In 1948, WWII veteran Earl Shaffer decided to "walk the Army out of his system" by hiking the full length of the Appalachian Trail, Georgia to Maine, in one season. At the time, no one had attempted it, and the Appalachian Trail Conference didn't think it could be done. Not only did he complete it, setting the standard for generations of thru-hikers to follow, but he did the walk twice more in his life, the last time at the age of 79.
posted by Miko on Jul 21, 2009 - 36 comments

So you've finished hiking the Appalachian Trail, just came down from Mount Katahdin, and you're wondering what to do now. Well, there's always the International AT, which goes through the Chic-Choc Mountains on the Gaspé Peninsula before crossing over to Newfoundland. Then you'd have hiked the tallest mountains in Quebec, right? Wrong. 800 miles to the north, on the border of Quebec and Newfoundland, lie the Torngats. [more inside]
posted by A dead Quaker on Oct 14, 2008 - 10 comments

The Western States Trail Ride, more commonly known as the Tevis Cup, is an equestrian competition held annually in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. It begins near Squaw Valley, and ends in Auburn - a distance of 100 miles, to be covered in under 24 hours. [more inside]
posted by po on Oct 23, 2007 - 10 comments

Say you live in a forest and have limited resources. You need to make signposts to point out trails, water sources, meeting places and the like, but your readers might speak a variety of languages. Also, you want the signposts to last a really long time. What do you do? Create trail trees! Now say you live in the 21st century. What do you do? Create a database! And blog about it!
posted by DU on Apr 13, 2007 - 20 comments

Skyfish have been well documented on the interweb. Want to capture your own as a pet? Lure them into your home by replicating their natural environment. Warning: three Youtube links and only the third is really cool, but at least they're all pretty short. Related.
posted by Area Control on Feb 22, 2007 - 24 comments

"It’s a cliché among hikers that there are as many ways to hike the trail as there are people who hike it. Most start at Springer Mountain in Georgia and end at Katahdin in Maine; a few start in Maine and head south. Purists walk every 2,167.1 miles of the trail marked by white rectangular blazes painted on the trees. Blue blazers take short cuts on side trails marked with blue. Yellow blazers hitchhike ahead along roads. And then there are the pink blazers. Pink blazers pursue women."
posted by jessamyn on Aug 28, 2006 - 155 comments

Dumped, but which BBC Trail got these responses? Hint, its not the Christmas Doctor Who...

"I wish to protest that this image is disturbingly psychotic. Its unacknowledged aggression could make a fragile viewer ill."

"Anyone else think this is the single most terrifying thing ever, or is it just me?"

"Terrifying. Given me nightmares, so it has."

Find out here
posted by Dio on Dec 13, 2005 - 49 comments

David Horton Attempts Pacific Crest Trail Record What the heck does that mean? It means running over 40 miles a day for 63 days. The PCT is 2,650 miles long.
posted by raaka on Jul 15, 2005 - 15 comments

East Coast Greenway is a community project to build a 2600 mile urban greenway from Canada to Key West. Bike, walk, rollerblade or Segway from Canada to Florida.. This "urban Appalachian trail" is twenty-percent trail complete now with %80 by 2010. Route Maps for each state.
posted by stbalbach on Apr 1, 2004 - 11 comments

The Appalachian Trail is a continuous marked footpath that goes from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, a distance of about 2160 miles. It passes through 14 states and takes about 5 to 7 months to hike through. Hey, if a blind man could do it, so can you. If you are not actually up for hiking right this moment, you could always...(more inside)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy on Oct 8, 2002 - 22 comments

The American Bookseller's Association is taking on the big guys. The trial pits indie bookshops and sellers versus evil corporate behemoths Barnes & Noble and Borders, arguing the big chains get wholesale deal the little guys don't. Does the ABA have any chance in hell of winning?
posted by mathowie on Apr 16, 2001 - 13 comments