Sharp Top Mountain Hike, Virginia ***SUMMER RE-RUNS: Brian and Sylvia are currently off having new adventures. In the meantime, please enjoy this re-post from early spring 2018*** **We have added Sharp Top Mountain in the Peaks of Otter Recreation Area to our list of the Top Ten Hikes in the Southern Appalachians V 1.0. If you can get this on […]
Hike to the Cliffs of Looking Glass Rock, Brevard NC
Through the Looking Glass: Looking Glass Rock ***SUMMER RE-RUNS: Brian and Sylvia are currently off having new adventures. In the meantime, please enjoy this re-post from Spring 2018*** * Looking Glass Rock is one of Becauseitzthere’s Top Ten Hikes in the Southern Appalachians V 1.0. It is also a featured Best Hike Near Asheville (it is less than an hour […]
You Rock, John! The John Rock Hike
The John Rock Hike via the Cat Gap/John Rock Trails ***SUMMER RE-RUNS: Brian and Sylvia are currently off having new adventures. In the meantime, please enjoy this re-post from winter 2018*** *John Rock is one of Becauseitzthere’s Best Hikes in North Carolina. It is also a featured Best Hike Near Asheville (it is less than an hour away.) See our […]
The Mountains Or The Sea — Why Not Both!
North Carolina’s Mountains to Sea Trail The most celebrated long distance hiking trail in the United State – and perhaps the most celebrated in the world among trails of its length – is the Appalachian Trail. This 2000+ mile footpath traces most of the Appalachian range from Georgia to Maine, and is what gave the term “Thru Hiking” its name. […]
A Grim Climbing Season Draws to a Close
Death Toll for the 2019 Himalayan Climbing Season Could Be Near Thirty Himalayan Hiking Season is finally, and perhaps mercifully, over. At least eleven people died attempting to summit Mount Everest this year. Tragically, several of those who died had in fact summited and were on the way down when they collapsed and died. The deaths attracted considerable media attention […]
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 […]
Elk Knob – A Hike For Everybody
Elk Knob State Park Summit Trail is Fitz Roy’s First Mountain Hike *We have added Elk Knob State Park as one of the Best Places to Hike in the Southern Appalachians. This is truly an excellent hike for everybody; a very well graded trail, excellent viewpoints, and not too crowded (yet.) Last weekend Minister of Expedition Planning Brian broke down […]
Everest, Traffic Jams…and Death.
I think by now almost everyone who follows news in the outdoor world has seen this incredible photo. A queue reported by CNN to be over 300 people waits in the ‘death zone’ (above 8000 meters) just below the summit of Everest. Of the over two hundred climbers who have died on Everest, most have died in the death zone. […]
Is There Still Time to Plan for the Tour Du Mont Blanc?
Want to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc — Europe’s most celebrated Alpine hike — this summer? Well, you better get cracking…The trekking season gets under way in less than six weeks. Realistically, you probably should have started planning for it already. Sylvia and I did the complete tour in late July of 2018. But we began our bookings in […]
North Face Team Climbers Presumed Lost in Avalanche
Three Respected Climbers Missing, Presumed Dead in Avalanche at Canada’s Banff National Park Tragic news from Banff National Park this morning. Three of the most respected members of the mountaineering world have apparently been killed in an avalanche. https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/18/americas/north-face-climbers-presumed-dead-avalanche/index.html David Lama, Jess Roskelley, and Hansjörg Auer were “caught in an avalanche earlier this week while attempting to climb the east face of Howse […]