May 22nd, 2012
Last Friday Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau awarded an additional $547,000 in grants for recreational trail projects across Tennessee.
The grants are through the Recreational Trails Program, a federally-funded program established to distribute funding for motorized, non-motorized and diverse recreation trail projects. The funds are available to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as non-profit organizations that have obtained IRS 501(c)(3) status and have a written trail management agreement with the agency that owns the property where the trail project is located.
Recreational Trails Program grants may be used for non-routine maintenance and restoration of existing trails, development and rehabilitation, trailside or trailhead facilities such as restrooms, kiosks and parking lots, construction of new trails and land acquisition for recreational trails or corridors.
Funding for RTP grants is provided by the Federal Highway Administration through the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation administers this grant program for the state. The maximum federal share for each project is 80 percent, with RTP grant recipients providing a 20 percent match.
Grant recipients were selected through a scoring process with careful consideration given to the projects that met the selection criteria and expressed the greatest local recreation need.
To learn more about the RTP grant program and other recreation or conservation-based grant programs available in the future, please
click here. For more information about the RTP grant program, contact Gerald Parish at (615) 532-0538 or
Gerald.Parish@tn.gov.
A complete list of the grants announced last Friday can be found
here.
Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Posted in Bob Martineau, Environment and Conservation Commissioner, Gov. Bill Haslam, Tennessee, recreational trail projects | Comments Off
May 21st, 2012
The
Friends of the Smokies Classic Hikes of the Smokies series continues next month with a hike along the Appalachian Trail and out to Andrews Bald.
Thursday, June 21: A.T. and Andrews Bald
7.2 miles, 1,600 ft ascent
We'll drop some cars at the Clingmans Dome Parking lot and drive back to the intersection with the Fork Ridge Trail. We'll walk up to Mt. Collins and to Clingmans Dome on the A.T. This section is also the start of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Then to Andrews Bald to see the marvelous rehabilitation of this trail by our Trails Forever Crew. We'll finish with a stop at the Clingmans Dome Information Center. Bring your Friends of the Smokies card and your NPS passport for a unique stamp.To register email Hannah Epperson at
hannah@friendsofthesmokies.org or call (828) 452-0720.
A donation of $35 to go to the Friends’ Smokies Trails Forever program is requested, and includes a complimentary membership to Friends of the Smokies. A donation of $10 is requested from current Friends of the Smokies members. Members who bring a friend hike for free.
For more information on the hike to Andrews Bald, please
click here.
Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Posted in Classic Hikes of the Smokies, Friends of the Smokies, andrews bald | Comments Off
May 21st, 2012
Adventure Freak loves Mammoth:
If you like to hike, Mammoth is a great base camp. You can pretty much walk out your door and just go.
1. The John Muir Trail runs a few miles from Mammoth. If you have the time and desire, you could hike south all the way to Mt Whitney or north to Yosemite.
2. Lakes area – there are a number of trails that leave from the lakes area that offer unlimited day hikes and connections to much longer journeys.
3. White Mountains – from Mammoth, you can’t miss these huge mountains to the south. The hiking is outstanding for two reasons – you get a great view of the Sierra and you get to see some of the oldest living things on earth, the Bristlecone Pines.
4. Yosemite offers hundreds of hikes that max out the wow scale.
If you like to camp, the possibilities are endless. Just point yourself toward the mountains and walk until you are tired. Wherever you end up, it will be a spectacular camp site. I am especially fond of the Duck Pass area. …
Great Outdoor Towns – Mammoth Lakes
Should Mammoth be added to our list?
top 10 hiking towns in the world
#1) Queenstown, New Zealand
#2) Huaraz, Peru
#3) Namche Bazaar, Nepal
#4) Cortina, Italy
#5) Chamonix, France
#6) Banff, Alberta, Canada
#7) Grindelwald, Switzerland
#8) El Calafate, Argentina
#9) Zermatt, Switzerland
10) Moab, Utah
Devil’s Postpile
Posted in alpine, product endorsements | Comments Off
May 20th, 2012
Posted in Hyatt Lane | Comments Off
May 19th, 2012
Endurance athletes have been chasing a natural oxygen boost for decades. The answer may be as simple as eating your vegetables.
Looking for a competitive edge for the next club ride, or maybe just a boost to make over that next ridgeline, you may want to consider beet juice!
"In 2009, a small study done at England’s Exeter University caught the attention of the fitness world. Researchers discovered that competitive cyclists who drank half a liter (about 16 ounces) of beet juice right before they got on their bikes were able to ride 16 percent longer."If that statistic got your attention, you may want to check out this
article published on the Outside Magazine website last week.
Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
Posted in beet juice | Comments Off
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