Run. Hike. Poop.

Backpacking Iron Mountain and Grayson Highlands: Horses and ponies

July 3, 2024By y2kemo

view of field from an outcropping with mountains in the background

The summertime is a great time to hit the trails. The best! Well, except for the heat, dried up water sources, things that bite, things that fly and bite, and the heat. Did I mention the heat? Man, I am not a fan of the heat. When my nephew, Joaquin, came to town I wanted to take him on his first backpacking trip and needed to find a location where the conditions were just right (i.e. the aforementioned exceptions could be managed). Enter the Iron Mountain Trail (IMT).

The yellow-blazed Iron Mountain Trail spans 47 miles from Highway 91 near Tennessee in the south to VA16 at Iron Mountain Gap in the north. Up until 1972, the IMT was part of the Appalachian Trail (AT) when it was relocated to the south to accommodate communication towers and power lines in order to maintain the secluded experience hikers have come to expect from the AT.

I hiked the IMT previously and figured its solitude, milder temperatures, and close proximity to Grayson Highlands made it the perfect place to take my nephew.

Backpacking the Cranberry Wilderness: Let it Snow

February 25, 2024By y2kemo

The Monongahela National Forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of east central West Virginia covers more than 920,000 acres and is home to some sweet backpacking destinations including Dolly Sods, Roaring Plains, and the Cranberry Wilderness. For this trip, I invited Rodrigo, and we set our sights on Cranberry.

Situated between the Highland Scenic Highway to the east, the Williams River to the north, and the Cranberry River to the south and west, the Cranberry Wilderness spans 47,815 acres and includes 15 interconnected and unblazed trails covering over 75 miles with elevations ranging from 2,400 to over 4,600 feet. In the winter it’s crazy cold and the chance for snow is always looming overhead.

Backpacking Doughton Park: Moose tracks and rain

September 17, 2023By y2kemo

grassy trail with blue skies — Coming up the MST towards the Blue Ridge Parkway

Getting away for a weekend can sometimes be a challenge. Thankfully, there are a handful of places I can quickly access including Doughton Park; the largest recreation area the National Park Service manages on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Located just west of Stone Mountain between Wilkes and Alleghancy Counties in North Carolina, Doughton Park consists of incredible views, wide open meadows, and some really challenging inclines. Additionally, part of the iconic 1,175 mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) passes through the park and passing by some breathtaking vistas. Having been to Doughton Park before, given the campsite at Basin Cove and the challenging trails, I opted to return to the area for a weekend solo trip.

Backpacking Mt. Pleasant to Seeley-Woodworth AT Shelter

February 18, 2023By y2kemo

view of mountains from ridgeline — View from Tar Jacket Ridge

In November 2019, I ran the Mountain Masochist 50-mile trail run from Monroe to Montebello, Virginia with my buddy, Coop. During the race, we completed a 5-ish mile loop around Mt. Pleasant, an aptly named national scenic area with picturesque views. As we finished the race, and for the next couple of years, we talked about returning to the area with backpacks, but we never did, until we did.

Backpacking Mt. Rogers and Iron Mountain: The Cold Changes Things

January 16, 2023By y2kemo

The Mount Rogers National Recreation Area (NRA), a nearly 200,000 acre National Forest in southwestern Virginia is one of my favorite backpacking destinations. Sure the terrain can be challenging and the weather is often unpredictable, but there are wild ponies, the Appalachian Trail (AT) runs through the area, the views are magnificent, and it can be exceptionally peaceful when there is snow on the ground. It’s a place I keep coming back to and a place I thought I’d take a friend of a friend, Rodrigo, for his first winter backpacking trip in the southeast.

