The Standing Indian Loop, Day II The second day dawned crisp and sunny through the newly budding trees of Beech Gap; the night had proven to be nowhere near as cold as the previous one. Sylvia reported no issues with her ‘manos’ and was generally in better spirits, the lingering effects of her fall having passed on like bad weather. […]
West to go South to go North
The Standing Indian Loop: Day I We arrived at Standing Indian Campground just after 5 pm on Thursday….though we had another 30 mins or so delay as we had to backtrack into Franklin to stop at an ATM machine (we had forgotten to bring cash.) If you stage out of this campground, remember to bring it. The camp host warned […]
The Cold Equations
The Standing Indian Loop: Preparations and Decisions Gen. Dwight Eisenhower once said that before a battle, preparations are everything; but once a battle is joined, preparations mean nothing. So it goes with hiking. Good preparation is absolutely essential for a multi-day hike, and most hikes that fail do so because the hiker was poorly prepared. But the trick is knowing […]
The Hundredth Mile Wilderness: The Standing Indian Loop via the AT
The Standing Indian Loop Three Day Backpacking Adventure *We have added the Standing Indian Loop to our list of Best Hikes in the Southern Appalachians. The SIL is a surprisingly straightforward two or three-day backpacking adventure on the Appalachian Trail and adjacent side trails, located entirely within North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest. We loved the wilderness character of the hikes […]
Two Miles of Wow…The Best of the Linville Gorge Wilderness
Part I: Table Rock, Linville Gorge Wilderness, NC *We have added Table Rock to to our list of Best Hikes in The Southern Appalachians and Carolinas…and with a serious exclamation point! In fact, we think the Linville Gorge, and particularly the trails off the mostly unpaved Table Rock Road, are hands down the best in North Carolina. The views […]
Warning: Adventures in the Making!
We’re still getting ready for the Tour du Mont Blanc in July. So we’re busy training and looking for spots to test ourselves against the mountains, to prepare our minds and bodies for the trails to come. Last week we found a GREAT Place. This week we hope to find another. The Linville Gorge in the Pisgah National Forest may […]
The Roof of the Smokies…The Gregory Ridge Trail
The Gregory Ridge Trail, Great Smoky Mountain National Park *One of the Best Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains is the Gregory Ridge Trail **We have added Gregory Bald to our list of the Best Hikes in the Southern Appalachians. It’s a fine trail well worth doing IF you can make the logistics work…this is one trail where getting there […]
A Sharp Hike to Sharp Top Mountain
Sharp Top Mountain Hike, Virginia **We have added Sharp Top Mountain in the Peaks of Otter Recreation Area to our list of the Best Hikes in Virginia. If you can get this on a day when there’s no crowd, this is a good one. ? Located at Milepost 86 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Peaks of Otter Recreation Area […]
Hanging Around at Hanging Rock
Hanging Rock State Park, NC **We have added Hanging Rock State Park to our list of the Best Hikes in the Carolinas. It is also a featured notable hike near Raleigh, Winston Salem, Greensboro and Charlotte NC. All things considered, it may be the best state park in North Carolina east of the Appalachians. Sylvia and I are just back […]
No Parking on the Mountain…Pilot Mountain Hike, NC
Pilot Mountain *We have added Pilot Mountain to our list of the Best Hikes in the Carolinas. If you have ever been to the fine City of Winston-Salem, NC or traveled on US Route 52 near the Mt. Airy area, then you can’t have missed Pilot Mountain, one of the most distinctive landmarks of the Carolinas. It is also visible from […]