Other Hikes Archives - My Walk in the Woods

Seeking Light

I feel like it’s been raining for a month, and no, I am not in Seattle but in Western North Carolina. Obviously, I enjoy hiking and I do not necessarily consider myself a fair-weather hiker, but these past few weeks have been a hard transition from the brilliance of fall colors we were bathed in not long ago.

It has been a while since I last blogged. Some of that has just been the business of life and priorities, but I have to admit that I struggle sometimes if I have a spectacular enough vista or wildlife photo or story to share. However, I have been hiking, because that is what hikers do, they hike and writers write…

John Rock and the Waterfall Challenge

If the hiking “bug” has hit you then one thing you have to learn quickly is to be flexible. Work and life schedules along with the weather have made it difficult for me to get out on the trail. With my goal to complete the Mountains to Sea Trail ever present on my mind, I have to admit that I have had a bit of tunnel vision lately. The sections I need to complete on the MST are getting further from home and that in itself has been a challenge along with arranging shuttles and working around a few stormy weekends. However, there is always a trail around, and hikers must hike.

Bracken Preserve

The Bracken Mountain Preserve is located just outside the town of Brevard, NC in Transylvania County and within walking distance of the Brevard Music Center. It is a collection of trails (with the addition of the Pinnacle Trail in 2019) totaling about 9 miles. This area is open to hiking and mountain biking. The Preserve borders Pisgah National Forest and hikers can actually connect from Brevard to the Art Loeb Trail and other adventures within Pisgah National Forest.

Hunting Island, SC

My family and I were vacationing at Fripp Island (on the coast in South Carolina) for my recent birthday. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to explore an area that has always piqued my interest – Hunting Island, SC. This was one of my first coastal and maritime forest hikes, and it did not disappoint. 10 miles of hiking offered various levels of trails that led me to everything from an isolated beach, idyllic sunrise, lighthouse, nature center, fishing pier, lagoons, maritime forests and my favorite – an eery, separate island with a graveyard-like surf with a tangle of trees.

RiverBend Park – Catawba County

Riverbend Park features 690 acres with 1.25-miles of shoreline along the Catawba River, and 19.7 miles of trails. You can experience a variety of wildlife habitats that range from fresh water wetlands to upland forest.

Over July 4th weekend our family had the opportunity to meet together at my in-laws on Lake Hickory. I was excited to find RiverBend Park just a few miles away from their home on the lake. It was a pleasant surprise to find this hidden gem with so much to offer.