I’ve tried all manner of hiking shoes and boots but all-time favorites are Adidas Terrex of course I also sprained my ankle so bad hiking this weekend that my foot has resembled a purple balloon the past few days and I’m waiting on X-ray results at the moment, so in my current mood I’d recommend more ankle support
Looking to take my son Fly fishing in the fall out west. We want to day hike to some vistas as well. Don't really care where but airports will matter when deciding. Any input is appreciated. TIA
I don't fly fish, but the first two vistas I thought of that are near fly fishing areas are - Fishhook Creek Trail near Stanley, Idaho. Its a super easy 2.5 mile trail and really one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. This picture doesn't do it justice. The whole area from Sun Valley to Stanley Idaho may be one of the most underrated beautiful places in this country. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/idaho/fishhook-creek-trail Stanley is about 3 hours from Boise. Sun Valley also has an airport and is about one hour away. The other is Bear Creek Overlook near Missoula, Mt. This one is a little steeper, and when I went there were a ton of deadfall trees that you had to climb over. Without the deadfalls it probably is a pretty easy trail. The road to the trail head is a narrow one-way road on the side of a cliff. The view at the end is awesome. It's a 4.5 mile trail that finishes at flat exposed area where you can see forever. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/bear-creek-overlook-trail
My friend bought a badass custom teardrop trailer a few weeks ago, we tried it out last night. Fun river hike to a waterfall. I think my goal next winter will be to get some sort of overland setup for my truck bed Spoiler
started out with a very nice day on Wilson Mtn but ended up getting pretty cloudy and very windy later. Loving these higher temperatures Spoiler
16 straight months getting on top of Bear Mtn I've lived in 9 states. San Francisco/Bay Area is the only place that comes close to Flagstaff/Northern Arizona for me Spoiler
AB Young Trail this morning/afternoon hard to beat this trail's combo of strenuous workout and lack of people. Crossing Oak Creek to get on the trail is always fun Spoiler
got up to Wasson Peak yesterday and this morning. Nice little 8-day stretch. Had storms and blowing dust in the distance. Saguaro NP is a special place Spoiler
Getting ready for my first backpacking trip since I was in scouts. Did a test pack of it this weekend and was able to get everything packed that I plan on taking. Weighed about 33 lbs. It's mostly a fishing trip, so it's only a 5 mile backpack trip from 2 nights of camping.
pretty incredible day at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction. Had a lot of cloud cover early so it wasn't terribly hot just in the 90s did the Siphon Draw Trail up to the Flatiron rock formation in the Superstition Mtns. Start at 2100 ft and go 3 miles up to around 4800 ft. You start in the desert surrounded by cholla, Palo Verde and very old saguaro cactus before winding your way up through a rocky canyon. Lotta scrambling and after a while there's no marked trail, kind of a choose your own adventure with a search and rescue mission to recover your body very much in play. Getting down was a 4-points of contact type deal and I was terrified in spots Spoiler
Did my first backpacking trip since Philmont 24 years ago. Only hiked in about 4 miles, and then fished over 4 miles of the stream for two days. Think I need to get a better sleeping pad, the Nemo Flyer didn't cut it.
I've always been a Therm-a-Rest fan but I slept on my son's Klymit not long ago and liked it a lot. Great looking trip btw
Exploring NE Oregon for a few days. Hiked the OG Oregon Trail today. Kinda cool. Hot. Spoiler Got lunch, then drove about an hour west into some mountains, Anthony Lake. Still a lot of snow but good views Spoiler Clocked about 10 miles overall, cool contrast bw desert and snow. Exploring Hell's Canyon tomorrow, on the Oregon-Idaho border.
