I found the Boyd Mountain cabins outside of Maggie Valley (near Waynesville, NC) several years ago, but I only stayed here once. As I recall at the time, I was feeling very burned out and wanted to get away for a few days. I talked the owners into letting me bring Cocoa! They have a [...]
If you go to Oconaluftee, you have to see the Elk. I keep seeing them but don't "see" the herds as much as the people, who live in the area. By that I mean, there's a whole group of people that follow the Elk (and now the eagles) around and report where they are at [...]
After I started following photographer Deborah Scannell and saw her photos of the Elk in the southern Appalachian mountains, I was convinced that I could capture a photo of them, too. Not as nicely done as her, of course, but still I could make an attempt. A couple of weeks ago, I did just that [...]
Funny thing about Mt. Collins (in the Smoky Mountains): it seems to move around or at least it was very illusive to us. We tried in vain to find its summit last fall before the roads were closed to the area around it. But we took the wrong trail. Or I should say that we [...]
Welcome to my Friday after Thanksgiving! I have hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail (AT) for years but never long stretches. Mostly, I have backpacked and camped on Cumberland Island where the temps are mild and there are no bears! But I'm the first to admit there's a true mystery surround the AT and that [...]
The Friday after Thanksgiving started out mild, but we knew a storm with much colder temperatures was heading our way. There were literally hours given to us for hiking the final sixth over 6k mountain peak before the end of the year. The Park Service closes the road to Clingman's Dome and other summits at [...]
