Weekly Roundup Archives - ��ԹϺ�� Online

This Week in News: Yellowstone Bear Attack and Scandal at the Stone Skimming Championship

Maddy Dapcevich — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 19:51:50 +0000

A 29-year-old hiker was attacked earlier this week in Yellowstone National Park, plus millennia-old petroglyphs were reportedly damaged during construction at an Arizona church. ��ԹϺ�� has you covered in this edition of our weekly news roundup.

A grizzly in Yellowstone (Photo: National Park Service)

A Bear Attacked a Hiker in Yellowstone National Park

A 29-year-old solo hiker was hospitalized after a bear attacked him in Yellowstone National Park.

The National Park Service said in a that the hiker was walking alone along the Turbid Lake Trail, northeast of Yellowstone Lake’s Mary Bay, on September 16, when he ran into the bear. The hiker attempted to use his bear spray to ward off the animal, but he still suffered “significant but non-life-threatening injuries to his chest and left arm.”

Turbid Lake Trail remains closed in the wake of the attack.

On September 18, the NPS stated that the hiker was treated for his injuries and released from the hospital, according to the National Park Service. Officials investigated the attack site, discovered grizzly tracks near the trail, as well as the carcass of a dead animal.

Competitors select their stones during the World Stone Skimming Championships in 2016 (Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty images)

Here’s How to Cheat at an International Stone Skimming Championship

The World Stone Skimming Championships (WSSC), an annual international tournament for long-distance rock skimming, or skipping, is marred by a scandal after organizers said that multiple competitors admitted to cheating during the 2025 competition.

Organizers of the event, which was held on September 6 on Easdale Island, Scotland, on September 10 that numerous participants admitted to breaking the rules.

How, exactly, does one cheat at rock skimming? By doctoring their stones, of course.

A petroglyph panel in Northern Arizona displaying Sinaguan or Hohokam traditional markings (Photo: DOUGBERRY/Getty Images)

Southwest Petroglyphs Survived 1,000 Years—Until a Church Underwent Construction

A series of petroglyphs estimated to be between 700 and 1,000 years old was allegedly damaged by construction crews renovating a church north of Phoenix, Arizona.

Phoenix city officials told ��ԹϺ�� that when city staff went to the site on September 12, it appeared as if rocks, including those that contained the petroglyphs, may have “been pushed around by heavy machinery.” The stones were not removed from the property, officials said.

The full extent of the damage is unclear, though some social media users have stated that the petroglyphs were “bulldozed.” Petroglyphs in Arizona are protected by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. State laws also provide for both felony and misdemeanor prosecution with imprisonment and fines.

“We are still gathering background information about the petroglyphs in question, but records suggest that the petroglyphs date between 1000 and 1300 AD,” officials added.

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This Week in News: Yellowstone’s Latest Threats and a New Speed Record on the Grand Teton

Maddy Dapcevich — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 18:47:31 +0000

Geysers in Yellowstone National Park are facing a new, unassuming threat. Plus, a 30-year-old woman has just broken the speed record for the Grand Teton trail. ��ԹϺ�� has you covered in this edition of our news roundup for the week of September 8.

What’s the Latest Threat to Yellowstone’s Geysers? Hats.

Just some of the hats collected by the Yellowstone National Park Geology Program from sensitive thermal areas throughout the park in 2025 (Photo: National Park Service photo by Margery Price)

Geologists in Yellowstone National Park are reporting an unusual threat to the area’s hydrothermal areas. According to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) observatory, lost hats are infiltrating the park’s hot springs, geysers, mudpots and fumeroles.

These aren’t just dollar-store hats either. The USGS estimates that headwear collected this year is worth over $6,000.

The park’s specially trained Geology Program is charged with cleaning up more than 10,000 iconic hydrothermal areas in Yellowstone National Park, including Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful. The team is constantly battling a daunting array of human litter—in 2025 alone, they have already collected “more than 13,000 pieces of trash, 4,000 rocks and sticks, and over 300 hats.”

A Man Is Dead After His Car Plunged into the Grand Canyon

Search and rescue responders standing at the edge near the South Kaibab Trailhead on Sunday (Photo: NPS Photo)

On Sunday, September 7, Park Service officials received reports of a car driving over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and then plunging 300 feet to the rocks below. According to a report, the driver was killed in the fall.

NPS identified the individual as Steven (Drew) Bradly, 27, of Federal Heights, Colorado. Authorities said that Bradley drove his car into the canyon near the South Kaibab Trailhead at approximately 12:40 P.M.

The NPS said it is investigating the incident alongside the local medical examiner. No additional information is currently available.

