New York’s 47,500-acre Harriman State Park—the Empire State’s second largest park—is an outdoor lover’s dream, offering pristine hiking, quiet water paddling, and remote camping a 30-mile car or train trip from Manhattan. AMC’s first camp in the area, the Stephen & Betsy Corman…
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Why I Advocate: How a Lifetime Outdoors Turned Me Into a Conservationist
I had the perfect baby boomer childhood, roaming the central Connecticut woods with my friends, with nary an adult in sight. From a young age, we scampered up trails in an area that gave its…
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Know Before You Go: The Best Kept Secrets in Acadia National Park
2021 is expected to be an exceptionally busy year for National Parks, so minimize your impact by staying off busy trails and following Leave No Trace principles. The most up-to-date source for COVID-related policies…
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Plan and Lead Your First Family Hiking, Biking, or Paddling Outing
This was adapted from an article that originally appeared in the spring issue of Footnotes, the quarterly newsletter of AMC’s Delaware Valley Chapter. Whether you’re a newly trained or veteran outdoor leader ready to cautiously start…
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Grandma Gatewood: The First Woman to Solo Hike the Entire Appalachian Trail
In 1955, Emma “Grandma” Gatewood told her children that she was “going for a hike in the woods” – little did they know that this hike would be the entire 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail (A.T.),…
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Why These Northeast Women Are Addicted to Winter Surfing
“I’m so sorry I’m late. I just had to feed several hungry, freezing teenagers,” says Michelle Sommers as she picks up the phone at her home in Maryland. She describes the row of wetsuits…
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Be Outdoors Challenge
Many outdoor enthusiasts have long known that time outside makes you feel good. In fact, spending 120 minutes a week in green spaces boosts your well-being, according to a 2019 study published in the journal…
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The Best Ways to Get Outdoors in Cities this Winter
Getting outdoors in cities isn’t always easy; trust me, I live in a major city. Among the many things COVID-19 has taught me, one is that I absolutely took my morning commute for granted. My…
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Winter Survival Guide: 5 Ways to Thrive Outdoors This Season
Winter can be a challenging season, even in ordinary times. Cold weather forces many people inside, making staying active more difficult. Inactivity and prolonged periods indoors comes with a whole host of issues, including…
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Holding Back
This story was originally published in the Summer/Fall 2020 issue of Appalachia Journal. The dog and I were climbing up the Manning Trail on the way to Firescrew Mountain. We were somewhere between the trailhead…
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