Shopping for HIkers on Etsy

I was doing some browsing over on Etsy and was finding a nice variety of hiker's supplies. It's always good to support the handmade artisans. So I put together this "treasury list" of hiker's gift ideas. I'm pretty interested in a few of them for myself! You can click on any photo and it will take you directly to their shop. None of these, of course, are our products. Just spreadin' the love. So, if you have a minute take a look!

'Shopping for hiker's?' by BethsBirdBoutique

When I began looking for hiking paraphernalia I was a bit surprised at how much could be found on Etsy. So I thought I'd share!

Take A Hike 8 x 10 thewheatfield $15.00	Survival hiking sticks Naturalistick $59.95	Rain Hood Travel Carryi... InteryMintery $20.00	Hand Forged Survival Kn... HomesteadIronW... $145.00
Gray Womens Leather Sho... EinatsShoes $235.00	Fall Color Change - Fal... WanderingOgrap... $25.00	Whistle Necklace, Vinta... madebymoe $24.00	The Hiker All Natural S... plunksoap $6.00
Wood Tree Branch Whistl... TheHickoryTree $12.95	Thick Camoflauge Head B... HomesteadIronW... $10.00	Scenic Carolina Book Se... CarolinaBeej $20.00	Fido Stove Large Ultral... OutdoorLife $6.99
Parachute Hammock jsimcox $15.00	Wool hiking socks Lelasfriend $25.00	Adventure backpack in b... TichBags $40.00	Bugg Off (insect repell... AndiesHerbals $6.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

The View.....

I just had to do one more post on Autumn! In this part of the country, or anywhere with deciduous trees, it really is a time of absolute beauty. I've often thought of the famous quote ~"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." ~Albert Camus
Right now our part of the World is in full bloom! I am not a great photographer and my camera is a simple point and shoot, with limitations of it's own. I'm smiling, but I did wish that I had Jayme's to do a better job....I have used it on occasion and oh, is it fun!

These were taken at the Scenic Overlook on Bon Air Mountain in White County. You can really see forever up there. Places like this are hard to find. The trees just get in your way and you have to get above them.
I have often thought of Conrad Richter's book The Trees since we've been here.

I can't imagine what it must have been like to pioneer this part of the country. Tim has made the remark before that if all the people moved out, the trees would grow up and cover it all. You'd hardly know there were ever humans here. It's all the rain we get....parts of the Southern Appalachians are considered a temperate rain forest, if they receive more than 100 inches of rain per year.  Highland Nature Center

Behind the parking area at the Scenic Overlook is a large  rock cliff....while I was busy taking pictures along with the others who were stopping Tim was thinking....."the view from up there would really be better..."

...and that is where we went. I never would have thought of going up there. It took a bit of effort to get there, but oh so worth it. Although most people don't climb up there to get the view, some do. We did. All the pictures here today were taken from there. It's all flat on top and some nice southern Pines are growing....and what a view!

You can really SEE up there. 

We soaked in the view for a long time but, eventually we had to climb back down. (It really isn't as bad, as it looks.)  Tim was there and he'd never suggest something he didn't think we could accomplish. He's just more adventurous than I am! Keeps life from getting boring.

Just look at all that color! 

Outdoor Parents Outdoor Kids: a book review

A few weeks ago I was the recipient of a giveaway at Outdoor Blogger Network. This was the book. It is published by Fox Chapel Publishing. What a great publishing company! If you are a hobbyist or home craftsman type person you really should check out their wonderful line up of books. We are book people and we were both impressed with the catalog they sent us with the book. Great diverse selections, from wood working and carving,  arts and crafts, animal husbandry, even a few on tattoo design and yes plenty of outdoor books. Fishing, canoeing, kayaking, boat maintenance and camp cooking to name a few. Definitely worth taking a look.

Now, about the book itself. I have been enjoying this book. It makes me wish my children were young and I could do it all over again. If you have young children or even intend to, I recommend you get this book. It is informative and honest about what it takes to get yourselves and your children outdoors. To make it a way of life....an outdoor lifestyle. If that is what you want for your family, this is the book to have.

The chapters are each about a particular outdoor activity. Bicycling, snowsports, camping, hiking etc... It is written in a friendly, comedic style. With an honest look at the extra work it does take to do outdoor activities with small to teenage children. It's true it does take extra effort to get out with children. We believe you will not regret the effort and will establish lasting, quality family time.

I was talking with my youngest daughter about this one day and regretting that we had not done enough. She laughed and said "mom, we lived out of doors, we were way back in the country and had all the room to roam we wanted, we hiked, rode horses, bicycled and all of that! What are you worried about?!" When I thought of that I knew she was right. We may not have gotten to do the camping part as much as we wanted, but our children certainly did not lack for outdoor play!

