The weather dance continues

Had great weather today hiking a 13.2-mile loop up Deep Creek in the Smokies, but by the time I got back to the car, a gauze of white clouds was forming, tipping off the next storm system moving into the region. Rain is expected to begin in the middle of the night and last into Thursday morning. That’s rain in Bryson City, elevation 1,752 feet. It occurred to me, with temperatures forecast in the upper 30s rising only to 50 down here, that atop 6,600-foot-plus Clingman’s Dome the situation could be significantly different. So I decided to put off that trip until the drier, so says the forecast, end of the week. read more

Knowing when to fold ’em

The key to continuing to enjoy an activity? Don’t intentionally put yourself in a position to dislike the activity.

I left Cary early this morning for a week of backpacking in the Smokies. In the throes of trying to wrap up a book on backcountry exploring in North Carolina, the trip was both pleasure and work – work under a rapidly approaching deadline. I was doubly motivated to hit the trail. read more

Explore the outdoors, discover yourself.