Congratulations to our September content contest winners, SCguide1 and Mountain Rest Cabins. SCguide1 is a two time winner and he’s already out in front for October. Mountain Rest Cabins snuck into second place with just 4 photo uploads last month - and they were of their own property - how great is that? As you can see it’s easy to get your $25 REI gift card - just add your reviews and photos and you just might win this month! Read details here.

In other site news, we launched the a Google map showing the locations (exact and approximate) of thousands of  campgrounds across the US. We still need your help zeroing in on exact locations for many campgrounds - hit up the white pin points and let us know where they belong.

We just added a new feature to Tripleblaze last week that we’re super stoked to share with everyone: campground and trailhead maps. Select campground and trail pages include a map showing the vicinity and an icon to mark the campground or trailhead. You can even click the “Directions” link (indicated with the blue arrow above) to get driving directions from your house. We already have maps and coordinates for nearly 700 trails but we need your help to fill in the rest!

Trail and campground listings that have not been located yet have a small link in a yellow box just above the trail/campground title that says “Help us locate this trail/campground.” Click the link and you’ll see a Google Map with an approximate location. Zoom around until you find the right spot and click the map to add a marker. Submit the location and you’re done!

Once we get more coordinates we’ll post a US map showing all the hiking trails and campgrounds and we’ll even add features to help you find trails close to campgrounds and vice versa. Questions? Hit us up via email: info@tripleblaze.com.

Wow, can you believe it’s already September? Many of you are probably planning Labor Day camping trips before summer is over but here at Tripleblaze we’re just getting started. We camp and hike all year long!

For those who don’t know, we’re running a contest each month to reward our top hiking and campground reviewers with $25 REI gift cards. This month we even created a contest standings page so members can see how they’re doing during the contest - check it out and see who’s in the lead this month!

In August we had two clear winners: Mongoose and SCguide1. Mongoose racked up an impressive 284 points while SCguide1 wasn’t too far behind with 172 points. Start snapping camping and hiking pics and adding reviews now - the end of September will be here before you know it!

Another month, another REI gift card giveaway. Once again Mongoose is on top after outdoing himself with 196 points! Virgo Fabulous took the second REI gift card with a very respectable 58 points during the month of July. Thanks to everyone who participated!

The good news is that we’re renewing the contest once again in August. Post your hiking, camping, and gear reviews and photos in August if you earn the most points we’ll send you a $25 REI gift card. Get out there and explore - then come back and tell us about it!

Another month, another set of winners! Apparently tripleblaze members are paying attention this time around and we saw about a dozen members contribute during the month of June - much better than the handful we saw in May. In the end though, a familiar name came out on top: Mongoose. In June Mongoose racked up 276 points while our second prize winner NC Hiker slid in with 8 points.

What did it take to earn 8 points and a $25 gift cerficate to REI? In NC Hiker’s case it was just 2 new hiking trails and a single photo for the entire month - not a bad paycheck for a few minutes’ work! Contest is happening again this month - get your campground listings, hiking trail info, reviews and photos in for a chance to win! Top two point grabbers will take home a $25 REI gift certificate…

Last month we held a contest to see who could add the most new campgrounds, hiking trails, reviews, and photos by May 31 and although we were pretty underwhelmed by the response, we were still able to pick the first and second place winners.

HannaD715 added one campground and two reviews and won (!) a $50 gift certificate to Cabelas.com (thanks again to OutsideHub and Cabela’s). Now, don’t you wish you had added just a few more reviews to get the $50 prize?

Second place was actually a tie so we had to look at lifetime contributions to determine the winner: Mongoose from Melbourne, FL. Mongoose squeaked in on the 31st with a single campground and review but it was enough to win a $25 REI gift card.

So… we’re holding another contest this month (June) and hopefully this time you’ll be paying attention! Same rules as before, same point values - just add your information, reviews, and photos to Tripleblaze for a shot at one of two $25 REI gift cards this month! Contest ends @ midnight, June 30.

We’re holding our first contest of 2009 this month to see who can rack up the most points on Tripleblaze in May! It’s really quite simple: add any new campground or hiking trail, review, or photo* to Tripleblaze.com and you’ll earn points (see chart below for specific point values). The member with the most points at the end of May will receive a $50 gift certificate to Cabela’s (thanks to Cabela’s and Outside Hub) and the second place point-grabber will receive a $25 gift card to REI.

Remember, you need to be logged in when you make your submissions (guest posts won’t count) and submissions made earlier this month will count toward the contest. The current frontrunner is teamfreak16 but with 19 days to go it’s still anyone’s game!

* All submissions are subject to approval.

Over the past couple weeks we’ve been adding some new features to Tripleblaze.com that we’re pretty excited to share with you:

New Campground & Hiking pages: The campground and hiking pages are still your staring point for finding outdoor destinations in your state and we’ve added previews of the best campgrounds and hiking trails in the US plus links to some of the top rated camping and hiking gear in our review database.

