Blog
the V-word (no, the other one)
When I split a bottle of wine with my closest friends and start to discuss the V-word (no, the other one), it comes across as something akin to a Catholic confessional. All of a sudden, there’s a sense that we need to share our deepest sins and our shame to feel accepted, if not absolved. And yet, what I don’t hear discussed often enough is the ability to share our strengths and talents as a form of vulnerability.
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BRHC Shares the Love
This month our guide John Haffner's other employer is having a fundraising month to support Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC). As a part of the fundraising month all donations will be matched dollar for dollar!
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Learning from Deaf Hikers
A number of weeks ago I had a life changing experience. I was excited and nervous for guiding a few days at the Dupont State Forest of Transylvania County, North Carolina. I wasn’t nervous because of terrain or because the size of …
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CDT Section Hike Summer 2015
The Continental Divide Trail is not easy to get to, but it is worth the effort.
This past August I flew to Colorado, met my hiking partner at the airport, and then we picked up a rental car and drove 6 hours toRock Springs, WY. …
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Hiking Hall Pass
All marriages have “arrangements,” right?! Those small bargains that you make with your partner to stay sane and married.
Brew and I agreed when we became parents that as soon as I finished nursing we would allow each other two weeks a year to do WHATEVER. For Brew that means …
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Walking with Spring
I recently finished the book, “Walking with Spring.” The book is a hiking memoir by Earl Shaffer, the first Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. Shaffer recounts his thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 1948, a journey spurred by the hope that a long trail might be enough to …
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Foray into Foraging
To say that I have always had an interest in plant identification would be a lie. I remember on my first thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail, I grew quite annoyed with my friends when they pulled out their half-pound flower identification book and then put their noses to the ground …
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Business lessons from the trail
Recently, I have been getting a lot of e-mails and questions about how to make a living or start a business in the Outdoor Industry. So I thought I’d write a post about my experience and nine lessons I’ve learned as the founder and owner of Blue Ridge Hiking Company.
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Spending your first night in the woods: some basic advice
It’s been a long time since I spent my first night in the woods, but I haven’t forgotten what it was like. I must have been about 12 or 13 years old, and I was on my first overnight backpacking trip. I had my mother’s old gigantic …
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June is the month for trails
This June we will celebrate National Trails Day and Great Outdoors Month. But, the danger of celebrating a day dedicated to trails and a month marked for outdoor enjoyment is that some might see the commemoration as a was to consolidate wilderness activities into a single …
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