Josh Kelly knows the forests of Southern Appalachia deeply and more intimately than most. He was born in Madison County, N.C., went to school at UNC Asheville, ...
Like his contemporary Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone's legacy has become an enduring part of early America's pioneering history. Now well-known as a frontiersman a...
Better known by his trail name of "Buddy Backpacker," seven-year-old Christian Thomas has already hiked the entire Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails, two 2,0...
Scott Jurek set a new speed record for his Appalachian Trail thru-run last summer, but for those who complete the challenge without assistance from a support cr...
Known best as the man who developed the idea for the Appalachian Trail, Benton MacKaye also co-founded the Wilderness Society, showing his equal dedication to r...
If you go to the "About" page on Jeremiah Bishop's website and scroll down to his professional mountain biking achievements, expect to keep scrolling for awhile...
Joe Pulliam has been a lifelong paddling enthusiast, buying his first canoe at age 14 and building his first kayak at age 17, and his career has included terms ...
Like many climbers, Jessa Goebel started in a gym at age 9, and she quickly propelled to the national and international competition circuit. In her late teens, ...
The suburbs of D.C. may not be the first place you'd expect a world-champion rock climber would get her start, but 23-year-old Sasha DiGiulian has been defying ...
Like the English Channel, the 111-mile stretch of ocean between Florida and Cuba has drawn many water-based athletes. In 2013, Chattanooga musician and funeral ...
In the 1970s, paddlers who wished to ride through the Grand Canyon didn't have to wait for a permit, and Doug Woodward became one of the first to paddle the not...
As a competitive mountain biker from 2000 to 2012, Chris Herndon took home a ton of awards, including the 2007 dual slalom national championship. But his most l...
Payson Kennedy first developed his skills as a paddler on the rivers of his Georgia childhood, then expanded his range as an adult while stationed in Washington...
The sheer amount of hidden opportunities offered through the New River Gorge area can intimidate any first-time visitor, but Elaina Arenz and the crew at New Ri...
Chris Eatough's athletic career started on the soccer field, not on the mountain bike. British by birth, the rider played varsity soccer for Clemson University ...
Neurobiologist Robert Koester changed the search and rescue world forever with the development of the International Search and Rescue Incident Database, a colle...
Barbara Kingsolver draws on her rural Kentucky upbringing in her writing, in which she explores the connections between humans and their environments. Now the a...
A Cherokee leader in western North Carolina during the early 1800s, Tsali became a hero for his people after his execution in 1838. The U.S. Army had been taske...
Although the original champions of the Appalachian Trail like Benton MacKaye have long since passed away, they successfully passed the torch to modern-day advoc...
Known as the father of environmental justice, Dr. Robert Bullard has authored 18 books that address sustainable development, environmental racism, urban land us...
For most of the Appalachian Trail's history, its speed records have been held by men. But with her 2011 southbound thru-hike, completed in 46 days, 11 hours and...
George Masa's close friendship with Horace Kephart is an enduring part of his legacy, but he had been a prominent landscape photographer in the Smokies long bef...
Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" has become required reading for schoolchildren throughout the U.S., and for good reason: Its observations on the effects of DDT ...
As author of The Thru-Hiker's Handbook, Dan Bruce's trail name of "Wingfoot" is familiar to many in the Appalachian Trail community. During his seven thru-hikes...
As the namesake and designer behind Jackson Kayak, one of the most successful kayak brands ever, Eric Jackson has revolutionized the world of freestyle kayaking...