Author Archives: John

The flying sausage decided we needed to drive to Laurel Gap. By the time you deal with I-40, Heintooga road and Maggie Valley it’s 3 hours from my house. But I was fortunate to have the company of one Grady. … Continued

Richard and Keene tell stories of their many years and 900 miles through the Smokies around a rainy camp in Elkmont on Saturday evening. We woke early Saturday morning to embark on a shuttle ride up to Clingmans dome so … Continued

Don’t let the beautiful photograph fool you, we climbed 4,000 plus feet in the monsoon rain to get to Mount Sterling on Friday. You may recall my friend Marina from the first Gap C&O bike trip. She was riding solo … Continued

There’s always a place I can find my pet little copperheads. It’s down at the bridge in the lower Muir valley area. The camping is good at Land of the Arches and it’s near my favorite climbing. There are routes … Continued

To see a better version of this photo, go to my instagram link here.  https://www.instagram.com/p/CRu1XQbMu0h/ As you can see, we had a great time helping Abby finish her last mile in the park She is a real go-getter, just like Kelsie. … Continued

I had a great time hiking with Marc Anthony and Nathan Sparks, publisher of Cityview Magazine. Some of you may know Marc from the Marc and Kim radio show. Marc did a wonderful piece here and I really appreciate his … Continued

Yes, that’s me with the sexy legs at the end of the C&O Towpath again. You may be wondering why I went back. Well, Kelsie was itching to do her first bikepacking journey and I wanted to spend a little … Continued

The weather looked quite specious. Rain showers throughout the day with the occasional heavy thunderstorm was predicted for this part of Virginia. We arrived at the Elk Garden parking lot to a soaking storm. The flying sausage pulled in with … Continued

I know there has been little content on this site of late. The main reason is that  climbing season arrived I and figured folks were tired of that same photography. It all looks the same after a minute or two. … Continued

Its been an active outdoor week or so for me and crew. I really appreciate everyone’s comments on our Jeffrey Hell epic from Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. It was as much fun to write as it was to explore.  I’m … Continued