Blue Ridge Outdoors December 2014

ROAD LIFE 101 | NEED FOR SINGLESPEED | SPEAK FOR THE TRAILS DECEMBER 2014

GO OUTSIDE & PLAY

FREE!

BLUERIDGEOUTDOORS.COM

Adventure Families

CLANS WHO CRAVE THE OUTDOORS

WHAT’S IN YOUR PACK? BACKCOUNTRY EDITION REINTRODUCE APPALACHIAN PREDATORS?

Reaching Higher

VIRGINIA’S OLYMPIC FREESTYLE SKIER ASHLEY CALDWELL

DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

1

EDDIE. SET. GO. THE NEW MICROTHERM STORMDOWN JACKET. ™

LIGHTEST. WARMEST. GUARANTEED. A fusion of bulkless micro-channel construction, hydrophobic 800-fill StormDown powered

by DownTek , and streamlined alpine style.

Available in jacket, vest, or hoodie. Guide-built and trusted by Eddie Bauer athlete Drew Tabke.

TM

TM

eddiebauer.com/microtherm

EXCLUSIVE OFFER

20

% OFF

YOUR TOTAL PURCHASE Bring this ad into your local Eddie Bauer store.

Visit our store locator at eddiebauer.com CODE: 3497 Coupon valid December 1 – 31, 2014 for a one-time 20% discount on your purchase of Eddie Bauer branded product(s) at Eddie Bauer Retail stores or Eddie Bauer Outlet stores. Offer not valid on purchases from catalogs or at eddiebauer.com. Cannot be combined with other offers or applied to non-Eddie Bauer merchandise, previous purchases, clearance items, gift card purchases, or credit card payments. Not replaceable if lost or stolen, except as required by law. Offer is void if altered or reproduced.

800.426.8020 | EDDIEBAUER.COM | © 2014 EDDIE BAUER LLC

2

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

®

MECHANICAL 11.11.14 CP2764_Coldpruf Ad Ice Fishing 4C Garage Branding Pantone 450U

Pantone 4625U

4-Color Background

CONTENTS

December 2014 TODAY’S FORECAST: warm

PAGE

10

We make thermal underwear that brings cold weather to its knees.

For fit and warmth. For men, women and children. We own cold.

SNOWSPORTS GURU RANDY JOHNSON SHARES HIS FAVORITE BACKCOUNTRY GEAR.

features 9 LAST CHANCE Can the Upper Bald River Gorge finally be protected? A longstanding wilderness bill hangs in the balance.

16 COMEBACK KID Two torn ACLs haven’t stopped Olympic freestyle skier Ashley Caldwell from soaring to new heights.

19 NATURE AND NURTURE Meet four awe-inspiring adventure families from the Blue Ridge who push their limits together.

25 ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, RESTAURANT Wander the fields and kitchens behind Barbara Kingsolver and Steven Hopp’s farm-to-table experiment in Abingdon.

27 STUCK IN THE MUD A handicapped hiker crawls through bear country to discover something that not even a disability can take away.

After running from the law—and himself—Jackson Buchman finds healing in the wild waters of Appalachia.

Jess Daddio shares ten hard-earned lessons from living out of a vehicle for six months.

6 EDITOR’S NOTE

11 THE DIRT

Speak for the trails: 70 percent of NC’s national forests may open to logging.

Singlespeeder rides the Divide / Surprise anchor to Blue Ridge Relay / Nine-year-old runner sets world record

10 THE GOODS Peek inside the backcountry pack of snowsports guru Randy Johnson.

North Carolina Appalachian Trail

License Plate Application

departments Should cougars and red wolves be reintroduced to Appalachia?

APPALACHIAN TRAIL!

28 LONG WAY BACK

24 ROAD LIFE 101

7 FLASHPOINT

ORDER YOUR A.T. LICENSE PLATE AND SUPPORT THE

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) now has a specialty license tag in the state of North Carolina.

By getting your tag today, you’ll help the ATC protect and maintain America’s Facts Favorite Long Distance Trail!

The ATC will receive $20 annually for each AT plate purchased or renewed.

How Much Does It Cost?  $30 Regular Appalachian Trail plate*  $60 Personalized Appalachian Trail plate* You are allowed four (4) spaces for a personalized message. __ __ __ __ 2nd Choice __ __ __ __ 3rd Choice __ __ __ __ 1st Choice Name (as shown on certificate of title): FIRST

MIDDLE

LAST

ADDRESS CITY

STATE

ZIP CODE

HOME PHONE

OFFICE PHONE

Current North Carolina Vehicle

30 TRAIL MIX

_______________________ ____________________________________

The Mantras’endless jam quest + New Year’s Eve Shows in the South

DRIVER’S LICENSE #

PLATE NUMBER

VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

______________________ ____________________________________ YEAR

MODEL

MAKE

 You must already have the vehicle registered in North Carolina.  You receive a FREE ATC Membership with the purchase of your NC AT Tag.  *The $30 or $60 annual fee is in addition to regular annual license fees you have already paid.  Personalized tags may be relinquished to someone else, but once a numerical tag expires without renewal, that number can never again be reissued.  If you change your mind, you can go back to a regular license plate at any time. There will not be a refund of unused portion of special fees.  Additional applications can be found online at

BODY STYLE

www.appalachiantrail.org

Owner’s Certification of Liability Insurance I certify for the motor vehicle described above that I have financial responsibility as required by law.

All proceeds received from each state will help manage and protect the Trail.

TO ORDER, VISIT APPALACHIANTRAIL.ORG/PLATES FULL NAME OF INSURANCE COMPANY AUTHORIZED IN NC – NOT AGENCY OR GROUP

POLICY NUMBER – IF POLICY NOT ISSUED, NAME OF AGENCY BINDING COVERAGE

______________________________________ _________________________________________ SIGNATURE OF OWNER

Mail your check or money order made out to NC DMV and application to: NC Division of Motor Vehicles, Specialty Plate Division 3155 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-3155

DATE OF CERTIFICATION

Thanks for your generous support of the Appalachian Trail! Questions about the NC AT License Tag can be directed to Leanna Joyner 828-254-3708.

DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com www.appalachiantrail.org

3

Gear Gift

GUIDE

BUNDLE UP for the HOLIDAYS and SAVE! Includes a one-year print delivery subscription (12 issues) to BRO, a t-shirt and a sticker!

Shop.BlueRidgeOutdoors.com 4

RICHMOND VA EDITION • Blue Ridge Outdoors

CONTRIBUTORS Most embarrassing outdoor moment?

EVANS PRATER BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

E D I TO R I A L EDITOR IN CHIEF WILL HARLAN will@blueridgeoutdoors.com SENIOR EDITOR JEDD FERRIS jedd@blueridgeoutdoors.com TRAVEL EDITOR JESS DADDIO jess@blueridgeoutdoors.com DIGITAL EDITOR AARON BIBLE aaron@blueridgeoutdoors.com COPY EDITORS JULIA GREEN, ROBERT McGEE CONTRIBUTORS KY DELANEY, DAVE STALLARD, JEFF KINNEY, CHARLI KERNS, CHRIS GRAGTMANS

ART + PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR MEGAN JORDAN megan@blueridgeoutdoors.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER LAUREN WALKER lauren@blueridgeoutdoors.com

A DV E RT I S I N G + B U S I N E S S PRESIDENT BLAKE DEMASO blake@blueridgeoutdoors.com PUBLISHER LEAH WOODY leah@blueridgeoutdoors.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE MARTHA EVANS martha@blueridgeoutdoors.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES KATIE HARTWELL katie@blueridgeoutdoors.com NICK NOE nick@blueridgeoutdoors.com BUSINESS MANAGER MISSY GESSLER melissa@blueridgeoutdoors.com CIRCULATION MANAGER AVERY SHOOK avery@blueridgeoutdoors.com

D I G I TA L M E D I A DIGITAL PUBLISHER DUSTY ALLISON dusty@blueridgeoutdoors.com ONLINE DIRECTOR CRAIG SNODGRASS webdir@blueridgeoutdoors.com ©2014 Summit Publishing, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher.

BLUE RIDGE OUTDOORS MAGAZINE 116 West Jefferson Street Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 (434) 817-2755 56 College Street, Suite 303 Asheville, North Carolina 28801 (828) 225-0868

PRINTED ON RECYCLED NEWSPRINT WITH 100% POST-CONSUMER CONTENT

Getting so drunk at Trail Days that I peed on my sleeping pad. I had to dry it in the sun as everyone was packing up.

www.helle.no

www.helle.no

WILL HARLAN I accidentally wore my wife's biking shorts to a century ride. They ripped down the rear seam and left me wide open for 100 miles.

BEAU BEASLEY Getting stranded in a kayak on a large rock in the Jackson River. Eventually I rocked back and forth until I fell back into the river.