The last chapter of the book is on the statistics of today's children and lack of adequate exercise. I'll list a few of them for you. Here's one that has an ironic twist to it. National Public Radio recently did a survey of orthopedic surgeons and found that they are treating far fewer broken bones among kids and more repetitive motion injuries! (video games) I'm not for broken bones or against video games.....but it does show a trend. This same trend would also be showing , that 22 million of the world's children under the age of 5 are overweight! It gets worse....60% of overweight children are already  at risk for heart disease and 25% show early signs of type 2 diabetes. This can be traced in a great part to the fact, that an average of 44 hours a week are spent watching TV, computers and video games by many of these same kids.

So, if ya love your kids, get them outside, doing something, anything!! It would be one of the best things you could do for them. Enjoyed this book and found it very informative and full of ideas! Worth getting!

 And of course, here is the link for the book. Outdoor Parents, Outdoor Kids

Of Dreams and Hard Work

This was a free download at one of the art blogs I follow. I thought I would share it with you. If you are interested in learning to paint with watercolors, she has some good tips and free step by step lessons there. Let's Paint Nature

Did you ever notice that when you really decide to try and make a dream (or goal) happen it suddenly gets hard to do? Well, I have.
To dream about something is easy. People do it every day. To make new goals is easy, they do that every day too. But, as I'm sure you already know when it comes right down to acheiving goals or seeking after dreams, it tends to get hard. And sometimes you lose your hope in that dream.....

I'm feeling a bit discouraged so I thought maybe I should try and encourage someone. Me, maybe. (I'm smiling)  For example,  we had this dream of getting out more and spending time camping and hiking. We've talked about it for a long time. We are really trying to make it happen.....and this is where it gets hard.

On my part, this means getting in shape to do so. I'm working on that, but it's not really all that fun. Exercising and dieting is....kind of like a job you don't really like but, you know you have to do it, in order to get that paycheck.
You can't really have a good time hiking if every time you do, you feel like death may be just around the corner! I'm kidding, it's not quite that bad, but you get the idea. The dream I have, is to sit at the top of that trail and actually enjoy the view and still feel good enough to explore or just sketch and paint in my journal. That's not going to happen if I don't get in shape and lose some weight. By the way I have officially lost a full 10 lbs. I'm not braggin' or anything, well maybe...just a little.

Then, there's the whole, financial end of it. I won't bore you with the details, but we are working on some ways to supplement our income. We just have to find a way to do it. Tim is working 6 and even some 7 day weeks. That is just too much. We have some things going and some ideas but that is requiring work and a lot of our time. So, I hope you don't mind if I just keep talking about our dreams and reading other stories of the ones who are making it happen! I have really enjoyed reading about all these hiking trips. I feel a little out of place at times, knowing we can't compete with them. But, I guess if Tim can read every Everest or outdoor adventure book he can get a hold of, I can read hiking blogs.

That's really what you have to do anyway, don't let go of your dream. Be encouraged by the success of others. Keep working towards it. Don't give up. The harder you work at your dream, the sweeter the realization of it will be.

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel like you too, can become great." ~ Mark Twain



~I love this watercolor painting by one of my favorite artists Toni Kelly. It kind of says what I've been trying to, just in a much more beautiful and visual way. Dreams You can also purchase the print of it at this link. She has some beautiful artwork, take a look around while you're there.

The Roaring River

Up the road from our house is a place called The  Roaring River. It was pretty dry. We've gotten a lot of rain since we were there. Flash flood warnings even. So, I'll bet the Roaring River is once again 'roaring.' Up at the top of the falls where the old mill used to be you could walk across the dry river bed. I did, just so I could climb up the rocks and have my pic taken. No, I don't approve of the "modern art" painted on the  cliffs, but it was already there......nice message anyway.

This is also part of the old mill. You have to hike down the river to see this. It's not up by the falls, where people usually go. We went swimming there once with Wes and Jayme. Normally, you would just hike along side of the river, but my "sherpa" (trail guide) decided we needed to climb straight up the side of the mountain to see if we could get to the top of the cliffs that border this river.

                                                 It can be done. We did it.

At the top is the nicest meadow. (cow pasture, devoid of cows at this time.)

I found a much less steep mountain 'trail' to get back to the river and we ended up at the swimming hole.It's down river from the main falls (about 1/2 mile). There was actually enough water there to go swimming and I did some waist deep wading in order to get this picture.

We were both wearing water shoes, just in case we decided to go swimming. I don't know as we should be. They do work well  for walking shoes. There is a lot of traction to them. I think some would disapprove of using them for hiking shoes. No support, not enough protection. They are probably right on the protection part.  But....I know that I've been walking a lot of miles in them and my feet and ankles seem to be getting stronger and more supportive of themselves. They are very flexible as minimilist footwear should be. The idea being to make your feet, ankles, tendons and muscles stronger. I wouldn't recommend using them for long stretches, if you aren't conditioned for it. Good article about that here. Adventure in Progress  These are just water shoes. But for now they are doing the job. Although I am having some serious coveting issues over these or these.  I'd like to get Tim this pair. Ok, enough free advertisement! Just kidding.... I do think they would wear better than the water shoes and offer a tad more support and protection without weakening your foot, and ankles. Just my opinion....I can't say from experience.

