Today was Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. Did you celebrate? Clement and his buddies got out and had a blast at Rocky Knob Bike Park. After getting outfitted with free shirts and socks, the kids honed their dirt riding skills under the tutelage of Kristian Jackson and company. Besides being good, healthy fun, the...
Last week we hosted a retreat for 50 Cru student leaders near Roan Mountain. We raced to finish dinner in order to catch the last rays of the day atop the Roan balds. We hiked through a misty “Hobbit forest” (as Clement described it) along the Appalachian Trail. Just past the treeline, the misty clouds...
Perched on a mountainside at 5506 feet in elevation, Beech Mountain lays claim to being the highest incorporated town in the eastern US. That’s small potatoes compared to western US counterparts, but sometimes the numbers don’t tell you everything. For the past two years, Beech has hosted the 2012 Gravity National Championships. It’s the big...
Two trails, two dear people, two journeys through a misty wood. I love what trails represent: a passage to a hidden world. I believe Wendell Berry got it right when he said, “To live on this earth necessarily means that we break the body of this creation and shed it’s blood in order to live....
There’s nothing like a summer shower to break the humidity and make it fun to be outside again. One of our favorite summer traditions is Music in the Valle. Banjos play while the kids run wild and adults reconnect with old friends. Here’s a few images that I snapped with my point and shoot camera...
Most of the country is simmering in the triple digits. We beat the heat at Watauga Lake, a beautiful gem just 30 minutes from home.
The summer mornings here in the Blue Ridge Mountains are converting me from my winter ways. Maybe that will change when the humidity arrives. For now, it’s a joy to wake up early every morning and soak in to the glory. Below are a few sunrise shots from a morning run on the Appalachian Trail...
Every spring some of my cousins get together for a weekend of camping and outdoor adventure. This year we chose the New River Gorge in Fayetteville, WV. Spanning the gorge almost 900ft over the New River, the bridge is a worthy attraction in it’s own right. Once a year, the bridge is legally open to...
