You are browsing the archives of 2007 January.

by William Cocke Living here in North Carolina, I hear a lot about Cherokee Indians, but what about other Native Americans? And what really happened when the first Europeans arrived? <br> -Sam McCall, Cullowhee, N.C. It’s perhaps inevitable for conquerors to have the luxury of writing history books, but North America’s story doesn’t begin with [...]

by Dr. Greg Motley I recently took up mountain biking as a part of my cross-training regimen. My friends say I’m crazy and bound to get hurt. Are injuries common, and how serious? <br> -Robert F., Greenville, S.C. Researchers writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that the popularity of mountain biking has [...]

by Darlene Archer Paddlers have a lot of choices. With innovations to boats and paddles happening almost daily, it’s not surprising that paddlers don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their personal flotation device (PFD). Many think all PFDs are pretty much the same. Think again. PFDs vary greatly in quality, function, weight, and [...]

by Bettina Freese I hate my bike. I don’t care if I ever ride it again. I’m probably going to sell it on e-Bay. E-mail me if you want it. There I was, riding three, four times a week, getting strong on the singlespeed, increasing my technical skills, and finally feeling a consistent flow on [...]

by Marcus Wohlsen In the nature writing business, we throw around the term “wilderness” a lot. To describe a swath of forest, a high country meadow, or a remote river as a “pristine wilderness” is the oldest cliché there is-and the sign of a lazy writer. (It takes one to know one.) Here’s the problem. [...]

by Randy Ashley Last week, I headed to Turkey Pen Gap for a soft 10-miler and a little bit of solace. Over the past decade, it has become one of my favorite running spots in the Southeast. If you’re looking for solitude, silence, and sweet singletrack, you can’t beat Turkey Pen’s quiet, pine-needle trails. When [...]

by MARTHA EVANS CHUCKLEE & WILL HARLAN <b> Indigo Rox 18 Day Pack, $79 </b> A beautiful bird flaps across the sky. Your child flashes a heart-glowing smile. Quick-you reach for your camera-and it’s in your day pack. So you take it off, unzip it, dig around, and by the time you’re ready to snap [...]

by William Harwood "Run, daddy, run!" The mood of the verbs was imperative. The verbs of my son often are. Auden is three-years-old and likes to give orders-commands that my wife and I generally override. (Otherwise he’d eat nothing but french fries and never bathe.) But on this particular clear blue day in early April, [...]

by Gary Glancy Whether it’s a fast 5K on the track or a campaign for Congress, Betsy Keever knows how to run. The 29-year-old from Asheville, North Carolina, not only is a sub-three-hour marathoner with distant visions of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Trials, she also happens to be the daughter of and campaign manager [...]

by John Lane If there’s any one river that represents the wild and rugged Appalachian character, it’s the free-flowing Chattooga River. From its headwaters in western North Carolina to its chundering class-V whitewater along the Georgia-South Carolina border, the Wild and Scenic Chatooga River attracts thousands of paddlers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts to its legendary [...]

About 200 mountain bikers rode through the night at Dark Mountain Recreation Area in North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend during the Burn 24-Hour Challenge. Racers vied for cash, merchandise and the right to compete in the world mountain bike endurance championships. Bob Anderson, 38, of Crozet, Va. finished first in the solo men’s category, [...]

While camping at a music festival in Virginia a few months ago, a tumultuous thunderstorm sprang up. High winds sent hippy kids scampering after airborne tents as rain lashed down on the campsite. When the storm subsided, I was milling around the grounds assessing the wreckage when a crunchy, shirtless kid in sopping worn jeans [...]

In the high heat of summer, thick smog-ridden air clouds the scenic mountain vistas of the Blue Ridge. But the problems of the peak season of ozone air pollution are not just aesthetic inconvenience; they’re deadly pollutants affecting everyone’s health. That’s the message the American Lung Association (ALA) is trying to convey with its recent [...]

About a decade ago, two California snowboarders decided they didn’t want to let a little thing like no snow keep them off their favorite slopes. So they retreated to the workshop. Before long, fueled by that gonzo West Coast alchemy made possible by too much nice weather, the mountainboard was born. The unholy lovechild of [...]

<h1> YES </h1> I lost 16 pounds on a low-carb diet and have had no problems maintaining my weight. All that it takes is discipline. I blend of a number of low-carb approaches in my diet. I avoid sweets, sugar, pasta, breads, and starches, but I do not count or restrict fruits or vegetables. If [...]