The La Sal Mountains just east of Moab, UT.

Congratulations to last month’s $25 Backcountry.com gift card winners: Melissa Peacock, Ramblin’ Man Dan, and Lightfoot. These folks were our top outdoor review and photo contributors in April!

Want to be a top contributor in May?  Start adding your hiking trail and campground photos and reviews now and don’t forget we’ll also award the top outdoor gear reviewer of the month. Don’t forget to reserve your campground for Memorial Day weekend which is right around the corner.

Right now we’re working on a major update to the Tripleblaze iPhone app with access to the blog, photo of the day, and our new cave section. For those with iPads the new app will also be optimized so look for that coming soon!

Close-up of diamorpha growing on granite slab at Tribble Mill.

Congratulations to our top contributors in March: Melissa Peacock and Sarah Hikes. Asfyxiate was our top gear reviewer last month and all three folks will be receiving $25 gift certificates to Backcountry.com.

Even though spring officially arrived just a few weeks ago it feels like summer is right around the corner! You know it’s perfect camping weather when every backcountry campsite you pass in the National Forest is full. That was the scene this weekend in North Georgia and I imagine it’s happening all over the US!

Get your campground, hiking trail, and cave pics and reviews in this month for a shot at your own Backcountry.com gift card. And don’t forget, we’ll also reward the member with the most outdoor gear reviews so tell us about your must-have items for the trail and the campsite.

Just in time for spring, we’re pleased to announce the 2012 Tripleblaze blog team! These guys and gals will sharing their outdoor adventures and gear reviews throughout the year so stay tuned for great articles to come!

Kyle Dennison (LightFoot)

Kyle grew up on a ranch tending cattle and riding horses, later working as a river guide and naturalist in Florida where he lives today. He’s backpacked across Europe and Costa Rica and has hiked in most states east of the Mississippi. Kyle is into everything outdoors from forestry to canoeing and bird watching so we’re excited to have his perspective on the team!

Julie Norman (mtbikerchick)

Julie lives in western Colorado where she can be found skiing, hiking, camping, backpacking, and yes, even mountain biking pretty much year round. For Julie, getting outdoors isn’t just great fun – it’s also her way of leading an active and healthy lifestyle. Look for amazing trip reports and photos from Julie soon!

Sarah Greenburg (Sarah Hikes)

Sarah has been passionate about the outdoors since she was a child. These days she’s a member of the Florida Trailwalker Program and is about halfway to hiking all 25 of the program trails listed by the Florida Forest Service. Sarah has camped and hiked all over the southeast and her excitement for the outdoors is downright contagious!

John Henkelman (FLtrekker)

John also lives in Florida and is an Eagle Scout who’s trekked everywhere from Big Sky Country to the Pacific Northwest and the Appalachians. In 2013 John and his girlfriend plan to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. We can’t wait to hear about John’s planning and preparation for this epic trip!

Please welcome everyone to the team and let us know what types of article you’d like to read this year!

We made some big upgrades to Tripleblaze over the weekend and we’re excited to share the news!

Photo of the Day

Each day we’ll be highlighting one of the 20,000 member-submitted camping and hiking photos on Tripleblaze – just click the new photos tab in the header to take a peek. We also added a gallery showing all the photos submitted to Tripleblaze.com (ordered newest to oldest) and even a gallery of past photos of the day (in case you miss a day!).

You don’t need to do anything special to submit a photo for consideration – just upload your campground and hiking trail photos to the appropriate listing page. If you have something special that doesn’t fit a listing, just email it to info@tripleblaze.com or post it to our Facebook page.

Enhanced Maps

Now you can share hiking trail and point-of-interest information on Tripleblaze.com! Just find the appropriate hiking trail listing and use the tools to draw a map OR upload data from your GPS. For trails with enhanced map data you can toggle layers on and off and even download the information to your GPS or Google Earth.

We’ve started uploading enhanced maps for select trails like the Appalachian trail so keep checking back for the latest!

