Fall, the best time of year to be on the trail, is around the corner. Are you ready?
I don’t mean do you have your gear ready: Rather, do you have your plan of attack in place?
Not to put too much pressure on the fall hiking season, but there is a fair amount of pressure to make the most of the next three months. Sure, spring has its obvious pluses — wildflowers, warming temperatures, rebirth — and winter has its subtle charms. But face it, the combination of a retreat from sweltering temperatures, low humidity, crisp blue skies, and fall color make this the best season to hike in the Southeast.read more
I woke up Wednesday at 5:30, took Dog #1 out, checked the weather.
60 degrees!
I knew it was supposed to cool off this week, but 60? I couldn’t remember the last time it had been so cool in this summer of record heat. A good two months, at least.
A spirit-lifting temperature, but still shy of my fall benchmark. Then, an hour later I took out Dog #2 (she likes to sleep in) and it was 58. Within a half hour it would drop another degree, to 57.read more
So many outdoor videos on YouTube, so little time to sort the entertaining from the “Hey-look-at-me!” Fortunately, that’s one of the services we provide — so suffer through the latter and direct you to the former.
We watch a video: if we like it and think you will, too, we write a short review. If we watch it and don’t like it, well, if it’s really egregious we might write about it to let you know what you’re not missing. Otherwise, we move on to the next. The good news: there’s enough decent stuff out there to keep us in business.read more
You need a new rain jacket, one that will keep you relatively dry but not cost a fortune. You want to know how to prepare for basic injuries on the trail, and how to deal with them when they occur. And those clouds gathering overhead: what do they mean — and should I be concerned?read more
We get out a lot. We’ve been getting out a lot for more than 30 years. During that time we’ve learned a thing or two. Nothing revolutionary, nothing that’s radically changed the sport. But maybe something you’ll find helpful, something you didn’t know that might help next time you’re on the trail. Something that will shorten your learning curve — though the learning never stops.read more
