Didn’t get so much as a nanosecond on the trail this weekend, though I did get in a fair amount of elevation gain carrying a load. Last Tuesday we learned that my Aunt Bev had passed on; we drove 13…
Hanging Rock State Park
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…
Pilot Mountain State Park
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…
North Carolina
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…
Tom's travels
Guess what, they’re paying me to hike — sort of
by tom • August 28, 2009 • 4 Comments
So I have a solid two months of free-lance work lined up, which settles the “Tom needs to have a job before he starts blogging regularly again” issue. With any luck those two months can turn into a permanent gig,…
In the news
4WheelBob on ABC News
by tom • August 13, 2009 • 1 Comment
Herr Coomber made the nightly news last night. Couldn’t help noticing the grass was mostly green when the video was shot — nice of them to get around to airing it. (A slow news day means a shortage of death,…
Tom's travels
On the road, bearing east
by tom • August 11, 2009 • 0 Comments
An account of traveling cross-country via automobile would be an affront to all that is right in the world of hiking blogs, so I plan to post some updates at my homepage. Follow along if you’ve got a notion. Right…
Tom's travels
A quick update
by tom • July 23, 2009 • 5 Comments
As all you regulars know, I’m planning to relocate to the Eastern Seaboard next month. Right now my main preoccupation is finding another j-o-b, but I can offer these words of reassurance: Wherever we finally end up will have to…
Tom's travels
Beginning of a great adventure
by tom • July 18, 2009 • 30 Comments
My time’s about up down at the paper mill. I’m taking a severance package and moving on next month. The move is literal, I’m afraid. Melissa and I are going to pack our things and head east to North Carolina…