Wild Monongahela Act Will Expand Wilderness in the Mountain State

States Lead the Fight Against Coal-Fired Global Warming

On the Trail of the South’s Best Pie

Parkour, a form of running without limits, has been popular in Europe for decades but the practice is just now catching on with Americans, who have been introduced to the sport through Nike commercials and, most recently, the opening sequence of Casino Royale, the latest James Bond movie.

More Athletes Are Being Diagnosed with Asthma in the ‘Breathtaking’ Appalachians

Arsenic from Poultry Farms Is One of Several Potential Causes for Shenandoah Fish Kills

Collegiate Biking Champ Kylie Krauss

Dan Ettinger and Simon Goldberg rode their bikes 3,824 miles from the coast of Washington to the coast of South Carolina. Along the way, they asked everyone they met to tell them a joke. Why? Because there’s no better way to reconnect with the pulse of America than by trading good “knock knock” jokes. BRO talked with these two lifelong friends about making people laugh, hand gestures, and how full body lycra scares certain people.

White & Wild: Winter Camping Tips

Mountain Unicycling Adds Adventure


Adventure Running Abounds in the Blue Ridge

Paddling By Moonlight Opens New Wave of River Night Life

There are times when less is more. This is especially true in the world of cycling where the path to pedal-driven, righteous enlightenment is often littered with discarded components.

The South's Top Endurance Paddler Digs Deeper

This summer I realized there’s something out there in the world I hate more than cauliflower and rush hour traffic—poison ivy.

Alisa Harvey Still Mastering Her Competition

You cut the handle off your toothbrush, you paid $600 for a lightweight tent, you even pulled the cardboard tube out of the center of your roll of toilet paper. And yet, your backpack still weighs 45 pounds. Lugging a heavy pack can ruin the best of weekend backpacking trips. BRO’s panel of experts developed five easy steps to shed pack pounds on your next backpacking trip.

Deshawn Mayfield gazes across the vast view from Spy Rock. Though he’s only a couple hours from home, he feels worlds away from his rundown neighborhood on the East End of inner-city Richmond. The seventh grader, who comes from a low-income household, had never before been given the opportunity to hike in the mountains.

Supreme Court Smackdown Clears the Air for the Southeast

Take a Walk, Run, or Ride on the Wild Side

Faster Bike Wheel Handcrafted in the Appalachians

The Tour of Virginia, formerly the Tour of Shenandoah, will showcase rising cycling stars in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia.

How do I prepare for criterium racing?
—Scott Stapleton, Atlanta, Ga.

Virginia's Dane Rauschenberg Runs 52 Marathons in a Year

Hyponatremia and Proper Performance Hydration

You want to spend your time hiking—not reading about it. So we've done the homework for you. Here are ten essential Southeastern hiking reference books that belong on every hiker's shelf.

I keep hearing a lot about base training. What is it, and how do I get the most from it?
—Vanessa Shipp, Baltimore, Md.

It’s a tough job, but the five million people that hit the slopes below the Mason-Dixon every year are saying somebody’s got to do it.

It’s not all deep-friend and butter-crusted. Southern cooking gets a bad rap in the world of health, and in many ways, deservedly so. Between our battered chicken and hearty loafs of corn bread, we’ve got fatty foods that have been busting belts for years. But if you’ve got a hankering for a down home spread, there are some Southern staples that can keep you lean and healthy.

Check out the rosters of the United States Ski and Snowboard teams and you’ll notice something: not one current member calls the Blue Ridge home. Of course the West Coast snow havens in California and Utah are well represented, and even a hearty amount of Northeasterners are on the list. Is it possible to become a pro if you live and train in the Southeast?

The Southeastern outdoor community is still mourning the loss of Stiles Cummings, a champion mountain biker from Asheville who died tragically while hiking in Yosemite National Park. The outdoor superstar was also one of the most passionate and charismatic figures in the Southeastern outdoor community.

Ghost stories and camping go together like prom queens and sequence dresses. We’ve all spent a restless night, curled up inside our tent clutching our hatchet because of some spooky story one of our campmates told over the fire. One AT thru-hiker told us of how he was haunted during his entire, six-month hike.

The concept of downhill mountain biking is simple enough: start at the top of the mountain and ride to the bottom. First one down wins. Sounds fun, but it’s what happens between the top and bottom that scares some people. The banked corners, rock gardens, and narrow tree-lined s-curves on a 1,000+ foot vertical drop results in speeds that usually peak at 45 miles per hour. It makes you wonder where the line between fun and insanity is crossed.

Athletes are always looking for the next frontier in gear innovation—hoping technology will help shave seconds off their time. But the next trend might be more minimalist than quick-drying fabric or ultra-light cushioning. In fact a growing contingent of runners is claiming that barefoot is better.

