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…
This is a can’t-miss hike if the weather cooperates. Table Rock, the stone uplift that forms the Linville Gorge’s most prominent peak, has amazing vistas at the top. About a mile and a half south, the Mountains to Sea Trail…
Seeing the Linville Gorge from its heights a couple weeks back gave me a burning itch to check out its depths the next time around. One of the easiest ways to go deep is to find the Spence Trail on…
I’ve been meaning to get back to the Linville Gorge Wilderness for months now, but I’ve been waiting for the local heat index to move from its usual summer setting (Generally Insufferable) to its early autumn range (Mildly Annoying). Last…
I needed a week to recover from this one. The Grandfather Trail along the summit ridge at Grandfather Mountain State Park is a crazy obstacle course of ladders, cable routes and 50-ton boulders. Strong hikers can do all the trails…
You know how in the movies where the heroes are slogging through the jungle, then the camera shows subtle changes in scenery implying something big is about to happen, then they round a bend and see this vast civilization splayed…
Craggy Gardens, about 20 miles north of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is a must visit in mid-June, when the peak bloom of the Catawba rhododendron lights up vast swaths of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I’ve proved beyond doubt that Grandfather Mountain is no place to hike if you’re in a hurry. I’ve established a firm 1.1 mph pace after five outings totaling about 25 miles. Sign for the Profile Trail, seen heading north on…
This is a great combo if you’re into contrasts: start out with a sane, scenic hike to the Mile High Swinging Bridge, then move on to the utterly crazy ridge route to Macc Peak. There’s a certain sanity to the…
