Hiking News - November 2011

Our Hiking News Desk stays up-to-date with all the camping events and news items from around the globe. This is the news archive of November 2011. Get your daily hiking news updates right here. You can use the Display Mode changer below to view our news in different formats:

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AMC Offers 30% Off Winter Savings

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Ski and snowshoe in New Hampshire's White Mountains this winter and save 30 percent at the Appalachian Mountain Club's (AMC) two full-service lodges, Highland Lodge at Crawford Notch and Joe Dodge Lodge at Pinkham Notch. Take advantage of this special winter deal with a two-night stay at either AMC lodge, January 2 - March 29, 2012, when visiting Sunday through Thursday. Further savings include t he guest's choice of a free trail lunch or a cross-country ski ticket to Bretton Woods Nordic Center, one of the largest in the East.

Visit AMC's Winter Guide at http://www.outdoors.org/winterguide to get information about all of AMC's winter deals and packages-including guided family outdoor adventures, Maine Woods lodge-to-lodge skiing, and "learn-to" skills instruction for winter mountaineering, ice climbing, and more.

The AMC's Highland Lodge and Joe Dodge Lodge are nestled in the heart of majestic White Mountain settings with doorstep access to many miles of snowshoe and backcountry ski trails. Both lodges are also only a few minutes away from local downhill and cross-country ski areas, including Bretton Woods, Wildcat, and Great Glen Trails. Highland Lodge offers the added convenience of a ski connector trail linking lodge guests with the Nordic network at Bretton Woods, plus Joe Dodge Lodge guests can cross-country ski and tube for free at Great Glen Trails all winter long.

AMC's winter 30% off mid-week deal additionally includes a four-course, family-style dinner and hot buffet breakfast, along with free guided walk-on activities such as snowshoe walks and naturalist-led ski tours as scheduled.

Rates and reservations:
Save 30% off AMC member and non-member rates with a two-night stay at Highland Lodge or Joe Dodge Lodge and receive a free trail lunch (up to 13.50 value) or cross-country ski ticket to Bretton Woods (up to $19 value). Offer valid January 2 - March 29, 2012 (excluding January 16 and February 19 - 23, 2012), Sunday-Thursday nights. New reservations only; taxes not included. Mention promotion code WMW12 when booking.

With the 30% savings, Highland Lodge nightly rates start as low as $66.50 per person for adult non-members ($55.30 for AMC members). Joe Dodge Lodge nightly rates start at $56 per person for adult non-members ($46.90 for AMC members). Rates are based on bunkroom accommodations with shared bathroom. Private and family rooms with private and shared baths are available at an additional cost. Discounted child and teen rates are also available.

Visit http://www.outdoors.org/winterguide or call (603) 466-2727 for reservations.

Arizona River Runners Announces New Hikers Special

Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Arizona River Runners (ARR) recently added an early season, oar powered “Hiker’s Special” to their 2012 schedule of Grand Canyon rafting trips. The river outfitter’s April Colorado River trips provide excellent conditions for hiking, with average day-time high temperatures in the mid-80s and night-time lows in the mid-50s. These trips are offered at special early season pricing.

ARR wi ll be offering this new 15-day oar powered journey covering 225 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon from April 12-26, 2012. This longer trip offers more time each day to experience the variety of side canyon hikes throughout the Canyon, where hikers can reach stunning waterfalls, unmatched Grand Canyon views, ancient petro glyphs and the site of Anasazi granaries.

This “Hiker’s Special” has two additional trip options. The upper Canyon 7-day oar powered rafting trip covers 87 river miles, has a required 7.5 mile hike out of the Canyon on Bright Angel Trail from Phantom Ranch, and is scheduled for April 12-18, 2012. The lower Canyon 9-day oar powered river trip begins with a required 7.5 mile hike into the Canyon from the South Rim and travels 135 river miles through the inner gorge ending at Diamond Creek. The dates are April 18-26, 2012 with optional pre and post-trip transportation available from, and back to, Las Vegas.