JOHNNY MOLLOY I walked up behind a woman who was squatted down peeing beside the trail.

Knives of Norway

Helle Norwegian Knives are available at these fine retailers: Helle Norwegian Knives are available at these fine retailers: Alpharetta Outfitters

Alpharetta Outfitters Cumberland Transit Brannen Outfitters Charleston DiamondAngler Brand Chuck’s Firearms Edgeworks Cumberland Transit Diamond Brand Flint Creek Outfitters Edgeworks Footsloggers Elizabethtown Gun Flint Creek Outfitters Go2 Outfitters Footsloggers Go2 Outfitters Great Outdoor Great Outdoor Provision Company Provision Company

Intracoastal Outfitters

Greenlife Adventure Sports Mahoney’sOutfitters Outfitters Intracoastal J&H Lanmark Masada Leather Mahoney’s Outfitters Mountain Outfitters Masada Leather Mast General Store Mount Rogers Mountain Outfitters Outfitters Mount Rogers Outfitters North Georgia Nat’s Outdoors Mountain Outfitters North Georgia Old Sautee Store Mountain Outfitters Old Sautee Store

Outdoor Supply Half Moon Outfitters Company Outdoor Supply Outdoors Inc Company Quest Outdoors Rock Creek Outfitters Outdoors Inc Rockfish GapOutfitters Rock Creek Rockfish Gap Outfitters Outfitters The Classic Edge The Backpacker The Classic Edge The Local Hiker The Local Hiker Untucked OBX Untucked OBX Woodlands Edge

SAL RUIBAL One word: shrinkage. Cold creek water shrinkage.

KRISTIAN JACKSON A Shenandoah backpacking trip with some friends resulted in an injury, hitchhiking, a ride from an Illinois state senator, a lost hiking buddy, and a full-blown National Park Service search and rescue.

RANDY JOHNSON Huddled beside a campfire, I accidentally set my boots on fire.

JESS DADDIO Falling out of a raft while guiding my first commercial trip in the New River Gorge.

COVER PHOTO © Jeff Cricco / @JeffCricco Snowsports ramp up this month all across Southern Appalachia.

DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

5

E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R

NOTES

KAREN KICKS CANCER

Speak for the Trails Wanna keep fracking chemicals out of your favorite swimming hole? Wanna protect your favorite forest from being logged? Wanna make sure your favorite trails aren't bulldozed?

The U.S. Forest Service is rewriting its plans for the largest national forest system in the South—the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests. This new plan will guide how these public lands are managed for the next two decades.

It’s not just your next adventure that’s at stake.

Forest management may sound boring, but it affects every gulp of water and breath of air you take.

The Forest Service is considering opening up over 70 percent of Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests to logging.

Extractive timber, mining, and fracking industries are already well represented in the forest planning process and are lobbying heavily to exploit our forests. So far, the recreation community has

6

been out-shouted. About 700,000 acres, or an area larger than Great Smoky Montains National Park— will be opened to logging.

If you want to protect the places where you play, now is the time to step up. Tell the U.S. Forest Service to protect your public lands from commercial logging, mining, and fracking. Ask the Forest Service to designate more wilderness, permanently protect roadless areas, build and maintain more trails, and safeguard the health of our rivers and headwaters.

Most importantly, as population swells in the Southeast, we need more public lands and stronger protections for them. Popular areas will become overused and degraded without expanding the national forest boundaries.

Email your comments to the Forest Service at: comments-southern-north-carolina@fs.fed.us Make yourself heard. Be a voice for the trees, the trails, and the wild places you love.

­ ill Harlan is the author of Untamed: The Wildest W Woman in America, which was recently named one of Amazon's Best 100 Books of the Year.

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

I first met Karen Chavez atop Wayah Bald on a frigid, snowy morning in 2001. She was a newspaper reporter covering the inaugural NOC Endurance Run and she had driven two hours up slick, steep, snow-covered roads to reach the finish line, where she spent several hours talking to me and other runners. She could have stayed home, called a few runners after the race, and cranked out a decent story. But she went the extra miles to be there in person, in sub-freezing temperatures, bundled up with her notepad and pen.

That’s just how Karen rolls. For over 14 years, she has been writing about the outdoor scene by immersing herself in it. An avid and accomplished runner herself, she is beloved among the regional outdoor community for her tireless coverage in the Asheville Citizen-Times of important outdoor issues and inspiring people.

Last fall, Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the past year, she has endured multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments. Amazingly, she continues to write.

Next month, she is even planning a race: the Karen Kicks Cancer Resolution Run and Walk on January 1 in Asheville. Proceeds from the four-mile run and two-mile walk will benefit Hope Chest for Women. Karen also hopes the event will raise awareness about the importance of understanding breast density as a risk factor for breast cancer. Dense breasts can obscure mammograms and make cancer detection more difficult.

Join her at the New Year’s Day run for a celebration of what she loves most: being outdoors, being active, and being alive.

READER FORUM

FLASHPOINT

Predators:

CAN BIG CATS AND DOGS RETURN TO APPALACHIA?

by AMY ANDERSON nce upon a time, the red wolf inhabited the entire Southeast, and the Florida Panther was found outside of present-day Florida.

But these days, large predators are largely absent from the eastern U.S. The red wolf and the Florida Panther both inhabit areas covering less than five percent of their historic ranges, in northeast North Carolina and Southwest Florida, respectively.

Our forests are undoubtedly poorer without them, but should we bring them back?

When it comes to large predators, protection and reintroduction efforts are often complicated by the politics of fear. Conservationists can toss around terms like “keystone species” as much as they like, but an animal whose lunch options might include you, or your pet, or your livestock, is not the ideal neighbor. As human populations rise and land use intensifies, our N.I.M.B.Y. (not-in-my-backyard) response to their presence leaves them with nowhere to go.

COUGAR

Only 14 fatal cougar attacks have been reported in the 20th and 21st centuries, and no known fatal wild wolf attacks have ever occurred in the contiguous U.S. In contrast, the Department of Transportation counts 300,000 reported wildlifevehicle collisions each year and estimates the true number to be between 1 and 2 million, resulting in 14,000 injuries and at least 200 fatalities annually.

The number of attacks on humans from these apex predators is amazingly low, and maybe having a few more cougars around would mean fewer instances of fender-bender road kill.

Should the Southern Appalachians be considered potential panther territory? The eastern cougar, whose historic range included most of the Appalachians, was declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in 2011. However, a study done in 2000 contends that there are no subspecies, just one North American puma, still represented by the populations in Florida and out west. The FWS maintains that the study was not comprehensive, and reintroducing a new subspecies into the historic range of the eastern cougar is something not provided for by the Endangered Species Act. They will not condone the establishment of new cougar populations in the Southeast until the taxonomic issue is settled.

If fortune favors the lumpers and not the splitters, then we'll need to prepare for the cougar's impact on adjacent lands. One reason the Florida panther has been allowed to survive in southwest Florida is the dearth of livestock operations in the Everglades. This stands in contrast to the small cattle farms and dairies in the lush lands surrounding Appalachian national forests. Popular opinion is much less likely to favor predator preservation when the local economy is built on the backs of ungulates. The Great Smoky Mountains

National Park is larger than the panthers’ current habitat, but studies have not yet been done to determine whether the area could support a stable breeding population. Karen Beck-Herzog, public affairs spokesperson for Shenandoah National Park, said that although the park supports species restoration, “the land mass of Shenandoah, long and linear… surrounded largely by private land, makes the likelihood of successfully restoring a large predator in the immediate area quite low.”

With perhaps 160 panthers left in the wild, habitat expansion is necessary for their long-term survival.

Laurie Macdonald, director of Florida Programs for the Defenders of Wildlife, put a positive spin on the issue: “The Florida panther is showing us that conservation action is making a huge difference for the cat’s survival and recovery. If we keep connections among big parcels of public and private lands, and if we work on coexistence practices that build people’s acceptance of this big, wild cat, the panther will be able to come back home to the American South.“

RED WOLF

Due to overzealous predator control programs and extensive interbreeding with its close relation, the coyote, the red wolf was declared functionally extinct in the wild in the 1970s. A captive breeding program began with only fourteen individuals, and the first wolf pack was reintroduced to eastern North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in 1987. The presence of red wolves has led to increases in the number of turkeys and other ground nesting birds, since the wolves prey on

raccoons. Management efforts are being made to reduce coyote presence in the area, but the red wolf’s wily and invasive cousin is highly adaptive.

No interbreeding appears to have occurred yet with the reintroduced population, but permanent coyote controls will likely be necessary to keep the species separate. Of the roughly 300 red wolves currently in existence, approximately two-thirds are in captivity.

