Author: Darrin Youker
Julia Khorana can remember a time when the Deerfield River in Western Massachusetts was nearly unusable by paddlers and whitewater lovers. The problem, back in the early 1990s, was that the old hydroelectric dam that held back water in the summer months resulted in an unpredictable schedule of when water would be released into […]
John Donahue spent his entire career working for the National Park Service, protecting and promoting America’s public lands. Now, in retirement, the 68-year old spends his time advocating for the addition of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as a national park, citing the area’s unique characteristics, extensive history, and abundant outdoor recreation […]
Late last fall, Appalachian Mountain Club staff and volunteers celebrated the opening of a 3-mile rail trail that is an important link in a larger recreation initiative in eastern Pennsylvania. Taking nearly a decade to come to fruition, the conversion of this former commuter rail line into the Upper Bucks Rail Trail was a key […]
For more than four decades, Ken Powley has made his living on the Lehigh River. The founder of Whitewater Challengers, a whitewater rafting company in Weatherly, Pa., Powley has guided thousands of visitors over rapids, through a forested gorge and rugged terrain reminiscent of the famed whitewater rivers of the West. For Powley, this water […]
The trail to Pennsylvania’s Glen Onoko Falls became a victim of its own success. Widely considered one of the best waterfall hikes in the East, this short, steep trail leading to a series of falls—including the namesake Glen Onoko—is now closed to visitors. The Pennsylvania Game Commission, which manages the land on which the trail […]