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Poetry is Found, Not Written On the Craft & Discovery of Poetry The Art of Finding By Linda Gregg What matters to me even more than the shapeliness and the dance of language is what the poem discovers deeper down than gracefulness and pleasures in figures of speech. Traditionally, and for many people even today,…
Waking Up in the Mountains: Nathan Roark at Buffalo Cove Camp
Training for discomfort, danger, and the unexpected. Nathan Roark has been gathering bits of leaves and grasses the entirety of our walk along the creek and then steeply uphill, his two dogs trailing him through the tangle. He seems to be fidgeting, storing each piece in his pocket. When we return to where we began,…
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Grayson Highlands Wild Ponies and Trails: Everything You Need to Know
Planning a visit to see the wild ponies of Grayson Highlands? Here’s your complete, local’s-eye guide to spotting the ponies, hiking the highlands, and exploring one of Virginia’s most magical state parks. | Photos by JC Garcia TL;DR – Wild Ponies at Grayson Highlands The ponies are semi-wild and roam freely in the highland balds.…
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A New Destination for Cider Lovers: Lansing, North Carolina
Lansing’s hard cidery ‘Molley Chomper’ is writing a new chapter in the centuries-long history of Appalachian cider making. This beloved cidery has become just as much about stewarding resources to help a community flourish as running a successful family business. Fleur Robinson / Contributor | Photography by Ken Robinson Cidery owners Kate and Tim Arscott…
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Big Problems at Grayson Highlands: A Bouldering Guide
Everything you need to know about bouldering in one of Virginia’s most scenic climbing destinations, from top problems to logistics, gear, and ethics. Why Bouldering in Grayson Highlands? Located in southwestern Virginia, Grayson Highlands State Park has emerged as a premier bouldering destination in the Southeast. Its high-elevation setting—over 5,000 feet—provides cool temperatures even in…
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Walking Through Deep Time: A Hiker’s Guide to the Geologic Story of Grayson Highlands
There are millions of years beneath our feet, which is probably true of everywhere we walk. In Grayson Highlands, though, the relentless interplay of volcanic upheaval and erosion is frozen in time. The boulder fields vibrate with the history of deep geologic forces pushing ancient rock to the surface. The landscape unfolds with geologic narratives…
Master Winter Photography with Trevor on the Trail
Trevor Bamford (@trevoronthetrail) slips through the door well before dawn, boots crunching against the frost-covered grass on his way toward the warming car. He’s done this seven winters now—this stalking of snow-thick ridge lines with the cold pressing in. This winter has been especially and painfully perfect for the art and craft he’s come to…
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Holler Conversations
by Scott Delaney Photo by JC Garcia My daddy and his brother built that house you’re inI remember moving boulders: rocks the size of barrowsGus and I would put em on that wood sledWe had a mule, and we’d all pull to drag them up the hill Gus was too smart for his own goodHe…
The Mountains Teach Us
These are the oldest mountains in the world, and their stories have been hiding here for ages. And I think that’s what attracts settlers, pilgrims, adventurers, and storytellers, all of us wondering what’s in those misty mountains. I spoke with Joey Henson some years ago, and he helped me understand why the lifetimers in Appalachia…
After Helene | Jeremy Bollman, Owner of Hatchet West Jefferson
He felt the undeniable pull to the Ashe County town of West Jefferson, though he couldn’t tell you exactly why. Since opening Hatchet West in May this year, though, some answers have started to emerge. Photography by Ken Robinson Jeremy Bollman was dreaming of a space like this years ago as he served espresso shots…
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Profile Trail: A Journey Through Grandfather Mountain’s Ecosystems
Beginning at the the trailhead off Highway 105, Grandfather Mountain’s Profile Trail takes you on a 3.6-mile (one way) journey through an extraordinary variety of natural habitats. The trail climbs nearly 2,000 feet to MacRae and Calloway peaks, this challenging route showcases the mountain’s wild beauty and distinct ecosystems, each one bringing new scenery and…