Improved Facebook Integration

Tired of forgetting your login and password for Tripleblaze? Try using Facebook Connect instead! Just click the purple button at the top of the site (or here) and you can create a new account or link your existing Tripleblaze account. Then, whenever you return, just click the purple button and you’re logged in!

Once connected you’ll also be able to share your Tripleblaze reviews and photos on Facebook and we’ll even import your Facebook profile pic to your Tripeblaze account. It’s so simple, why didn’t we do this sooner?

Other Stuff

With this upgrade we’re also rolling out trail groups to divide longer trails like the Pacific Crest trail into more manageable segments. You’ll also notice improved wishlist functionality and (coming soon) profile badges based on your member points. Finally, we’ve added some stats to your “My Account” page to make it easier to start contributing.

We’re really excited about the latest additions and can’t wait for the summer!

Do you have a passion for the great outdoors and the ability to communicate your love for camping and hiking? If so, we need you for the Tripleblaze blog team! Bloggers will write product reviews, post trip reports, and comment on outdoor industry trends.

We’re accepting applications through the end of the month – if you’re interested, please email info@tripleblaze.com for details on how to submit.

Ogden, UT

Congratulations to this month’s $25 Backcountry.com gift card winners: Melissa Peacock, flbikerrunner, and pakrat13. Yeah, it’s a little unfair that two out of three of these folks live in Florida but no excuses – get out for a hike in the snow if you have to this winter!

Stay tuned for news from Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City last month – we had a blast previewing the latest camping gear and apparel!

Bear Creek Overlook

Congratulations to our December outdoor photo and review contest winners, Melissa Peacock and Sarah Hikes. These top contributors will each receive a $25 gift card to Backcountry.com. Is it just us, or has the winter weather been great so far? Apparently a lot of people are getting out this year, camping and hiking in spite of the calendar.

Tell us about your outdoor goals this year and resolve to add more outdoor photos and reviews to Tripleblaze in 2012!

Cheaha State Park near Talladega, AL.

Congratulations to our November camping and hiking photo and review winners, Melissa Peacock, LightFoot, and Sarah Hikes. Melissa Peacock destroyed the competition with over 400 points which just might be a new record high score! Sarah Hikes takes home the “gear review” prize for reviewing her Coleman camp chair. Just think, if anyone else had added two equipment reviews they could be taking home a $25 Backcountry.com gift card instead!

Just a reminder that contributions to Tripleblaze.com must be original and cannot be copied from another website. This goes for trail/campground descriptions, reviews, and photos. It’s ok to link to others’ videos on YouTube but all the other stuff needs to be your own work. Otherwise, members may be disqualified from our monthly contest if contributions are found to be plagiarized.

Get outdoors this holiday season and enjoy the scenery!

Camping and hiking at Lake Powhatan near Asheville, NC.

Congratulations to this month’s contest winners, flbikerunner, Sarah Hikes, and LightFoot. Photos and reviews were coming fast and furious right up until the end of the month and we’re excited to see so much information being added to the database!

Remember, the top two point-earners at the end of each month take home $25 gift cards and there’s also a $25 gift card for the top outdoor gear reviewer who isn’t in the top two overall. The contest ends at midnight Pacific on the last day of the contest – you’ll know which month your contributions fall in based on the date displayed next to your contribution in your profile. Starting next month we’ll be switching the prizes to gift cards from Backcountry.com where you can shop online for camping and hiking gear plus stuff for skiing and biking too.

The fall colors are still amazing here in the southeast – plenty of time left to get outside to camp and hike before the winter sets in!

Big news! Tripleblaze just released free apps for iPhone and Android late last week, giving you access to thousands of campgrounds and hiking trails on your phone. With the Tripleblaze app you can:

• Get a list of the closest hiking trails and campgrounds to your current location, wherever you are.
• View campground and hiking trail photos, reviews, and even maps.
• Update your wishlist and my trails / my campground lists right on your phone.
• Review campgrounds, hiking trails, and even outdoor equipment.
• Capture and upload hiking trail and campground photos right from your phone.

