hiking Archives - Nancy East

Cumberland Island Backpacking Day 2

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 17:11:33 +0000

My phone alarm sounds, and I rush to exchange my cozy base layers for my hiking clothes before my bladder forces me to visit the bathroom several campsites away. Britt, Abby and Mike are milling around in their respective campsites when I emerge from my tent, and we head to the beach to welcome the...

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Cumberland Island Backpacking: Day 1

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 22:41:48 +0000

I’ve lived in the southeastern United States my entire life, and I spent the first eighteen years in Georgia. But I didn’t set foot on Cumberland Island, a Georgia barrier island, until I was nearly fifty-one years old. That, my friends, is unfortunate and embarrassing. If you live within a day’s drive of this treasure,...

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Palmetto Trail: Lake Moultrie Passage

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 16:48:01 +0000

After a poor night’s sleep thanks to my overactive imagination, I’m grateful to start hiking before the sun rises. I nearly skip breakfast, but I can’t ignore my body’s incessant plea for coffee, so I make a caffeinated cup and drink it while I pack up. As I start walking Fredcon Road where I left...

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Palmetto Trail: Santee and Eutaw Springs Passages

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 22:04:53 +0000

I wake refreshed after a night in a climate-controlled room with a bed. The Baymont Inn offers a complimentary breakfast, and I make an enormous waffle—a guilty pleasure I usually don’t allow myself. The morning is crisp and cold, but I decide to leave my tights packed away. Laziness drives the decision. I know the...

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Palmetto Trail: Lake Marion Passage to Santee

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 14:10:42 +0000

I’m accustomed to waking at 5 a.m., so it’s not a total shock when my phone alarm sounds. There were no more peeps out of Squatch through the night, but I am hearing multiple guns firing in the distance. I know next to nothing about hunting, but I vaguely recall learning that it’s duck season....

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Wateree Passage of the Palmetto Trail

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 01:44:32 +0000

In my ongoing quest to connect the dots of walking diagonally across the lovely state of South Carolina, I set out to backpack about 130 miles of the Palmetto Trail in January. I intentionally chose the dead of winter since it would inevitably mean fewer ticks, mosquitos and no necks (a.k.a. snakes, especially venomous ones...

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MST to Waterrock Knob (100 Favorite Trails Hike #38)

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 18:30:33 +0000

Some routes I hike once. Others play on repeat, especially if they’re close to my home in Waynesville, North Carolina and provide a good workout with outstanding scenery. The 5.1 mile stretch of the Mountains to Sea Trail from Woodfin Cascades to Waterrock Knob is one of my “regulars,” and I’ve yet to grow tired...

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Glen Falls (100 Favorite Trails Hike #10)

Sat, 23 Jul 2022 15:42:48 +0000

Glen Falls is a lovely, short 2ish-mile waterfall hike, just outside of Highlands, NC. Depending on your energy level, it’s even short enough to combine with other hikes in the area. I hiked the Whiteside Mountain loop (2 miles) and Yellow Mountain Trail (12.5 miles) prior to hiking this route. All three hikes are part...

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Yellow Mountain (100 Favorite Trails Hike #9)

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 20:21:34 +0000

Just before hiking this route, I hiked the short 2-mile Whiteside Mountain Trail loop nearby and I wasn’t about to head home afterward. The day was still young and I had been granted a hall pass for its entirety. So I jumped in my car and headed toward Cole Gap and Yellow Mountain Trail. This...

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Whiteside Mountain (100 Favorite Trails Hike #10)

Sun, 03 Jul 2022 18:51:29 +0000

Whiteside Mountain is part of the 100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and Carolina Blue Ridge Map. It's a beautiful 2-mile loop near Highlands, North Carolina.

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