Outdoors

Often seen as the Smokies' little sibling, the Big South Fork rides like an emergency $20 bill in my wallet. As leaf peepers crowd the usual, high-altitude routes, I sneak off into this gorge to feast on colors that flow downstream…
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An annual pilgrimage reveals a lost treasure of years past Small waves tickled my kayak as the autumn sun warmed our chilled cores, a light breeze gently skimming Fontana Lake, just two hours south in North Carolina. Two eagles circled…
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Visiting the mighty before they make their final—and unplanned—departure In the 1800s, naturalist William Bartram once remarked that you could swing from limb to limb from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River without ever…
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Experiencing the Appalachian Trail hiking culture in Virginia I was fine with skipping the road walk and interstate noise, but Frank Whitehead insisted that we do the extra mile across I-81 in Groseclose, Virginia. That is where we…
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At home on the rock of Knoxville’s climbing pit ALL CLIMBING LEVELS | IJAMS PARKING: 2514 ABERDEEN LANE CLIMBING ROUTE HEIGHTS: 30 to 60 FEET FIND THE CRAG: Walk ¼ mile along first trail to the right out of the parking lot. Take…
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So many trails, so little time! The Discoverer travel website recently named the top hike to take in each of the 50 states. (No surprise here, but a hike in the Smokies got the nod for Tennessee.) Here’s a look at the finishers in the…
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Liz Domingue loves hiking the high elevations of the Smokies. Though there are special spots down low, too. Her favorite hike? “The one I’m on right now,” she says. Domingue is one of the instructors who lead excursions as part of…
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Mt. LeConte's trail tises from the ashes, sprouting new growth and life Difficulty Level: Moderate-Hard Trailhead coordinates: 35.67396, -83.49322 Length: 11.8 miles | Elevation Gain: 3,200 ft | Style: Out…
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Challenging terrain speckled with stories of icy escapes On June 13, 1977, a handful of inmates from Brushy Mountain scaled the wall and melted into the Cumberland Mountains surrounding beautiful Petros. On their heels were every…
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A mystical peak that offers hiking for all levels An hour west of Knoxville rises a place lost in the folds of geographic time. Lightly boot-kissed paths disappear maze-like, labyrinthine, into thinning air. Sandstone spires jut…
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