I enjoy a long weekend with beautiful weather, time with friends, family, volunteer work, and (most importantly) hiking. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my long weekend. Coming back to work today after 4(ish) days off was not exactly easy, it’s hard to face reality, especially when the weather is so…
Next year I plan on thru hiking the AT Southbound. Solo. Maine to Georgia. Being as my family lives in North Carolina and Georgia I felt that it would give me something to work towards, instead of walking further and further away from home I’ll be walking towards it. I’m still working out logistics as…
My brother and I seem to have started a tradition where at the beginning of each year we find something outdoorsy to do together. Last year we spent the day skiing at Beech Mountain (which was one of the best ski trips I’ve ever had) and this year we decided to camp at Table Rock…
I’ve been thinking through all of the hikes that I did in 2014 and trying to decide which one was my favorite. I’ve had some pretty amazing hikes, so it’s hard to choose just one. But in the end my first solo hike of the year was my favorite: Graybeard Trail, Montreat, NC Graybeard was…
I read a lot of articles and books about hikes, treks, expeditions, and backpacking trips around the world. It fills my heart with a desire to explore and adventure as much as possible. Recently I decided to start my bucket list of trips that I would like to accomplish in my lifetime (I’m sure the…
There’s that moment when everything clicks. Your heart settles. Your mind calms to a peaceful emptiness. You breathe easier. Relax more. You feel more content than you ever have before. You feel home. I didn’t know that it could feel like this. That I would find myself more at home in the mountains, lost among the…
I’m addicted. I spend hours every day reading blogs, articles, books, and magazines about the Appalachian. I read about skills I need to work on. Plants I’ll find along the way. Personal experiences. The struggles. The joys. All of it. I dream about it at night. I can’t stop. I am craving the AT so…
This past weekend was a wonderful time for an impromptu midnight hike. We set out Friday at 11:30pm, bundled up as much as possible. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight, and the moon glowed brightly, illuminating the path before us and eliminating any need for a flashlight. It was calm and quiet,…
This entire year has been a life changing experience for me. Especially in terms of hiking and backpacking. My favorite trip thus far was my first multi-night backpacking trip through the Shining Rock Wilderness. Up until that point I had only backpacked a few times, the hikes in and out were short and relatively easy,…
The Misadventures of Anna & Bear Bait 