It’s not the first time this year that a driver has perished in a crash at the famed canyon.

There’s a New Speed Record on the Grand Teton. This One Is Legit.

Jane Maus is one of the rising stars in the trail running circuit (Photo: Courtesy Steve White)

Let’s get this out of the way: runner Jane Maus avoided all shortcuts, cutoffs, and trail bypasses while breaking the speed record on Wyoming’s 13,775-foot Grand Teton on August 22. She specifically avoided the shortcut that got trail runner Michelino Sunseri into trouble with the National Park Service in 2024.

Maus completed the entire journey in 3:45:34. Her time shaved 21 minutes from the previous fastest time, which was set just three days prior by a Canadian runner named Jazmine Lowther. Fastest Known Time (FKT), the body that scrutinizes record attempts, accepted Maus’ ascent as legitimate, making her the new record holder on the route, which is now called the Grand Teton Modern Route.

��ԹϺ��, chatted with Moss to learn more about her allure for chasing the speed record and her decision to go for speed.

The post This Week in News: Yellowstone’s Latest Threats and a New Speed Record on the Grand Teton appeared first on ��ԹϺ�� Online.

Weekly Roundup: How to Spot the Northern Lights and Find $1 Million Treasure

Maddy Dapcevich — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:53:11 +0000

Interested in a million dollars? Want to spot this year’s epic northern lights forecast? ��ԹϺ�� has you covered in this edition of our news roundup for the week of September 1.

A traveler with a stirrup explores under the stars in Datong, Shanxi Province, China (Photo: Wang Yukun/Getty Images)

Here’s the First Clue to Find a Buried Canadian Treasure Worth Nearly $1 Million

Interested in a million dollars? ��ԹϺ�� is following a newly announced treasure hunt aiming to put gold in your pocket.

North American treasure hunters have cause to celebrate as the first clue in a treasure hunt is posted online. It offers a hint to the location of a chest of gold worth just under $1 million. A mining group hid the trove somewhere in the country’s vast wilderness, and the fortune is waiting for the first scrappy hunter to solve the clues and find it.

Just like art dealer Forrest Fenn’s legendary hidden treasure, which had hunters scouring the American West for a decade, clues for this treasure hunt are provided through cryptic poetry, at least so far.

The “” is a 13-stanza poem that mentions everything you need to know to find the treasure. And we’ve posted it on our website. Additionally, another clue was released this week. It reads:

Though crystal clear and calm it seems,
This mirror hides more than it gleams.
A single step may seal your fate,
Best not disturb the water’s state.

Sermilik Hostel in South Greenland beneath auroras. (Photo: Stephanie Vermillion)

This Fall Could Bring the Best Northern Lights in Decades. Here’s How to See Them.

If you’ve been waiting to book a Northern Lights trip, it’s time to make it happen. This autumn is expected to kick off one of the strongest aurora seasons in decades—think last year’s low-latitude displays, and potentially even better.

That’s because the sun has reached its roughly 11-year peak of activity, known as solar maximum. The bright star causes auroras by sending charged particles whizzing through space. When those electrons and ions crash into our atmosphere, they spark kaleidoscopic sky swirls that aurora hunters, like me, travel the world to see.

We polled space weather experts, astrophotographers, and aurora guides for their top tips on enjoying “solar maximum”—the 11-year peak of Northern Lights activity. Click “Read More” for their tips and tricks to spot an epic atmospheric show.

The Highline Trail in Glacier National Park is 15 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of rougly 1,500 feet. (Photo: Jeffrey Ross/Getty Images)

In Separate Events, Two U.S. Hikers Fall to Their Deaths

Two hikers fell to their deaths in separate events at different popular wilderness areas in late August. The tragedies prompted rescuers to reiterate the importance of practicing safety on both technical and non-technical hiking trails.

After motor vehicle deaths and drownings, falls—usually while hiking—are the in U.S. National Parks. Incidents like these highlight the importance of both hiking within one’s physical limits and staying on established trails.

On August 27, a 73-year-old woman fell from the Highline Trail in Montana’s Glacier National Park, according to the National Park Service. She was hiking with a large group between the Big Bend and Triple Arches formations when she stumbled and slipped off the side of the path, out of sight of her companions. Rescuers found her body 450 feet below the edge of the trail.

Two days after the tragedy in Glacier National Park, a 24-year-old man fell 40 feet from the top of Whittleton Arch, a sandstone formation located in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge.

Ahead of your next backcountry hike, check out the National Park Service’s “” list to ensure you’re adequately prepared and equipped for adventure.

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