It was our last day in the Linville Gorge. We were supposed to be back to our car by 3:00 p.m., but by 4:00 p.m. we were still three miles away. We had stopped to eat lunch when a couple of hikers came up from a spur trail and asked us if they were headed […]
Western North Carolina’s varied landscape is a veritable buffet for backpackers. Nestled at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, overlaid by the Plott Balsam and Great Balsam mountains, and loaded with strings of soaring 6,000-foot peaks (sixers) amid a massive expanses of forest—the trip options are almost endless. Jackson County’s diversity of […]
Perhaps Coachella sold out before you could say Beyoncé, you just can’t imagine fighting the crowds at Bonnaroo for one more year, or maybe you’d rather hang out riverside than beachside. No matter what the reason, we understand your desire for an intimate (but still larger than life) music experience this summer, so we picked […]
Southern author Eugene F. Walter once wrote, “summer in the deep South is not only a season, a climate, it’s a dimension. Floating in it, one must be either proud or submerged.” Perhaps this explains why the waters here are so well-explored and appreciated by paddlers from all over the United States. Despite the fact […]
The Great Smoky Mountains may be known for their enchanting mist and spectacular views, but these rounded peaks have another claim to fame: they are home to waterfalls of all shapes and sizes. There’s nothing quite like kicking off your shoes and cooling down next to a beautiful waterfall in the heat of a Southeastern […]
Although big cats no longer prowl the 6,295-acre swath of the Nantahala National Forest dubbed Panthertown Valley, it’s still easy to imagine the namesake predators roaming the sylvan trails. One of the most stunning and ruggedly wild tracts of the massive national forest is Panthertown Valley—a place that has been referred to as the Yosemite […]
Ask someone their favorite part about living in North Carolina, and a likely response will touch on the accessibility of both mountains and ocean. From mile-high peaks to rolling farmland to wind-swept sand dunes, the Tarheel State is, indeed, fantastically diverse. And one day, a single, unbroken footpath called the Mountains to Sea Trail will […]