Red wolves were reintroduced to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1989, but a combination of factors led to the project’s failure.

A number of the pups died of parvovirus. Some of the wolves, raised in captivity, showed an alarming tolerance for humans and were removed from the park population. Some of them targeted livestock just outside the park boundaries, either finding it easier than hunting deer or lacking adequate prey within the park. Park officials have no plans to attempt a second reintroduction at this time, but perhaps wolves from Alligator River’s wild-raised population would fare better as pioneers in the Smokies.

Top-level predators like cougars and wolves control the populations of deer, which protects the forest from the damage of over-browsing.

Their kill leftovers provide food for scavengers and smaller predators. Their presence helps to balance ecosystems. But coexisting with predators is not risk free. Our interests and theirs do not always align. Lacking the open spaces of Montana, can we protect the investments of our Appalachian farmers from these wild animals in close quarters? And are close quarters enough room to live in if we’re willing to share? • DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

7

Good Giving G U I D E

This Holiday Season, Blue Ridge Outdoors encourages you to support these important causes

Help us protect YOUR mountain playground.

Backcountry snowboarding, Roan Mountain, Tennessee Photo by Bo Wallace

Appalachian Voices works to protect the air, land, water and communities of central and southern Appalachia. Help us make sure the mountains are there for your grandchildren to enjoy.

Donate today.

AppalachianVoices.org/mountainprotector

In 2014 the West Virginia Land Trust Protected the Heart of the Upper Gauley River Canyon!

Nearly 665 acres received permanent protection and are secured for future public access and recreation. This land fronts six miles along the river. The Gauley River is known for world-class whitewater rafting that attracts 60,000 visitors annually, generating tens of millions of dollars for the local economy.

The property provides unique habitats for rare, threatened, and endangered plants and animals.

The property links to other public lands, including the Gauley River National Recreation Area and Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park. It is historically unique as the location of a Confederate retreat during the Civil War.

Help us protect more of West Virginia’s special places in the coming year! With your monetary support, so much more can be done! Visit us on the web at wvlandtrust.org and donate today!

The West Virginia Land Trust is a statewide nonprofit land protection organization that works voluntarily with land owners and communities interested in protecting lands of scenic, recreational, agricultural, or ecological importance.

Charleston Office 304.346.7788

8

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

Morgantown Office 304.413.0945

wvlandtrust.org

A PADDLER PREPARES TO PADDLE THE TELLICO NEAR UPPER BALD RIVER FALLS, TENNESSEE.

Last Chance CAN THE UPPER BALD RIVER GORGE FINALLY BE PROTECTED? IT’S NOW OR NEVER.

MARK ZAKUTANSKY

by PAT BYINGTON ast February, I traveled to Tennessee to see Bald River Falls, one of the most visited waterfalls in the region. Visually spectacular at over 80 feet high, Bald River Falls is the gateway to the Bald River Wilderness Area.

It was a rainy and chilly 33 degrees, the bridges were freezing over, and to my surprise on that late February afternoon, the Tellico River, alongside the Bald River, was teeming with kayakers. Slowly passing by people in wetsuits, carrying their kayaks, I peered at the cars and license plates on the side of the road: Pennsylvania, New York, Iowa, Texas, Colorado and Oregon. These people were serious whitewater enthusiasts and the reason they had chosen to be in rural Tennessee on a wet and bone-chilling weekend in the middle of winter was because of the Tellico River’s clean and clear rushing waters.

It's not just the kayakers who have discovered this outdoor paradise. Throughout the year, fly fishers, hunters, horseback riders, hikers, backpackers, and thousands of windshield tourists journey to Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest.

Along with year round recreational opportunities, outdoor related businesses from local sandwich shops to outdoor manufacturers (one of the largest

maker of kayaks in the world is Jackson Kayaks in Sparta, Tenn.) are locating near protected lands and rivers in Tennesee. The outdoor recreation industry in Tennessee alone generates $8.2 billion in consumer spending each year and creates 83,000 jobs.

An entrepreneur once told me that every successful business needs a “special sauce,” that extra “something” that separates a place, product or business apart from all the others.

For Tennessee’s wilderness areas, clean and clear water is the ‘special sauce’.

And the reason the surrounding streams, creeks and rivers are so clean and clear is because the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 1984 made it so.

It was signed by President Ronald Reagan. Three decades later, Reagan would be proud of the bill he signed into law, but I imagine he would say today the job is not finished.

Back in 1984, one of Reagan’s closest friends and allies in the South, Governor Lamar Alexander, was also a champion of the original Tennessee Wilderness Act. Today, Senators Alexander and Bob Corker have introduced a new Tennessee Wilderness Act three times in the past four years.

Upon passage, this bill will permanently

protect the headwaters of the Upper Bald River by designating one new wilderness area, The Upper Bald River Wilderness, and by adding additional acreage to five others in the Cherokee National Forest, assuring kayakers, fishermen, hunters, local businesses and future generations will forever have clean and clear water.

This month, Congress will have its last chance to pass the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2013. If you care about the outdoors, if you care about the local economy, and if you care about clean and clear water, now more than ever, your member of Congress needs to hear from you. Tell them that you support the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2013. Tell them that they should support Tennessee’s senators and finish the job.

And then, read them President Reagan’s own words: “I just have to believe that with love for our natural heritage and a firm resolve to preserve it with wisdom and care, we can and will give the American land to our children, not impaired, but enhanced. And in doing this, we’ll honor the great and loving God who gave us this land in the first place.” • Pat Byington is the Executive Director of Wild South.

DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

9

GEAR

THE GOODS

What’s in Your Pack?

PEEK INSIDE THE GEAR CLOSET OF SNOWSPORTS GURU RANDY JOHNSON

by AARON H. BIBLE

1

6 5

4

7

2

ou may know Randy Johnson as the author of best-selling trail guides (Hiking North Carolina, Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway), but his real love is cross-country skiing.

He pioneered the Nordic ski scene at Roan Mountain in the 1980s days of the state park crosscountry ski center and wrote Southern Snow: The Winter Guide to Dixie (considered a cult classic and due out again in a few years). He’s a former Nordic ski instructor and ski patroller who takes his Southern summits seriously. We managed to pin him down at the Grandview Restaurant over diced ham ‘n eggs near his home in Foscoe, N.C., near Grandfather Mountain.

Here’s what this Eastern ski legend carries in his pack while skiing or snowshoeing on Roan, Rogers, Grandfather, or the like:

1. LEKI AERGON 3 Pole “No touring poles for me. When I ski, I often take snowshoes for the crazy places. A great adjustable ski pole can handle striding, stomping, and occasional duty as an almost ice ax, and I like the ease and strength of the newer SpeedLock adjustment on Leki’s Aergon 3 pole.” shop.leki.com

2. DARN TOUGH Boot Sock “The best boots can be cold in thin socks, so I use the Darn Tough Boot Sock Full Cushion. These mostly Merino wool socks aren’t cheap, but they’re warm, cushy, antimicrobial, and made in the USA.” darntough.com

10

3

3. IBEX ZEPHYR Base Layer “Like socks, like base layer. I’ve used synthetics but I’m old-school enough to welcome wool back to the fold. The Ibex Zephyr is another USA-made Merino item that’s really warm and soft. It’s got a highish zip neck with bound thumbholes to keep the sleeves where you want them.“ shop.ibex.com

7. BLACK DIAMOND Revolt Headlamp “Dark comes early in winter. With the rechargeable Revolt, you’ll always leave the trailhead with maximum light to cope with a late return. It’s bright, charges with your car’s USB port, has a variety of brightness modes to minimize battery use, and lets you monitor the remaining charge.” blackdiamondequipment.com •

4. SOL THERMAL Bivvy “There’s always survival stuff in my pack. Carry a serious bivvy bag if you want, but the SOL Thermal Bivvy (no, it means Survive Outdoors Longer) is a 9-oz., affordable, heat-reflective emergency sleep sack that vents to handle condensation.” adventuremedicalkits.com

5. SWIX Nordic Easy Glide “Icy ski bases ruin countless ski tours. If you’re skiing the lighter waxless backcountry or touring skis, get this glide prep on your skis early. You can hot wax the tips and tails, then coat everything, especially the waxless pattern, with Easy Glide to seal out water and smooth your stride.” swixsport.com 6. MOPHIE Powerstations “Cold kills batteries. If your smartphone is also your camera, GPS unit, or you’re using topo maps downloaded from Backcountry Navigator, a Mophie Powerstation XL or a Mini is worth the weight (16 oz. / 3 oz.). You can even charge your GoPro.”mophie.com

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

Warmth Without the Weight For unpredictable winter weather, it's tough to beat the Ignitelite Reversible Full-Zip jacket from the Eddie Bauer First Ascent collection.

