This is not really my typical outdoors post, since not hiking or gear related – but our family took a trip to Sevierville / Pigeon Forge / Gatlingburg area this fall for birthdays. We decided to go check out the new-ish Anakeesta Theme Park in Gatlinburg. This turned out to be a fairly unique mountain…
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Appalachian Trail – Fontana Dam to Clingman’s Dome (34 miles)
The plan: Hike the lower half of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in May 2022, Fontana Dam to Newfound Gap / 441, a total of 42 miles, in 3 overnights (spoiler, I stopped a bit short at 34 miles). I had an awesome trail shuttle (via Zach of Traveling Lite Shuttle and Resupply) from…
Madera Original Hammock
*Full disclosure*. I recently became a brand ambassador for Madera, which means I get a decent discount, and a small percentage of sales when people purchase thru my affiliate link. I receive NO product or compensation in return for reviews / promotion so this is completely unbiased. If I thought their products were inferior…
Summer overnighter: Looking Glass Rock, Pisgah NF
The plan: A late June evening hike up Looking Glass Rock with my 15 year old son, take in the sunset up top, then camp overnight and hike back down in the morning. It was a typical June day: warm, fairly humid and wet, and a storm had gone thru earlier in the day. …
Sea to Summit Alpha Set 1.1 and the evolution of my cooking setup
Can a hiker get excited about new gear even if its just cooking related? I picked up a Sea To Summit Alpha Set 1.1 cooking set and feel pretty good about it. Some others were considered but this set looks like it will work well for me, which I will talk about in addition to what…
Pisgah National Forest Closed until August 13
From The Transylvania Times: “In alignment with current federal, state and local guidance for social distancing and to ensure health and safety of its employees, visitors and volunteers, Pisgah National Forest has temporarily shut down dispersed camping and the roads and trails listed below.The closures apply to vehicles, bikes and hikers.” It goes on to…
Cat Gap Loop / Art Loeb / Butter Gap Trail – Pisgah. Hiking during COVID-19.
This hike took place April 4th, 2020 – during NC’s Stay at Home order due to COVID-19 restrictions. I was ambivalent about traveling very far from home during this time, and the possibility of crowded trails (since being home from work and school steered many people outdoors ). Working from home for 3 weeks with…
Appalachian Trail – NOC / Nantahala Outdoor Center, NC to Fontana Dam (28 miles)
I returned to the Appalachian Trail from what feels like a long absence. From 2013 through 2015, I went out at least once a year and would do 30-40 miles at a time of the AT with a hiking buddy (trail name Wooly Hammock). We managed to complete about 135 miles of the AT this…
Brisa Skinner vs Lauri Skinner knife build Part II.
Next up was laying out the handle. I like woods that are naturally dark and don’t really need any stain to have some deep color. I had some old cherry lumber on hand, cut a long time ago and salvaged from old furniture so it was fairly dark already. I had some lighter color hardwood scraps on…
Black Balsam Knob – Art Loeb & Ivestor Gap Trail, Pisgah
This day hike was done back to back with our Sam Knob / Little Sam / MST / Art Loeb hike the previous day. We really had no idea what the weather would do; rain was in the forecast for the afternoon and our morning drive out to Black Balsam area from Brevard started off pretty…
Out on the Trail . . . 