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Grandfather Mountain: What You Need to Know
Only a short drive from Boone, you can drive up this glorious prominence; but really you should hike it if you can–that way you can judge the people who drove it. Yes. It’s possible to drive up Grandfather Mountain, and plenty of people do it every year while listening to a narration of the mountain’s…
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After Helene | Lindsey Kulp, Owner of The Squirrel and Nut
Lindsey Kulp fills her shop, The Squirrel and Nut, with the old and the handmade and wares made in the USA. Local artists and artisans are the mainstay of her eclectic inventory, opened in 2023. Hurricane Helene swept her shop in September and wrecked all her hard work.But she believes the shop and the town…
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After Helene | Shelby Tramel, Owner of Old Orchard Creek General Store
Shelby Tramel, owner of Old Orchard Creek General Store in Lansing for little more than a year when Hurricane Helene dropped a year’s worth of rain on western North Carolina, and flood waters took everything. Now she’s rebuilding. When Lansing, North Carolina, started to flood, Old Orchard Creek General Store filled with water in less…
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The Grandfather Mountain Mile-High Swinging Bridge
My dad and I walked across the Grandfather Mountain bridge, which he said he wasn’t going across. No way. I’m not going. “There’s nothing to worry about,” I told him. I mean it’s just the highest foot bridge in America so what could go wrong. When he was a kid, his dad took him to…
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Harvesting the Wild Abundance of the High Country
Holly Drake is still learning to see and savor the delicious beauty all around her. Photography by David Uttley Holly Drake guides a group of foragers along a diagonal path up a hillside in Todd, North Carolina. This tract of land is owned by a local friend, and it’s one of many such hillsides, garden…
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The Legend of Baker Perry
Appalachian State Climatology Professor, Himalayan Mountaineer, National Geographic Explorer Baker Perry talks about his roots in the High Country of Boone, North Carolina. | Photography by JC Garcia Baker Perry walks the steep hill behind his house. Past the garden with kale ready to be plucked and eaten. Past the weather equipment uphill from the…
Keeping the Old Ways Alive
At the Hickory Ridge Living History Museum, the historians engage the five senses to transport us back to distant holidays when settlers were just happy to be alive and eating. | Photography by David Uttley Imagine 1750s in frozen Appalachia. Go ahead and imagine. You, plopped down in the dead of winter in these hills…
Fishing in a Winter Wonderland
Boone-area veteran fly fishing guide Judson Conway joins son, Colter, on the frozen New River to discuss winter fishing and why the sport still excites him after three decades. Photography by David Uttley It seemed like Judson Conway’s fingers should have been frozen by then, but he still had the dexterity to tie on what…
Seeing Through the Fog
It was foggy almost that whole Saturday. I left the mountain in the morning driving with flashers and lights at a creeping pace on my way to Hickory. On the way home the fog was still thick, which is what I was hoping for. Intentionally I turned north onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. I could…
Visit Boone’s Local Lion for High-End Coffee and a Sense of Place
Plus they have a drive thru if you’re in a rush, daily made from scratch donuts and they’ve never attempted to put caramel in my macchiato. VISIT LOCAL LION Local Lion catches you by surprise, kind of like the mountain lion that wandered through Josiah Davis’ camp up on Snake Mountain several years ago. You…
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It’s More Like Love Than You Want to Admit
For as far back as I can remember I’ve dreamed about mountains and here’s the, perhaps, odd admission–thinking about the mountains felt a little like falling in love. I’d look at the ridgelines of hills and imagine myself in silhouette up there. I could feel the texture and temperature of a rock without touching it…
Linville Gorge: 3 of our Favorite Hikes
The Linville Gorge Wilderness is 11,786 acres of amazing. Here’s 3 of our favorite excursions into this spectacular western North Carolina wild land. Photography by JC Garcia Wiseman’s View–A Linville Gorge Panorama Wiseman’s View provides visitors a panoramic experience from a pinnacle more than 1,400 feet above the gorge floor. The 4 mile stretch…
