At 5,500 feet above sea level, the clouds often touch Craggy Gardens. And winter comes sooner, as it did Oct. 29. Video by RomanticAsheville.
Tag: Outdoors
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Orphaned cub found at WCU will return to wild
The lone black bear cub found on the Western Carolina University campus on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 26, will spend time at a N.C. wildlife rehabilitation facility as part of an effort to eventually release it back into the wild.
Spooky Fun at Halloweenfest
What: Romania is quite a trek for vampire lovers, so why not bring Count Dracula’s castle closer to home? Join Transylvania County’s Halloweenfest in downtown Brevard for its 29th annual celebration of all things ghoulish. The festival goes beyond costume contests and a candy bonanza. The afternoon will feature pumpkin bowling, a scary hay maze […]
Watch the evening skies for swirling chimney swifts
The chimney swifts are swirling again. They’ve been sighted in Raleigh and Columbia. Their arrival in Asheville is imminent.
Stink bug alert
Western North Carolina has its share of native stink bugs. But according to researchers at N.C. State, the brown marmorated stink bug isn’t from around here, and that’s a problem.
Tiffany lamps, garden glories and herons in flight: The visual delights of fall at the Biltmore
Although photography was not allowed at Biltmore Estate‘s exquisite Tiffany lamp exhibit (open through Oct. 23), the gardens are open to photographers — and some of the Tiffany lamps’’ themes (dragonflies, butterflies etc.) are in evidence throughout the gardens. From the kitchen gardens to the fish ponds to a great heron in flight, it was […]
Citizen-Times Half Marathon, 5K attracts more than 3,000 participants
More than 3,000 runners and walkers filled city streets for the Asheville Citizen-Times Half Marathon, 5K, and Run and Walk.
Downtown After 5 gets cool wrap up
The final night of the 2011 season was wrapped up with cooler temperatures and bluegrass music on Sept. 16.
photos by Jerry Nelson
Peak Experience: Local businessman gets high *Updated with narrated slideshow*
When Manoj Lama traveled to Nepal in April on a buying trip for his downtown Asheville shop, he didn’t expect to wind up atop Gokyo Ri, a 17,575-foot Himalayan peak.
Lake Lure Ski Club keeps its balance
The Lake Lure Ski Club skimmed across the water on Friday, wowing audiences at the Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad.
Working elm: A day harvesting slippery elm’s medicinal bark
One Sunday morning in mid-August, I left Asheville for the one-hour drive to my friend Doug Elliott’s wooded homestead in Union Mills, N.C. During my last visit, around the exact same time of year, he showed me how to harvest and prepare elderberry for tincturing. I didn’t know what lay in store this time, other than he said we would be “working elm,” but I knew it would involve swatting mosquitoes and flies, dodging briars, poison ivy and random angry yellow jackets. Why drive 50 mountain miles to play victim to nature’s sadistic instruments? Doug is one of America’s preeminent herbalists, natural history authors, and folklore storytellers. As an elder living in organic union with the land He is celebrated among new age wild crafters, ethnobotanists, and urban foragers.
Hidden wonders
Each year, some 40,000 visitors walk the loop trail that ambles beneath Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest’s majestic canopy. Trees up to 400 years old tower over a rich carpet of ferns and wildflowers. A recent rededication ceremony marked the memorial’s 75th anniversary
Getaway: A guide to nearby national and state parks
It’s looking like another brutally hot weekend, with temperatures expected to hit 90 degrees in Asheville Saturday and Sunday. Looking for an easy escape? Here’s a look at some of the spots within an easy drive of town to cool down in mountain rivers, lakes and high-elevation forests.
From Clingman’s Dome to the Outer Banks: Thru-hiker forages the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
Less than two weeks ago, long-distance hiker and Appalachian Trail veteran Heather Housekeeper, 28, began walking. Twelve days later, on May 28, she made some time to share her goals with this reporter, just before reaching camp, off Ox Creek Road near Asheville. Outside of the occasional friend tagging along for a few miles here and there, she’s doing it all alone, and not counting the random “trail magic” (assistance like snacks, shoes, a bed, etc.) that strangers have given her along the way, she’s doing the trip totally unsupported.
Supermoons and splendid flowers: Spring has sprung
Last Saturday, March 19, a “supermoon” rose over the mountains of WNC. The next day, the spring equinox occurred at 7:21 p.m. EST, marking the start of the new season. These videos capture beautiful imagery of the full moon at its closest point to Earth in nearly 18 years, as well as the dawn of new spring flowers around Beaver Lake in north Asheville.
Slip-sliding away: Video of the Beech Mountain ‘pond skimming’ contest
Beech Mountain Resort celebrated the end of its ski season last weekend with a March 12 “pond skimming” contest. The festive event drew a legion of fearless skiers and snowboarders who tried to speed down the slopes with enough momentum to skim across a small man-made pond built in to the middle of the hill.
The Beat: Cold rain and snow
A look at what’s been making headlines.
Winter’s rush: Snowy scenes in WNC
After weeks of warm weather, winter reminded us it isn’t gone yet. In this video by Richard D. Zerbe, a rain-filled, rushing creek melds with a snowy scene near Lake Logan in Haywood County.
Swapping tarmac for trails
I am a trail runner! As of recently. Very recent. Okay, just in the last few weeks, if we must be honest. Not so long ago, you would have found me plodding around my neighborhood in my slow-but-steady pace or making the occasional foray to Carrier Park or the treadmill at my local Y. But […]
Scenes from the Roan Highlands
As the snow melted in Asheville this weekend, the higher mountain ranges outside of town remained winter wonderlands. On Saturday, Jan. 15, a group of friends and I packed up our snowboards and sleds and trekked to the Roan Highlands in search of adventure. Here’s a slide show of some of our photos from the day.
The Beat: Snowpocalypse strikes again
Unusually cold and snowy weather dominated headlines last week. In the wake of the frozen onslaught, famed WNC forecaster Ray Russell issued a “death notice” on his long-range prediction for a mild winter.