Footbag isn’t just the sport you played in the parking lot after school. In fact a lot of people take it quite seriously. It’s been competitive sport in several forms since the 1970’s—with a substantial number of footbag tournaments and festivals held around the world every year.

The Great Eastern Trail (G.E.T.), a 1,600-mile footpath that will stretch from the Alabama/Florida border all the way to the Finger Lakes of New York, will offer an alternative to the well-traveled Appalachian Trail.

Timothy “Just Call Me Bud” Badyna is probably the most famous backward runner in the world, He has held world records in the 5K, 10K, 200 yard, and marathon for running backward, making him the man to beat in the world of reverse running.

Call it land recycling at its finest or the industrial revolution in reverse—taking abandoned railroad corridors and turning them into trails. The practice actually started in the mid-1960s, but lately the development of Rail Trails is exploding.

Alan Kent Wilson remembers the toughest mountain he’s ever climbed in the South. “It was Reinhardt Knob. We didn’t have a good map, we started at the wrong place, it’s in a wilderness area so the routes aren’t marked, and it’s one of the most difficult bushwhacks around. There just isn’t a good way up that mountain.”

If you could hike with one person, living or dead, fictional or real, who would it be? ... there’s only one right answer to that question: MacGyver...Unfortunately, there’s not much chance of MacGyver showing up at your weekly club hike. So we’ve dug up five backcountry moves that even the most resourceful secret agent would be envious of.

You just finished a 30-minute oatmeal bath and now you’re caked in Calamine lotion. The rashes are spreading and you’re skin feels cursed by the fiery depths of hell. A day hike isn't supposed to hurt this much...Learn to identify poisonous and stinging plants.

What is the state of the Southern states when it comes to protecting public health and the environment? We’ve compiled a handy report card grading each based on the environmental programs and legislation they have in place:

Organic - Local - Natural Foods Markets

Dave Matthews-Ryan Williamson-Jason Rutledge-Janisse Ray-Joe Lovett

The first thing my dad said when I told him we were powered by waste veggie oil was, “You might be a redneck if… the vehicle you convert to run on straight vegetable oil is a three-quarter-ton, crew cab, powerstroke diesel truck.”

You’re doing all you can to keep Mama Earth Green, but what about some of the businesses around our region? Here are some of the most progressively eco-friendly businesses in the Southeast.

Freshman year of college, I thought Astronomy 101 would be a cosmic breeze, filled with field trips to the observatory and a lot of staring at the moon. It turned out to be a bunch of head-spinning equations, and I barely escaped with a D. Fortunately the Blue Ridge night sky is here for the taking without the mathematical hubbub...

America has always had a tenuous relationship with the bear. Fueled by fear and fascination, the American black bear was hunted almost to the point of extinction in the Southeast after European settlement. Many states even offered a bounty for black bears, which were considered a nuisance to our ever-expanding urban and suburban populations. Virginia didn’t take their bounty off the books until 1977.

Earlier this year, three Southeastern states became the first in the nation to request federal roadless area protection. Governors from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina petitioned the federal government to protect roadless areas in their states from logging and roadbuilding.

If getting a new boat is like getting a new toy, then getting a world-class whitewater park is like your dad building a replica of Disney World in your backyard. Paddlers across the Southeast are excited about Charlotte’s U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC), which is scheduled to open in June.

On March 8 the whitewater paddling community mourned the loss of Asheville’s Daniel DeLaVergne, one of the world’s most adventurous boaters and one of the industry’s most innovative multi-media creators.

Everest has its oxygen tanks, El Capitan has its bolts, and the Appalachian Trail has its feces. Forget cell phone towers, road construction, and development: one of the most serious manmade problems the A.T. faces is human waste.

Your leg is bleeding and you left a tooth at the rock garden on the downhill. Your bike will only go forward in three gears thanks to a spill on lap two, you’ve had too many beers, and all you’ve eaten in the last 18 hours is Hammer Gel and beef jerky. You’re so tired you’re actually nauseous. Welcome to 24–hour mountain bike racing...

Falling trees aren’t exactly what you want to be worried about on your next outing. But that’s what a signs says along the Appalachian Trail a short ways into the southern end of Shenandoah National Park. Unfortunately “changing” actually means “dying.”

Running has typically been viewed as an intense solitary endeavor focused on shaving seconds off one’s personal bests. But a growing number of runners today don’t fit the classic loneliness-of-the-long-distance-runner profile.

“Stand up straight, just like your momma taught you,” says Dwayne Stutzman, the trails specialist for North Carolina State Parks. He’s talking to Lenny Bernstein, who is positioned about 100 yards in front of him and acting as a surveyor’s stick.