Running (Out of Fuel) on Roan Mountain
I still fancied myself a long-distance trail runner and I felt great! As I’m typing this, I’m realizing that I’ve grown old and tired and what some might call ragged. I at least need to start drinking more water and maybe getting more exercise than the distance between car and front door. So now I…
Wiseman’s View-Linville Gorge: A Quick Guide
Wiseman’s View in the Linville Gorge Wilderness provides visitors a panoramic experience from a pinnacle more than 1,400 feet above the gorge floor. The 4 mile stretch of gravel, rocky, sometimes-rutted road could leave you bottomed out, depending on how well-maintained you find it after heavy rain or snow. The view once you get there,…
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Bass Lake Trails: A Quick Guide
Bass Lake is a terminus for the many miles of carriage trails that traverse Moses Cone Manor. The Bass Lake Loop around this picturesque pond is just the beginning. Families, walkers and long-distance runners can easily cobble together a distance and terrain to suit their needs. It’s handicap accessible and provides a sizable circuit of…
5 Snow Hikes in the High Country: Quick Guide
Snow has a way of transforming the High Country into another world. Of course the slopes of App Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain are natural destinations when the flurries begin, but there are less domesticated areas of the mountains worth a snow hike exploration. Photos by JC Garcia 1. In-Town: The Boone United…
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The Tanawha Trail: A Guide
“Tanawha” means fabulous hawk in the Cherokee language. That’s what they used to call Grandfather Mountain. Then the pioneers came in and must have seen the grandfather in profile. Big nose. Prominent chin. Long beard. Lying on his back all across the ridge line above 5,900 ft. The name stuck. But the Tanawha…
A Martyrdom of Leaves
I’m sure there’s at least been a moment or two in your life when the viewing of fall foliage took on a bit of a macabre hue in your mind’s eye. In some sense when you come to Boone to view the leaves in fall you know it’s the viewing of the beauty of the…
Hebron Rock Colony
We made a trip to Hebron Rock Colony at the front of peak leaf viewing. We had been there before but from the other side. The side you access from the Boone Fork Trail. But this side, accessed through Foscoe somewhere near Hound Ears down a winding gravel road you park alongside, takes you down…
Preview: National Geographic Explorer and Appalachian State Professor Baker Perry
A Boone-based climatologist, alpine athlete and National Geographic Explorer, Baker Perry preps and trains in the High Country for regular treks to the highest places in the world. In an upcoming multi-part series, Baker talks about climbing, the climate, and what he loves most about the mountains of western North Carolina. Stay tuned and read…
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Doughton Recreation Area Quick Guide
Doughton Recreation Area is outside the High Country norm but well worth the trip | Photography by JC Garcia Just about every established hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway is going to be worth your effort. But if you’re ready to explore some spots away from the better-known High Country haunts, Doughton Recreation Area might…
A Quick Guide to The Chimneys
This day hike provides some of the most amazing views of one of the best parts of Linville Gorge, and it can be among the harder hikes there depending on where you start. The overlooks at The Chimneys though are spectacular on a clear day. Photography by JC Garcia Click Here to Get There All…
Hawksbill Mountain Trail (North Carolina)
The Hawksbill Mountain Trail in western North Carolina’s Linville Gorge is a quick hike full of grandeur that winds through beautiful rhododendron and up to rock outcroppings for a spectacular view of the breathtaking landscape from atop Hawksbill Mountain–one of the our state’s treasures. Photography by JC Garcia CLICK HERE TO GET THERE DISTANCE. 2…
Among the Amphibolites | Elk Knob State Park
You might have heard Elk Knob State Park referred to as an Amphibolite Mountain, but I hadn’t. Photography by JC Garcia Protecting Elk Knob and other Amphibolites Amphibolite sounds like a word from the Bible, or like an ancient word you should have always known. Until the year 2021 I couldn’t recall hearing it talked…
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Lucky Strikes in Budapest
