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Some of my Favorite Links

This first group of links (in alphabetical order) are special since all of them have also included a link to my website from theirs. Some of them might also be listed again in the "resources" section below if there is an outdoor related category for them. If you'd like to share a link please email me at:


lightningbolt94ATyahooDOTcom (Replace AT and DOT with obvious symbols.)

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Appalachian Trail Conference Organization dedicated to the preservation of the 2,158 mile trail.
Backpacker Magazine The website of wilderness travel.
Backpacking Light E-Group Great discussion group about lightening up your backpack.
Backwoods Home Magazine Practical ideas for self-reliant living.
Cub Scout Pack 507 Cub Scout Pack 507 in Lisle/Naperville, Illinois is a very nice and complete website where it is obvious that kids come first!
Dave, Leslie, & David's CDT Hike Rarely does a family attempt to thru-hike a long distance trail for thousands of miles but in April of 2005 Dave and fiancé Leslie along with his 15 year old son will begin their hike and for a great cause.
Hungry Howie Join Hungry Howie as he lives out his dreams on the trail!
Hud Hartson's 2003 A.T. thru-hike Follow along as Hud, his girlfriend Krystal, and dog "Shasta" thru-hike from Georgia to Maine on the Applachian Trail.
Jagbag silk liners "Jagbag" silk sleeping bag liners are my favorite and what I use on my long distance hikes.
Jesse Martin- Australian Adventurer! At only 18 years old Jesse Martin did his homework planning the adventure of his life, then grabbed his school books and became the youngest person in history to sail solo around the world! Visit his website for regular updates on his current adventures.
Jim Damico From Africa, to Europe, and all over America join Jim as he discovers the world by bicycle or backpack.
Mike's Mega Bicycle Links Tons of bicycling links.
Minnesota Trapper's Association My trapper friends up north.
National Trapper's Association Promoting ethical trapping as a valuable wildlife management tool.
Onestep's Ultralight Backpacking Resource An Ultralight Backpacker from Maine
Only The Lightest Camping Equipment Sells lightweight backpacking gear.
Pacific Crest Trail Association Organization dedicated to the preservation of the 2,658 mile trail.
Peace & Carrots Farm Visit Heather on her Vermont homestead if you'd like to meet someone who has taken life by the horn and is riding it for all it's worth! She's built her own house, hiking the Eastern Continental Divide Trail, and I especially like her "How To Unschool College" page.
Peak To Peak A nice trail and wilderness links resource
Penn State University Wow! It was nice to discover that my website is used as part of an internet assignment on the Appalachian Trail at Penn State!
Tony "Faceless" Pisarra's accidental 2002 Appalachian Trail thru-hike. A nice thru-hike journal plus a lot of hiking information.
Trail Journals Real hiker's journals from a lot of trails.
Trailquest Hiking on the AT, PCT, and CDT with "Brawny and Rainmaker". This is one of the most informative hiking sites on the net!

Extraordinary Personal Adventure!

If you ever wonder what inspires me to reach for the stars then I can only say "That it is perhaps because we inspire each other by sharing." If you too also seek the road less traveled then these links should offer some inspiration and a good begining to traveling your own unique journey while here on earth for a while!