Eddie Bauer actually outfitted the first American team to summit Mount Everest in 1963, and the company has built upon that tradition of quality and innovation through its First Ascent line. The Ignitelite features a ripstop shell with durable water repellency, stuffed with Primaloft Gold synthetic insulation.

It packs down into its own chest pocket and it's reversible, allowing you to be as versatile and stylish as the jacket itself. $119. eddiebauer.com

OUTDOOR NEWS

BODE TRADING SKIS FOR HOOVES KENTUCKY We’ll soon be seeing Bode Miller at the Derby instead of the Winter Olympics. During a recent interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Miller revealed that he’s planning to become a horse trainer when his skiing career is over. The move was sparked by Miller’s friendship with well-known trainer Bob Baffert, who’s led multiple horses to Kentucky Derby wins. Baffert and Miller already own horses together, and Miller said he’s in the process of buying a training facility in Kentucky to begin his equestrian pursuits in earnest.

BACK-TO-BACK ADVENTURE HIKE THE A.T., PADDLE THE MISSISSIPPI Jared McCallum is having quite an adventure.

The 28-year-old former Marine has been trying to figure out what to do with his life after an honorable discharge in 2009. Earlier this year, he decided to take a break from his work as a civilian security contractor in Afghanistan to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. After spending five months completing the famous 2,185-mile footpath, he decided he wasn’t quite ready to head home to Florida. Instead he’s working his way south slowly, paddling the entire Mississippi River—2,340 miles from Minnesota to Louisiana—in a canoe.

Sporting a Forrest Gump-style beard with his dog Scout by his side, McCallum recently told Illinois’ Quad-City Times that he anticipates finishing around Christmas, and along the way he’s enjoyed some river magic, due to the kindness of others.

“Someone let me camp in their front yard,” he told the paper. “You can’t do this kind of thing without the good people of America like that.”

THAT KID IS FAST DULLES, VIRGINIA Earlier this fall, 9-year-old Caleb Hymans of Annandale, Va., ran quite a race at the Dulles Day on the Runway, finishing the 5K in 18:47. His time posted at the D.C.-area airport was certified by the Association of Road Race Statisticians as a world record for his age. “It was really cool,” Caleb told The Washington Post, “with all the airplanes flying overhead.”

BUG SPRAY REPELS ROBBER BERLIN, PENNSYLVANIA Don’t mess with Annabelle Miller. The store clerk at Berlin’s CSI Coalfield Mini market recently proved she has uses for bug spray beyond keeping skeeters away. Miller grabbed a can when a masked wouldbe robber entered her store and demanded money.

A surveillance video shows Miller instead giving the female crook a big dose of insecticide, which led to her retreat from the store. Miller later told a local news station, “I just got mad. I’ve got better things to do with my night than that.”

Beyond the Blue Ridge INDOOR SKIING IN TEXAS GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS The Texas heat usually doesn’t bring skiing to mind, but in mid-October, city officials in Grand Prairie announced plans to build a 350,000-squarefoot indoor skiing facility. CBS had the skinny on the $215 million joint project being called The Grand Alps Resort, which will be home to the longest indoor ski run in the world at 1,220 feet in length and 300 feet tall. The resort, attached to a 300-room luxury hotel, will also feature an Olympic half pipe, an ice climbing wall, and a luge track.

The indoor ski resort has a tentative opening date of early 2018.

CHANGING GEARS IN BIKE RACING COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO In October, USA Cycling revealed the 2015 national championship calendar and it featured some noticeable changes. First up is the addition of the inaugural Fat Bike National Championship, which will take big wheelers through a snowy course in Ogden, Utah, on Valentine’s Day. A big southern race—the USA Cycling Professional Criterium and Team Time Trial National Championships— will return to Greenville, S.C., with the time trial component as a new addition, as well as a new spring date (April 18-19). Soon after, young racers in the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships will ride through the streets of Asheville, N.C., from May 8-10. Back in South Carolina, Rock Hill will host two events this year: the USA Cycling BMX National Championships on March 21 and the USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships from July 21-26. Not on the docket this year: a 24-hour mountain biking national championship, due to declining participation in the discipline.

CEMETERY 5K PEORIA, ILLINOIS Owners of the Springdale Cemetery in Central Illinois are getting creative with their marketing initiatives. In an effort to encourage people to buy burial lots, the cemetery recently began hosting a series of 5K races to showcase the property’s scenery. "We know if we get people back into the cemetery, they're going to be amazed at its beauty," Bob Manning, chairman of the cemetery management authority, said in a story by the Associated Press. "Then, hopefully, they'll think of us when time comes."

—Jedd Ferris

WADE MICKLEY

Quick Hits

THE DIRT

DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

11

THE DIRT

OUTDOOR NEWS

ALABAMA The Outlet Shops of Grand River – Leeds Tanger Outlets Foley – Foley

GEORGIA The Avenue East Cobb – Marietta The Avenue West Cobb – Marietta North Georgia Premium Outlets – Dawsonville Sugarloaf Mills Outlet – Lawrenceville Tanger Outlets Commerce – Commerce

KENTUCKY Crestview Hills Town Center – Crestview Hills Fayette Mall – Lexington The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass Simpsonville

MARYLAND Annapolis Mall – Annapolis Arundel Mills – Hanover Hagerstown Premium Outlets – Hagerstown The Mall in Columbia – Columbia Queenstown Premium Outlets – Queenstown Tanger Outlets National Harbor – National Harbor Tanger Outlets Ocean City – Ocean City Towson Town Center – Towson

NORTH CAROLINA Asheville Mall – Asheville Carolina Premium Outlets – Smithfield Crabtree Valley Mall – Raleigh Charlotte Premium Outlets Charlotte Friendly Center – Greensboro Hanes Mall – Winston-Salem Mayfaire Town Center – Wilmington Outlet at Concord Mills – Concord Tanger Outlets Nags Head – Nags Head

SOUTH CAROLINA Gaffney Premium Outlets – Gaffney Tanger Outlets Charleston – Charleston Tanger Outlets Hilton Head – Bluffton Tanger Outlets Myrtle Beach – Myrtle Beach

TENNESSEE Hamilton Place Mall – Chattanooga Lebanon Premium Outlets – Lebanon Tanger Outlets Sevierville – Sevierville West Town Mall – Knoxville

VIRGINIA Charlottesville Fashion Square – Charlottesville Fair Oaks Mall – Fairfax Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets – Leesburg MacArthur Center – Norfolk Short Pump Town Center – Richmond Tysons Corner Center – McLean Valley Mall – Harrisonburg Valley View Mall – Roanoke Williamsburg Premium Outlets – Williamsburg

VISIT OUR STORE LOCATOR AT EDDIEBAUER.COM

12

Need Singlespeed FIXED GEAR MOUNTAIN BIKER RIDES THE DIVIDE

by BETTINA FREESE ome mountain bikers say gears are overrated. They are noisy. The deraileur is just another piece of metal to replace or repair. And having so many gear choices is ridiculous. It's always going to hurt on that climb, so why not get it over with quicker?

Josh Taylor agrees. The 31-year-old rode the Continental Divide Ride, 2,700 miles from Canada to New Mexico, on a rigid singlespeed. To train, he hauled his 2-year-old and 4-year-old daughters in a trailer on his bike roads up the steepest forest roads he could find. He says that if you have to ask why the singlespeed, you just don't know.

Pushing his bike through five miles of thigh-high snow in Montana made him suffer most. The hypothermia wasn't much fun either, but that wasn't the bike's fault.

Q: What were you riding?

A: A carbon fiber Cannondale Flash, 34 in the front, 18 in the back, disk brakes, arrow bars, bags, seat bag, frame bag, two gas tanks, and a handlebar bag. I had 39 pounds of stuff.

Q: What did you eat?

A: I ate a LOT of junk. I'm not a candy person, but candy bars and gatorade kept me going. There was about 100 miles between stops, but sometimes as many as 175 miles. I was starving and couldn't wait to get to Pie Town.

I got there to find a closed diner and one store. I was

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

1214_BlueRidgeOutdoors_8175x11_75.indd 1

11/6/14 11:49 AM

looking forward to throwing down a big meal and instead had coke with peanut butter sandwiches.

Q: How long did it take you?

A: 27 days, five hours, and eight minutes. My goal was 19 days, but I was going to be okay with 25. My average goal per day was 100 miles. The most I did was 143, from Idaho to Pinedale.

Q: What was the hardest part?

A: The first six days was nothing but rain and snow.

It was the worst on record as far as weather goes. I got hypothermia from being so wet and the highest temperature was 39. It was miserable. I only went 47 miles. A lot of people went home. Of the 133 people who started, only 49 finished.

Q: Can you compare this to anything else you've been through?

