Here's a partial list of where Karen's articles have been published: Backpacker, Islands, Family Circle, National Geographic Traveler, Westways, Texas Journeys, the New York Times, New England Travel and Life, Weight Watchers, Child, AMC Outdoors, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, Virtuoso's Travel+Life, France Guide, Scouting, Out Here, GORP.com, Away.com, Epic.com, and TravelClassics.com.
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Karen Berger has earned her reputation as a hiking expert with footsteps -- literally millions of them. 17,000 miles. 6 continents. And hundreds of stories. As a contributing editor for
Backpacker, the outdoor expert for
GORP.com, a parks and outdoor activities expert for
Away.com, the "Outdoor Smarts" columnist for
Scouting, and the author of twelve books, she has written about world-wide travels, developed a comprehensive on-line resource about hiking skills, and answered hundreds of reader questions.
In addition to hiking, she has had worldwide experience scuba diving, horsebackriding, kayaking, climbing, and skiing. She also covers culture and history. She is a classically trained pianist, and, when at home, she has a dual life as an active performing musician and music teacher.
Writers: Do you need a source for a story about adventure travel or hiking and backpacking?
Editors: Do you need a story by an outdoor expert?
Karen has been interviewed for feature articles or quoted as an outdoor expert in the
New York Times, New York Post, L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, Oregonian, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Baltimore Sun, San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Sports Illustrated, Self, Walking, Fitness, People and a host of other publications. Her stories about outdoor adventure have been published in a similarly wide range of periodicals, from
Islands to
Backpacker, and from
Men's Fitness to
Family Circle. For a complete list, see the
Articles page; or you can select a clip at the top of the left-hand column on this page.
She has also served as a technical adviser to PBS's
Trailside television show and to
Grollier's Encyclopedia, has been interviewed on a variety of local television news programs, has spoken on radio programs including
NPR and
Outside magazine's nationally syndicated show, and has appeared on several videos, including instructional videos on long-distance hiking. Her outdoor slide shows have fascinated and inspired audiences at venues including Mensa meetings, local schools, environmental and hiking groups, high-country alpine huts, and the Smithsonian.
She's also an active in the hiking community, where she is a member of many trail associations and advocacy groups. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Appalachian Long Distance Hiking Association.
Karen's interest in history, environmental issues, cuisine, arts, and culture informs her accounts of outdoor travel.
She has also written a diverse array of more traditional travel stories, on subjects such as bed and breakfasts in New York's Hudson Valley, learning to speak Swahili, the Bayeux tapestry, saving an Indian Ocean coral reef, Normandy's invasion beaches, Lincoln Center's Sing-Along Messiah, and beer tasting in Belgium.
Karen has a degree in music from Northwestern University, where she studied classical piano and held a journalism internship. She has also studied jazz piano and frequently jams and performs with friends. She has yet to find a piano light enough to take on the trail, but when she is at home in the Berkshires of southwestern Massachusetts, she teaches piano and can be found gigging in local clubs.
Karen has recently returned to her roots in the writing business -- writing about music. Her newest book is The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Piano Chords, due out in early 2006. Previous articles about music have appeared in the Chicago Reader and the Westchester Gannett newspapers, as well as Hudson Valley, Clavier, the Instrumentalist, Accent on Music, Frets, and Keyboard magazines. Her stories have included interviews with many world renowned performers, including Dave Brubeck, Shlomo Montz, Peter Serkin, Alexis Weissenberg, and James Galway. (Her interview with the irrepressible Irish flutist won an EdPress "Distinguished Achievement Award.")
