UPDATE: This contest expired Nov. 8, 2011 Extreme hiking stories inevitably boil down to: at which point did you decide to turn back? At the first sign of trouble — when it made sense — or after a string of…
Monthly Archives: October 2011
Sunrise and beyond at Julian Price Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway
by tom • October 23, 2011 • 10 Comments
I love it when a plan doesn’t work out. Last week at Stone Mountain was only mildly colorful at 2,300 feet, so this week I surmised the woods would be blazing around 3,500. I woke at an absurdly early hour…
Two loops at Stone Mountain State Park
by tom • October 17, 2011 • 13 Comments
Score another one for the magnetic personality of Stone Mountain: I had just finished a fine loop hike of just under 6 miles on the Blackjack Ridge and Wolf Rock trails. I sat on the grass near the base of…
What’s your most extreme hiking story? Winner gets a cool box o’ beef jerky
by tom • October 10, 2011 • 37 Comments
UPDATE: This contest expired Nov. 9, 2011 …. NOTE: I have picked the five finalists in this contest. Click the link to vote on your favorite (Nov. 8 is the last day you can vote). C’mon, dish: you’ve seen some…
Hiking at Hanging Rock to celebrate the park’s 75th anniversary
by tom • October 9, 2011 • 10 Comments
“What did you guys do for fun when you weren’t working?” I ask the guy. “Any girls we could find!” Hoots and giggles fill the Bathhouse at Hanging Rock State Park, where one Dr. Harley Jolley is just about done…
Top 25 hiking blogs that send visitors to Two-Heel Drive
by tom • October 4, 2011 • 14 Comments
Tonight I checked my Google Analytics logs and compiled the top 25 hiking blogs most likely to link back to Two-Heel Drive. They reflect a welcome trend: We’re starting to see a return to the good old days when hiking…
On the value of getting up ridiculously early to go hiking
by tom • October 2, 2011 • 12 Comments
Driving in the pitch-black predawn and arriving at the trailhead just at daylight starts to take over is the next best thing to camping in the wilderness. (Better, actually, if sleep eludes you in a tent on the ground). The…