Of course you’ll need an active data connection to use all these great features so be sure to look up the info you need before getting too far into the backcountry. You can use your existing Tripleblaze.com account login within the app or sign up for an free account from your phone. Simple.

We’re really excited about the app and all the possibilities for sharing info about great outdoor spots. Download the app today for iPhone or Android!

Congratulations to our top outdoor photo and review contributors last month, LaFolie and SarahHikes. LaFolie was the top point earner for the month despite joining on the last day of September – clearly it ain’t over until it’s over! And LightFoot scored himself a $25 REI gift card for being our top gear reviewer for the month with just two product reviews.

As always the contest is rolling over this month and we’re excited to hear about your favorite fall camping and hiking spots in October. See you on the trail or back at the campsite!

We wound up with a soggy Labor Day weekend here but hopefully folks in other parts of the country were able to get out to camp and hike over the holiday! Congratulations to our contest winners last month: teamfrek16 and SCgregg1 (top contributors) and Fran (top outdoor gear review contributor).

This month we’re hard at work on iPhone and Android apps for Tripleblaze so stay tuned for the latest news!

Congratulations to this month’s top contributors, papasmurf454 and flbikerunner, each winners of $25 REI gift cards. We’re also awarding a third $25 REI gift card to Fran for being our top outdoor gear reviewer in July (2 reviews!).

We’re still giving away Tripleblaze frisbees to members who are the first to review a campground or hiking trail listed on the website. So far we’ve mailed out dozens of discs to members from 24 different states!

Tripleblaze recently added campground and hiking trail categories for Canadian states so if you’ve been camping or hiking in Canada, we’d love to hear about it! Also look for a mobile version of Tripleblaze.com coming this fall to help you get on the trail or find a great campground on the go.

Congratulations to this month’s REI gift card winners, flbikerunner and papasmurf454! For those who are new here, each month we give out $25 REI gift cards to our top two contributors based on a simple point system (1 point per photo, 2 points per review, and 3 points for new campgrounds/hiking trails). We also reserve a third REI gift card for the top gear reviewer outside of the top two contributors but sadly, no one (other than papasmurf454) added a gear review this month. Just think – if you had just written a single gear review you could have won!

Even if you haven’t been camping or hiking long enough to write multiple reviews, be sure to tell us about the places you have visited to score a free Tripleblaze frisbee. We’ve already given away dozens of discs and we want to get the flyers into more peoples’ hands!

We hope everyone had a great Fourth of July and found a place to camp this year. Start planning your next summer camping trip now – it’ll be Labor Day before you know it!

Lake Santeetlah, NC. May 2011.

Congratulations to our top camping & hiking contributors in May, papasmurf454 and SCgregg1. Last month more than 50 members contributed at least one review, photo, or video which is great – clearly the weather is perfect for getting outdoors!

We also sent out a bunch of Tripleblaze frisbees in May and we’re excited to give away even more in June. All you have to do is be the first to review a campground or hiking trail using your Tripleblaze account. We’ll contact you via email within a couple days to get your shipping info and badda-bing – you’ll have a brand new flyer to toss around during your next campout!

We’re giving free Tripleblaze frisbees to our members this spring for adding campground and hiking trail reviews. Just be the first person to review a campground OR hiking trail and you’ll earn one of these high quality 9-inch fliers!

Of course frisbees are great for tossing around at the campground but they also make great lightweight plates for backpacking. Plus dogs love ‘em and we love hiking with dogs!

Here’s how you can earn your Tripleblaze frisbee:

• Add a campground or hiking trail review to any campground/trail that hasn’t been reviewed yet.
• At the end of the week we’ll take a look at all the new reviews to make sure they’re both helpful and original. If everything looks good, we’ll send you an email asking for your mailing address.

Simple. Of course there’s always fine print so here are more details if you need them.

• We won’t share your name or mailing address with anyone.
• One frisbee per mailing address/email/member.
• You must be a Tripleblaze.com member to qualify (sign up here for your free account).
• All reviews are subject to review (that sounds odd but you know what we’re saying).