Alastair Humphreys "The Guinness Book of Records defines a journey around the world as one that covers 16,000 miles and 4 continents. Now I am doing the job properly: 50,000 miles, 5 continents, 50 countries. Alone and on a bicycle. No buses, no hitching, no support vehicles." Alastair Humphreys
Andrew Harper The Capricorn Expedition is the record setting 229 day trek across Australia and the first to follow the Tropic Of Capricorn... utilizing the effiecency of camels to make it all happen.
Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen On February 11, 2001 Ann and Liv became the first two women to traverse the windy continent of Antarctica... sking 2,400 miles and pulling 250-pound sleds loaded with food and supplies. In 2005 they will attempt to become the first women to cross the Arctic Ocean.
Bikes On Ice In 1900, two remarkable one thousand mile bicycle trips forever shaped Klondike Gold Rush legend. Max Hirschberg and Ed Jesson had dreams of striking it rich on the "gold-lined" beaches of Nome when they decided to ride a bicycle from Dawson City in the dead of winter. Upon research the team of Kevin Vallely and Andy Sterns realized that no one had ever successfully repeated these famous journeys. To do it was a challenge they found irresistible. BIKES ON ICE is their adventure.
Brian Robinson Brian is the first person to complete a successful thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, The Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail ("The Triple Crown") all within one calendar year. I enjoyed reading his register entries during my own 2001 Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike. Amazing accomplishment!
Brink Expedition Imagine covering 31,000 miles through some of the most difficult terrain and extreme weather on the planet using human power and the natural elements. Starting deep in the heart of Amazonian South America, two Aussie brothers will battle unforgiving Patagonian winds, 16,000 foot Himalayan passes and the dusty Australian Outback in an attempt to traverse the globe within 1000 days, reaching Sydney Harbour by Australia Day, 2006.
Colin Angus At only 19 years old Colin was part of the first team to raft the entire Amazon and the Yenisey in Siberia and at the time of this posting he is on a human powered journey from Vancouver to Moscow.
Dave, Leslie, & David's CDT Hike Rarely does a family attempt to thru-hike a long distance trail for thousands of miles but in April of 2005 Dave and fiancé Leslie along with his 15 year old son will begin their hike and for a great cause.
David McKern A man and his dog across Australia alone on foot.
Dave Kunst- Earthwalker The first verified walk around the earth, an awesome adventure! 6/20/1970 - 10/5/1974
Eric Philips If you like adventure on the ice then you should visit Eric Philips who has skied to both the North and South Poles, climbed Everest, plus a WHOLE lot more!
Fiona Thornewill Fastest (man or woman) to ski - Geographic South Pole - unsupported in 41 days 9 hours.
Footsteps of Man 40,000 miles. 4 continents. 7 years. Traversing the long land-axis of earth, from Africa to South America. A journey on foot, following man out of Africa, and on across the world.
Gary Nero In 1999 after ten years of preparation 51 year old Gary Nero got on his bicycle and pedaled 20,600 miles around the contiguous United States on his one-man, yearlong Last G.A.S.P. Bicycle Tour!
Gary "Walkingman" Hause Join Gary on his 35,000 mile walk around the world.
Iceland Expedition 2003 Join a small team of sea kayakers as they circumnavigate 1,700 miles around Iceland in 81 days... and totally self sufficent with no logistical shore support.
Jim Damico-"Wandering The World" Jim has made adventure and personal discovery a dominant part of his life journey so check out his site where you will find him hiking in Spain, trekking in Africa, and all over North America.
Jesse Martin- Australian Adventurer At only 18 years old Jesse Martin did his homework planning the adventure of his life, then grabbed his school books and became the youngest person in history to sail solo around the world! Visit his website for regular updates on his current adventures.
Joe Kolodziejski- Philly Joe When Joe was diagnosed with cancer on his 50th birthday he decided to fight for life and with an unyielding love for America he set off on a 24,000 mile canoe trip to circumnavigate the contiguous 48 states.
Karl Bushby The Goliath Expedition is a 36,000 mile around the world walk across four continents, 25 countries, crossing a frozen sea, six deserts, seven mountain ranges in one non-stop journey.
Mike Blyth and Olivier Aubert The 1999 South to South Expedition holds the current World Record for the longest ever unsupported Flight by trike. For 8 months in 1999 Olivier Aubert and Mike Blyth covered 27,000 miles in a flight around the world that goes beyond the imagination. .
Norman Vaughan Since the 1980's I've kept up with this historic and great American adventurer. Norman Vaughan was part of history as the chief dog driver on the first Byrd Antarctic Expedition in 1928-30 and they were the first Americans to set foot in the interior of Antarctica and discovered land never seen before by man. To honor Norman, Admiral Byrd named a mountain after him. In 1994 at age 89 Norman fulfilled a lifelong dream by climbing Mount Vaughan, a 10,302' Antarctic peak. Now he plans on going back to celebrate his 100th birthday at the top again in 2005!
"Nimblewill Nomad" In 1998 “EB” Eberhart a retired doctor hiked from the southern tip of Florida over 4,000 miles to the Cliffs of Forillon in Quebec, then a couple of years later did virtually the same hike in reverse with more than 5,000 miles to his credit that time! Search his site for the details of a very moving personal journey.
Ray Kreisel "For five months in the thin air of Tibet and Western China I made my way over dirt tracks and around Chinese police checkpoints. Throughout most of history this part of the planet has remained closed to Western travelers. During the spring and summer of 1994 only a few short portions of my 3300-mile bicycle trip crossed sections of Tibet and China that were officially open to foreigners." - Ray Kreisel
Serco TransArctic Expedition In 2004 Ben Saunders set out to ski solo more than 1,200 miles across the Arctic from the Russian edge of the arctic ice pack to Canada via the North Geographic Pole. In the weeks that followed Ben experienced what NASA called 'the worst conditions on record'. Of the four solo expeditions that started out that year, one died and two were rescued suffering from frostbite and injuries. Ben was the only solo expedition to make it to the North Pole and in doing so set a world record; he is by far the youngest person to reach the North Pole solo.
Solo Ice Expedition "In March 2004 I finally completed the first West to East solo winter crossing, on foot, of Iceland's Vatnajokull ice cap. This website is an archive of my experiences, which began with my first attempt in December 2000."- Cameron Smith
SoloMAX An ongoing adventure..."SoloMAX is about going solo to find one's unique path and living fearlessly to get the MAX out of life..."
Tim Cope journeys At only 25 years old Tim Cope has spent 14 months pedaling a bike across Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, & China... rowed a boat 2,800 miles down the Yenisey to the Arctic Ocean... and in 2004 he has begun a 6,000 mile, 18 month journey by horse from Mongolia to Hungary. Check him out!
Transcon-Camel Expedition In 2004 Dean Koopman will take on all the triumphs and heart wrenching moments that this country has to offer during the longest non-stop solo camel expedition that Australia has ever seen, which will cover over five thousand kilometres in around nine months!
Verlen Kruger Verlen Kruger has paddled a lifetime total of over 100,000 miles. That's over 30,000 miles more than anyone else in the history of the world according to the Guinness Book of Records! The world lost a great man and a great adventurer with his passing in 2004 at age 82. Verlen was one of my greatest inspirations as I followed his Ultimate Canoe Challenge in Canoe Magazine back in the 1980's.

