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Outdoors

Southwestern Montana skaters seek ‘wild ice’ for gliding

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The sharp scrape of steel on ice cut through a rare windless December morning at the Silos on Canyon Ferry Reservoir as a quartet of skaters moved briskly across the smooth frozen surface. A mild reflection grew across the ice as they approached, slowing to a stop near the shore before a few pushes on the skates sent them gliding once again, becoming only specks against the outline of Mount Baldy in the background. “It’s so graceful and the possibilities are endless,” said Dale Livezey from Helena, skating backward as he spoke. “When the ice is smooth ...

New TART Trails to be cultivated for walks, bikes

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Two inches. It’s the magic number that gets Dave Fisher to start up his truck and rig up his plow to clear snow from several miles of the Traverse Area Recreational and Transportation Trails in Leelanau County. The 61-year-old retiree heads out day or night, weekday or weekend to keep the trails accessible for local walkers, runners and bicyclists. A new section, from Cherry Bend Road to the DeYoung Natural Area on the northern shore of Cedar Lake, joins his plowing docket this year as TART Trails expands foot traffic routes. “I try to stay on it ...

Northwoods Trails in Arkansas has strong opening

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — About a month after its grand opening, the Northwoods Trails have seen constant activity that’s not expected to slow down anytime soon, according to the trail coordinator. Traci Berry, trail coordinator for the Northwoods, said the steady visitation prompted the need for increased parking to accommodate trail users. “We’ve had a lot of pretty weekends since we’ve been open,” she told The Sentinel-Record . “The weather has been super kind to us and you go down there to the trailhead and people are just parked everywhere. People waiting on a ...

New parents leading by fitness example

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — On Oct. 27, Fayetteville residents Wendy and Brad Scott took to the waters of the Tennessee River to compete in the Chattajack 31, a paddling event that features 500 to 600 competitors annually. It was the Scotts’ second go at the competition — they competed individually on stand-up paddleboards in 2017 — but it was the first time they competed as a team, as they paddled a tandem canoe across the finish line. The competition, Wendy Scott says, was marked on their 2018 calendar as soon as they completed the 2017 event. “This race has a special ...

Wing shooting and migratory birds

If you’ve never felt the satisfaction of knocking a grouse out of the air with a shotgun while it darted seemingly effortlessly through the dense woods, or dropped a pheasant as it rose from the thick underbrush, you’re missing out. If you’ve never witnessed a flock of ducks or geese locked in and about to land on your spread of decoys before taking them down and watching a retriever work a marsh or field collecting birds, you’re definitely missing out. With thousands of hunting tales swimming through my mind, some of my fondest memories “plucked from the pool” come from ...

Joys of hunting and parenthood

This past spring, I had the opportunity to share in a turkey hunt that has, in a way, become a yearly tradition. One of my best friends, Chase Savage of Annapolis, Maryland, comes once a year to hunt long beards with me here in Virginia. Chase is a combat wounded Marine Corps Veteran who lost ...