Bruce Winter, co-owner of ARR, says, “After the great success we have had the last two years with our April motorized “Hiker’s Specials” we decided to offer the oar powered whitewater trip for 2012 as well. Many guests request more time for longer hikes and this is a great time to also enjoy the added beauty of the spring bloom and the cooler temperatures.”

An Authorized Concessionaire of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona River Runners has been leading Grand Canyon rafting excursions on the Colorado River since 1970, and is one of the most innovative, progressive and well-respected outfitters operating in the Grand Canyon. ARR operates customized, state of the art rafts and all whitewater trips are all-inclusive; all food, camping and day gear required for trip participants are included.

For more information on these and other available Grand Canyon white water rafting trips, please visit www.raftarizona.com or call 1-800-477-7238.

Horny Toad Launches Online Holiday Giving Program

Monday, 28 November 2011

Horny Toad, the Santa Barbara-based lifestyle apparel company, is launching today its first annual Holiday Giving Program. Designed to raise money and awareness for select outstanding nonprofit organizations during the holiday shopping season, it is the company’s latest effort to support environmental and social nonprofit organizations.

For five consecutive weeks starting the week of T hanksgiving, Horny Toad is partnering with five nonprofits. Each week, Horny Toad will donate 20 percent of its profits from all online sales that include the special promotional code for that week’s charitable organization. Additionally, Horny Toad will donate two percent of all net web sales each week to the selected nonprofit.

“At Horny Toad, we believe that the natural, social and physical environments are intrinsically intertwined, each unable to exist without the other. Incorporating that ethos into everything we do, we are launching our inaugural Holiday Giving Program, ” said Blair Brown, Horny Toad marketing manager.

Continued Brown, "Supporting a cross section of environmental and humanitarian nonprofits, we intend to carry on a dialogue about supporting one another. These extraordinary organizations collectively express an unwavering commitment to a cause, the intention to make the world a better place, and a dedication to the process. We are excited to be a part of that process, and help raise awareness along the way.”

The first two nonprofits participating in the Holiday Giving Program are Heal the Bay (November 21 through 27), an organization dedicated to making southern California's coastal waters and watersheds safe, healthy and clean, and Direct Relief International (November 28 through December 4), a nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life by bringing critically needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide. The nonprofits for the remaining three promotional weeks will be announced on the Horny Toad website in December.

Since the company’s inception in 1996, Horny Toad has been committed to supporting nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to improving the world on local and global levels, including the Conservation Alliance, Environmental Defense Center, Leave No Trace, Telluride Mountainfilm, Mercy Corps and other environmental and social nonprofits.

In 1997, Horny Toad formed a partnership with Search Developmental Center to form Planet Access Company (PAC), an organization that provides opportunities for developmentally disabled adults. Horny Toad also founded Search for Adventure (SFA), an adventure travel program that uses proceeds from PAC and a grant from Horny Toad to introduce Search residents and members of the PAC work crew on trips to the outdoors.

Source: www.outdoorindustry.org

The North Face Awards $125,000 in the Explore Fund

Friday, 25 November 2011

The North Face today announced that it has awarded the second round of Explore Fund grants for 2011, over $125,000 in grants to 51 projects that will affect more than 30,000 children across the nation. The North Face introduced the Explore Fund (www.explorefund.org) in 2010 and the program has since provided more than half a million dollars in grants to organizations committed to breaking down ba rriers to getting youth outdoors.

The recent decline of outdoor activity has especially impacted low-income and urban youth. The North Face and the Explore Fund place a great deal of importance on programs that focus on getting a broader audience to push their limits outdoors. This cycle, 60 percent of grants, a total of $77,000, was awarded to outdoor organizations with a focus on increasing diversity.

"Through Girls on Ice, teenage girls gain confidence in their own intellectual and critical thinking skills, technical mountaineering and wilderness skills, and leadership skills. Our free science and mountaineering expeditions allow girls from diverse backgrounds to spend 11 days exploring glaciers and alpine landscapes," Marijke Habermann, director of Girls on Ice and ExploreFund recipient, said. "The North Face funding will help Girls on Ice create not only life-long friendships, but also life-long advocates for the value of science in understanding Alaskan landscapes."