A: I've been biking and doing off-road triathlons and this is by far the hardest thing I've done in my life, especially since it's self-supported. There's nobody out there to help you.

Q: What about sleep?

A: I would stop around midnight and my body got into a natural rhythm, waking at 5 or 6. In the beginning I spent about a third of the time in hotels because the last thing

THE DIRT I wanted to do while cold and soaking wet was climb into a sleeping bag. I also stayed in teepees, bathrooms, and under a bridge. After an 87-mile day of misery in Montana I stopped at a hotel that was actually just a cabin with rooms and they were asking $195 a night. It wasn't nice or anything. I had dinner, a few beers, dried my stuff by the lobby fire and then slept in a nearby campground bathroom. It was so nice in there. Just as nice as the five-star hotel.

wE’RE SwINGING INTO THE

COLD SEASON

Q: What was your favorite section for riding?

A: The aspens in Colorado were awesome. Northern New Mexico was beautiful, too.

A lot of greens and mountains with some great climbing.

Q: Which section was most dreadful?

A: Wyoming. The wind was terrible. It was a freezing open basin with lightning, hail, and no place to find cover. I fought a 60-mile-per-hour headwind out of Rollins for 60 miles.

Q: What kinds of realizations did you come to?

A: In the beginning it was about cranking out the daily 100 miles. Toward the end it was more about enjoying it. The things you're used to go out the window. It's really about how much suffering can you put up with. The first two weeks was a lot of reflection. There's so much time to think. I was hurting every day. It was a physical and emotional roller coaster every day. I broke down emotionally in Colorado. I was fighting a headwind. I was tired. I was done. The road felt like it was flat, but I had to walk my bike. I wanted to throw my bike. The road ended up going downhill into a ravine. It finally turned downwind, and as I was listening to my iPod, our wedding song came on. I lost it. I realized that I have the best of everything. My wife, my friends, family, kids. It was nice to realize that. •

BE READy wITH COzy DOwN fROM

Lapped

MEN’S & wOMEN’S DOwN SwEATER

wOMEN’S fIONA PARKA

WINNING BLUE RIDGE RELAY TEAM ANCHORED BY CLUTCH RUNNER

by KY DELANEY ou can tell a lot about people's character based on what they do when an opportunity presents itself. Take 26-year-old Javan Lapp, who runs with every chance that’s come his way, from becoming the first member of his family to finish college to the first runner to cross the finish line of this year’s Blue Ridge Relay.

“I went to college to run,” said Lapp, whose lanky frame makes him easily identifiable as a runner. “I wouldn’t have gone if it weren’t for running. And if I’d never gone to college, I wouldn’t have gone to law school. Running led to my legal career.”

Lapp’s passion for running began with a book. Raised in a tight-knit Mennonite community in Ohio where television was forbidden, he read voraciously, which

CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA The Shops at Stonefield 434.977.4400

BLACKSBURG,VA First & Main 540.953.7060

PRINCETON, NJ Princeton Shopping Center 609.921.6078 KNOXVILLE, TN Kingston Pike Shopping Center 865.588.2638

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA Hilltop North Shopping Center 757.422.2201

MADISON, NJ Downtown on Main Street 973.377.3301 KNOXVILLE, TN Village Green Shopping Center 865.675.3010

www.BRMS.com

FIND US

DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

13

THE DIRT

OUTDOOR NEWS

exposed him to topics that his private Mennonite school didn’t teach. He read Matt Christopher’s book Run, Bill, Run, a novel about children running track, and became fascinated with running around the playground faster than his Mennonite classmates.

When Lapp was in sixth grade, his parents divorced and his mom relocated her three children to Western North Carolina. For the first time, he attended public school and joined the cross country team. Lapp’s mom supported his running, rushing home from her job cleaning houses to pick him up from practice—cross country soon evolved into a year-round running regime including indoor, outdoor, and summer track. He ran throughout high school and began thinking about college as a way to continue racing.

“College wasn’t on my radar until then,” Lapp explained.

When no coaches recruited Lapp as a collegiate athlete, he created his own opportunity and approached the coach of UNC-Charlotte before a track meet. The coach signed him after seeing Lapp on the track.

At UNC-Charlotte, he ran the 800 in 1:53.4. Initially, academics took a backseat to his collegiate running. By his junior year, Lapp started considering law school and ended up attending University of Cincinnati College of Law. During law school, running became Lapp’s way of dealing with stress and while studying for the bar exam he sometimes ran two or three times a day. “I never expected to keep going after college. I loved racing, but I was never a fan of running in high school. I never expected to still be doing this every day” Lapp said.

Lapp returned to Western North Carolina to start his legal career and started running for Foot Rx. Lapp ran 15:43 for a 5k and 26.18 for an 8K. He also ran a mile in a blazing 4:09 at the Waynesville Main Street Mile, a fast course with some downhill. His mom also ran, finishing in 9:59. “It was fun to see my mom race. After I finished, I ran back

14

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

and cheered her across the finish line.”

Lapp led off and anchored the Asheville Running Collective at this year’s Blue Ridge Relay. Relay teams consist of 12 runners rotating through 36 legs over two hundred miles of country roads. Starting in Grayson Highlands, Virginia, the course winds past scenic views of the New River, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain, and the Toe River before runners descend down Town Mountain and finish in Asheville.

Lapp secured an early lead for the team during the first leg of the relay, a steep downhill descent which he maintained a sub-five-minute pace. The team stayed ahead of the competition throughout the night when runners wear reflective gear and headlamps. But even with those aids, one of ARC’s best runners, Peyton Hoyle, stepped in a pothole on a steep 10.5 mile climb up Grandfather Mountain around 3 a.m. He hurt his Achilles tendon and pressed on during his second leg. After cooling down, he realized he might not be able to anchor the team down Town Mountain to the finish line in Asheville.

Meanwhile, Lapp was exhausted from his second leg, a brutal 9.5-mile climb up the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock. When Peyton announced that his Achilles wouldn’t permit him to go fast enough to maintain the team’s lead and sub-six-mile pace, Lapp stepped up to run.

He secured another first place finish for ARC and kept the winner’s belt in Western North Carolina for another year with an unofficial time of 20:05:26, averaging 5:46 a mile.

When asked for what advice he’d give new runners, Lapp said, “Don’t make every run about beating your former best. Every day shouldn’t be race day. Get out there and relax on most of your runs.” • Follow the Asheville Running Collective on the Facebook page to find out more about their regular runs. They invite all runners, regardless of speed, to join.

Paddle Ready

Paddle Ready

Get real-time environmental coverage plus weather conditions for river, tidal, ocean, and flatwater paddling environ-

Introducing a brand new app just forapaddlers!

Introducing a Introducing brand new brand new ments, and save your favorite paddling

for quick reference.

Getroutes real-time environmental coverage plus weather conditions river, tidal, Complete a float plan and for easily email it to your friends. ocean, and flatwater paddling environments, and your favoriteor paddling Search forsave an ACA Instructor Course routes nearfor you.quick reference.

app just for paddlers! justnew for paddlers!

Introducing aapp brand float plan and easily email it app justComplete for apaddlers!

Search for Boating Organizations and

Offices by state. to your friends.

Have Paddle Safety Checklists for

Search for an ACA Instructor or Course various paddling environments at your near you. fingertips.

Search forSafety Boating Use the andOrganizations Rescue How-to and Free on the App Store and Videos keep your knowledge current.

Offices bytostate.

Google Play

Free on the App Store and Google Play

Have Paddle Safety Checklists for various paddling environments at your fingertips.

Use the Safety and Rescue How-to Videos to keep your knowledge current.

Produced by deedod

Produced by deedod

CERIUM SL Super lightweight and packable, the Cerium SL down jacket with 850 fill white goose down weighs in at 6.5 oz.

Free on the App Store and Google Play Free on the App Store and Google Play Free on the App Store and Google Play Free on the App Store and Google Play

SHOP ARC’TERYX AT GREENLIFE ADVENTURE SPORTS

GREENLIFEADVENTURESPORTS.COM 9691 W. Broad St. | Glen Allen, VA, 23060 | 804.716.8145 717 W. 21st St. | Norfolk, VA, 23517 | 757.228.1953

Blue Ridge Outdoors • RICHMOND VA EDITION

15

by JESS DADDIO

16

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

t’s not often you hear about kids finishing high school at age 15 to pursue a career as an Olympic freestyle aerial skier, especially kids from the Mid-Atlantic. That, however, is exactly what Virginia native Ashley Caldwell did.

Though the Blue Ridge is rarely recognized as a world-class skiing destination, that doesn’t mean our slopes can’t produce some top-notch shredders.