Congratulations to our April camping and hiking photo and review contest winners, SCgregg1, flbikerunner, and JUICETTE. As usual, we award points to members each month for adding photos, reviews, and videos to hiking, camping, and gear pages an the top contributors each receive a $25 REI gift card.

Starting later this month we’ll also be giving away prizes to ANYONE who adds the first review to a hiking trail or campground page. Stay tuned to the blog and our Facebook page for details on how this will work.

We just got out for our first family camping trip to Lake Hartwell last weekend and we have another backpacking/camping trip planned for early next week. Don’t you love the spring?

We rolled out a bunch of new features on Tripleblaze.com last week and now that (most of) the bugs have been worked out we thought we’d give everyone a tour.

Videos

Now you can embed YouTube videos of your favorite hiking trails and campgrounds on Tripleblaze.com with just a link! Use the “embed a video” form and send us the link to the video on YouTube. We’ll preview the video to make sure everything is ok and then we’ll get it posted on the appropriate trail or campground page. We’ve already embedded videos of each of the top 10 hiking trails found on Tripleblaze and we’re excited to share even more hiking and camping videos!

Galleries: Photos & Videos

All the hiking and campground pages on Tripleblaze.com just got two new tabs for photo and video galleries. The galleries offer a quick and easy way to view dozens of thumbnails at once to find the best photos and videos.

Watching, Liking, and Commenting

To help us sort through the hundreds of photos and videos posted to Tripleblaze.com we’ve added the ability to “like” photos and videos as well as a comment function. The number of likes will determine the order of photos and videos while the comments will allow members to offer feedback and ask questions about media posted on the site.

We’ve also added the ability to “watch” photos, videos, and listings. If you choose to watch an item you’ll receive an email whenever anyone comments on or reviews the item you’re watching. You can start and stop watching any item at any time by clicking the watch link on the item page.

Facebook Connect

We’re tired of remembering individual website logins and passwords so we’re offering members the ability to connect their Tripleblaze.com accounts to Facebook for an easy login experience. Whether you’re signing up for the first time or a return visitor, just click the Facebook Connect button to link your accounts. The next time you come back, just click the same button and you’ll automatically be logged in. Simple!

We’re excited about camping and hiking this spring and summer and hope these new features help you make the most out of Tripleblaze.com!

Thanks to everyone who added hiking and camping pics and reviews in March – last month was one of our biggest yet! Members flbikerrunner and SCgregg1 earned the most contribution points and will take home $25 REI gift cards. And for the first time we have a “Gear Review” winner – Iron Kalli Cutlass – who earned a $25 REI gift card for adding the most outdoor gear reviews in March.

By sharing your outdoor reviews and photos you’ll help us improve this growing camping and hiking information resource PLUS you’ll also be eligible for one of three monthly REI gift cards. Coming soon: the ability to embed YouTube videos from your favorite hikes and camping spots.

Congratulations to last month’s outdoor review and photo contest winners, SCgregg1 and newcomer Iron Kalli Cutlass. SCgregg1 racked up an impressive triple digit score while Iron Kalli Cutlass added some sweet hiking and camping info across California and Nevada. Once again we didn’t receive a single gear review (!) so there will be no third prize this month.

To make it easier for folks to find outdoor gear to review, we’ve added hundreds of new products this month so if you haven’t checked out the gear review section in a while, get busy! Who knows, just a single review of a sleeping bag or tent could net a cool $25 REI gift card next month…

We also wanted to announce our recent partnership with ReserveAmerica’s campground reservation service that makes it easier than ever to find and reserve great campsites around the country. Just look for the “Reserve” button on select campground pages and claim your spot for spring and summer camping!

Finally, we’ve added a new trip tab that links to info about guided outdoor adventures around the world. The info comes courtesy of SWAE Sports and you can book any of the trips directly through their website for a hassle-free experience. Where will you explore in 2011?