Archive for the ‘Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine’ Category

Thrill of the Chase

Saturday, August 13th, 2011
"I woke up one day and found myself in a 35-year-old body. Gone were the lithe, spring-loaded legs of my youth. It was time to face a hard truth: I would never be as fast as I once was."

A couple of weeks ago I posted a video about David Worth's record breaking run across the Smokies. Worth, a Great Smoky Mountains interpretive ranger, trekked 72 miles from Fontana Dam to Davenport Gap in just 14 hours and 50 minutes, beating the previous record by 55 minutes.

That previous record was set by Will Harlan. In the current issue of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine is an article about Will's record setting run across the Appalachian Trail in the Smokies, written by Mr. Harlan himself. It's really a great read.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, Will Harlan | Comments Off

Hiking and backpacking in the Red River Gorge

Thursday, May 12th, 2011
“The amount of use in the Red per square foot far exceeds most other national forest units and is actually on par with most national park units,” says Charlie Rowe, a forest service ranger who leads a volunteer maintenance crew inside the Red.

Last week I posted a blog about our recent hike along the Auxier Ridge Trail in the Red River Gorge. Coincidentally, in the latest issue of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, is a feature article about the Gorge, The mag provides a good overview of the national geological area in eastern Kentucky, and includes recommendations for day hiking and backpacking to some of the best destinations in the Red.

I thought the quote from the article (italicized above) offered a pretty interesting stat that I had never heard. The statistic is even more amazing when you consider that the Gorge was almost destroyed by the Army Corp of Engineers in the early 1960s. In order to stop the periodic flooding of towns downstream, the Corp proposed to build a dam that would've transformed the Gorge into a large lake. The battle to "Save the Red River Gorge" lasted for decades, and included a Dam Protest Hike on November 18, 1967. Participating in this hike was Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, which helped to draw national attention to the situation.

The battle to save the Gorge was effectively won when the Red River was designated as a National Wild and Scenic River on December 3, 1993.

You can read the full BRO article by clicking here.

For more information about the Gorge, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, Hiking, Red River Gorge, backpacking | Comments Off

8 Perfect Weekend Trails

Sunday, April 10th, 2011
The April edition of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, published earlier in the week, includes a list of eight weekend backpacking trips for those looking for new territory to explore in the Southern and Central Appalachians.

Most of the hikes laid out in the article are 2-3 days long, but there are a couple that will keep you out with mother nature for even longer. The list includes the following hikes:

* Wild Oak Trail in the George Washington National Forest

* Iron Mountain Trail in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area

* North Fork Mountain Trail near the Virginia-West Virginia border

* Laurel Highlands Trail in Pennsylvania

* John Muir National Recreation Trail in Eastern Tennessee

* Tanawha Trail near Grandfather Mountain

* Fires Creek Rim Trail in the Nantahala National Forest

* Art Loeb Trail in the Pisgah National Forest

For more details on each of these hikes, trip itineraries, and to read the article, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, backpacking, trails | Comments Off

Best of the Appalachian Trail Guide

Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine published an article on their website earlier this week that offers suggestions for tackling the best of what the Appalachian Trail has to offer.

BRO Magazine took an interesting take on this subject. While trying to include some of the best sections of the Appalachian Trail, they broke down their recommendations based on 2, 3, 4 and 5-day hiking options.

They offered two "weekend" or two-day hikes that include the 13-mile McAfee Knob / Tinker Cliffs hike near Roanoke, and the 14-mile A.T./Mau-Har Trail Loop near Waynesboro, VA. For experienced hikers that are in great shape, either of those hikes could be tackled in one long day.

They also offered two three-day hikes: The 26-mile section of the Mount Rogers High Country in southwestern Virginia, as well as the 29-mile Nantahala Gorge Ridgetop hike near Franklin, North Carolina.

Their recommendation for a four-day hike is the classic A.T. trek through the Great Smoky Mountains.

Their five-day backpack trip takes hikers 48 miles and includes the Nolichucky River, Roan Mountain, Grassy Ridge Bald and Overmountain near Johnson City, TN.

Each hike listed in the article includes key points of interest, mileage and camping information. To read the full article, please click here.

> For more detailed information on hiking the A.T. through the Smokies, please click here.

> For more information on the hike to the Summit of Mt. Rogers, please click here.

> For more information on Roan Mountain and the hike to Grassy Ridge Bald, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

Posted in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, Mau-Har Trail Loop, McAfee Knob, Mount Rogers, Nantahala Gorge Ridgetop, Nolichucky River, Overmountain, Tinker Cliffs, appalachian trail | Comments Off