What are the Most Dangerous National Parks for Hikers? Last time we talked about safety in the National Parks and speculated if accidents in the parks are on the rise. We were unable to find any evidence this is so. But the parks remain wild and potentially dangerous places. The wildest of them are not places to tread into lightly. […]
Are the US National Parks Becoming Less Safe?
Are Accidents and Fatalities in the US National Parks on the rise? A man was seriously injured on Thursday falling into a volcanic crater in Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano National Park. The man was apparently trying to get a better view of the caldera when he plunged 70 feet down to a lower ledge; initial reports stated that he lost his […]
Sunday Afternoon by the Eno River
Eno River State Park, Durham, NC *We have added Eno River State Park to our list of the best local places to hike in the Triangle Area. In fact, all things considered, sprawling Eno River might have the best overall experience of any park within an hour of the Raleigh-Durham area. We found ourselves with nothing in particular to do […]
It’s National Parks Week!
US National Parks Waive Their Entrance Fee for a Day It’s National Parks Week! US National Parks offered free admission on Saturday, April 20. Did you take advantage? Many people have likely heard about the entrance fee increases in National Parks. While some ghastly numbers were bandied about as trial balloons early in the process, the actual fee increases ended […]
Waterfalled and Waterlogged: Dark Hollow Falls and the AT
The Great Shenandoah Trip Part II During the first night of our trip to the Shenandoah NP it rained. Quite intensely. Brian has been through several terrible storms in his tent, the worst probably being an absolutely petrifying thunderstorm in Canyonlands NP in 2007 or so. This night was no where near as bad as that one, but it was […]
The Great Valley
The Great Shenandoah Trip Part I Sometimes a bit of serendipity falls upon one disguised as bad luck. For example…Last week we were supposed to go away for a weekend trip, which would have been the subject of this blog post. Unfortunately, Sylvia’s business commitments prevented this from happening. In search of something to write about, site Editor Brian found […]
Spring is Here, Time for Hiking…and Updates!
Updates to the Site Spring is the time when hiking season gets into full swing. In the Southern Appalachians you can actually hike any time of year, and summer is perhaps the LEAST attractive month. Spring is our second favorite season behind fall. It’s also time for some updates to the site. We have added some new prospective hikes to […]
AT Thru Hike Season Gets Underway!
Spring has arrived! And for those who wish to try their luck at completing the entire Appalachian Trail – the celebrated 2192 mile white blazed Footpath that links Springer Mountain, Georgia with Maine’s Mount Katahdin – Late March/early April is typically the time that most will set out. Winter has not yet left the Southern Appalachians by any means, but […]
On A Clear Day…Olympic National Park
A while back we did a post about our visit to Hurricane Ridge in Washington’s great Olympic National Park. Hurricane Ridge is one of the best viewpoints in the Pacific Northwest, for sure, with a tremendous panorama of the Olympic Range. But this was not Brian’s first visit to the area. He first visited Olympic National Park in 2007, during […]
Fun With Fitzroy: High Above Highlands
Cashiers and Highlands, NC: Part II Just down the road from Cashiers, NC is the town of Highlands. As its name implies, Highlands is quite high up there, being situated at 4118 feet above sea level. This makes it one of the highest elevation towns in the eastern United States. Tiny Beech Mountain, NC, is even higher (at over 5000 […]