So it wasn’t exactly a dump, but in a dry winter like this, 3″ of snow is something to celebrate. I mounted my GoPro to a snow shovel and got to work. Extra thanks to Christopher Ward for helping me clear my driveway. Later in the day we went sledding.
At 5am I roll out of a painfully short night of sleep and into my dad’s waiting cup of coffee. Along with brothers Wes and Glenn, dad drives us down dark country roads until we arrive at Harry Nagel’s farm. A lineup of pick up trucks already flank the main barn. We park our foreign...
This is my second year in a row taking Appalachian State men out camping in nothing more than a sleeping bag atop one of Tennessee’s highest peaks. The wise ones take heed and prepare for winter conditions. The less-than-wise guys show up in cotton hoodies carrying summer sleeping bags. For them, the coldest night of...
Cool tree. Cool sky. Cool mountain. Location: Tom and Susan’s backyard/Baird’s Creek
48 hrs without kids in Asheville. Thanks Carolyn, Charlie, Sara, Todd, and Jessica for watching our boys and helping us decompress and re-focus on our marriage. It’s funny how walks in the rain are pure drudgery with kids, but when you’re with your beautiful bride…pure joy. Location: Blue Ridge Parkway near Mt. Pisgah
We had our coldest Oct 1st on record, beating the previous low mark by 4 degrees. Higher elevations picked up their first dusting of snow. I was out early on my way to the Hound Ears Climbing Competition and this was the scene that was unfolding near by house. The light only lasted a few...
Ready, set, go! It’s Saturday morning and I have two hours before the rest of the world needs me. Two hours to look for good light and see what unfolds. I’ll confess, I’ don’t have the patience to be a classical landscape photographer. I don’t usually set up shots before dawn and then wait for...
Snake Mountain is one of my favorite peaks in North Carolina. She’s rugged and off the beaten track. She’s moody and often shrouded in clouds. She may be small by western standards, but she can deliver a serious bite. A winter ascent might have you wading through waist deep snow with arctic wind blasts thrown...
Tonight I was thumbing through I. Harding Hughes, Jr’s book, Valle Crucis, A History of an Uncommon Place. I like the Preface which records the words of the 1989 Valle Crucis Community Council: “The residents are fortunate to live where there is unsurpassed natural beauty and where exists a vibrant past and vigorous present. Those...
