North Carolina’s North Shore Road, a controversial 26-mile road through the most remote part of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, was finally killed a couple of years ago.
via American Thinker: A Trail of Broken Promises to Nowhere.
Rinsten, of Germany, is one of a group of people who walk the 420-mile route of the Arctic Ultra Run every other year. The walk follows the Quest trail from Whitehorse to Dawson City…
via Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – German takes a different approach to Yukon Quest trail — walking it.
Not many hiking trails have their own weekly radio show…
The trail runs on ridges and through gorges on the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau, a wild, rugged and sparsely populated region that is higher than the surrounding countryside.
“We flew out east and decided to walk home,” Ken Powers said of the trip, for which they became the first known people to hike the American Discovery Trail in a continuous outing. The couple have completed more than 10 hiking expeditions since their retirement, including conquering the Pacific Crest, Continental Divide and American Discovery trails.
Accra, Jan. 31, GNA - Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Prempeh College Old Students Association’s Monthly Health Walk, Mr Kwabena Nyarko has called on students to maintain a high level of discipline in all spheres to ensure their success in life.
… maintaining a normal body weight is difficult in today’s society. Over the past 50 years, our society has increased its reliance on high-calorie fast foods. Also, food serving sizes have increased dramatically. As caloric intake has increased, the average person is walking less and getting less exercise as part of his or her normal daily routine. In the U.S., such things as suburban living without sidewalks and the phenomenon of the couch potato have created a “built environment” that is conducive to obesity…
Most organizations that have issued recommendations for maintenance of good health suggest that everyone consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. All people should consume more whole grains and less processed food. It is also suggested that healthy adults do moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 30 minutes, at least five times per week. Children should engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes, five times per week. Moderate exercise can be simply walking at a brisk pace.
via Can early diabetes be controlled or completely stopped? – CNN.com.
The Black Hills offer hundreds of possibilities for trail running competitively or just for fun. If you live in the area then you are within minutes of some of the best running trails in the country. If you are visiting, then a person could spend two weeks and not even scratch the surface. On top of that, a trail runner or hiker can see the true beauty of the Black Hills the way it was a hundred years ago…
The Black Elk Wilderness bordering the Mt Rushmore National Park has a network of trails for the both the five mile run and the ten to twenty mile run. Also accessible from these trails is Harney Peak, the highest point between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky mountains at seven thousand feet. This run will take you to places that few people will ever see. Tranquil meadows stunning vistas and granite outcroppings are just a few of the natural wonders people will experience.
via Running Western South Dakota – Black Hills South Dakota News & Video Headline on Black Hills Today.
Some people walk for exercise; a few even walk marathons. But Yolanda Holder is counting on being the only person in the world to walk 100 marathons this year.
The 51-year-old Corona resident walked 77 marathons last year. Actually, 18 were ultramarathons, longer than 26.2 miles. She walked 65 marathons in 2008. Her personal best: 5 hours, 26 minutes — faster than a 13-minute mile.
One of the easiest, least expensive, most favorable forms of exercise is walking. Take it up a notch to fitness walking and you exponentially gain in physical and psychological ways. Fitness walk with your partner and you’re on your way to all-around bliss. We all know the benefits: strong heart, toned muscles, increased sexual appetite, improved self-esteem, better sleep, increased sexual appetite … oh. We said that.
Fitness walking is not to be confused with power or race walking. The term “power walking” implies exaggerated strides and arm movements that can cause injuries; race walking is that hip-swiveling Olympic event. Fitness walking is purposeful, done at an energetic pace that engages upper-body muscles so that it becomes an aerobic exercise, burning more calories than just a stroll through the park.
via Fitness walking with your honey – Latino Perspectives Magazine – February 2010 – Phoenix, Arizona.
The Carnegie Research Institute at the Leeds Metropolitan University in Great Britain is carrying out unique biomechanical research into Race Walking.
The study includes analysis of high-speed video, force plate data, and internal activity of the leg muscles. Crucial variables in walking are measured, to help athletes understand their strengths and weaknesses when competing.
When Richard Smith decided to retire from his job at a software company in 2005, his wife told him she didnt want him hanging around the house. “Basically, she told me to go take a hike,” Smith said. “So I did just that.” In the years that followed, the 64-year-old Seminole man completed three of the lengthy National Scenic Trails in the United States — the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail — a distance of nearly 8,000 miles and often referred to as the “Triple Crown” of long-distance hiking. “I had never been on a trail before in my life,” he confessed.
Over the course of the study, the hour-long exercisers reported improvements in their feelings toward their bodies that were four times greater than the improvements experienced by the half-hour group. Those results support the study’s proposal that we need 60 minutes of exercise each day for better overall health.
via Each week has 168 hours – spend at least one exercising .
