The Four Day Marches - aka Nijmegen Marches

Some 40 thousand people participate annually in this 4 day event held in July in Nijmegen, Netherlands. www.4daagse.nl

Hiking Podcasts;

Even if you don't have broadband, check out www.trailcasts.org - this site has interviews with the who's who of hiking - Yogi, Brian Robinson, etc. You can read the summaries even with just dialup.

Mountain Lion vs Dog Tracks, etc

http://www.bear-tracker.com/caninevsfeline.html a great site for identifying feline tracks vs canine tracks - photos of cougar tracks and dog, fox, domestic cat, etc plus illustrations.

Gap Year Choices:

If you at a transition point in your life where you have a free year, check out this site for options: http://www.the-backpacking-site.com/

Thoughtful Wanderings:

Thoughtful hiking, photographs, essays can be found in www.pauseforpurpose.com - we enjoyed it.

The Mindful HIker:

http://www.mindfulhiker.com is a beautiful site, promoting the book of the same name, but also has excellent photographs of nature scenes mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area. The theme is spiritual hiking. Also, has an associated blog, weblog, monthly essays.

Off Topic but outdoors related Links:

Other Sites that are interesting, but are off topic compared to our content pages. Most of these sell products and we have no experience dealing with them as a customer.

A Training Resource - BLM Lands Near You: An alliance of conservation organizations has recently put together a site promoting the crown jewels of the BLM system. You can click on the following and find the selected areas by state: http://www.conservationsystem.org/conservationsystem

http://www.nols.edu/alumni/employment/jobsnetwork.archive.shtml A listserv of outdoor related jobs, sponsored by the national outdoor leadership school.

Great ideas for Sequoia-Kings Canyon hikes in www.sierrahiker.com .

www.hikingandbackpacking.com mainly commercial - links to other sites featuring good deals on gear, also has tips, links to organizations, where to hike info.

www.backpackinglight.com some good links, a lot of articles and product reviews.

www.thebackpacker.com Regional trails, gear, active forum - a lot off topic, articles.

www.slackpacker.com Mostly United States Trails, but some International as well.

www.gps-planet.com - GPS devices are now used by some hikers, so here's a site: - discounts on GPS systems from Garmin, Magellan, and Navman. GPS software, GPS accessories, Fishfinders and Chartplotters.

www.wisdomofthecrone.com This unusual site has a single product - a deck of 54 cards, each with a photo of a woman between the ages of 50 and 100, and on the backside (I think), words of wisdom.

www.offthebeatentrail.net - Bayou country outdoor gear.

http://www.best-camping-supplies.com - mostly commercial - a large range of camping products ranging from Golite to Coleman. An eclectic set of outdoor related links.

http://www.hikingtripsandgear.com - well designed website featuring gear and advice to hikers and campers.

http://www.randymerrell.com - This appears to be the premier custom boot making and orthotics site. This is the same Randy Merrell that designed Merrell boots.

http://www.in-boots.com/ - Hiking Boots: Information and recommended sources for different styles of high quality boots.

http://www.vaflyfishmtguide.com/ Mountain Guide of Virginia offers custom built, tailored hiking and mountain walking - wildflower and tree identification, Native Americans and early Colonist info -  a peace and solitude.

http://www.spadout.com/ - Outdoor sports magazine offering articles and media about backpacking, kayaking and rock climbing.

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm#2trillion 31 ways to lace your shoes, boots, etc.

http://www.boyscouttrail.com/ I owe a lot of my early outdoors experiences to the Boy Scouts so of course have to include this site with all things re Boy Scouts.

http://www.taigaworks.ca/ - Cold weather expedition quality gear - I have no direct experience with this Canadian company, but they have an impressive product line if you are considering, for instance, scaling Denali.

Mt. Rogers Outfitters an outfitter right on the Appalachian Trail.

Way Off Topic:

www.thetoolnetwork.com My brother's site - excellent place for hard to find automotive and industrial tools.