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Elite trail runner Clark Zealand steps behind the scenes to direct new race series
Meet Clark Zealand, the new face of Southern ultrarunning. In addition to being a professor at Liberty University, where he is developing a master’s program in outdoor recreation management, Zealand runs Eco-X, which produces the region’s biggest ultra series.
Born in Canada, Zealand [...]

Carolinas: 46%
I think bigger is better. North Carolina has the highest peak in the Eastern United States with Mt. Mitchell, and the accompanying Black Mountain range has 18 mountains above 6,300 feet. The views from these great summits are spectacular and cannot be topped (literally) in the Southeast. North Carolina is a special place that’s [...]

Click here to view the print version of Blue Ridge Outdoors Then and Now

2003 (December)
BRO publishes “Line in the Sand,” a feature about controversial issues on Cumberland Island National Seashore. The feature helped stop illegal development and led to significant changes in the seashore’s management.

2004 (April)
BRO publishes its first (and last) April Fool’s issue, with [...]

Orchestrated Appalachia’s biggest conservation effort in years for family heritage
Any mountain lover can appreciate the value of the pristine Rocky Fork Tract—10,000 unspoiled Appalachian acres wedged between the Cherokee and Pisgah National Forests of Tennessee and North Carolina. But for David Ramsey roots run deeper in Rock Fork. A little over a year ago the [...]

Appalachian Trail icon Warren Doyle attempts his 16th thru hike in 2010.  Speed record holder Jennifer Davis reflects on Doyle’s influence and inspiration.
December 2004
Lees McRae College. Banner Elk, North Carolina
I didn’t know who Warren Doyle was when I signed up for his four-day Appalachian Trail Institute. All I knew was that I wanted to thru-hike [...]

While other Virginia Appalachian Trail hikers are flocking to Grayson Highlands or Shenandoah loops, you can find just as much scenic eye candy and a lot more solitude exploring the James River Face Wilderness. As the Commonwealth’s officially designated wilderness, the 9,000-acre area sits where the mighty James cuts through the Blue Ridge Mountains, creating [...]

Is technology interfering with the wilderness experience?
Even if you’re not a gadget geek, it’s nearly impossible not to be enamored with the growing number of electronic toys that keep popping up on store shelves. There’s that giddy sense of satisfaction you felt the first time your Global Positioning System (GPS) shaved 12 minutes off the [...]

29% No
I must confess: I do not bury my poop most of the time. When nature calls in the middle of a bike ride, I quickly pull to the side of the trail, sneak off into the woods, do my business, and then cover it with leaves. I figure it breaks down faster being exposed [...]

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy granted $30,000 for land purchase

It’s known as the most photographed spot on the Appalachian Trail. Once you see McAfee Knob you’ll know why, as this unique rock outcropping near Roanoke, Va., offers astounding views of the Catawba Valley, North Mountain, Tinker Ridge, and on clear days, even the Roanoke Valley. The easiest access is a 3.5-mile A.T. jaunt that [...]

Jennifer Pharr Davis holds the women’s Appalachian Trail thru-hike speed record and owns Blue Ridge Hiking Company, where she trains potential thru hikers for their 2,000-mile journey.
I don’t have easy access to a trail system. What exercises can I do to train for my upcoming long distance hike?
Training before hitting the trail is one [...]

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s S.W.E.A.T. Crew is a volunteer trail team that hikes into the most remote section of the A.T. in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to do necessary trail work for a week at a time. The crew hikes for 10 miles to the worksite with a week of food, tools, and [...]

46% No
Call me a traitor, but as I am getting ready for ski season, all I am thinking about is huge vertical, knee-deep powder, and runs that last for miles. This winter, my lift tickets will be purchased in Utah. It’s just too good.
—Jenny Swenson, Charlotte, N.C.
It’s simply a matter of scale: the [...]

Mountain bikers explore the uncharted Rocky Fork—the newest and largest land acquisition in the Southeast in decades.
You can tell it’s bear scat because it looks like someone dumped a bucket of blueberries on the trail,” Ben Appleby says, leaning over his handlebars to get a peak at the black pile in the middle of [...]

Matt Kirk’s Speed Record By the Numbers:
Benton MacKaye Trail Miles: 288
Total Elevation Gained: 60,500 feet.
Highest Summit – Mount Sterling: 5,843 feet
Longest Day: 71 miles
Shortest Day: 40 miles
Total Time: 5 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes
Pack weight: 10 pounds
Supply mail drops: 2
Bushwhacking through briar patches, evading packs of wild boars, enduring late spring rain showers, [...]