From the runs of Round Top to the routine floor at Apex Gymnastics, Caldwell’s childhood was defined by pushing limits. That’s why when she saw U.S. aerial freestyle skier Jeret “Speedy” Peterson land a triple backflip with five twists in the 2006 Winter Olympics, Caldwell’s immediate thought was, “I can do that.”

And do that she did. At age 14, Caldwell left her home in Ashburn, Va., to try out for the U.S. Olympic Ski Team in Lake Placid, N.Y. The coaches there were so impressed that they signed her on under the training of Russian coach Dmitriy Kavunov.

She moved north to train full-time and just two years later, Caldwell would become the youngest to compete on the U.S. Olympics team, placing 10th overall in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

She’s since racked up the World Cup rookie of the year for women’s aerials and two World Cup podiums (gold and silver). She’s a four-time NorAm winner, a two-time U.S. Nationals silver medalist, a 2014 U.S. National Champion, a top 10 finisher in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and the only U.S. female athlete who can land triples in competition. Even more impressive is the fact that she’s managed to accomplish all of this before becoming old enough to legally celebrate such victories with a cold beer.

Her road to success hasn’t been an easy journey, as she’ll be the first to tell you. At just 18 years old, Caldwell had already torn both of her ACLs, injuries that set her on the sidelines for two seasons. That certainly hasn’t slowed her down any, and Caldwell is well on the way to claiming her rightful spot on the podium in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

So what’s it like to be an Olympic superstar?

What does it take to launch your body over 60 feet in the air, throw a few flips and twists for good measure, and then smoothly land back on terra firma? Though Herculean in feat, Caldwell is, at the end of the day, just like any 21-year-old girl— charming, goofy, and a sucker for cookie dough.

Those jumps look scary. Do people ever think you’re crazy?

Yeah, some people don’t get why I do it. On the one hand, it is very crazy, but it’s extremely fun. I live for the fun of being scared and overcoming that fear.

So, if hurling yourself into the air doesn’t scare you, what does?

Not getting better at something—not just aerials but life.

Most of the tricks look pretty similar. Don’t you get bored?

It’s a technical sport, so you’re aiming for perfection. But yes, training the same tricks can sometimes get a little boring.

What do you do to get pumped to compete?

Honestly, nothing. I just try to be the weirdest person at the top of the hill. You can’t take it too seriously.

Really? You don’t even jam to some tunes precomp?

During training, we listen to Alt Nation. Right now my favorite song is Stolen Dance by Milky Chance.

Everybody knows I have to jump when that song comes on.

How do you fuel up for the big day? Pounds of pasta?

I’m a big fan of sweet potatoes. But also lots of cookie dough and whipped cream. I don’t know if my coach would be too psyched I said that, and I’m all for eating healthy, but I believe if you’re happy, you’re going to train better.

You’ve skied around the world. Where’s your favorite place to shred it up?

I don’t know if I could say I have a favorite, but there’s nothing like home turf (Park City, Utah).

A Day in the Life Ever wondered what happens during a dayin-the-life of an Olympic freestyle aerial skier?

According to Caldwell, it involves swimming pools and a lot of airtime.

6am: Wake up. Eat breakfast. Drink coffee… maybe.

7am: Gear up (who knew freeskiers-in-training wore wetsuits and life jackets?)

7:12am: Warm-up 8am: Begin morning water ramping session (1015 jumps—double kicker, triple flips) Noon: Meet up with coaches, snack, gear up 1pm: Begin afternoon water ramping session (10-15 jumps—double flips) 4pm: Team video critique session with coaches 5pm: Trampoline exercise for technique refining (and a little bit of fun)

What about in our neck of the woods?

I started skiing when I was around 3 years old. My dad was the one that taught me. So places like Round Top in Virginia and Snowshoe and Seven Springs, those were where my skiing really took off.

6pm: Workout—injury prevention and strength training

Do you plan on being a professional skier forever?

God I hope not. I have a degree in finance and I’d like to get my MBA in the future. My dad is into real estate development, so I want to follow in his footsteps one day.

Banks in North Carolina is awesome. I just started surfing and I love it.

What advice would you give Olympic-hopeful athletes?

Train hard, but play harder.

When you’re not on the slopes what are you doing?

Hanging out with friends. Bouncing around on a trampoline. I also like to read a lot.

Reading? Any favorite books?

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is definitely a favorite.

And Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Any words of wisdom you’ve taken away from those readings?

From the books? No. But have you ever seen How I Met Your Mother? My go-to quote comes from Barney—“Whenever I’m being lame, I just stop and be awesome instead.”

I think I know the answer to this already, but I’ll give it a whirl. What’s your favorite season?

Summer.

7pm: Dinner 9pm: Bed

Are you any good at it?

Not yet. It’s cool because it’s a lot like freestyle aerial skiing—you only get a split-second chance to do it right.

So if you had to choose, would you live on snowy slopes or in tropical bliss?

I think ideally I want to live with a few people on a beach somewhere where I can surf and read books all day.

Don’t think too hard on these—what’s your favorite TV show?

House.

Favorite Disney movie?

Mulan.

Favorite color?

Purple.

Dogs or cats?

Dogs. I’m allergic to cats. They make my eyes swell shut.

Ski hero?

Ryan St. Onge. But I may be biased. He’s my boyfriend.

How do you train in the off-season?

Trampolines, swimming pools, and videos.

Summer? That doesn’t make sense.

You’d be surprised how many winter athletes hate the cold. I love what I do, but I wish I could do it at a beach.

Somewhere you want to ski but haven’t yet?

Anywhere in the Swiss Alps. Or the backcountry of Alaska. That’d be sweet.

What’s your signature trick? Full full full. That's a triple flip with three twists.

The beach, huh? So what’s your favorite beach?

I would say Hawaii, but that’s not fair. The Outer

Coffee or hot chocolate?

Coffee. But with extra whipped cream. • DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

17

GIVE THE GIFT OF THIS YEAR. FIND MEN AND WOMEN’S PULLOVERS AT WALKABOUT OUTFITTER

YOU COULD BE HERE.

MEN’S SYNCHILLA® SNAP-T® FLEECE PULLOVER The pullover that made fleece famous; in warm, durable polyester fleece with the classic snap pocket and placket.

IT’S YOUR LIFE. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT? WOMEN’S RE-TOOL SNAP-T® FLEECE PULLOVER Made of Polartec® Thermal Pro® polyester (51% recycled) fleece this quintessential fleece pullover has feminine seaming and pouch-style handwarmer pockets.

Adios Adventure Travel satisfies the yearning for authentic, life-changing travel adventures.

Machu Picchu • The Amazon Jungle • Lake Titicaca • Bolivia Salt Flats The Galapagos Islands • Ecuador Adventure Cruise. adiosadventuretravel.com • 757.304.8002 Adios Adventure Travel

WALKABOUTOUTFITTER.COM

Give the gift of P E A C E

O F

M I N D

Support the American Alpine Club this holiday season. Sign up yourself or a loved one for $5 off. Members are automatically T enrolled E X T for $10,000 of rescue coverage, 20% discounts on Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear, and much more.

shop.americanalpineclub.org 1. Select from Gift Membership options 2. Enter BRO14NE at checkout for $5 off

LODGING

18

RICHMOND VA EDITION • Blue Ridge Outdoors

RESCUE

$

DISCOUNTS

$

BETA

GRANTS

PUBLICATIONS

IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY

ROSS LANDINO

by JESS DADDIO

hen you see accomplished athletes, do you ever wonder how they got there? What their upbringing was like? Whether their parents led by example or lived vicariously through their children?

Have you ever pondered whether a tendency toward adventure is acquired through nature or nurture?

As I sat below Sweet’s Falls on the Upper Gauley, watching a kid no older than ten years old style the class IV rapid in his toy-sized playboat, I wondered those exact things. At first, I thought his parents must be either clueless or negligent or both. But when I saw the boy fist-bump a man I assumed to be his father in the eddy below, I had a change of heart.

How cool, I thought to myself. What better way to bond with your son than by leading him down one of the best stretches of whitewater in the world?

Seeing the father-son duo got me thinking about my own upbringing and my introduction to the world of adventure. Though I certainly know a number of professional athletes who don’t take after anyone in their family, the majority of outdoor enthusiasts I know can trace their love of adventure to childhood memories of camping trips.

The following four families are rooted in adventure. They spend more time in the woods than at the dinner table. Their weekends are spent on the river and at the crag. From rippers-in-training to sponsored athletes, see what these four families have to say about passing the torch, the lessons they’ve learned, and what a little playtime can do for a family.

THE JACKSON FAMILY BOONE, N.C.

For father and teacher Kristian Jackson, riding bikes isn’t just a hobby—it’s been a lifelong love affair and a defining part of his character.

“From a very early age I was playing in the woods,” Kristian remembers. “I grew up riding and working on bikes for as long as I can remember.”