Fall/Winter funds were granted to organizations across the country that ignite a stronger connection with the outdoors with a focus on:

$70,000 Access to front and back country recreation
$37,000 Connection to nature that will empower the future leaders of tomorrow
$18,000 Education for personal and environmental health

For more details, grantee profiles, highlights and ongoing updates, please visit www.planetexplore.com/explorefund. There you’ll be able to keep up to date with the inspiring works Explore Fund Grantees such as Paradox Sports, The Women’s Wilderness Institute and SkiDUCK are doing.

"We believe in the importance of bringing youth together from diverse backgrounds and providing them with opportunities to get outdoors," said Ann Krcik, director of Outdoor Exploration at The North Face. "We support organizations that work to create these opportunities for youth because we’ve seen firsthand how these programs can ignite a passion for the outdoors and teach them the importance of protecting the places we play for generations to come."

Source: www.outdoorindustry.org

Trimble Launches New Mobile Apps for the Outdoors

Thursday, 24 November 2011

Trimble today released a suite of apps for outdoor enthusiasts to plan trips and navigate the outdoors. The first app, Trimble Outdoors MyTopo Maps, is a mapping and trip planning app for the Apple iPad to organize outdoor adventures. The second app, Trimble Outdoors Navigator, is an in-the-field GPS navigation and mapping app for iPhone and Android devices to use on trails and in remote backcoun try areas.

Although the two apps run independently, users' personal trips can be exchanged between the apps via the free Trimble Outdoors Trip Cloud, a wireless service that allows users to exchange trips between apps and trimbleoutdoors.com.

"Our new ecosystem of apps and digital maps covers a full range of navigation needs for outdoor enthusiasts—from planning a trip at home or in the coffee shop to finding remote forest roads or campsites while in the outdoors," said Rich Rudow, general manager of Trimble Outdoors. "The new apps offer best-in-class topographic and aerial maps, and tools to answer the specific demands of hikers, off-roaders and other outdoor enthusiasts."

Trimble Outdoors MyTopo Maps

Runs on: iPad
Best for: Scouting trails and parks, planning outdoor trips, viewing backcountry areas, mapping forest roads and campsites.

MyTopo Maps is a mapping and trip planning app to scout outdoor and back-road adventures. Users can start by viewing topographical maps in US and Canada, and also check out worldwide aerial, terrain, street and hybrid maps. Since no single map shows all the essential details to plan a trip, users can turn on Dual Map View to see two different maps at once.

Users can then search for more than 10-million places such as trails, peaks, lakes, rivers, and towns using Place Search. Additional powerful features that enhance the trip planning experience are a digital compass to overlay a compass on the map, a ruler to measure distance between two places, and Smart Paste to copy GPS points from web sites and instantly map their location.

This app is available on the Apple iPad App Store at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mytopo-maps-by-trimble-outdoors/id478007253?ls=1&mt=8.

Learn more about MyTopo Maps at: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/products/trimbleoutdoorsmytopomaps.

Trimble Outdoors Navigator

Runs on: iPhone and Android-compatible phones
Best for: GPS route finding, mapping and compass navigation, accessing offline topographical maps, recording hiking, camping, paddling, ATV riding, and off-roading trips.

Outdoor enthusiasts can navigate using their iPhone or Android phone to find trails, navigate off-road maps and share stories with their social networks. Trimble Outdoors Navigator provides access to more than 68,000 topo maps in the U.S. and Canada.

In the field, no cellular or data signal is needed for the app to work. It will provide maps and navigation guidance as well as track over 10 adventure statistics including distance traveled, elevation gain/loss, and speed. It will also allow the user to capture location-tagged pictures, audio, video and personal notes.

After returning from the field, the user can upload those pictures, audio, video and personal notes to create an exciting trip report that can be uploaded to Facebook and YouTube.

This app is available on the Apple App Store and Android Market. Get it at: http://get.it/trimbleoutdoors/8pIT.

Learn more and see images of the app at: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/products/trimbleoutdoorsnavigator.

For more information about Trimble Outdoors, visit www.TrimbleOutdoors.com.

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