Yukon River Adventure!

Yukon Canoe Odyssey In 2002 Stan Hanson had the very unique opportunity to join a team of paddler's in celebration of legendary adventurist Verlen Kruger's 80th birthday, who also paddled the 2,000 miles across Alaska. Join Stan and the team as they paddle into America's greatest wilderness.
Yukon River Quest The Yukon River Quest is the longest endurance marathon canoe & kayak race in the world!! Where else could you paddle 24 hours a day?.
Yukon River History Flip Stoker's 1998 canoe adventure from Whitehorse to Dawson City on the Yukon. Short but a lot of good information on the history of this first 500 miles of the Yukon.
1997 Yukon River trip A 3-part series (plus a photo album) describing a mans journey down the Yukon River to Dawson City with his son in July 1997.
1996 Yukon River trip "My husband Don and I decided to follow the trail of ’98, by hiking the Chilkoot Trail and paddling the Yukon River from Bennett Lake to Dawson City. Our 22 day journey covered a distance of over 900 kilometres."

Hiking, Bicycling, and Paddling Organizations


Various outdoor organizations where you can get lots of information, maps, books, etc. on a lot of great adventures.

Adventure Cycling Association The very best resource available for the long distance bicyclist... maps, routes, equiptment, you name it.
Appalachian Long Distance Hiker's Assn. (ALDHA) A great "Gathering" of folks who thrive on hiking.
American Long Distance Hiker's Association- West Another group of folks who love to hike in the Western USA.
Appalachian Trail Conference Organization dedicated to the preservation of the 2,158 mile trail.
The Arizona Trail Association Will eventually be a 790 mile trail that traverses the State from Mexico to Utah.
Colorado Trail Foundation Everything you want to know about the 475 mile Colorado Trail.
The Continental Divide Trail Society Dedicated to the planning, development, and maintenance of the 3,100 mile trail, Mexico to Canada.
Florida Trail Association All about the scenic Florida Trail.
The International Appalachian Trail And you thought that the Appalachian Trail ended in Maine.
The North Country National Scenic Trail A footpath that one day will stretch more than 4,000 miles to link communities and wilderness areas across seven northern states!
Pacific Crest Trail Association Organization dedicated to the preservation of the 2,658 mile trail.

