The great thing about getting lost on the way here three weeks ago and having to turn back: returning when fall colors are going full-blast. This is where your intrepid hiking blogger is forced to admit that he hasn’t done…
Destinations
Places I’ve hiked and you should hike.
Wolf Rock Trail, Stone Mountain State Park
by tom • October 11, 2009 • 4 Comments
Tip o’ the hat to Smokies Hiker, who suggested a stroll along Wolf Rock Trail at Stone Mountain State Park. There are no wolves, of course, but there is plenty of rock. My eight-mile loop was a considerable improvement on…
Sauratown Loop Trail: Not bad for a wrong turn
by tom • October 4, 2009 • 2 Comments
I had some exploring at Hanging Rock State Park in mind — the goal was to park at a remote trailhead and trek over to the Moore’s Wall Loop, which has an excellent view of Hanging Rock from the next…
First hike: Stone Mountain State Park
by tom • September 29, 2009 • 7 Comments
Got this one right the first time (for once): There’s a parking lot at either end of the 4.5-mile Stone Mountain Loop. I started at the Upper Lot Trailhead and did what’s become instinctive: followed the arrows to the waterfalls.…
Setting my sights on Stone Mountain
by tom • September 27, 2009 • 7 Comments
Still waiting for the weather to clear so I can head up to Stone Mountain State Park, which is at the foot of the closest thing North Carolina has to a front range of the Great Smokies. Stone Mountain is…
Waterfalls of Hanging Rock State Park
by tom • September 20, 2009 • 3 Comments
Funny what happens when you show up at a popular state park when it’s not a holiday weekend: no weddings, no crowds, only one pack of noisy Cub Scouts on a camp-out. All of this (plus the weather forecast predicting…
First hike at Hanging Rock
by tom • September 6, 2009 • 5 Comments
There’s only one major exception to the gently undulating terrain near Winston-Salem: The Sauratown Mountains, a small range about 30 miles northwest of here. Centerpiece of these neighboring peaks is Hanging Rock State Park, so named because of large rock…
First hike to the Nipple of North Carolina
by tom • August 29, 2009 • 11 Comments
Pilot Mountain is the real name that inspired the town next door on The Andy Griffith Show (Andy’s hometown is Mount Airy, which got Hollywoodized to “Mayberry”; presumably Andy approved it to protect the identities of Otis the Town Drunk…
Where I am: the Triad
by tom • August 28, 2009 • 4 Comments
The cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point form the Triad, which is not to be confused with the cities of the Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). Sweltering summers mean hiking is not the first thing that pops into…