December 29, 2025 Mayo River State Park on a day when the wind moved steadily through the bare trees, lifting leaves, worrying branches, pushing us along the trail as if the land itself were in motion. Bear kept pace, small and intent, ears flattened, occasionally stopping to read the ground before hurrying on. Winter removes … More Mayo River State Park
December 27, 2025 There’s something quietly grounding about walking into a place shaped as much by human ambition as by time itself. Bear and I spent the day wandering Lake Norman State Park, and it felt less like a hike and more like a long conversation between past and present. Lake Norman is often introduced as … More Lake Norman State Park
December 26, 2025 Bear, the Boardwalk, and the Forest That Wouldn’t Be Sold A winter walk through Congaree National Park Congaree doesn’t rise to meet you. It doesn’t posture or flex. It waits. Bear and I arrived on a warm, quiet day, the kind of winter morning when the understory thins out and the forest finally … More Congaree National Park
December 21, 2025 I’m on a mission: visit every North Carolina State Park. Not “someday.” Not “I should.” This year (2026). And we started where the Piedmont lifts its chin and remembers it used to be a real mountain range. My daughter and I drove out to Morrow Mountain State Park in Stanly County. She brought along her … More Morrow Mountain State Park
July 1, 2023 I really enjoy my job, especially some of the benefits geared towards employee well-being. Every seven years we are afforded a months long paid sabbatical. My first attempt at taking this break was in April 2020, which turned out not to be a great time to travel. Fast forward to 2023, I … More Cucumber Gap Trail
March 26, 2023 Chestnut is located just outside of the town of Townsend, Tennessee at the infamous Townsend Wye. Known colloquially just as “the Y”, this y-shaped confluence of Hwy. 321, Little River Road and Laurel Creek Road is a popular spot for swimming, tubing, jumping in the Little River. To the southwest of the … More Chestnut Top Trail
January 19, 2023 I really like this trail. Huskey Gap starts off Newfound Gap Road, not too far from Gatlinburg. As you climb the first part of the trail, look back and you will have some splendid views of Bull Head, which is just one of best-looking mountains in the region. The first two miles … More Huskey Gap Trail
January 15, 2023 Twentymile Ranger Station is tucked away, well out of cell phone range near Fontana Dam and Lake Cheoah. The Benton Mackaye Trail did run through this area, before a reroute that now sends hikers over Yellow Creek Mountains. If it is solitude you seek, this is the place. I started at the … More Twentymile Trail
November 13, 2022 Oconaluftee River Trail is an easy, level trail located near Cherokee (Qualla Boundary) and the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. From a turn of the (past) century farm that was transported and reconstructed near the center, the trail follows the river before reaching the boundary. Elk, mountain dog hobble and clear skies were abundant … More Oconaluftee River Trail
October 29, 2022 I intended to hike a huge 20 mile loop at the Road to Nowhere, Noland Creek to Springhouse Branch Trail to Whiteoak Branch Trail, but two things went against me. First, I woke up late and didn’t get to the trailhead until 10:00 am. Secondly, I felt my body getting sick that … More Noland Creek Trail (last mile), Tunnel Bypass Trail