That happened, in part, because Kristian’s father himself was in the bike industry. Inevitably, biking went hand in hand with the Jackson family outings.

A vacation was never complete until Kristian and his father were in the saddle.

“Riding bikes was kind of ingrained into our camping trips,” he says. “It was a normal thing for us.”

Normal, despite the fact that Kristian was a

WITH ROCKY KNOB MOUNTAIN BIKE PARK AND BEECH MOUNTAIN RESORT RIGHT OUT THEIR BACKYARD, AFTERNOON SHRED SESSIONS ARE A DAILY STAPLE OF THE JACKSON FAMILY.

young child during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, a time when mountain biking was practically nonexistent and outdoor recreation in general was just starting to boom. Still, Kristian maintained that early love of the outdoors and went on to guide and instruct for organizations like Outward Bound.

He now teaches mountain biking at Appalachian State University and has become one of the pivotal members of the Boone riding community, helping to design and execute plans for Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park in town.

His wife Alecia, who has also worked at Outward Bound and now teaches at the university, is an endurance trail runner on top of being a fulltime mom, advisor, and professor. Endurance training translates to six hours a week running in the woods when she’s not teaching or helping Kristian care for their two children—nine-year-old Silas and six-year-old Jude. Despite their hectic schedules, Alecia knows that time outdoors is nonnegotiable, both for her children and herself.

“This time and space [in the woods] is DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

19

FROM THE RIVERS TO THE CRAGS AND BACK AGAIN, THE DAVIS CLAN KNOWS HOW TO RIP IT ON EVERYTHING FROM DIRT BIKES TO KAYAKS.

important and I protect it,” Alecia says. “There is nothing more fulfilling than a long trail run under a canopy of trees, accompanied by birds, chipmunks, and the occasional deer.”

While Silas and Jude don’t necessarily share their mother’s fondness for long-distance running, they certainly exhibit her love of the outdoors.

Mostly though, it’s their father who they best relate to, particularly when it comes to playing outside.

“Why do you like riding bikes?” Kristian asks his oldest, Silas.

“Because they can get you places faster than walking or running and it’s fun,” Silas responds.

In the past year, Silas has started downhill racing nearby at Beech Mountain for a youth team based out of Banner Elk. Kristian says that, though he’s proud of both Silas and Jude for their interest in biking, it was never something he and Alecia had intentionally planned.

“If you asked me 10 years ago if my son was going to race mountain bikes, I’d say, ‘No, I don’t want him to,’” Kristian says, “but you’re a product of your environment.”

“I want my children to have a relationship with the natural world,” Alecia adds. “It is necessary for my children to have a sense of their bodies in a wider space that is infinite—a deep connection to place is fostered in outside enjoyment.”

That connection to place is something both Silas and Jude have already adapted, despite their young age. When asked about their favorite outdoor activity, the pair responded with the same answer: riding bikes at Beech Mountain and Rocky Knob

20

Park, both of which happen to be in their backyard.

“It’s to the point now where I’m definitely seeing that there will be a day when they are faster and stronger than me,” Kristian says, with a tinge of sadness. “Just five years ago I was whining because I thought they’d never be big enough to ride trails and long distances. Now I’m not ready for that.”

Kristian and Alecia agree that, in an age when technology has become nearly inescapable, finding balance is one of the biggest challenges of parenting.

“It's easy to cite the interference of technology as an affront to being in the outdoors,” Kristian says. “Today we, not just kids, are all easily enamored by our gadgets. Our challenge as a family is more about balance. Being outdoors for us means learning about and being subject to the natural world and its timeline, but this is often in conflict with schedules—school, soccer, piano, art.

Even when we're out biking, it's often [during] a structured time with obligations at either end. It’s hard within this structure to be in tune with the outdoors.”

Though both Kristian and Alecia work hard to instill the importance of nature in their children’s lives, sometimes the simple act of discovery is lost in the commotion of day-to-day life. During a recent outing however, Kristian says Silas reminded him of that very thing when they stopped mid-ride to fix a flat. Silas, who noticed their pit stop happened to be in a field full of buckeyes, began collecting the flowers in an effort to gauge how many buckeyes

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

FAMILY PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAVIS

could come from one pod.

“At first, I saw our riding time disappearing,” Kristian says. “Then I saw the inquiry and was reminded that mountain biking should be as much exploration of the natural world as distance or achieving goals. This is one of the great rewards of parenting—children will teach if you let them.”

THE DAVIS FAMILY BIRMINGHAM, ALA.

Dusty Davis never went camping as a kid.

His father wasn’t outdoorsy. His mother, the quintessential Southern belle. So how did this Alabama boy go from a relatively traditional childhood to becoming the Oregon state mountain biking champion and an accomplished climber, kayaker, and all-around outdoorsman?

“Boy Scouts,” Dusty says. “But I also had a brother and we were always doing stuff outside.

We’d find a piece of wood, build a ramp, and jump our bikes off it till we broke something.”

It’s that spirit of adventure, that scrape-yourknee method of learning, which steered Dusty throughout his early 20s. From Falling Creek Camp in western North Carolina to the University of Oregon, Dusty and his wife Mary Lou were able to work for a number of organizations that fed their passion for the outdoors. When they weren’t working, the couple was traveling through the West to climb some of the tallest peaks in the country, from the 14ers of Colorado to the big walls of California.

THE FUSILLI FAMILY SUFFERS FROM A SEVERE CASE OF WHITEWATER FEVER. THE ONLY REMEDY? MORE WHITEWATER. PHOTOS COURTESY OF FUSILLI FAMILY

In the late ‘80s, both Dusty and Mary Lou took a break from the climbing scene to begin cycling competitively. Although Mary Lou gave birth to their firstborn son, Cole, shortly after in 1990 and had to discontinue competing, Dusty kept racing. “[Having Cole] was fun and novel at first,” he says. “We traveled around, just the three of us. It was a blast. But after we had two more kids, Mary Lou didn’t come to races quite as much.”

It was in 1996, at the peak of his career, after claiming two back-to-back Oregon state championships in mountain biking and securing a name for himself among the upper echelon of riders (so much so, in fact, that he was asked to carry the Olympic torch in Atlanta), that Dusty decided to quit it all and focus on one thing: family.

“The nature of racing is that you can’t halfway do it,” he says. “You’re either in or out. At times, I’d think ‘how did I ever give this racing up?’ but there are times for everything.”

With rigid training schedules and weekend competitions out of the way, Dusty and Mary Lou were able to put that free time toward strengthening their family’s bond. From the crags to the rivers and back again, Dusty and Mary Lou were rarely seen without their three children—Cole, Honey, and Cricket—in tow.

“I think there are a lot of myths about having kids, like ‘oh it will change your life,’ or something,” Dusty says. “But we just grabbed their car seats and took them to the rocks with us. It was harder, but it was fun seeing their eyes of wonder.”

Now 19, the middle child and only daughter,

Hannah (or Honey as she is mostly known), has grown into a young woman who truly embodies that sense of childish wonder. Proficient in climbing, mountain biking, and dirt bike riding (just to name a few), Honey’s badassery lies beneath the surface of a humble and loving persona that matches her nickname. Honey takes after her parents in that, when she’s not in school, she’s working for Camp Illahee, the sister camp to Falling Creek where her father began developing his own love of adventure sports.

“I have some of the best parents ever,” Honey says with pride. “I love how real they were with us, how they included us in everything fun they did.

They brought us up together to be best friends.”

“We actually chose to not ever have a TV,” Dusty adds. “Doing things with other people is so important—that’s how relationships really get forged. If we’re outside having to solve problems together, maybe we had to deal with mosquitoes or pick ticks off each other, or maybe we ran out of food, but we do all of that together. I think those experiences do way more than just dropping the kids off at practice.”

Honey says that growing up with such a lifestyle was liberating and, surprisingly more fun than hanging out with her girlfriends even. But that’s not to say there was anything easy about it.

“One of the challenging things [about my childhood] was learning to be tough,” she says. “In the end, it taught me that there are bigger things than scrapes and bruises. Now I love that feeling of pushing yourself to your limits, but also overcoming

and failing and learning to pursue and continue on.”

From slacklining and snowboarding in New Zealand to surfing in Mexico and regular weekend climbing trips to the Linville Gorge, whether all five members of the Davis clan are together or not, one of them is doing something outside nearly every day. But it’s not just about shredding power and sending routes that are important to the Davis family. Though that was certainly a byproduct of their outdoor excursions, Honey says that one of the most important lessons she took away from her parents’ guidance was that through the outdoors, one could continue to be a student of life indefinitely.

“Bringing us outside and doing adventures with us was such an escape from an otherwise mundane life,” she says. “It took you out of your box, out of your suburban bubble. [My parents] prepared me to go out into the world and not be so self-focused, so caught up in this small view of the world, and to be more free from it.”

