Whale Rocks, Durant Nature Preserve We have blogged before about the excellent Durant Nature Preserve near our home in North Raleigh. Shortly before our trip to Colorado, we finally completed our exploration of its trail system. We brought Fitz Roy along with us, since he can never seem to get enough walking in. You could say that this time out, […]
How to Have Pets and Travel: The Happy Dilemma of Fitz Roy
The Dilemma of Travel and Dog Ownership In December of last year we welcomed the newest member of our team, Fitz Roy, into our home and into our adventures. Life with Fitz Roy has been enormously rewarding; no matter how great the challenges we never look back on this decision with regret. But it has brought to the fore a […]
Top Ten Hikes in the Northern Appalachians
Our Ten Best Hikes in the Northern Half of the Appalachian Range Brian and Sylvia are based in North Carolina, and almost all of the Appalachian hikes you will see on these pages take place in the Southern arm of the range. This is our backyard and it is where we are currently exploring. However, Brian is originally from up […]
Hanging Around at Hanging Rock
Hanging Rock State Park, NC ***SUMMER RE-RUNS: Brian and Sylvia are currently off having new adventures. In the meantime, please enjoy this re-post from spring 2018*** **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 […]
Mappy Hiking! New Trail Maps
We Expand the Blog With Trail Maps! Today’s subject is trail mapping apps in particular. But first, let’s digress for a bit and discuss maps in general. Back in Brian’s days as a hiker in the White Mountains, he never left home without one of his set of excellent maps published by the Appalachian Mountain Club. In fact, he […]
Jefferson Mountain: A Hike Fit For All (Dogs Included)
Mount Jefferson by the Mountain Ridge Trail *We have added Mount Jefferson to the list of best places to hike in the Southern Appalachians and Carolinas. Though there are several nearby places which are superior…Elk Knob for example…and many of the best views are reachable by car, it’s still well worth checking out.* After a successful dog-human team hike of […]
Bucket List Hikes Landing Pages
Expanded Site Pages for our BucketList For a long time, we have wanted to create some reference pages for the various BucketList hikes we want to do. Our goal is to do as many of these hikes as we can over the next ten years — and then replace them with an all new bucket of BucketList hikes. In the […]
Hiker Killed In Attack On The AT
Man Arrested in Connection With Apparent Machete Attack on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia A murder has happened on the Appalachian Trail. News reports are saying that a pair of hikers were attacked by a man wielding a large knife or Machete while hiking the AT in the backwoods of Virginia. One of the two was killed; the other escaped […]
The Education of Mr. Fitz Roy
The Life and Training of a Hiking Dog Some updates from the life and training of a hiking dog… Sylvia and Brian continue to work molding expedition sled dog/surf dog Fitz Roy into a companion suitable for hiking. Fitz is intelligent, energetic and eager to please. But he is also very excitable (that’s the sled dog in him) and sometimes […]
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 […]