The following originally appeared August 15, 2018. We run it again because it’s a good reminder — to us especially — to always pay attention, to never get cocky out there, and that, nature is always in charge.
You learn a lot while backpacking, especially about yourself. I’m pretty sure the nine backpackers I spent this past weekend with in Linville Gorge know a lot more about themselves today than they did before our trip.
The following post originally appeared on June 5, 2019. We revisit it today because it’s always important to know where you are in the woods. And if you’ve lost track of where you are, to be able to figure out, more or less, where you might be — and then how to get where you want to be.
We love hiking in winter. Its allure — cool temperatures to keep you moving, dry air, and awesome light, to name three — go largely unappreciated. Still, it’s a time for shorter hikes. Shorter hours of daylight, the rapidly disappearing late-day sun, the cold early and late. It’s a great time to be out, just not for prolonged periods of time.
Spring: you can’t wait to get out on the trail — and stay on the trail. Which is why backpacking was invented. We’ve got opportunities for you to do just that this spring: hit the trail Friday and not leave it until Sunday.
Your options …
This recent spate of bitter cold, snow and ice can’t last forever. This is the South: It just can’t.
Before you know it, maybe within a week or so, you’ll be out on the trail and you’ll see a bright yellow daffodil poking through the turf beneath a stately oak, near a loosely arranged pile of rocks. A non-native ornamental favored by early homesteaders to get them through the last half of winter, a harbinger of spring and warmer weather. They will be followed shortly by trout lilies, spring beauties and the rush of spring abundance. You may not be thinking about sleeping in a tent now, but it won’t be long. And you’ll want to be prepared.
