Going outside

I grew up in the countryside of a tropical island. I spent most of my free time outside, trekking through the hills and mountains, streams and valleys of that little island. It seems to me that I have spent a vast majority of the rest of my life attempting to return to that idyllic life. As an adult, I have taken up back-country hiking and enjoy it immensely. Sadly, as with many other people, I am simply unable to take days or even weeks off at one time to truly enjoy backpacking into the woods and mountains, away from everything else. I'm married and have children who, while they enjoy hiking with me, simply aren't able to do those long trails I enjoy.

But as time went by and the kids slowly grew older and more able, I knew that I simply couldn't allow this "limitation" to be the excuse for not hiking. I proposed to myself then, to simply find places nearby where I could hike, with my wife and children, put in some decent mileage, but still enjoy time outside with my family.

I currently live in Fayetteville, NC. I have now lived in North Carolina for almost 10 years, and while Im nowhere near a native, I have fallen in love with this state, primarily because of the opportunities it has for an avid hiker like myself. But, while I love Smokey Mountains National Park, and have hiked there quite a bit, I simply wasn't familiar with all the smaller locations, the state and county parks, the national forest areas and even the rails to trails that are fun to bike on. Finding any kind of review of these smaller parks was almost impossible, despite the almighty Google at my disposal.

Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to review all of these smaller locations. Maybe someone else has my similar issues and finds my reviews helpful. Maybe, its just a fun way for me to discuss these unique places Ive visited. Maybe, Ill get massive hiking gear endorsement deals. Sure.

If you run across this site, Id love to hear your comments, especially if you have hiked the trails I have been on. You can also find me on Facebook here - Xcrown,  as well as my Facebook hiking group here - Anonymous North Carolina Hikers Organization.

I have already gone on a few hikes this spring, and will review those as soon as I can, but I will start the one we did this past weekend.

Happy Trails,

Xcrown