Hiking and Backpacking Sites
- Thermophile.org
- This is the famous and incomparable Sarah Boomer website.
Lots of detailed stories about hiking and rafting in the
Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, and other key areas,
as well as international travel. Sarah is such an
outstanding writer that even if you are not interested in
the topic, it is fun to read.
- Dorfworld's Backcountry Trips Section
- A sometimes irreverent look at hiking and personal life.
Always interesting, with great photo links.
- TwoHikers.org's
SmugMug Photo Web site - Our very own photo site,
features self-propelled travel - both hiking and
backpacking. See what TwoHikers are up to when they are not
preparing looooonnggg trip reports.
- Hiking/Walking's
Home page - An opinionated and highly descriptive
guide to some favorite hiking locations in the US and
Switzerland. The site focuses on day hikes, with maps and
elevation profiles and a LOT of information.
-
The Scottish Highlands Walking Site The single
best hiking site I have ever come across. We used it for
planning our Scotland trip. Maps, detailed descriptions, GPX
files. Even recommendations for B&B's
- Canyoneering
USA - Lots of canyoneering descriptions and photos -
for the experienced desert rat
- Walking
with Wired - "Wired," aka Erin Saver, is an ultralight
backpacker who, by her mid-30's, had already covered North
America's Triple Crown of hiking, and as of mid-2015, had
survived the infamous Hayduke Trail. You won't believe her
blog.
- Yeti's
2009 Continental Divide Trail Journal - Ever hear:
"I'm too old to hike"?? Yeti, aka Jim Fulmis, blows that
myth outta the water, for sure. And follow his travels on his 2010 trip
across the Pacific Northwest Trail here.
- Mamaw B's 2012 Appalachian Trail Journal
- Another "You're NEVER too old to hike" example. Mamaw B,
aka our friend Barbara Allen's quest to hike the AT. You GO
Girl!!
- Grand
Canyon Explorer - Bob Ribokas' definitive site for
Grand Canyon hiking, and one of the sites that really
inspired us to start TwoHikers.org
- Hiking
in Colorado - Steve Fry's definitive and sophisticated
site devoted to many of the self propelled pleasures of this
truly high country state. A wonderful set of links are
included.
- Washington
Trails Association - If you are headed to Washington
State to go hiking, you gotta check out this website first.
A wealth of current reports and up to date trail
information.
- Hike
Wild Montana - If you are headed to or live in
Montana, this is the Montana Wilderness Associations growing
interactive hiking information web site. It's complete with
trail descriptions, photos, directions to the trail heads,
and in some cases, GPX files of the actual route. We KNOW
it's a great site, because we contributed some of the hikes.
- Oregon
Hikers - A great place to start if you need
information or ideas about hiking in Oregon.
- Dave
Ball's Hiking Track web site Want to hike in SW
Montana near Bozeman? Need a GPS Track of the route? The
site ain't fancy, but he has a LOT of data, including lots
of GPS tracks.
- Appalachian Trail 101: The Complete Guide
For Beginners A treasure trove of information to help
you plan a thru-hike of the AT. But consider doing such only
after you have done enough backpacking to feel comfortable
with a long distance hike.
Hike &
Cycle.com The parent website of the article above. Not
totally complete, but few sites are, and this site has a lot
of information on it.
- The Ultimate Hiking Guide - OK, it may
not be the ULTIMATE, but it is probably a good place to
start if you need some basic information about hiking. To a
beginner, some of the trips described in TwoHikers.org can
sound pretty hard-core. If so, give this dating related site
a try.
The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Hiking - Another "Ultimate" Guide
for beginners, but when I was beginning (before there was the internet), I read way more than ONE book. Some good information
on footwear and an excellent video on the use of bear spray. Watch this if you are going into grizz country.
- Tips for Hiking with Kids - Want to get started hiking with your kids and actully have them ENJOY the experience?
It is likely worthwhile to take a quick look at this website, to ensure that you are doing the right things. I think you could safely
skip the suggestion for carrying walkie-talkies, because if you are in grizzly bear country, you should probably stay close together.
And remember that young children are often less interested in the big views, and more interested in the small stuff.
SW Montana and Yellowstone Area Webcams and Weather
- The
Bozeman Basecamp Web Cam - Tired of webcams that look
like the photo was taken thru a fogged shower door? Need to
SEE what the weather looks like on
the west side of Montana's Bridger Range? Try our very own
Bozeman Basecamp Web Cam.
- The
Balldt.org High Resolution Web cam - Want a
screen-filling view of in super high definition of the
Bridger Range? Check out the images on the Baxter Meadows
Webcam.
- TwoHikers.org's
Basecamp Weather Station - Sure you can get the
official weather for Bozeman, Montana, except that the
weather station is located in Belgrade, Montana at the
Bozeman-Yellowstone Airport Airport. Given the heterogeneity
of Gallatin Valley weather, it would seem that if you want
to know what the weather is on the western front of the
Bridger Range, check out the Basecamp weather station,
located on the back (south facing) deck of the Basecamp.
- The
Balldt.org Weather Station - Another Davis weather
station located 4.4 miles SW of the Basecamp.
- The Yellowstone National Park Old Faithful
Web cam - A classic, and great for checking up how the
weather looks before you head to the interior of the park.
Digital Mapping Resources
- Google
Earth - If you have not used this yet, you can not
possibly imagine what you are missing. Imagine the earth
revealed: color photos, and oblique views make this must
have software for anyone who has even a moderate speed
internet connection. As a friend and colleague from the
University of Kentucky confessed to me, the first time
someone showed this to him, he was up until 2 am playing
with it. So fair warning.
- Perry-Castañeda
Library Map Collection - Maps for practically
everyplace on the Planet
- The
Washington State Geospatial Data Archive - A wealth of
data to be had for the click of a mouse.
- Libre
Map Need a free USGS quad for most states? Hey, just
go to this site and download it for free. Way cool.
- The Utah
Geospatial Data Repository - Another treasure trove of
digital mapping data. You have to register now, but worth
it.
- Acme
Mapper This site could replace the need for a GIS
viewer for the Lower 48 Dates. It integrates Google Maps,
Google Earth, USGS topo quads, and USGS Digital Ortho Photo
Quads. Way cool.
Wilderness Advocacy Groups - think of the lack of
opportunities for solitude without them
- The
Montana Wilderness Association Working unceasingly to
help preserve Montana's wild heritage. And a local group,
the Madison-Gallatin Chapter, right here in Bozeman.
- Montanans
for Gallatin Wilderness A loosely knit group of
conservationists, fighting hard to work for Wilderness
designation for the Gallatin mountain range in SW Montana.
- Tennessee Chapter's Harvey Broome Group
(Knoxville) No doubt they had plenty of help, but
without the leadership of this group, there simply would be
no Wilderness in the Cherokee National Forest.
- The
Smoky Mountains Hiking Club While ostensibly a club
devoted to hiking, in fact, the wilderness advocacy of this
group has been critical in preventing further deterioration
of this country's most popular National Park. In addition,
they are responsible of the maintenance of the Appalachian
Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- Foothills
Land Conservancy Doing what the Nature Conservancy
does on a local scale, protecting land the American Way:
buying it. We wished that the general population were
sufficiently enlightened to protect special places without
resorting to this, but it is better than losing these places
to development.
- The
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance - Any group that has
been hung in effigy in Escalante, Utah HAS to be doing
something right. One of the most passionate and articulate
protectors of Utah Wilderness.
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