Let’s play make-believe for a minute. Picture an America where the CEO of an oil company is an avid recycler and composter who dedicates millions a year to researching alternative fuel technology. Picture an America where the president thinks environmentalism is a core value, not a political liability. An America where all its citizens are engrained with a sense of stewardship.

Sure it’s cold and dreary, but there’s nothing wrong with getting a little frost on the pumpkin. So bundle up, fill that thermos with hot cocoa, and get out to one of these crazy winter events.

Maureen Ackerly didn’t want to completely lose her fitness when she became pregnant. But she also wanted to make sure exercise wouldn’t hurt her baby.

In a perfect world, you’d have time to ski all 16 Southeastern resorts in one season. It’s a beautiful dream that most likely will never happen. Forget work and other obligations, we only have three months of skiable weather down here. With a 90-day window to take your turns, you can’t ski it all. You have to be picky. Ski the best and forget the rest. And here they are—the best ski runs in the Southeast.

How do I prepare for criterium racing? — Scott Stapleton, Atlanta, Ga.

These are tough days for environmentalists. Key legislation like the Clean Air Act is under attack from the current administration, funding is being cut for land acquisition programs, coal companies are enjoying a free for all in the Appalachians, and logging companies are getting paid to cut trees on public land. It’s no wonder environmentalists have started carrying guns.

It’s coming. The annual battle that your immune system fears is right around the corner. According to Web M.D., 62 million Americans get a cold each year, and everyone knows dreaded symptoms like a headache, fever, congestion, or scratchy throat can certainly put a damper on your mountain high. So what’s the best way to take up arms against the germs that will put you under the weather? Here’s a breakdown of the some of the best preventative measures to keep you healthy through the winter months.

Ever find yourself cruising down the highway, noticing a billboard or an exit sign, and wondering what’s the story behind that place with a rather strange name? Here’s a quick history lesson on the most bizarre and intriguing place names in the Blue Ridge:

Wright’s words are the motto for the Tennessee Tree Toppers—one of the oldest and acclaimed hang gliding clubs in the country, which formed the late 60s. Its 150 members soar regularly over the 40 miles of ridgeline that circles the Sequatchie Valley, Tenn.—hailed as one of the best hang gliding spots in the country.

The hitchhiker with the hook for a hand....the grave where you say the name “Mary” five times and a woman in white holding a baby appears...Most logical people dismiss these ghost stories as legends passed around campfires to scare kids into behaving themselves. But this is October—the month of All Hallow’s Eve when shadows become ghosts, old ladies are witches, and that crumbling house on the corner with the ivy crawling up its spine is the scene of a mass murder that happened just before you moved into the neighborhood.

Christopher Calfee, a 38-year-old runner from Richmond, Va., will attempt a 350-mile run this month. If he is successful, he would break the current 300-mile record recently set by well-known ultrarunner Pam Reed and surpass a planned upcoming 325-mile non-stop run by famed ultramarathon man Dean Karnazes.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is drafting its first federally required General Management Plan (GMP). It’s a 10-20 year plan that prescribes goals for the future of the Parkway, including everything from the number of campsites to cycling safety measures to the maintenance of historic structures.

“I don’t even know what dynamite looks like,” says Paloma Galindo, an organizer for Earth First! in eastern Tennessee. “The government’s been trying to pin the eco-terrorist label on Earth First! and other legitimate activists for a long time.”

In 1985 the international Live Aid concerts raised millions of dollars for those suffering from famine. Just last month the Live 8 concerts united millions of people in an attempt to convince the G8 Summit leaders to increase the aid provided to combat poverty in Africa. Can we rock for the cause here in the Blue Ridge?

To be able to go into the woods and come back with dinner is a skill that many of us envy. Imagine being able to get rid of that Supermarket Discount Card forever.

Ultrarunning’s Underground Nightmare

Where is the multiculturalism in Mountain Sports?

Paddlers Cope with Kayaker's Death on the Green River

Fresh Spins to Stale Winter Workouts

Hormone-Laced Water Pollution Attributed to Fish Gender Mutation

Loose Dogs on Trail Unleash Controversy

IMBA Report Card Says Southeast Mountain Biking Could Be Better

Senior Trekker Thru-Hikes the Appalachian Trail over Ten Years

Marathoners Demonstrate Iron Will at Olympic Trials

Poaching Jeopardizes Wild Mountain Ginseng

Thousands Rescued from I-26 Construction

Can the Needmore Tract Save the Appalachian Elktoe from Sprawl?

Cyclocross Keeps Bikers Cranking Through the Winter

Access Fund Recognizes Blue Ridge Volunteers for Climbing Advocacy

Congaree Named South Carolina’s First National Park