Hikers, skiers, climbers and anyone else who gets rescued in New Hampshire’s backcountry could be in for hundreds of dollars in fees under new legislation. The amount of the fee could be on a sliding scale based on the cost of the rescue, up to at least $1,000 per incident. The bipartisan law is being [ more... ]

Sorry, buddy, you’re a friend, but you’re also the poster boy for not leaving a note. Well, now you don’t have to. A new web-based alert system called iNeverSolo offers hikers, climbers, and other expeditioners the same safety net. You log your starting point, destination, and travel time into the site, along with the email [ more... ]

In a tragic case of being in the worst place at the worst time, three men on an afternoon hike on Phoenix’s popular Camelback Mountain were attacked by a swarm of bees — sending one of them off a 150-foot cliff to his death. Rescuers in protective suits airlifted the other two hikers off the [ more... ]

The National Park Service said yes to the construction of 200-foot towers and power lines across the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the Middle Delaware National Scenic River, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The project was lauded by groups who say the Northeast grid is in serious need [ more... ]

In mid-August 1937 the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail was completed in Maine. At the time it was the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, and members of the Civilian Conservation Corps completed the final two miles. It took hundreds of volunteers 15 years to build the trail that stretches from Georgia to Maine — and it [ more... ]

When is a tool that can save your life dangerous to others? When that tool lets you bail out of a scary but not necessarily life-threatening situation. That’s the argument made by longtime climber and outdoor writer David Roberts. He argues that the proliferation of personal locator beacons, or PLBs, has allowed people in the wild [ more... ]

Looking to supplement your gear selection in a big way fast? Go to a nearby soccer field, park your ’69 Bronco (or other acceptable classic convertible automobile) on the grass, and wait. Or opt for the more reliable experience by checking out Backcountry.com’s Semi-Annual Sale. This is an entertaining little ditty that pulls from the daydreams of outdoor gear lovers everywhere. And rumor has it, it only took them 172 (and a half) hours to make.

What’s the difference between a run around the block and a sprint on a forested singletrack? Turns out, a lot. Sure, you may not be able to measure a difference in fitness benefits or endorphins produced, but a new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that volunteers who suffer from depression had [ more... ]

The Adirondack Park in New York was slammed by 2011′s Hurricane Irene and ten months later trail crews are still at work repairing the damage. Record rainfall caused more than 40 slides that overran trails in the Adirondack’s High Peaks region, and one of the coolest hikes in the state (45,000 hikers hit it annually), [ more... ]

A new study from BYU analyzed reports of 341 bear conflicts in Alaska involving brown, black, and polar bears and found that only two percent of incidents involving the use of pepper spray resulted in people being injured, while 30 percent of people trying to hold off a bear with a gun got hurt, sometimes [ more... ]