Tag Archives: Pisgah National Forest

Happy New Year

“It always comes back to us – why are we here? Well, we just happened to be here, we couldn’t choose it. The chance of us being born – that sperm hitting that egg – is 400 trillion to 1. … Continue reading

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Time to clean the shit up

This was the last trail in the Davidson River section of the Pisgah National Forest we hadn’t hike, the Cemetery Loop and Long Branch. There weren’t any big payoffs for this hike, no big views or waterfalls, just a hard … Continue reading

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Local knowledge

The hike up to John Rock in Pisgah National Forest is a favorite of mine. It’s a five-mile loop with an elevation gain of 1000 feet and the payoff is the picture you see above. “The choices we make lead up to … Continue reading

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A winter’s tale

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” – John Burroughs There is a small, family owned Mexican restaurant in our community that my family has enjoyed eating at for 30 … Continue reading

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The zen of a rattlesnake

One of my favorite hikes in the Pisgah National Forest is the John Rock Loop, a 5 mile trail that climbs roughly 1,200 feet. I like it not because it is 5 miles long, that sucks or because you have to … Continue reading

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Balance through chaos

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” – John Muir I went for what I would describe as less a … Continue reading

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Life and death in the forest

“The world is afflicted by death and decay. But the wise do not grieve, having realized the nature of the world.” –  The Buddha My wife and I try to hike in the Pisgah National Forest every Sunday, specifically in … Continue reading

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What we discover off the beaten path

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both, And be one traveler, long I stood, And looked down one as far as I could, To where it bent in the undergrowth”- Robert Frost I have written extensively … Continue reading

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A small view of a big world

“It suddenly struck me that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very … Continue reading

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Trump doesn’t speak or act for me

I needed to climb. I needed to get above all the bullshit coming out of Washington if just for an hour or two. 1,000 feet of climbing to the top of John Rock in the Pisgah National Forest. There is … Continue reading

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