Bill Irwin
Before Trevor Thomas came along, there was Bill Irwin, who thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1991 with guide dog Orient at his side, but no maps, compasses, G...
admin
Brent Martin
As Southern Appalachian regional director for The Wilderness Society, Brent Martin has helped protect the region's most dramatic and biologically diverse landsc...
Jim Parham
Even if you don't know the name Jim Parham, you may have benefited from his work. With a lifetime of experience exploring the public lands of the southeast, Par...
Mark and Cynthia Lorenzoni
For more than 30 years, Mark and Cynthia Lorenzoni have given the central Virginia area running community a home with their Charlottesville Ragged Mountain Runn...
Adriene Levknecht
Although most sponsored athletes have to take side jobs to generate a complete salary, they tend to take low-key gigs, especially if their sport involves high l...
George Hartzog
The seventh director of the National Park Service and a critical player in the expansion of the federal lands system, George Hartzog Jr. was born and raised in ...
Willow Koerber Rockwell
Life has come full circle for Willow Rockwell, who was born Willow Koerber in a Tennessee hippie commune and grew up in Asheville. At age 13, she rode her first...
Davy Crockett
Although perhaps remembered best for his vivid role at the Alamo in Texas, Davy Crockett spent the majority of his life in east Tennessee and south-central Appa...
Christopher McDougall
As an injury-prone runner, Christopher McDougall was mystified by the rumors of the Tarahumara Indian tribe in Mexico, whose members were said to be able to run...
Johnny Molloy
You may recognize Johnny Molloy's name from the pages of Blue Ridge Outdoors as a Johnson City, Tennessee-based outdoor writer primarily focused on the southe...
Risa Shimoda
More than 30 years ago, Shimoda began representing the U.S. on the international stage as a top-ranked squirt boater, and she continued to compete with six appe...
John Lederer
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, and the Mayflower came over with the pilgrims in 1620, but it wasn't until 1669 that European explorers to the New Worl...
Lauren Tamayo
Growing up just outside the track cycling mecca of Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, Lauren Tamayo began racing at age 13 and kicked off with a USA Cycling Junior Trac...
Richard Dunn
Richard Dunn has played nearly every role there is in competitive cycling racer, coach, team manager, race coordinator since he began his racing career in 1...
Horace Kephart
Considered one of the fathers of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, writer Horace Kephart passionately advocated for the creation of the national park and wro...
John Grace
The Green River just south of Asheville pulled kayaker John Grace from his native Indiana to live in the mountains of North Carolina, but an adventure he shared...
Sean Cobourn
As a personal-injury lawyer and a climber, Sean Cobourn is well aware of the legal issues surrounding access to routes on private lands, and he patiently works ...
Woody Keen
Few people fight for mountain biking trails with the level of passion Woody Keen brings to his advocacy. After specializing in climbing-related endeavors for th...
Ben King
Born in Richmond and raised near Charlottesville, pro road cyclist Ben King has long used the rising and falling Blue Ridge roads of his home state to his full ...
Chip Chase
The White Grass cross-country area in the Canaan Valley of West Virginia can thank Chip Chase for its name. Chase began skiing in the area in the early 1970s an...
Mike Fischesser
With experiences as a climber, caver and alpinist, Mike Fischesser knows the power of exploration, and his mission to empower others to expand their limits led ...
Jim Snyder
Whitewater innovator Jim Snyder began paddling at age 11 in Ohio and raced during his youth, and at age 15 he began working as a raft guide on the Youghiogheny ...
Trevor Thomas
When Trevor Thomas lost his sight in the mid-2000s, he at first felt that his lack of vision meant his loss of independence and that he would forever have to re...
Chris Scott
A leading mountain biking advocate for the southeast, former pro mountain biker and a co-owner of Shenandoah Mountain Touring near George Washington National Fo...
David Horton
Liberty University Professor David Horton draws on his experiences competing in more than 160 ultramarathons, of which he won 40, in his academic lessons in adv...