Workers at Harshaw had refined uranium for the production of atomic bombs during World War II — part of the then-mysterious Manhattan Project — leaving behind a microscopic-but-lethal legacy of their wartime work.
How long Cleveland’s radioactive past will obstruct the hiking and bicycling path of its future might depend on whether Donovan and others can sway the federal agency to accelerate its work — or if he can find another way around the site.
“If you look at the Towpath Trail as a whole, we’ve got 88 of 101 miles complete and open to the public,” Donovan said. “But apparently it will still be a long, long march to the sea.
Back in 1854, at 15 Marino Crescent in Clontarf, a seven-year-old named Abraham Stoker, bed-ridden since birth with an undiagnosed disease, suddenly and inexplicably regained his strength. The family doctor recommended he develop this by walking, slowly and steadily, along the Clontarf seafront – and soon Stoker began covering long distances, without pausing for breath. Initially it was tough medicine, but gradually he began to relish it.
By age 17, Stoker had grown into a 6ft 2in red-haired, red-bearded giant of a man, and won a stream of athletic honours in his first year at Trinity College Dublin. But walking remained his passion, and he was among Ireland’s first champion race walkers. He was never beaten, his sole failure to win coming via disqualification after he’d won the five-mile race at the Civil Service championships in London in 1868. Later, during a marathon stroll of the Aberdeenshire countryside, he stumbled upon Cruden Bay, the atmospheric fishing village where in 1895 he wrote a horror story entitled Dracula , published two years later under the name Bram Stoker.
via Stumbling upon walk racing on road to success – The Irish Times – Sat, Jan 23, 2010.
For ring-around-the-mountain tour that includes scenic views from the north and south sides of Mount Tamalpais, hike the loop created by the Benstein Trail, Rock Spring-Lagunitas Road, Upper North Side Trail, International Trail, Miller Trail, Old Railroad Grade and Rock Spring Trail. This moderately strenuous five-mile loop features a variety of landscapes and panoramic views.
via Hike of the week: Ring-around-the-mountain hike on Mount Tamalpais – Marin Independent Journal.
Roseanne Robinson (Ariki) will make her international debut against Australia next month.
Roseanne (19), a physical education student at the University of Otago, will represent New Zealand for the first time in the Trans Tasman walking test against Australia at Hobart next month.
She follows in the footsteps of her father, Geoff Robinson, who represented New Zealand in ultra-distance running from 1992 to 1997 and at the World Masters duathlon in 2006.via Athletics: Race walker set for international debut | Otago Daily Times Online News.
Water rushed by while Justin Hansen and Ray Coles Jr. clung to tree branches and treaded water, just hoping to survive.
Rescuers were dispatched at 10:50 a.m. Thursday morning to find the two Crestview men surrounded by eight feet of water off the Florida National Scenic Trail in Walton County.
Hansen and Coles started out Wednesday evening for a five-day, 45-mile hike they had been planning for more than a month. After trekking through stormy weather, they decided to wait out the storm overnight near Alaqua Creek and start back the next morning.
You should have at least a light snack before morning exercise as your body has been fasting all night. Even if you are a person who normally skips breakfast, give your body some fruit juice or sports drink to get at least a few calories to work with.
Wendy Bumgardner via Eating Before a Morning Walk – What and When Should I Eat Before a Morning Walk.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Ernie Ward, veterinarian and founder of The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), about the growing number of overweight pets in our country.
According to a 2008 APOP study, more than 50 percent of the 75 million dogs and 88 million cats in the United States are overweight or obese.
via Tails Of The City : Top fitness and weight-loss products for pets.
Adventure trekker Andrew Skurka captivated listeners Sunday during his presentation, “Far, Fast and Light,” to the Grand Traverse Hiking Club. The spellbound audience at the Boardman River Nature Center enjoyed Skurka’s accounts of his life for the past eight years, which has included hiking 23,000 miles — mostly solo and mostly through remote North American wilderness.
via Traverse City Record-Eagle – Article: Adventurer speaks to hiking club.
A five-time Olympic athlete paid a visit to the students of St. Vladimir Elementary as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver approaches.
Tim Berrett’s first Olympic competition for race walking was during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and he has competed in every Summer Olympics since.
via Metro – Athlete gives kids inside view of what it takes to be an Olympian.
Marston Hills Canyon is a little-known finger of Balboa Park that offers a lovely trail through towering eucalyptus, olive and pepper trees.
…she started following an eating plan and walking program designed especially for this year’s seventh annual USA TODAY Weight-Loss Challenge, which starts today. And since late September, Buckley, who is 5-foot-4, has lost 28 pounds, dropping from 226 to 198. She hopes to lose 50 more on the program.
via Weight-Loss Challenge: Lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks – USATODAY.com.