General Backpacking Resources

Backpacker Magazine The website of wilderness travel.
Trail Journals Real hiker's journals from a lot of trails.
World's Largest Trail Database Look up just about any trail in the world from England, to Austrailia, the USA, you name it!

Appalachian Trail

Damascus Appalachian Trail Days The premier Appalachian Trail celebration
Hud Hartson's 2003 A.T. thru-hike Follow along as Hud, his girlfriend Krystal, and dog "Shasta" thru-hike from Georgia to Maine on the Applachian Trail.
Tony "Faceless" Pisarra's accidental 2002 Appalachian Trail thru-hike. A nice thru-hike journal plus a lot of hiking information.
Trailquest Hiking on the AT, PCT, and CDT with "Brawny and Rainmaker". This is one of the most informative hiking sites out there!
Wandering The World Join "Dragon Breath" on some of his A.T. thru-hike and many other adventures.

Pacific Crest Trail

ADZPCTKO Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off gathering... the most perfect way to begin a successful thru-hike!
Craig's PCT Planning Program Great program for planning your PCT thru-hike.
Henry Shire's Pacific Crest Trail Hike Journals of Henry's 1999 PCT thru-hike, plus a whole lot more!
Trailquest Hiking on the AT, PCT, and CDT with "Brawny and Rainmaker"

Ultralight/Lightweight Backpacking


I'm always looking for new ways to lighten up my load so that I can enjoy the wilderness that I came to experience... and not a broken back!

Adventure Alan's Ultralight Backpacking Page Great introduction for wanna-be ultralighters!
Backpacking Gear Weight Calculator Nice program for organizing your gear weight.
Backpacking Light E-Group Great discussion group about lightening up your backpack.
Backpacking Light The journal of lightweight backcountry travel
Charlie Duane's Hiking Vermont Page Check out his "Ultralight Report" link.
Glen's Ultralight Backpacking Some homemade gear and other ultralighting ideas.
Great Lakes Lightweight Backpacking Some good ideas from northern lower Michigan.
Henry Shires TarpTent Directions for making your own 18 ounce shelter and the one that I used on the 2,700 mile Pacific Crest Trail.
John O's Ultralight Backpacking Page Lots of original information on backpacking light!
Michael Connick's Ultralight Page Lots of original information on backpacking light!
Onestep's Ultralight Backpacking Resource An Ultralight Backpacker from Maine
Joe's Ultralight Backpacking Trip reports, gear, food, philosophy and enough info to keep you busy for a while!
Kenneth Knight's Web Pages Some ultralighting pages worth a visit.
SGT. Rock's Hiking H.Q. Sgt. Rock is gonna make a real hiker out of you!
Ultra-Lightweight Hiking Gear Review Lots of gear reviews.

My favorite Commercial Outfitter's

Backcountry Gear Lots of interesting gear.
Cabela's Lots of great hiking gear and reliable
Campmor Plenty of outdoor gear for all kinds of adventures.
Folbot Folding Kayak's The kayak I used to paddle the Yukon river across Alaska.
GoLite I used their "Breeze" backpack for my 2001 Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike.
High Country Foam Pads Lightest foam pads for backpacking in the world, made from evazote
Jagbag silk liners "Jagbag" silk sleeping bag liners are my favorite and what I use on my long distance hikes.
Only The Lightest Camping Equipment Sells lightweight backpacking gear.
R.E.I. A good reliable outdoor outfitter.