Recalling that night in Budapest when we walked back to our hotels feeling like men in a foreign city. I was never addicted either. Just a few months one summer and my entire senior year. We smoked Lucky Strikes along the Danube during our few cold spring days in Budapest. Smoke trailing behind us in…
The “In-Town Wilderness” of the High Country
These six in-town Boone and Blowing Rock destinations have a unique wildness to enjoy within minutes (or seconds) of the downtowns. The High Country and surrounding areas are known for places to get lost for awhile–i.e. the thousands of rugged acres in the Linville Gorge, the rolling miles along the Roan Highlands, and plenty of…
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Glen Burney Trail: A Quick Guide
The Glen Burney Trail is located near downtown Blowing Rock and winds beautifully downhill along New Year’s Creek and its cascades. But don’t be deceived by this High Country gem. This beauty can make you weak in the knees. Photography by JC Garcia Why You Should Hike the Glen Burney Trail This trail is situated…
The Blowing Rock: A Quick Guide
It makes perfect sense really. A young Cherokee brave falls in love with a young Chickasaw woman, and then he is torn between duty and love–return to his tribe or stay with the girl. Instead of either, though, he leapt from a The Blowing Rock into the valley. CLICK HERE TO GET THERE I probably…
China Creek Thunderhole Loop: A Quick Guide
The little-known and poorly-marked China Creek Thunderhole Loop trail drops down swiftly into the beautiful Johns River Gorge. It offers strenuous adventure and solitude. Why You Should Hike the Daunting China Creek Thunderhole Loop CLICK HERE TO GET THERE | ONLINE GUIDE I love this trail, perhaps because I accidentally found it while I was…
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Center 45: Local Boone Climbing Gym
Boone’s local climbing gym, Center 45 Climbing & Fitness, provides a chill vibe, good boulder problems, plenty of training options, and close-walk access (maybe 20 yards?) to Hatchet Coffee (for those absolutely necessary climbing coffee breaks!). CONTACT THEM | CLICK HERE TO GET THERE You’re in the High Country, dead of winter, and you’re itching…
Climb the Mountains
By John Muir “Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds…
Joey Henson: A Boone Climbing Pioneer In Search of the Primitive
Boone-area climber Joey Henson seeks to embrace the primitive way of living–without hurry and with a kind of patience that allows for a deliberate enjoyment of place. | Photos by Compelling Story Joey Henson isn’t the easiest person to nail down or sum up in one particular way. Of course the way I learned of…
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Joey Henson: A Brief Introduction
When Joey finally–initially reluctantly–decided to help me with this series of articles, we talked a couple of times on the phone. Then we finally met in person at Espresso News in downtown Boone, which is where so many pivotal things in his life have taken place over the last several decades. It’s where he and…
Mapmaker Joey Henson: Documentary
Joey Henson has been exploring the wildest parts of western North Carolina for decades. In recent years he’s celebrated the wonders of the region through hand-drawn maps. This beautifully crafted documentary by Andrew Kornylak and Carlo Nasisse encapsulates the committed idealism and quiet wildness of this climbing pioneer. “There are still a lot of first…
The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I…
John Lucas Reminds Us That ‘It’s Still A Wonderful Life’
His Taylor over his shoulder and baby at his chest–symbols and reality for John Lucas. He faces the big questions and the skillful balance between family and the songwriter’s sacred trust with the world. | Photos by Compelling Story The Bible Belt Sessions, Vol. 1 by John Lucas Google maps had taken us the long…
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Local Guides
If you’re looking for local things to do, see, eat, read, climb, etc., here are some others in the High Country you’ll want to consult. GUIDES Four Seasons Boone Four Seasons Boone is a local guide to life and living in the High Country, with articles, adventure guides, events calendars, dining recommendations and guides to…
Black Mountain Crest Trail: A Quick Guide
This 12-mile trek from Bowlens Creek to the summit of Mt. Mitchell is one of the burliest and most rewarding hikes in western North Carolina. If you’re out of shape, it’s PAINFULLY beautiful, especially that initial 4,000, 4-mile ascent up to Celo Knob. Train for it, and bring enough water. This is a bucket list…