Crowds, Packed Trails Make Hiking at Your Favorite Destination a Serious Risk Right Now. Last weekend like millions of other Americans, Brian, Sylvia and Fitz Roy got tired of sitting around the house and decided to head out on an adventure. This should be the fun and happy tale of that story. Instead, it is a cautionary tale of why […]
Hiking In the Time of Danger
How — and whether– To Pursue Adventure in the Midst of Pandemic Last week Sylvia and Brian were hiking out in the mountains of North Carolina Mountains, celebrating Brian’s birthday. We returned home to a different world than the one we left. True, the writing had been on the wall, if one had been willing to see it. Already, the […]
Abrams Falls: One Of The Most Dangerous Trails in America?
They’ve done it again. Backpacker Magazine pout together a list of the Ten Most Dangerous Trails in America…and the Abrams Falls Trail made the list. The last time Backpacker Magazine did this was in 2008 we believe. Abrams Falls, for those who don’t know, is perhaps the most famous (or infamous) falls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s also quite likely […]
A Grim Climbing Season Draws to a Close
Death Toll for the 2019 Himalayan Climbing Season Could Be Near Thirty Himalayan Hiking Season is finally, and perhaps mercifully, over. At least eleven people died attempting to summit Mount Everest this year. Tragically, several of those who died had in fact summited and were on the way down when they collapsed and died. The deaths attracted considerable media attention […]
The Most (Potentially) Dangerous National Parks
What are the Most Dangerous National Parks for Hikers? Last time we talked about safety in the National Parks and speculated if accidents in the parks are on the rise. We were unable to find any evidence this is so. But the parks remain wild and potentially dangerous places. The wildest of them are not places to tread into lightly. […]