Miscellaneous Sites of Interest

30 day weather forecast When planning a long distance adventure it's nice to look ahead for an idea on the weather.
Association For Experiential Education Great online Jobs Clearinghouse for those who are looking for a rewarding career in experiential education, most of which are in the Great Outdoors.
Boy Scouts of America Please support your local scouts and the funding agencies that support them. Scouting provided me with a lot of opportunity as a kid and thousands of volunteers continue the tradition today.
Earth & Moon Viewer I love this website where you can view the day and night regions of the earth at this moment from satellite data, plus a whole lot more!
Eckerd Youth Alternatives The number one innovative wilderness program for helping youth-at-risk... and where I have found my career for more than two decades.
Fox News Channel How refreshing to finally have a news channel that is fair and balanced and consistently kills CNN in the ratings... wonder why?
Google One of the top search engines out there... both fast and thorough!
Knots on the Web The biggest resource for knots I've ever found!
Outward Bound USA In 1979 I took a 28 day wilderness course with Outward Bound and must say that it had a powerful impact on the direction that my life would take. In 1984 I worked with youth-at-risk in their Directive program. I can't say enough good things about Outward Bound!
RefDesk.com You can find almost anything that's out there.
Unisys Weather A complete source of graphical weather information useful to the professional pilot or the weekend hiker.
"Your Money Or Your Life" This is quite possibly the one book that I have read, re-read and studied more than any other book in my life! If you desire to be financially independent (FI) at a VERY early age while cultivating a healthy relationship with money, then you must study this book. The steps really work, from finding your own personal comfort level of "enough" to investment, and finally FI when YOU can decide the direction of your own life...where you work, how long you work, or don't work for money at all... YOU have the power to decide. One of the most liberating experiences of my life was found through absorbing and implementing the steps in this book and a comfortable FI life can be acheived by anyone no matter what your marital, educational, or current financial status might be if you have the discipline to set a goal and stay the course.

The Best of Software, Programs, & Cyber-Space

Ad-Aware In this day and age I can't even imagine not having some kind of anti-spyware program. Ad-Aware will clean up all the spy-ware that is constantly hidden on your computer as you surf the net and without your consent! I run it at least once a week with great results.
FavOrg Internet Explorer does not save these nifty website icons but this free program will do it for you. I love those little things called favicon's!
Atomic Clock Sync Another sweet (and free) little program that you can set to automatically ping an atomic clock every 24 hours to keep the time and date on your computer accurate to the second. No hidden spyware or other junk... just a nice little program to have.
AVG Anti-Virus For years I paid the annual update subscription to the Norton Anti-Virus program, then I discovered the AVG program which had great reviews. You can set it to retrieve new updates at your own direction and it is FREE! Just look for the "free edition" on the main website for a download.
CookieWall I've been using this tiny free program for over a year now and it seems to do a great job at helping me (not cyberspace) to manage all the cookies that various websites like to place on my computer. Whenever a new cookie is detected, CookieWall immediately asks me what I want to do with it... (1)List it to be automatically deleted in the future. (2)Delete from disk now, or (3)Place it in my list of "good" cookies.
msconfig start-up list I felt like my prayers were answered after finding this website run by an English fellow named Paul Collins (aka Pacman). Paul has an ongoing list of thousands of various start-up programs with their abbreviations so that you can keep uneeded programs from starting up via the "msconfig" program on all Microsoft computers. My computer now starts up MUCH faster.
Fort'e Agent Simply the number #1 usenet newsreader out there! Free Agent is nice but for just a few dollars you can get the souped-up "Agent" which is well worth it.
Google Toolbar This little program will put the mega-powerful Google search engine with all the goodies right on your toolbar... now that's convenience! It also has a very effective "pop-up" zapper that you can turn on or off at will.
Startup Control Panel Another small free program that will place itself on your control panel allowing you to check the programs that you wish to load when your computer boots up.
Winzip Is internet communication even possible without this program? At some point you're gonna need a good zip program so why not get the best? Winzip now also comes with very powerful 256 bit AES encryption.
ZoneAlarm One of the most powerful firewall's around... and it's freeware! It's amazing how many folks that would never leave their house unlocked for a minute, but leave their computer completely open to hacker's... and today's hacker's are VERY smart!
IrfanView One of the most powerful viewers in the world and yes, it is free. This is a program that I use almost every single day... a must have!


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