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Trails Damaged By F4 Tornado Reopened In Great Smoky Mountains National Park

With 800 miles of trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, just keeping up with normal wear and tear in the heavily visited park is a challenge for park employees and volunteers. That job became much more difficult when an F4 tornado ripped a 17-mile-long swath through the park and adjacent areas back in 2011, toppling thousands of trees.

Photography In The National Parks: To The Sun And Beyond In Glacier National Park

Of course I wanted to go to the Sun in Glacier National Park - the very idea of capturing everything between earth and sky, with my camera and lens, filled me with the same visions that I experienced as a child, when walking into a candy store to choose just one piece of chocolate. I wanted them all.

"The Last Spike" - Separating Fact From Tradition At Golden Spike National Historic Site

If you were a contestant on one of several TV shows that test your knowledge of famous historical events, how would you fare if the question involved the driving of the "golden spike" to mark the completion of the transcontinental railroad? If you happened to miss a key fact or two, you'd be in good company, and the staff at Golden Spike National Historic Site has to contend with some long-established traditions that don't quite "hit the nail on the head."

America’s Premier Hut System is 125 Years Old—A Classic Appalachian Trail Adventure

America’s premier hut system is 125 years old this year. Scattered for 56 miles along the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in New Hampshire, the Appalachian Mountain Club’s system of 8 huts and two major lodges are all about a day’s hike apart. “This is an AT adventure of the first order,” says Rob Burbank, of the Appalachian Mountain Club. “Imagine an opportunity to hike one of the most rugged and spectacular sections of the Appalachian Trail with just a tooth brush in your pack!”