December can be an intriguing month in Olympic National Park. Crowds are non-existent, stormy seas can kick up incredible waves that explode against sea stacks, while in the high country deep snows can accumulate. And through December 30 you can catch a break on lodging at either Kalaloch or Lake Quinault lodges.

With all the information that lies just a click away these days, it's easy to overlook some of the best resources when it comes to exploring the backcountry of our national parks: the backcountry offices of the parks themselves.

I am a social hiker. For me, one of the highlights of hiking is meeting friendly and energetic people on the trail. That’s why I love the camaraderie at LeConte Lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The lodge, which can only be reached by foot, is luxurious considering it’s located on top of Mt. LeConte at 6,593 ft. Groups come here for family reunions and some people train for weeks before attempting the trip because it’s the only hiking they do all year.

Call it long overdue housekeeping, but the National Park Service is working to revise 30-year-old regulations that affect non-federal oil and gas development that could occur, or already is occurring, in some of its units. In other words, energy development within a park on lands owned by anyone other than the federal government, such as states or even private landowners. The bottom-line of the revisions is to better protect parks from energy development.