Above tree line, conditions can be extreme. Temperature swings, high winds, icy winters, blowing snow, and acidic soil all make the so-called alpine zone a tough place for plants to live and grow. Yet many…
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The Right Time to Bail: Outdoor Safety Tips Every Hiker Should Know
On a freezing night in early May, a search and rescue crew set off into a squall on a high-stakes mission: a 63-year-old man had vanished somewhere near Franconia Ridge. He’d been missing for three...
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Editor’s note: Each spring, AMC volunteer and professional trail maintenance crews take to the trails across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to get them ready for the summer hiking season. The following article is excerpted…
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Reaching the summit after a long hike can feel like entering another world: amazing views, occasionally wild weather—and unique plants. Despite the harsh conditions associated with being above tree line in the so-called alpine zone…
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The following was published in the 2016 Winter/Spring edition of Appalachia. Twelve years ago, in December 2003, the Appalachian Mountain Club bought Little Lyford Pond Camps (as it was called then) and the surrounding 37,000…
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Permanent ponds are scattered across the highest elevation ridges and ravines in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. All of these ponds are accessible by hiking trails, and many feature AMC overnight facilities nearby. The best known…
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Late in the summer of 1996, by the banks of the Colorado River where it crosses through Austin, Texas, a group of researchers demonstrated something remarkable. While examining how water moves underground through a karst…
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While it’s not uncommon for residents throughout the Northeast to report bear sightings in their neighborhood, spotting a bear during the winter season might raise a few questions. Black bears typically hibernate from mid-December to…
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What is the value of a striking vista, and what would we do to preserve it from development? That is the question being asked by Protect the View, an online, AMC-led campaign seeking to…
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Climate change does not affect all regions the same. And its impacts vary from season to season. These regional and seasonal discrepancies are attributed to the fact that weather patterns across the globe already differ…
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