http://blog.wncoutdoors.info Hiking and Mountain Biking in Western North Carolina Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:46:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A retaining wall failed below the Parkway just south of the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center. The repair is expected to take a year, and the Parkway will be closed from the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area all the way to Mount Mitchell State Park for 2008. This means the vastly popular ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/hikewncnews/craggy-gardens-area-closed-for-the-year/ One fine Saturday in June, 2007, I decided to take a short hike up to the waterfall on Hickey Fork Creek. It's a fairly easy hike, and I decided to leave my water in the car for this one. After 20 minutes on the trail I arrived at the falls, ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/hikewncnews/how-a-bear-made-me-sick/ Conservation Road is once again open, which is one of the few routes connecting the South side of Dupont State Forest with the North side. You can now easily visit attractions like High Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Lake Juilia without having to drive from one side of the forest ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/hikewncnews/conservation-road-reopens-in-dupont-state-forest/ Fall is long gone, and winter is actually drawing to a close. Though the drought continues, it has lessened some, meaning that waterfalls are back up and the trails are somewhat muddy again. But the big story this winter: the lack of snow. What reminded me of this is that ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/wncoutdoorsrants/leave-the-snowshoes-at-home/ I've decided to release all photos in the HikeWNC.info and MTBikeWNC.com photo galleries under a Creative Commons license. This means you are specifically allowed to copy, reproduce, and redistribute the photos in the sizes available on this web site in any way you choose. Need a photo for a blog ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/hikewncnews/photos-released-under-creative-commons-license/ You can now save most of our maps as a high-resolution PDF, making them easy to print. Customize a map, save it as a PDF, print it out, and bring it with you on your hike or ride! Just go to the Best Hikes or Best Rides, choose a hike ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/hikewncnews/enhancements-to-hikewnc-and-mtb-wnc-interactive-maps-printable-hikes-and-rides/ Now, you can rate (from 1-5) and comment on your favorite hikes in the Best Hikes section of the site. Just choose a hike you've done and click the "Feedback" tab at the top. Ratings and comments for individual trails and for photos are coming soon, as well as for ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/hikewncnews/rate-and-comment-on-your-favorite-hikes/ Trail Dynamics, a local company with local mountain bike advocate Woody Keen as founding member, is currently working on a makeover of the Burnt Mountain trail in Dupont State Forest. Help is needed in finish work between now and Thanksgiving - if you can lend a hand, come out and ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/mtbwncnews/burnt-mountain-trail-gets-a-makeover/ The fall color this season hasn't been as bad as some predicted, but at the same time, hasn't been that great either. Muted to bright yellows are quite common, as are leaves that are turning brown and falling directly off the trees this season. However, pockets of excellent color are ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/hikewncnews/fall-color-not-bad-but-not-great/ The fall color season has really cranked up in the last week or so. Some high elevation areas peaked last weekend, and mid elevation sites should be peaking this weekend into next at lower elevation sites. As usual, fall color will probably last into early November for areas at the ... http://blog.wncoutdoors.info/wncoutdoorsrants/fall-color-well-underway/