Inside this small-as-an-egg device are the keys to exercise success that have eluded far more complex and expensive fitness programs: accountability, goal-setting and being able to monitor progress. If the objective is to reach 10,000 steps in a day (the recommended amount), seeing a tally of 4,000 steps at 3 p.m. is a wake-up call to start walking.
via Pedometers can motivate users to get in step – Los Angeles Times.
As currently proposed, Corridor K is slated to cross the A.T. at Stecoah Gap via a four-lane roadway drilled beneath the mountain in a 2,870-foot long, 570-foot deep tunnel. A secondary alternative places a slightly shorter and shallower tunnel through the gap. While not directly removing any part of the footpath itself, construction of the roadway would remove a wide swath of pristine forest that is currently visible from overlooks further up the trail…
Building an illegal trail and clearing trees in the Gallatin National Forest will cost a Livingston man five months in federal prison, a fine and $25,000 restitution.
What we need to stamp out: Overstriding.
Overstriding is taking longer steps in front of your body in an attempt to increase speed. This is potentially harmful and is inefficient.
Wendy Bumgardner via Fast Walking Leg Motion – How to Walk Faster.
Walking faster begins by walking with the right technique at any speed, a technique that has your body aligned, legs and arms working together to transmit energy and power to your stride, and no wasted motion.
Wendy Bumgardner via Fast Walking Technique – How to Walk Faster.
British scientists today urged people to get more exercise as research revealed the tradition of going for family walks is dying out.
The international study found that more than two thirds of people across the world never go for walks with their family.
via Scientists urge people to take more exercise as it emerges family walks are dying out | Mail Online.
Tennessee officials announced today they have closed a land acquisition that will add more than 3,200 acres and 10 linear miles of trail to the Cumberland Trail State Park, the states newest park.
Many of the hikes in the lower Olympics follow Olympic National Forest Roads closed by snow or wildlife gates. With some, you’ll find yourself packing snowshoes on your back to reach the white stuff. Remember: that’s what hiking is all about.
The best way to check snow conditions in the lower mountains is to take a drive out to Scenic Beach or the Big Beef Bridge, or Kitsap Memorial State Park — or just about anywhere you can look west across Hood Canal. When the Olympic National Forest Roads gouged on the sides of clearcuts turn white, it’s time to blow the dust off the snowshoes.
via Snowshoe Hikers Looking for Some White Stuff» Kitsap Sun.
(Okeechobee County) – A 53 year old hiker from Massachusetts is found dead north west of Okeechobee… Detectives want to know if the hiker was prepared for the near freezing temperatures…
via What killed a Florida Trail Hiker? | trail, county, florida – Top Story – CBS Channel 12 News.
Brown-Gray says losing 10 pounds in 10 weeks was easier than she expected. “You have to get your head into it. If you don’t write down your food intake and exercise, I don’t think you’ll lose. That’s partially why it never worked for me before. I thought I could keep track in my head, but I didn’t.”
via Artist is surprised at weight-loss success – USATODAY.com.
Jim Troche pounded out 12.5 miles at a quick pace one Sunday morning in preparation for a race that will test his endurance and mental strength.
The Chandler resident has been logging 45-mile weeks to gear up for the USA 50 km Race Walk Championships that will take place in Surprise on Feb. 7. Race walkers will lap 31 miles on a 2,000-meter loop around the Surprise Recreation Campus.
The 24 finalists in the 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography contest range from rolling hills and prairie with buffalo, to forests, fossils and space debris. The diverse list also highlights the state’s historic regions and landmarks.
* Alcove Spring
* Arikaree Breaks
* Bartlett Arboretum
* Big Basin Prairie Preserve
* Brenham meteorites
* Cimarron National Grassland
* Coronado Heights
* Elk River hiking trail
* Four-State Lookout
* Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States
* Gyp Hills Scenic Drive and Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway
* Kaw Point Park
* Konza Prairie
* Lake Scott State Park
* Maxwell Wildlife Refuge
* Mined Land Wildlife Area
* Mount Sunflower
* Mushroom Rock State Park
* Native Stone Scenic Byway
* Pillsbury Crossing
* Post Rock Scenic Byway
* Schermerhorn Park
* Sternberg Museum
via VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE WONDERS OF GEOGRAPHY | State | Wichita Eagle.
Frazee resident Ike Fischer established Frazee’s cross-country trails almost 20 years ago, while on the County Parks and Recreation Board.
- Romero Pools
- Ventana Canyon
- Finger Rock Spring
- Cactus Forest Trail
- Sendero Esperanzo Trail
…Mission Peak, the 2,517 foot-high centerpiece of a 2,999-acre East Bay Regional Parks preserve. To get there, I wedged myself among yawning commuters aboard the first BART train to Fremont from Daly City. Tangerine light rinsed over the Coast Range ridges ahead.
