Outdoors

From Andes Summits to Bolivia’s Most Dangerous Ride None of us were prepared for 11 degree temperatures in the middle of June. Then again some of my team wasn't ready to be at almost 20,000 feet either. But here four of us found…
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Hard-earned sunrises from Everest to Appalachia—finding beauty where few ever look Leaving a warm sleeping bag in the middle of the night is not my favorite part of mountaineering. I joke that we wake up before we go to sleep so as not…
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Unveiling the Smokies’ Hidden Stories Through Campbell’s Photographs I 've mentioned Frank Harvey in the past. He is descended from Smokies royalty, claiming the bloodline of Grandpa Carlos Campbell. Many have passed that overlook on…
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Off-trail in the Smokies, remembering a friend's final bushwack to what's next My feet were dangling way too far from terra firma so I death-gripped a bending piece of rhododendron. The branch stretched with increasing gravity, and my…
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An anecdote about wilderness kinship I had been trying to talk my friend, Kim, into backpacking for years. She was an avid hiker who was sufficiently fit to do the Spence Field turnaround in a day or a Leconte route via the Boulevard. I…
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Homer’s unstoppable spirit on the Triple Crown As we moved further into Virginia, the Shenandoah was in our sights. Frank Whitehead, my usual cohort, and I were ready to hit some more level ground. We were beginning to believe that the…
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Time is running out to experience the fire towers of the Smokies  There used to be 17 fire towers in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park that were utilized prior to the 1930s by the Forest Service. I know little of their…
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Finding my way through the season with wildflowers as my guide I have a dog-eared, spiral-bound book that predates me with photographs some would consider laughable nowadays. Long since pushed aside by the Google lens and phone app…
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I've had a few close calls in the mountains. But none so wild as the summer of 2013. After a heinous spate of bad luck and weather, my climbing partner Brian Moran and I were dropping down from Camp 3 on Broad Peak in the Karakoram…
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Up steep rock faces or under the intense flow of a waterfall you’ll find the unsung heroes of East Tennessee rescues Charlie Avery has logged many hours parked along Newfound Gap Road. He has a real, old-fashioned park service radio…
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