 Tim had thought about getting in, but decided he didn't relish the thought of walking back in sloshing shoes, besides he had a better idea.....  I'm thinking, "the river bed is almost dry we could walk back most of the way in the dry bed......Tim's thinking was, "I need to figure out how this mill worked and straight back up that hillside is the most interesting part of it." 

and that is where we went.....It was steeper than the first hillside! He still is puzzled by how it all worked. At one time it must have been quite the operation.

He found a much less strenuous way out.....more round about, but that is what we were there for. To see the countryside, breathe the fresh clean air and get moving!

The end to a perfect day! Rocking sweet babies and listening to the rain.

Jessica (our daughter) came visiting with her not quite two week old baby girl! (Aurora Lilly)

I'm walking again!

So I began one of my many new goals this week. Get back to walking at least a mile every day. I do it first thing in the morning. 5:30 to be exact. It takes a little less than 30 min. The above is what I see as I'm going. The other morning in this same field was a deer. The fog was heavier that morning and he stood there almost invisible to me. I tried to walk as quietly as I could. He must have thought I didn't see him as he let me get very close...... then, with a loud snort, twist of his body and flip of his tail, he bounded off over the hill. It was great.....of course, no camera. I won't be making that mistake again.

It's lovely here this time of day. We are finally back to the cool morning air. This summer has been hot! I'm glad it's finally cooling off. It's warm during the day but at night we get so nice and crispy cool. I need my hoodie to stay warm starting out. I am just walking fast for now. Someday it is my goal to pick up the speed and actually run it! I can't now, years ago I injured my achilles tendon and now it gives me fits. I'm working on that, hoping to heal it enough to run.

I'm doing a couple of things toward that end. The first thing I did was change my style of shoes. I began to wear minimilist type shoes. You can read about that here. Minimilist footwear  The idea being that padded shoes and arch supports are not necessary and in fact could be part of the problem for runners. It's quite controversial. It's perfectly okay with me if you like your running shoes. For me, after researching this issue it just made sense to me and I gave it a try. I couldn't afford the high dollar type shoes but, very flat soled sandals and some types of water shoes are basically the same thing. The sandals are great in the summer but, well, water shoes just sort of look, "unfashionable" to say the least. I wear them when I walk....who's looking at my feet then anyway?!

The footwear change made an immediate difference. Very noticeable, very soon! According to research the shoes you wear could be causing some sports injuries. It really is worth looking into. Tim also has injured his knee seriously several times and has begun to wear this type footwear when we hike or when he's at home. Our son bought some of those Five Finger Vibrams on clearance and they didn't fit. He brought them over to Tim and they were a  perfect fit!....well.....he looks sort of different.....but  if they'll help. Does this make us strange?!  My vanity will not allow me to wear them. Jayme loves them and would wear them too. In fact, she says she came up with the idea, when she was a kid and was so mad the first time she saw someone wearing them. lol!

They do make minimalist footwear that really just looks like regular running shoes. Still expensive however. But if anyone is interested you can see that here. I like this pair. But the price!.....I just can't bring myself to spend that, maybe I should but, I do wish minimilist footwear would come down in price. After all, doesn't less go into it them than the cheaper running shoes?  (maybe not) It is my only problem with the movement towards a more natural type shoe. I just can't afford those prices....

When you think about it, it really is nothing new. For 1000's of years men have worn minimal footwear and could probably run better and further than we do in these times. Examples: Sandals during bible times, Egyptian types, Roman sandals, Native American moccasins and even Eskimo Mukluks all fit with minimilist shoes. In fact, what helped to start the movement were the Tarahumara People known for their long distance running. They were running is excess of 100 miles at a stretch in these!

Okay, now that you've heard more than you probably wanted to about another of my weird notions, I'll just step down off my soap box. Lol, it has helped me and if it could help someone else I'd be so happy. I really would like to thank a couple of my facebook friends who were the inspiration for me researching it anyway. But, they are kind of shy so I'll just thank K. & S. (well, I don't know about shy, I just don't have permission to use real names).  Both, are my age (or close) and are in good shape and spend a regular amount of time running, wearing those toe shoes I am too vain to wear! :)

Chimney Rock, NC

Chimney Rock, NC

It was our goal to hike up to the top of Chimney Rock. 

We look like we can make it don't we? Not sure how hot it was....but just as we were getting there they were hauling someone down on a stretcher. Heat exhaustion. It was hot! 90 something....

Proof that we did! View from the top. Tim went even higher....I decided that the park rangers had already been up to the top 3 times that day and they might appreciate it if I just stopped there. So, I waited on Tim.  It is my personal goal to, one day, just keep up with him!

                    By the time he got back, I was feeling better so we hiked down to Hickory Nut Falls.      

 The Falls weren't going very strong. I can imagine it would be good after rainy season though.

 Leaving me behind, as usual....:-)

View from the Parking Lot. Really beautiful park.  Just FYI....This is where some of "The Last of the Mohicans" was filmed. In particular the cliff scene. You can watch that here.

                                   We don't look too worse for the wear do we?! A bit sweatier maybe.