Blog account integration: Some members may have noticed that you needed two different logins to comment on the blog and to review campgrounds or trails but we’ve integrated things so you only need to login once. Last week we crossed the 4,000 member mark - let’s hit 10,000 by the end of the summer!

Upcoming contest: Shhhh… it’s a secret. We’re planning on announcing a contest next week with great prizes but you can get a head start by adding photos, reviews, and new listings for your favorite campgrounds and trails right now. The contest will cover submissions during the month of May with more details to come next week.

Get outside the weekend and enjoy the weather!

Note: We’re re-posting this article in case you missed it - get your writing sample in today! As a blog contributor you’ll get a byline, free gear, and valuable outdoor industry exposure.

Looking for an excuse to get outdoors this summer while testing the latest camping and hiking equipment? We’re looking for two enthusiastic writers to contribute to the TripleBlaze blog on a weekly basis with product reviews, trip reports, and commentary on camping and hiking in the US. Aside from being featured on the #1 Camping & Hiking Blog we’ll also hook you up with brand new outdoor products to test and keep.

We’ll be taking applications through the end of April and all you need to do to apply is submit a written review of a piece of outdoor equipment you own. Read the Tripleblaze blog archives and our mountain biking blog to get an idea of the tone we’re looking for and follow these tips to optimize your submission:

• Product reviews and outdoor trip reports should be between 350-500 words.
• Include great photos of yourself on the trip or the product in use outdoors. We like to include about 1 photo for every 150 words.
• For product reviews, it is helpful to organize your article around the pros and cons while providing an overall recommendation to sum things up.
• Trip reports are usually best written chronologically and should focus on the unique aspects of the trip and/or location.
• Don’t be too serious - people read blogs to get information but also to be entertained.
• Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Writing must be original and photos must be your own.

So what do you have to lose? Submit an article to info@tripleblaze.com along with a brief bio and if we like your style we’ll publish your article on the blog and set you up with more review assignments and free gear. Get outdoors this spring and tell us about it!

In case you didn’t know, Tripleblaze has its own page on the Facebook and we’d love to have you become a fan! Just search for “camping and hiking reviews” on Facebook or click this link to check us out. Daily blog posts are displayed on our page and we’d love to have you share some of your camping or hiking photos or post on our wall. Aren’t on Facebook yet? What are you waiting for?

Speaking of Facebook we also developed a Facebook application called “My Hikes” that lets you select and share the hiking trails you’ve completed. It’s still in “beta” mode mostly because the “invite” functionality doesn’t work for some reason. You won’t be able to invite your friends to use “My Hikes” yet but if you want to be one of the first in your group to use “My Hikes” you can get started now. Post on the “My Hikes” wall if you have any questions or problems…

Just a quick note that Tripleblaze t-shirts are now available in 8 colors and sizes up to 3XL! Show your support for the outdoors and let people know where to find the most detailed hiking and camping information online. The t-shirts are high quality, 100% pre-shrunk cotton, and “standard fit” meaning you should order your normal t-shirt size for the best fit. Get yours today!

Click here for more information and to purchase your Tripleblaze t-shirt.

Last week we added a new section to tripleblaze that allows you to find and review camping and hiking books and equipment. So far the equipment section has backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, and cookware with more categories like GPS units and hiking boots coming soon.

Our camping and hiking guide book section is quite extensive and no matter where you live you’re sure to find at least one book about camping or hiking in your state. Just use the pull down menus on the equipment tab to select your state or follow one of the many links from the hiking trail and campground listing pages to view individual products. When you find a book you might like to purchase you can even use the provided link to Amazon.com to find out more.

Tripleblaze is off to a strong start following the redesign just a couple weeks ago and we have even more in store this fall. Keep up with the news right here on the blog or the New Stuff RSS feed to see when new campgrounds, hiking trails, and photos are added.

Welcome to the new and improved TripleBlaze Camping and Hiking Review website! Just in time for the Labor Day holiday we’ve improved the navigation and combined our camping and hiking resources to make it easier for you to find the perfect spot to enjoy the outdoors. A few notable improvements:

• The blog is back! What is a blog? This is a blog and it will be updated most weekdays with camping and hiking news and articles you can use all year round.
• Camping and hiking accounts have been integrated. No more need to sign up / sign in on two different sites - TripleBlaze brings together camping and hiking information in one spot!
• Improved user account features. Now it’s even easier to change your password, update an email address, and manage your camping and hiking wishlists.
• New homepage takes you right to the content. No more selecting your outdoor activity of choice, now it’s all on a single page!

Those are just some of the improvements you’ll notice at TripleBlaze.com. Stay tuned for much more in the next few months including contests, product reviews, and news.