when an unexpected wide open weekend presented itself to me, i wasted no time planning my escape. it’s a busy time of year for hiking and camping in the south and the government shutdown further complicated matters, with national park service campsites all closing up and sending campers scurrying into state and private campgrounds. i […]
just me myself and i
rocky camp and hike vibes.
the kids are all settled back in school. temps are cooling. it’s about that time to take some weekend camping trips. for my first trip this fall, i was able to line up my campground with a scheduled hike with my local hiking group. i headed up to rocky knob campground off the blue ridge […]
almost heaven…
just spent an absolutely delightful weekend in fayetteville west virginia with my outdoor loving pal heather. we crammed in a bit of everything: rafting, hiking, coffee shops, dining, shopping, live music and sightseeing. we departed friday afternoon and drove up to our cozy airbnb right in downtown fayetteville. once we were checked in, we set […]
chutes and ladders at gramps.
ok. this hike was fantastic. hard. long. a little dangerous. but so fantastic. i met up with my hiking group friends for a ten-ish hour adventure on majestic grandfather mountain, namely a 12.25 mile and almost 4000′ elevation gain hike, chock full of all the best amenities first of all. there was an old plane […]
outside. with new friends.
on a particularly drizzly and foggy day in early auguest, i was able to meet up with my local hiking group for a little stroll along the appalachian trail in the mount rogers national recreation area. we logged eleven muddy miles and 2700 feet of elevation gain, so it was a decent enough workout, even […]
my first ADK high peak. (phelps).
for our final day in the adirondacks, i was able to meet up with my old pal from batavia, andrea. when we were in the area a few years ago, she and i went on a pretty great hike to noonmark and round mountain. this time, she wasn’t sure if she could work me into […]
stone mountain, from a new perspective.
in an effort to meet some local outdoorsy folk, and maybe learn about some cool local-ish hikes, i recently joined a local hiking group. it took a minute for my schedule to allow me to register for a group hike, but i was finally able to join them on a trip to stone mountain. as […]
staycation.
to celebrate our 22nd (plus one week) anniversary, derek and i shipped the kids off to the grandlidboms and had a little staycation in ye olde winston-salem. we made an attempt to do things in town that we have never really done. try new restaurants. etc. our first stop was reynolda gardens. i have driven […]
impromptu hike with hp
when your one and only local hike friend asks if you can go on a spontaneous-ish hiking trip, you make it happen. (it wasn’t that hard, actually, i don’t have that much going on). heather and i had been to elk knob a year or so ago, but it was in the winter and super […]
yet another escape to stone mountain…
a few days back, it was “cardio day” on my workout routine, so i packed my standard cardio items to go to the gym after i dropped off the girls at school. then, on a whim, i grabbed some bare minimum hiking essentials also. i literally had no idea which activity i planned to do, […]