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…
Greensboro Watershed
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…
Mangan's memoirs
Spoken City asked me about blogging, hiking and Winston Salem
by tom • September 22, 2011 • 0 Comments
Never heard of Spoken City? Neither had I till a couple weeks back, but that didn’t stop me from soaking up a bit of free publicity. Spoken City wants to stick it to the W (you know, Walmart) and other…
In the news
Iran has freed the American hikers; now can we stop blaming the victims here?
by tom • September 21, 2011 • 8 Comments
I just got the news that the two American hikers imprisoned in Iran for two years have been released. It’s been an article of faith in some quarters that the hikers had it coming — that they had no earthly…
Blogs
Trail magic: why complete strangers do such nice things for thru-hikers
by tom • September 21, 2011 • 4 Comments
Magic is the impossible come to life. Thru-hikers along the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails find it all the time: coolers of Cokes, boxes of Snickers, spare socks in an ammo tin. Right on the trail, hundreds of miles from…
Blogs
Why the iPad matters to hikers (and especially to hiking bloggers)
by tom • September 20, 2011 • 8 Comments
Do hikers need iPads? (Please don’t throw anything at your screen; it won’t solve anything). I’m sure some’ll think the End of Times has arrived when they see the first gaggle of Boy Scouts gathered around an iPad on the…
@FrontPageSlider, Appalachian Trail
Roan High Knob and Cloudland Trail
by tom • September 19, 2011 • 5 Comments
Roan High Bluff Overlook must be seen to be believed. Assuming there’s anything to see. The bluff is perched on an outcrop 6200 feet up in the Roan Highlands, one of the most storied locales in the Southern Appalachian Range.…
Hiking
Fresh linkage: Tiny tent, homemade sailboat, hiking video, going French
by tom • September 16, 2011 • 0 Comments
EarlyLite reviews the Easton Mountain Product’s New Kilo 2P. Uh, Phil, the only way that’s a two-person tent is if one of the persons is a fetus. (Wise-cracking aside, savvy gear geeks have been wondering about these new uberlight Easton…
Blogs
Latest links: Backpacking meals, Adirondack hikes, Smokies dash
by tom • September 15, 2011 • 0 Comments
Posting the coolest links that have landed in my RSS feed. How long will I keep this up? Let’s see how well it works. Hiking Lady swears by those shrink-wrapped backpacking dinners from Mountain House. Video clocks in at barely…