With 500,000 acres of land, it's hard to know where to start in this majestic national park. This fully updated edition of the popular guide eases the process for novice and veteran hikers alike. Comprehensive and compact, the book profiles 31 day-hikes, both one-way and loop, and 10 overnight hikes. Each profile includes a detailed description, maps and trailhead directions, and a trail summary that rates the difficulty, solitude, and scenery of each hike while outlining significant sites along the way. Destinations include the Little Greenbrier Trail to Walker Sisters Place, one of the last working pioneer homesteads in the Smokies, and the remote and stunning Hyatt Ridge Loop. Easily carried in a backpack, this book has hikes suitable for anyone who prefers vacationing on the trail rather than behind another car.
God only knows what possessed Bill Bryson, a reluctant adventurer if ever there was one, to undertake a gruelling hike along the world's longest continuous footpath—The Appalachian Trail. The 2,000-plus-mile trail winds through 14 states, stretching along the east coast of the United States, from Georgia to Maine. It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in North America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas. With his offbeat sensibility, his eye for the absurd, and his laugh-out-loud sense of humour, Bryson recounts his confrontations with nature at its most uncompromising over his five-month journey. An instant classic, riotously funny, A Walk in the Woods will add a whole new audience to the legions of Bill Bryson fans.
The heart and soul of wild, wonderful West Virginia, the mighty Monongahela National Forest is within a day's drive of one-third of the population of the United States. The best way to see and experience the stately forests and pristine waterfalls is by foot. Day and Overnight Hikes: West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest will guide visitors the entire way while exploring this national treasure.
One of the richest expanses of undeveloped land in the Southeast, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracts more than 9 million visitors a year. Even so, most people experience only a few of the most popular trails in the area. Day and Overnight Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park takes hikers off the beaten track to the more secluded rambles, from highland meadows and open vistas to pristine mountain streams and pioneer farms. Each trail description offers precise commentary on what to expect along the way and rates each hike for: scenery, trail condition, difficulty, accessibility for children, and solitude. Designed to fit easily into a back pocket, the revised and updated second edition of Day and Overnight Hikes includes 10 new hikes that lead to even more sites of exceptional beauty and solitude. The peace of mind found on these hikes just can't be experienced from a climate-controlled automobile, so let Day and Overnight Hikes help you discover the best the Smokies have to offer. (4 1/2 X 9, 128 pages, maps)
"Lists fifty overnight backpacking excursions in the mountains of North Carolina and South Carolina, with maps, hiking and driving directions, and backcountry campsite locations. Destinations include Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, Linville Gorge Wilderness, and more. Includes information on choosing and using backpacking gear; trail etiquette; and selecting a route"--Provided by publisher.
This is it! The ultimate pocket-sized day hike guide to the Great Smoky Mountains. Written by esteemed Smokies sage Carson Brewer it covers 34 of the best day hikes, from easy to strenuous, in the national park plus all the self-guiding nature trails. It includes individual, beautifully-detailed shaded relief maps for each hike, plus highly-accurate elevation profile charts, and 26 photographs. It features all the best: Chimney Tops, Rich Mtn. loop, Rainbow Falls, Andrews Bald, Old Settlers, Laurel Falls, Albright Grove, Mt. Cammerer, Boogerman Loop, Charlies Bunion, Mt. Le Conte, Grotto Falls, Smokemont loop, and more.
Best Easy Day Hikes Great Smoky Mountains National Park includes concise descriptions and detailed maps for twenty-two easy-to-follow hikes in America’s most popular national park, home to one of the most pristine ecosystems on the East Coast. Featured walks lead to stunning scenery, from waterfalls and wildflowers to historic and interpretive sites, as well as spectacular views. Look inside for: • Thirty-minute strolls to full-day adventures • Hikes for everyone, including families • Mile-by-mile directions and clear trail maps • Trail Finder for best hikes for backpackers, waterfalls, history buffs, children, or great views • GPS coordinates
This book presents more than 30 day hikes. Classic hikes, such as Rose River Loop and Whiteoak Canyon, are included. However, though the majority of these hikes are not as well known, they offer as much solitude and equally scenic sights––like Lost Cliffs and Furnace Mountain––as the more popular hikes. This will give you the opportunity to get back to nature on your own terms. Often, park sightseers randomly pick a hike without knowing where it will lead, or they follow the crowds wherever they go. Choosing a hike at random in Shenandoah, where many trails drop steeply off the Blue Ridge, may result in a rigorous return to the car with no rewards to show effort. Two types of day hikes are offered: one-way and loop hikes. One-way hikes lead to a particularly rewarding destination and return via the same trail. The return trip allows you to see everything from the opposite vantage point. You may notice more minute trailside features the second go-round, and returning at a different time of day may give the same trail a surprisingly different character. But to some, returning on the same trail just isn’t enjoyable. The loop hikes provide an alternative. Most of the hikes offer solitude to maximize your Shenandoah experience, although portions of some hikes traverse potentially popular areas. It should also be noted that loop hikes are generally longer and harder than one-way hikes, but a bigger challenge can reap bigger rewards. Day hiking is the best and most popular way to "break into" the Shenandoah wilderness. But for those with the inclination to see the mountain cycle from day to night and back again, this book offers ten overnight hikes with the best locales for camping. The length of these hikes–– three days and two nights––was chosen primarily for the weekend backpacker. Backpackers must follow park regulations and practice "leave no trace" wilderness-use etiquette. Each day and overnight hike contains four key elements to help readers plan and enjoy the perfect trip: • GPS-based trail maps • GPS-based elevation profiles • directions to the trailhead • trail descriptions Each trail description offers precise commentary on what to expect along the way and rates each hike for: • scenery • trail condition • difficulty • accessibility for children • solitude Designed to fit easily into a back pocket, this guide leads hikers and backpackers to sites of exceptional beauty and solitude.