Enjoying nature is often reward enough from hiking. But the global game called geocaching adds a little high-tech treasure hunting to the activity.
via Geocaching adds a twist in the trail – SignOnSanDiego.com.
“Walk often. Incorporate weights. Take advantage of cardio intervals. Try yoga. Play.”
Whether you want to lose weight or prevent muscle loss, this is the simple answer to the supposedly hard questions we often ask ourselves about exercise…
Walk often: By incorporating walking into our everyday routine, the human body is kept prepared for more intense exercise. Think of walking as an appetizer for the main course. Walking incorporates rhythmic low-impact movements that provide continual blood flow to the joints and muscles, thereby keeping them healthy.
When I got to Piestewa Peak on Saturday and saw that it was crowded with tourists, I thought it was a good thing. Arizona can certainly use any boost to the economy it can get. But after I was done hiking, I was wishing they would all get out of town. Or at least off the mountain.
Don’t give up your weekly walk because the cold has chilled your plans. Substitute your regular walk outdoors with a well-programed treadmill trek indoors.
Walkers should look for running shoes with the least difference in height from the heel through the toe. The shoe outer sole can be deceptive, some may appear to have higher heels but the heel actually sits lower inside the shoe. Walkers will be striking with their heel and rolling through the step. They have no need for a higher heel.
Wendy Bumgardner via Heel Height for Running Shoes vs. Walking Shoes.
Running in running shoes puts more stress on your knees and hips than walking in high heels, according to a study published in the December 2009 issue of PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation. The study compared healthy runners on a treadmill either running barefoot or in standard neutral stability running shoes.
Wendy Bumgardner via Are Running Shoes as Bad for Your Knees as High Heels?.
Intended use: Muscle toning and promoting weight loss…What the experts say: Ugly and mostly useless.
Williamson: Shoes are not going to create weight loss in a person any more than anything else. Increasing the muscle mass and decreasing the calories you consume will. I am very skeptical. Show me a study in a peer-reviewed journal and I will be very happy to read it.
Orsoni: The original idea behind these shoes was to strengthen the back. They work. But they’re ugly and the other claims — you’re going to lose cellulite —you should take with a grain of salt. If you want thin calves, stay away from these shoes. If you must use them, wear them on a 30-minute walk in the morning and at night to align your body.
Hyght: This is a bust. A concern I have as a health care professional is that it would open up the possibility of repetitive use trauma. I could see you breaking these out and then two weeks later you have achilles tendonitis. People have been losing weight by walking long before they had these ugly shoes.
via Experts weigh in on five popular fitness products – San Jose Mercury News.
The public is welcome to attend the annual meeting of the North Country Trail Association’s (NCTA) Laurentian Lakes Chapter to be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9, at the Maplelag Resort.
via Winter Trail Days is Jan. 9 | DL-Online | Detroit Lakes, Minnesota .
Situated between Wilbur and Glide, the North Bank Habitat is a former cattle ranch whose 6,000 or so acres sprawl between the North Umpqua River and the divide separating the river from Sutherlin. A network of well maintained jeep roads crisscross the preserve and serve double duty as hiking trails. While the crest tops out at just a little more than 2,000 feet, the climbs from the river to the boundary ridge are fairly steep and the views are impressive enough to support the illusion of being on top of the world.
via Walking routes North Bank Habitat Management Area | The News-Review – NRtoday.com.
After hiking about seven miles on their first partial-day on the trail, they pitched their one-man tents on the eastern shore of Disappointment Lake. Two men fished the lake from the canoe. They turned out to be the only other humans Oakes and Colburn saw on their hike.
By the end of January, five prefabricated wooden pedestrian bridges that were installed in December will be accessible to the public.
The bridges help connect and expand sections of the Lower Rouge River Recreation Trail between Haggerty Road and an area just west of Sheldon Road.
Hike name: Howell Trail to North Crows Nest
Location: Western Hudson Highlands, south of Storm King
Length: Three miles round trip
Features: A brand-new trail/mountain, after all these years. The NYNJTC maps identify “Scenic views” with little black stars, and this trail has five stars closely spaced near the top of the mountain. There has to be super views of all the places from which I have viewed this peak: Cold Spring, Little Stony Point, Constitution Marsh, and the Eastern Highlands.
via A trail with a lot of views | poughkeepsiejournal.com | Poughkeepsie Journal.
Ralph Ferrusi of Stormville writes Hike of the Week each Thursday in Players. Ferrusi has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail as a section hiker — twice! For comments or to contribute an idea, send e-mails to rjferrusi@frontiernet.net
