment and more...

November 2005

Featured Stories: Outdoor Person of the Year: David Horton

David Horton�s summer vacation was definitely not as relaxing as that of most 55-year-old professors. But then again, Horton, known internationally as the �Godfather of Ultrarunning� has never been one to sit still.

Featured Stories: All-Star Mountain Biker Trish Stevenson

In 2006 Trish Stevenson solidified her claim to the title of mountain biking badass by becoming the first woman ever to finish the Great Divide Race�a 2,465-mile, self-supported mountain bike race along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Beginning at the Canadian border and finishing in Mexico, Stevenson completed the journey in 22 days.

Featured Stories: All-Star Runner: Christopher Calfee

Ultra-egos Dean Karnazes and Pam Reed have hogged the national spotlight with their 300+ mile record runs, but Richmond, Va.�s, Christopher Calfee quietly surpassed them both this September with a 318.25-mile run, the longest run without sleeping ever recorded.

Featured Stories: All-Star Paddler Tommy Hilleke

For the past four years, Asheville�s Tommy Hilleke has won the Green Downriver Race�the nastiest, craziest, and most respected downriver whitewater race in the region.

Featured Stories: All-Star Adventurer Sean Burch

Sean Burch has always lived and trained in the flatlands of Northern Virginia, but that hasn�t stopped him from becoming one of best high-altitude mountaineers in the world.

Featured Stories: �05 READERS� CHOICE AWARDS

It is a sad but irrefutable fact that Americans are easy to please. Give us a shiny object and a beat we can dance to and you�ll have us eating out of the palm of your hand�a fact that�s been the source of innumerable jokes from the rest of the civilized world. And deservedly so. After all, we are the same population that made Jewel the most successful American poet in recent history.

Switchback: Do you support day-use fees on public lands?

Reader Forum

News of the Wood: Greens and Guns? Tree-Huggers and Hunters Forge New Alliances

These are tough days for environmentalists. Key legislation like the Clean Air Act is under attack from the current administration, funding is being cut for land acquisition programs, coal companies are enjoying a free for all in the Appalachians, and logging companies are getting paid to cut trees on public land. It�s no wonder environmentalists have started carrying guns.

News of the Wood: The Cold War: Strategies for Staying Healthy This Winter

It�s coming. The annual battle that your immune system fears is right around the corner. According to Web M.D., 62 million Americans get a cold each year, and everyone knows dreaded symptoms like a headache, fever, congestion, or scratchy throat can certainly put a damper on your mountain high. So what�s the best way to take up arms against the germs that will put you under the weather? Here�s a breakdown of the some of the best preventative measures to keep you healthy through the winter months.