August 2009
Three women trek 260 miles across the 40 highest summits in Southern Appalachia in a record-setting seven days.
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Read More >Just 15 miles upstream from the nation’s capital, the Potomac River gets all kinds of wild and crazy. At Great Falls, the river gathers speed and plunges over a series of 20-foot drops, resulting in one of the most spectacular waterfall settings in the country. It’s surrounded by an 800-acre mini National Park—with trails to…
Read More >The Buzz The Corduroy Road is the latest band lobbying to add its name to Athens, Georgia’s musical legacy. Begun as a duo by Drew Carman and Dylan Solise in 2006, the group expanded to a quartet in early 2009 and now includes John Cable on drums and Elijah Neesmith on upright bass. An aggressive…
Read More >If you like ambience as much as the sounds coming off the strings, check out these five essential music rooms in the South. The Purple Fiddle Thomas is a tiny town on the Blackwater River near West Virginia’s Monongahela recreation mecca, filled with epic mountain biking trails and enough backcountry to get lost for days.…
Read More >Pillow Rock Rapid on West Virginia’s Gauley River is a roiling torrent of class V whitewater. When a raft guide maneuvers a 16-foot commercial boat loaded with adventure seekers through the rapid, the raft bobs and rolls, plummets into troughs and pops over the crests of enormous waves, and emerges from the last hole like…
Read More >It’s 80 degrees in mid-August, and I am skiing down the side of a mountain in Virginia. It’s an astonishing feat made possible by the wonders of plastic and engineering. I’m skiing on Snowflex, a manmade composite that feels and responds like snow, allowing you to ski 365 days of the year, regardless of conditions.…
Read More >NEW RIVER RENDEZVOUS Fayetteville, W.Va., May 14-16 This annual climbers’ fest raises funds for the New River Alliance, the group that protects climbing access in the New River Gorge. In ‘09, the fest raised money to re-vegetate two popular crags: The Bridge and Junkyard. Climbing comps, clinics, guided climbs…oh, and tug of war, sumo wrestling,…
Read More >The Appalachian Mountains are one of the Earth’s oldest mountain chains—they once soared to heights of nearly 30,000 feet, and today they are home to some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. At the same time, the Appalachians—and the people who live therein—are threatened by misunderstanding, untruths, and industrial ravaging. This fractured relationship…
Read More >The Sweetest Southern Swimming Holes
Read More >The Super Cat Alcohol Stove For just a few bucks, you can have a super light-weight stove that boils water in under four minutes. While most homemade gear requires special materials and skills, the alcohol stove offers an entry-level option for backpackers looking to craft their own gear. BRO talks with Jim Wood, a Virginia…
Read More >The majestic chestnut tree was once the undisputed king of the Appalachian forest. For centuries, its wood was used to build barns and split-rail fences. Its nuts were used as natural fodder to fatten livestock, and roasted over open fires to evoke holiday cheer. Then in 1904, scientists found the first signs of chestnut blight,…
Read More >If you’re reading this, you’re in coyote country. Coyotes have spread across the entire Southeast in just a few decades. As their population continues to increase, so do reports of conflicts with humans. A coyote resembles a slender dog, usually weighing between 25 and 40 pounds. The omnivorous canids aren’t picky about what they eat.…
Read More >You’ve got to hand it to rock climbers. When they see a stretch of cliffs that needs to be scaled, they secure access by any means necessary. But the days of rogue trespassing missions are now frowned upon. Instead, slabs of stone that are ripe for new routes are opened through civil negotiations with private…
Read More >The recent opening of the Boulders Area of Crowders State Park has many climbers wondering what other state parks might provide more access to climbers in North Carolina. The Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC) has approached park management about climbing at Grandfather Mountain and is currently drafting a comprehensive proposal about climbing opportunities at Grandfather to…
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