Five idea to keep yourself fine tuned while hiking, backpacking, or camping in the outdoors.

The Linvile Gorge in Western North Carolina, is one of those true American hidden gems. It’s called by some the “Grand Canyon of the East”. It’s not a national park, but a designated Wilderness, surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest. Steep cliffs, vast views, interesting geological formations, waterfalls, and the swift flowing cascades of the Linville River are a few of the rewards to those who traverse the rugged, unmarked trails. I did a 3 day 2 night photography focused

I heard of South Mountains State Park a while back but never had a chance to visit. On September 8, 2017, I did a quick overnight trip to explore around the park a bit. South Mountains is the largest state park in North Carolina, so an overnight trip hardly allows ample time to explore the 100,000 acres thoroughly. My hike started at High Shoals Falls Loop Trail, which follows the Jacob Fork River to the top of High Shoals Falls. I then connected to the Upper Falls Trail and

Scenes from a section hike through the southern Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina on the Appalachian Trail. This section was devastated by massive wildfires in fall 2016. Now almost a year later, it’s amazing walking for miles through the charred black skeletons of dead trees and fire damaged landscape with the juxtaposition of vibrant new growth on the forest floor. The ridge lines have an enchanted almost barren winter like quality offering great views of the dist