bringing a coworker to do Bear Mtn this weekend. She told me she wants to get in better shape and spend more time outside this summer hard to beat Sedona for some strenuous morning workouts
perfect morning on the AB Young Trail in Sedona today. I think this has become my favorite hike down there since you never see anyone else on it besides the ranger living in the fire lookout. Trailhead is 19 miles from my apartment Spoiler
Cascadia summer is fucking here I think Cornelius has me beat, but the peak in the distance is exactly 36 miles from my house. Trailhead is a 50 minute drive. Spoiler
This freaking dog. Hiked up 5 miles and a little over 3,000 ft, pretty hard hike. Arrive at our destination, a nice alpine meadow still covered in snow at about 6,500 ft of elevation. Sit to have lunch and smoke a joint. She gets the zoomies. We are going to absolutely slay trails
saving so much money on gym memberships with a dog and elite outdoors recreation opportunities in your backyard
did El Cajon Mtn in the El Capitan County Preserve this morning/afternoon. Pretty damn hard day hike. 11+ miles round trip with over 3,000 feet in elevation gained by the end. Sweet views of the region including the San Diego skyline/coast saw a rattlesnake and got a ridiculous amount of sun, which was cool. Was 100 degrees in Lakeside by the time I was back at my car though... Spoiler
View from the summit of Mount Pleasant - located in George Washington National Forest in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. ~4k ft of elevation, which isn’t much compared to you Western boys, but these are old mountains!
that's gorgeous I've been told the Appalachian Mtns are older than Saturn's rings, which is pretty wild
Trying to get my ass in shape for Ptarmigan Traverse over July 4 Took Fiddle to Mason Lake, just under 3,000 ft of gain in 3.7 miles. Good burn. Pretty lake. Snow should be melted in next 2-3 weeks and we'll be up in the alpine Spoiler Doesn't get better than this
couple from western nc little hikes today got some good rain during one of them Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler
Are you asking about the park near Kingsport? I have never been myself, but I know people who have been. I get the impression that it's more designed to be a place people in Kingsport can get into nature while not far from town, but it's not really in the mountains. I know there is a waterfall hike and a hike to a fire tower, but there are better fire towers in East Tennessee/ Western North Carolina. It has some educational nature exhibits and a planetarium that might be good for kids, but if you are looking to hike there are better options.
Where did go? And did you have any trouble getting to trails? I haven't ventured into WNC to hike since Hurricane Helene, but not all of the bridges on the TN side are back up yet so I've just assumed the situation was worse over there.
Staying at Sugar Mountain, NC. Evening view: Spoiler Kids loved the Wilderness run alpine coaster. Dropped kids off at week-long camp yesterday. I think they are going to have a rainy muddy fun time. Linville Falls - did this right off the plane. some sections of this were closed, under repair. "0.3 mile" hike turned into about 2 miles lol. Grandfather Vineyard & Winery - main entrance closed, bridge repair, but they have a back entrance and parking lot open. Nice to sit right by the river and have some good wine flights. pics in previous post were from: Beacon Heights - immediately after the parking area, the blue ridge parkway was closed. Flat Rock Overlook - no issues accessing. Will do Grandfather Mountain later this week. Also had Chestoa Viewpoint on list but can't do that, blue ridge parkway is closed at that area and there is no other route to get to it per google maps.
If you are in Sugar I highly recommend going up to Roan Mountain State Park. At Carver's Gap on the state line there is a great hike on a bald with rhododendrons that should be blooming near peak right now. It's a pretty easy hike with really nice views off both sides of the mountain even when the flowers aren't blooming. You are walking on the Appalachian Trail, so you can go as far as you want, but you can see plenty by just going a mile. The park is actually holding its Rhododendron Festival this weekend, but that can get pretty crowded. Another nice place close by is Elk River Falls. It's a short walk, but a nice waterfall.
Here's a map of all of the public land potentially up for sale: https://wilderness.maps.arcgis.com/...FHSZ9gSIJAImrxrMYO_aem_6PHPLqQRCYjF5oCyXF3crg
Thank you. Elk River Falls closed per everything I researched. But we decided to do BOTH Bays Mountain Park and Roan Mountain same day. gf had the Bays Mountain idea so I didn't want to shit on that, and it ended up being quite nice. Did a 4.7 mile hike up to the top via the Fire Tower Trail. I climbed that Fire Tower and took some good pics and video. Saw a deer on the way up. Nice park, nice trail. Not too buggy. The perfect kind of trail for my gf who doesn't like heights. Spoiler Drive to Carver's Gap we got poured on most of the way, was a fun drive in torrential downpour. Rain stopped when we got to Roan Mountain park. Flowers were awesome. Views were awesome. gf only wanted to see the flowers which we could see very well just walking away from the car for a minute. So I ran to the top like a crazy ten year old. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler