Outside Business Journal: Outside Inc. acquires sports database Fastest Known Time. “Outside Inc., Outside Business Journal’s Boulder, Colo.-based parent company, has announced its acquisition of Fastest Known Time (FKT), an online database of speed records in running, hiking, and endurance sports.”
Summit Daily: Colorado Avalanche Information Center launches avalanche explorer feature. “The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has launched a new avalanche explorer tool on its website that allows users to explore and understand avalanche activity in the area. The tool also aims to help users make decisions when it comes to travel in the backcountry, where avalanche danger can be high.”
Mashable: 11 best apps for hiking. “Whether gathering supplies for a day hike or setting up camp for a while, these days savvy hikers are sure to pack their digital backpacks with apps to bring out the best in their treks. Don’t forget your gorp, and steer clear of fat bears. Happy trails!”
National Parks Traveler: Mapping Out Your Lewis And Clark National Historic Trail Trek. “[The site] is designed to help you learn more about the host communities, local businesses, and attractions located along the 4,900-mile trail. Through the portal’s interactive map guide, travelers can plan themed trips and locate recommendations for lodging, historic places, sustainable communities, natural areas, and tribal lands.”
New York Times: Pandemic Wilderness Explorers Are Straining Search and Rescue. “Kenna Tanner and her team can list the cases from memory: There was the woman who got tired and did not feel like finishing her hike; the campers, in shorts during a blizzard; the base jumper, misjudging his leap from a treacherous granite cliff face; the ill-equipped snowmobiler, buried up to his neck in an avalanche. All of them were pulled by Ms. Tanner and the Tip Top Search and Rescue crew from the rugged Wind River mountain range in the last year, in this sprawling, remote pocket of western Wyoming. And all of them, their rescuers said, were wildly unprepared for the brutal backcountry in which they were traveling.”
BusinessWire: State of Vermont, NIC Vermont Launch New Outdoor Recreation Mobile App (PRESS RELEASE). “Built in partnership with the state’s digital government services partner, NIC Vermont, the mobile app provides a wide offering of features, including interactive maps, and enables users to easily access policy information and guidelines for activities, such as hunting, trapping, fishing, boating and hiking in Vermont.”
Nevada Today: University Libraries launches 1000 Miles project. “The University Libraries at the University of Nevada, Reno, in partnership with the Washoe County Library, is launching a new project, 1000 Miles of Desert and Mountains, this Thursday, Sept. 3. The 1000 Miles project brings to life the adventures of George and Josephine Scott who trekked 1,000 miles across Nevada in 1914 and recorded their experiences in daily diaries. Based on passages from the diaries, the project encompasses eight short learning videos, eight podcast style audio recordings and worksheets, along with the diaries which are available online in their entirety. The learning videos are suitable for students in grades 4 through 7, while the podcast recordings and online diaries are suitable for all ages.”
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.”
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. “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.”
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. “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. “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 (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. “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.
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