Out There Colorado: Crowding at Colorado’s Front Range parks and trails tracked by new website. “Analytical as they are, Connor McCormick and his friends from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs took their own dive into data before the coronavirus outbreak swept the nation. ‘We were watching the graphs and doing the math,’ McCormick said. ‘We started thinking, “This is gonna be really bad.”‘ Entrepreneurial as the 20-somethings are — having secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments on past projects — they started thinking of something people could use. They thought of their favorite parks and open spaces, again rightly predicting trails would be overrun.”
hiking
ABC News (Australia): Google Maps mission for Wollongong-born hiker on remote New Zealand trail
ABC News (Australia): Google Maps mission for Wollongong-born hiker on remote New Zealand trail . “A woman with a taste for risky, solo hiking is about to complete a spectacular top-secret journey for tech giant Google, wearing a custom-made backpack with 360-degree camera. After having to lay flat on the ground and grip a boulder for stability in the face of 100kph winds in Patagonia, anything less should be a walk in the park for Sharmali Kulatunga.”
South Bend Tribune: The new Indiana Birding Trail leads you to hottest spots for nature
South Bend Tribune: The new Indiana Birding Trail leads you to hottest spots for nature. “The Indiana Audubon Society has created a new website… and printed booklet to help experienced birders plan trips in areas they hadn’t yet explored, with specific trails to try, maps and public amenities.”
Lifehacker: Learn How to Tie Knots With ‘Animated Knots’
Not new but new-to-me, from Lifehacker: Learn How to Tie Knots With ‘Animated Knots’. “Animated Knots is a perfect site for learning everything about knots: how to tie them, what they’re for, and how to choose the best knot for a specific job. The site lists 196 knots for ropes, straps, strings, wires, laces, and neckties. You can browse by type (e.g. bends, end loops, and slide & grip) or by activity (e.g. boating, climbing, and decoration). Or browse all the knots alphabetically.”
KULR: Plan your next backpacking trip with new Wilderness. net from UM
KULR: Plan your next backpacking trip with new Wilderness. net from UM. “The University of Montana’s Wilderness Institute unveiled a new website that aims to be one-stop shopping for learning about wilderness areas and planning backpacking and camping trips. The… site guides users to over 800 wilderness areas across the United States, allowing hikers to better prepare before hitting the back country, said Wilderness Institute Communications Director, Lisa Ronald.”
North Carolina Parks & Recreation: Hike on Over to the New N.C. Trails Website
North Carolina Parks & Recreation: Hike on Over to the New N.C. Trails Website. “The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation announced today the launch of the N.C. Trails website. The website is a hub for the N.C. Trails Program and offers quick and easy access to information on state trails and trails in state parks as well as guidance for funding, creating and maintaining a trail.”
PR Newswire: ParkServe Database and Interactive Mapping Website Unveiled by The Trust for Public Land (PRESS RELEASE)
PR Newswire (again, sorry, but this looks really good): ParkServe Database and Interactive Mapping Website Unveiled by The Trust for Public Land (PRESS RELEASE). “Today, The Trust for Public Land launched http://www.ParkServe.TPL.org, providing free, easy-to-navigate access to the most comprehensive database on parks ever assembled. The site includes information for 14,000 cities with a combined population of more than 260 million. The national nonprofit organization is leading a movement to put a park or natural area within a 10-minute walk of every American, a goal which has been endorsed by more than 200 U.S. mayors.”
PSNews: Google goes bush with ACT walking tracks
PSNews: Google goes bush with ACT walking tracks. “Canberra’s walking tracks can now be enjoyed by anyone in the world following 350kms of them being added to the international Google Street View platform…. [Mick Gentleman] said highlights included views from Mount Ainslie, Mount Majura, Mount Painter, Mount Franklin, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, the Molonglo River, and the Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley tracking stations.” Mick Gentleman is a TERRIFIC name.
Hawaii: New Hiking Website Provides Accurate And Authoritative Information
State of Hawaii: New Hiking Website Provides Accurate And Authoritative Information. “Nearly every week the local news reports on hikers who’ve gotten lost and disoriented or who have fallen and been injured or even killed. Often times these hikers were on non-sanctioned or ‘social trails’ highlighted by various social media sites and blogs. The DLNR Na Ala Hele Trail and Access System, administered by the Division of Forestry and Wildlife has introduced a newly designed trails website which provides detailed information, directions, safety considerations, announcements and closure status for more than 100 official State trails.”
Neighbor News Online: Roswell teen launches nature websites, starting Sandy Springs-based group
Neighbor News Online: Roswell teen launches nature websites, starting Sandy Springs-based group. “Mark’s new website is devoted to informing the public about little-known waterfalls that were discovered both by him and others. He estimates there are about 300 waterfalls in Georgia, and the site was set up to serve as a state database for them, especially the lesser-known ones…. He even got to name a waterfall he discovered Angelica Falls, after his mother, to honor her.”
Digital Trends: REI launches new search engine to help us #OptOutside on Black Friday
Digital Trends: REI launches new search engine to help us #OptOutside on Black Friday
. “…the retail giant will launch a new experiential search engine that is expected to go live on its website Thanksgiving weekend. A preview of this new tool is available now, but in a nutshell it will allow users to search for outdoor activities based on a specific location, type of activity, or a hashtag. The search feature is meant to inspire more people to get outdoors by collecting and displaying images from Instagram posts from anyone who uses the #OptOutside hashtag.”
Philly Voice: Philly becomes first U.S. city to map urban trails on Google Street View
Philly Voice: Philly becomes first U.S. city to map urban trails on Google Street View. “After a yearlong process covering more than 400 miles, Philadelphia is officially the first city in the United States to have its urban trail system mapped on Google Street View, the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Parks & Recreation announced Wednesday.”
San Francisco Gate: Saving historic American Indian trail trees
An old article, but the resource is new-to-me: Saving historic American Indian trail trees. “The pecan tree, more than 300 years old, stands out from the others in a forested area of Dallas, a 25-foot segment of its trunk slightly bowed and running almost parallel to the ground before jutting high into the sky. It, like numerous others across the country known as Indian marker trees or trail trees, was bent in its youth by American Indians to indicate such things as a trail or a low-water creek crossing.”
Warwick Daily News (Australia): Hikers rely on Google, sparking dramatic rescue
Warwick Daily News (Australia): Hikers rely on Google, sparking dramatic rescue. “The men, both aged 29, left their homes in Brisbane yesterday morning planning on a day walk to an area of the national park known as ‘the Steamers’, a spectacular craggy outcrop east of Yangan. Police say the men were relying on Google to guide them and were reportedly sent in the wrong direction, becoming lost.”
Bookmark this: Colorado launches online guide to 39,000 miles of every kind of trail (Denver Post)
Denver Post: Bookmark this: Colorado launches online guide to 39,000 miles of every kind of trail. “Spanning 226 jurisdictions, the interactive map…marks the first run at gathering every hiking, biking and multi-use trail in Colorado in a single location. For years that trail info has been stitched across a patchwork of websites, field offices and guidebooks.”
