Just before the last week of June, we squeezed in 11.7 miles in three separate hikes. My goal was to find more native orchids and wildflowers before leaving for the Pacific Northwest to visit our daughter. The Round-Leaf Orchid (Platanthera orbiculata) is one of my favorites, and a tricky one Read more…
This spring has handed us plenty of weather extremes over the past few weeks. Bernie and I left the house early on a Sunday morning, hoping to log a few miles and dodge the rain. We headed for a favorite trail, with a steady uphill climb that passes through a Read more…
Despite unseasonably warm temperatures for camping and hiking, we departed on Friday afternoon for the Appalachian Trail near Damascus, VA, close to the border of TN and NC. We camped off a gravel road intersecting the trail, built a fire to ward off the insects and settled in for the Read more…
Over the past few weeks, hiking has taken a back seat to self-care and healing. Our weather has also been pretty fickle during this time, with delightful sunny, blue skies during the week, and rain arriving just in time for the weekend. But last weekend, I was anxious to hike Read more…
3-29-19 The Fork Ridge trail leads from the Shelton Laurel backcountry to the Appalachian Trail, near the Jerry Cabin Shelter. If you want a good workout, this is your hike. Along the way, there is a side trail to Baxter Cliffs- well, sort of. It’s not much of a trail, Read more…
A theme seems to be evolving around winter hiking over the past few weeks: bone chilling mist. The weather forecast was sixty degrees and sunny for Saturday March 2, so we set off to combine views and sunshine. That was optiMISTic. In reality, the temperature began with damp, fog and Read more…