Today is the French Holiday of Bastille Day, when France Celebrates it’s independence. And tomorrow may be another special day in France. What better way to celebrate than with fu-fu coffee at a local French restaurant? But our special days in France are also coming shortly. Sylvia and I will soon be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime – […]
The Last Miles Before the Hundred
Our last conditioning hike of the pre-Tour Du Mont Blanc was completed Sunday. Seven miles out and back on the Falls Lake Trail with fully loaded packs…carrying exactly what we’d be carrying on a typical day of the TMB. The hiking days in the Alps will be longer with much more up and down, of course. The TMB is of […]
Oh Goody! Site Updates!
New updates to Becauseitzthere.com! In addition to some changes to the look and feel designed to make the viewing and reading experience a little better, we are busy building new landing pages for each of our hikes pages with all the details in one concise summary! The landing pages will still link back to the blog posts. You can view […]
The Ramsey Cascades, an Epic Southern Waterfall Hike
Waterfalls Week: The Ramsey Cascades *We have added the Ramsey Cascades to the list of Best Hikes in the Southern Appalachians. All things considered, we think it may be the best hike to any waterfall in the Southern US, at least that we’ve done so far. It’s the only waterfall in the Eastern US that currently ranks on our list […]
Moore’s Not Less: Moore Cove Falls
Moore Cove Falls, Pisgah NF Waterfall Week, our exploration of those dramatic contests between gravity and water, continues with one of the highlights of the Pisgah National Forest’s Cradle of Forestry area — Moore Cove Falls. It is located just a short ways off US Route 276 not long after it clears the town of Brevard, but well before it […]
Waterfalls Week: Where the Hen Wallows(?)
Hen Wallow Falls, GSMNP, TN The First Waterfall on the list for Waterfalls week is a relatively good sized one named Hen Wallow Falls, located on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Hen Wallow Falls is 90 feet tall…but like most eastern waterfalls that drop is not accomplished a single straight plunge. It’s more of a series […]
Get Ready for Waterfall Week!!!
Waterfall Week! There is something undeniably pleasant and harmonious about the sight of moving water. Hence, the attraction to waterfalls, those fountains of nature. Everybody loves ‘em, right? Maybe not. If you’re a serious hiker, my bet is that you probably don’t dislike them, but you probably don’t love them either. Most serious hikers I know prefer a good, solid […]
Sent To The Big House (Mountain)
Big House Mountain, VA *We have added the Big House Mountain hike in House Mountain Preserve to our list of the Best Hikes in the Southern Appalachians. It is a REALLY interesting hike in west-central Virginia. Note that there are several options to this hike and the one we ended up hiking was…somewhat on the creative side. There are easier […]
The Old Dominion
News from the TMB and a Hike in Virginia We’re just back from the mountains of Virginia and we have good news regarding the Tour du Mont Blanc…the Refuge Flegere has accepted our reservation! This saves us from a lot of headaches on the final night of our hike. We were greatly disappointed by the closing (hopefully temporary) of the […]
The Back Forty: Umstead State Park
William B. Umstead State Park, NC **We have added William B. Umstead State Park to our list of local hikes. It is one of our favorite places to go for a conditioning day trip in the Triangle Area! If you live in the Raleigh/Durham area you almost can’t help but have heard of William B. Umstead State Park. It is […]