Backpacking the Cranberry Wilderness: Songs About Bears

November 7, 2022By y2kemo

hiker in woods — Hiking on Little Fork Trail.
*Photo by Coop*

The Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia is one of my favorite places to visit with options that include Dolly Sods, Roaring Plains, and the 47,815-acre Cranberry Wilderness. Located between the Highland Scenic Highway to the east, the Williams River to the north, and the Cranberry River to the south and west, the Cranberry Wilderness includes 15 interconnected, unblazed, and well-maintained trails covering over 75 miles with elevations ranging from 2,400 to over 4,600 feet. The wilderness is home to deer, turkeys, rabbits, mink, grouse, bobcats, and foxes, and is a designated bear sanctuary. Having visited the area before, my buddy, Coop, and I opted to head back to Cranberry to cover some areas we hadn’t explored previously.

Backpacking the Cranberry Wilderness: Wet Trails and Bears

December 30, 20212 commentsBy y2kemo

mushroom on a tree with ferns in the background

trail through spruce pines with ferns and moss all around — North-South Trail (TR 688) in the Cranberry Wilderness.

The Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia is home to some of the best backpacking options on the east coast including Dolly Sods, Roaring Plains, and the 47,815-acre Cranberry Wilderness. For this trip, my brother-in-law, Ken, and I decided to hit up the latter.

Situated between the Highland Scenic Highway to the east, the Williams River to the north, and the Cranberry River to the south and west, the Cranberry Wilderness includes 15 interconnected, unblazed, and well-maintained trails covering over 75 miles with elevations ranging from 2,400 to over 4,600 feet. The wilderness is home to deer, turkeys, rabbits, mink, grouse, bobcats, and foxes, and is a designated bear sanctuary.

Backpacking Mountains-to-Sea Trail: Stone Mountain to Doughton Lollipop

July 8, 2021By y2kemo

Summer is an interesting time to head into the backcountry. Finicky water sources, exhausting heat, pop-up thunderstorms, thirsty ticks, and relentlessly buzzing gnats, skeeters, and flies. But, even with all of its complications, summer is also an awesome time to get outdoors. To that end, my buddy, Coop, and I put together a list of options before agreeing on a section of the iconic Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST).

Stretching 1,175 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks, the MST includes some of the best of what North Carolina has to offer: mountain vistas, grassy meadows, coastal swamps, dense forests, and miles of shoreline. Currently, the MST is a mix of road and trail, but the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation intends to develop the MST into a 1,400 mile continuous, off-road trail.

With so much to offer, Coop further refined our chosen location and put together a lollipop route from Stone Mountain State Park to Doughton Park and back again.

My Pandemic Run Streak: 10K a day for a year

April 18, 2021By y2kemo

In March 2020, COVID-19 and my state’s resulting stay-at-home order made life a bit challenging. First, we were told to wash hands for 20 seconds. Next, we were told to stay six feet from one another. Then, everyone had to wear a mask. By mid-March, schools went online, businesses closed or switched to remote work, and eventually we were all told to just stay home.

While the world shut down around us, my 9YO son and I took off down the roads and sidewalks; he’d ride his bike and I’d pound the pavement. For the first few weeks we went out 4-5 miles nearly every day. Then, in April 2020, I read about a Garmin 30-day, 10K challenge and thought, “Why not?” I mean, including the previous 3 weeks and a 40-miler in February, I had run a total of 257 miles since the start of the new year. Why not bang out 240+ miles in a month?

And so, on April 19, 2020, my 10K run streak began.

Backpacking the James River Face Wilderness: A frozen wonderland

February 21, 2021By y2kemo

hiker walking snowy trail with ice-covered trees all around

When my buddy, Coop, suggested we hit the trails for a February backpacking trip we kicked around some ideas: Cold Mountain and Mt. Mitchell in NC, Cranberry Wilderness in WV, and Mt. Pleasant and Apple Orchard in VA. To refine the list, he put together a handful of options in each location before we ultimately decided on the James River Face Wilderness in Jefferson National Forest between the James River on the north and Blue Ridge Parkway to the south.

The James River Face Wilderness is an 8,907-acre area located near Natural Bridge, Virginia that includes several well-maintained trails including the iconic Appalachian Trail (AT) which passes over the 623 foot James River Foot Bridge, and the Belfast Trail which leads to the Devil’s Marbleyard and its colossal, car-sized Antietam Quartzite boulders.

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