THE FUSILLI FAMILY CLARION, PENN.

When you grow up on the river, chances are you’ll never leave it. At least, that’s how it’s been for David, Carly, and Rob Fusilli.

“To my knowledge, Dad wanted us all to be kayakers,” says David, a professional kayaker and team manager for Pyranha Kayaks.

“I’ve always been supportive of it,” adds David’s father, David Sr. (more appropriately known DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

21

AN MARTIN RADIG

WITH PARENTS THAT RUN A CROSSCOUNTRY SKI TOURING CENTER, IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE THAT THE CHASE FAMILY BOYS CAME OUT OF THE WOMB DROPPIN' KNEES.

ILY Y OF CHASE FAM PHOTOS COURTES MARTIN RADI GAN

as Big Dave). “We hoped that he would hit big with it and do well and he has. But in anything that you’re doing, you gotta progress and take the next step.”

Big Dave is no stranger to that progression or the numerous class V steep creeks and high volume rivers that his kids have been paddling for nearly 20 years. In fact, Big Dave was the first Fusilli to catch whitewater fever. In the mid-‘70s, he enrolled in an introductory kayaking course taught by paddling legend John Sweet (for whom Sweet’s Falls on the Upper Gauley is named). From there, he slowly built upon his skills on the Lower Youghiogheny River in a homemade fiberglass boat.

“It was not an easy thing to get into back in those days,” Big Dave says. “I sorta did it by myself.”

Big Dave came to kayaking later in life than most. By the time he was upping his game and paddling harder runs like the Upper Youghiogheny, Big Sandy, and the notoriously dangerous Upper Blackwater, Big Dave was over 30. His wife, Kris, enjoyed joining her husband on rafting trips and had even gained enough boat maneuvering skills to paddle the Lower Youghiogheny. In all, she supported Big Dave’s newfound love—“except the time I was pregnant with David and he left me to go paddling while I was in labor,” Kris says. “He just said, ‘I’ll be back in a little bit. You’ll be okay.’”

“Ah come on, it was Mill Creek—it was just over the hill!” Big Dave cries out in defense.

The year was 1981. Soon after, Carly and Rob

22

were born, and Big Dave decided to change his focus from developing his own skillset to fostering a love of kayaking in his own children, a mission he tried in vain for the first 18 years of their lives.

“I was scared of kayaking early on,” admits Rob, the youngest of the three. “I remember swimming and getting knocked over by a tree limb and not being able to get out of my boat—” “Well, that’ll happen when you’re eight years old,” Big Dave intervenes.

“We used to take kayaking clinics on Slippery Rock nearby,” continues David. “The instructor was making us peel out into the current and I remember being scared. Everything I paddled with was beater. The skirt was homemade, the boat was homemade, the life jacket, the helmet…”

“I’m still afraid of Slippery Rock,” Carly chimes in. “Every time I get on that river, I’m eight years old again and hating kayaking.”

Most of the Fusilli family’s memories of boating sound a lot like this and are riddled with entertaining tales of epic floods, questionable judgment, and, ultimately, one-helluva-good-story.

Though the children were initially resistant to joining their father and his paddling buddies on the water, they had a change of heart after high school, especially once David started raft guiding locally on the Youghiogheny River. Carly and Rob were quick to follow David’s example, and both David and Rob would go on to guide out west on the Arkansas for a number of seasons.

Since then, the three Fusilli siblings have

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

continued to paddle together, whether it’s standup paddleboarding in their stomping grounds on the Clarion River or cranking out a 14-day selfsupported kayaking trip through the Grand Canyon.

Though initially the one who liked kayaking the least, Rob in particular has taken leaps and bounds in his paddling career and regularly accompanies his older brother down some of the most difficult runs in the East.

“Rob and I have been paddling the hardest stuff we can find, and it’s special but it’s kinda scary too,” David says. “The most fun times I can think of are the runs I know Rob’s kicking ass right behind me.”

“A love of adventure is kinda embedded into us,” Carly adds. “We’re never on the beaten path.”

David joined Pyranha Kayaks’ elite paddling team in 2006 and has been touring for the company ever since. He’s kayaked all over the United States as well as Canada, Chile, Argentina, Austria, Ecuador, and Uganda. His most recent claim-tofame came in 2013 when David executed the perfect rescue above a 60-foot waterfall, saving his friend and fellow team member Bren Orton from a likely fatal swim. David happened to be filming with his GoPro at the time and captured the entire rescue, a video that went viral in the span of 24 hours.

“We all grew up in a cemetery,” David says in reference to the Fusilli’s family business.

“We’ve all dug graves our whole lives, so I think subconsciously, it for sure affected us. Our parents

taught us that you better get out there and enjoy yourself.”

“That and to not be crybabies,” adds Momma Fusilli.

THE CHASE FAMILY DAVIS, W.VA.

It’s nearly impossible to mention teleskiing in the East without hearing one man’s name time and again: Chip Chase. He’s the head honcho at White Grass Ski Touring Center in Canaan Valley, W.Va., and has been helping visitors to White Grass get on cross-country skis since the center’s opening in 1981. While Chip is certainly the face of White Grass, at its core is his powder-loving family and, in particular, his three sons—Cory, Adam, and Morgan.

“From the first time they walked, they skied,” Chip says. “They were skiing in the womb, then they were skiing on my shoulders, then on our backs.”

“There are pictures of us walking around the house in skis,” adds Cory, the oldest brother in the family.

“Skiing was one of those things where it was like second nature,” says Adam, the second oldest of the crew. “It’s so innate.”

Chip came to Canaan Valley in the late ‘70s with a Vermont-bred love of telemark skiing already instilled in him. Two years after he and his wife Laurie (the White Grass Café chef extraordinaire) opened White Grass, Cory was born and the touring center became entirely family-focused.

“Because we had kids that skied, it legitimized

White Grass and helped us nurture the family,” Chip says. “We became a family-oriented operation through our own family. We were young when White Grass was young so we were able to streamline it right off the bat.”

Though the boys all tried their hand at both snowboarding and alpine skiing and even raced on the local ski team in Davis, there was something about the freedom of telemark that always spoke to them. Eventually, the boys started showing up to downhill practice in their teleskis, but when their coaches said they had to go alpine or go home, they went home.

“We’d get into trouble at practice because we’d be ducking into the treeline and jumping off stuff,” Adam remembers. “It seemed crazy that we were getting into trouble for just wanting to have fun.

We weren’t super competitive—it was more of a lifestyle.”

Given the remote nature of Canaan Valley, that lifestyle was one that provided a lot of freedom, especially in the wintertime. Left to their own devices while Chip and Laurie worked night and day at White Grass, the boys passed the time by carving out snow tunnels in the drifts, building ski jumps, and pull-skiing (usually at night and with the help of a friend’s pickup truck).

“I remember being really young and hearing my dad tell us we could stay home from school, but only if we went skiing,” says Morgan, the youngest of the bunch.

Despite the fact that the Chase boys were practically raised on skis, they were not exempt from indulging in typical teenage boy pastimes like

video games. According to their parents, though, Nintendo never stood a chance against a solid powder day.

“There was never an issue with too many video games,” Chip remembers. “It was a short-lived phase. Now, none of them are all into their phones.

They’re computer-literate, but they’re balanced and it doesn’t eat them up.”

Instead of phones, computers, and televisions, the Chase boys had something astronomically more valuable: they had people. They had live music, reunions with old friends, celebrations with new ones. There was never a dull day at White Grass during the winter. Even after a long day at the lodge, Chip would always make time to take the boys out for a night ski, usually under the light of a full moon.

“No headlamps needed,” Cory adds. “The mountain was ours. That’s when you realize how lucky you are to have been raised in a Nordic heaven.”

The boys all agree that those rowdy nights spent at the café eating their mother’s food and watching their father work the crowd were equally special to them as the long hours of quiet bliss skating beneath the stars. Though it would seem logical for the Chase boys to move on from Canaan Valley and become sponsored skiers or even ski instructors, they’ve all chosen to keep their passion for skiing as such.

“I inherited skiing as a tradition and that will always be in me,” Morgan says. “Any time I’m on my skis, I’ll be tapping into my home and my past, and that is such a beautiful thing.” •

100% Eco-Friendly Made from Recycled Cotton and Recycled Water Bottles

100% made in the u.s.a.

MAST GENERAL STORE - 630 W. KING ST. BOONE, NC MAST GENERAL STORE - 63 N. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE, NC MAST GENERAL STORE - 15 BILTMORE AVE. ASHEVILLE, NC COOK’S - 1402 WILLOW LANE, NORTH WILKESBORO, NC

DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

23

Road Life 101

by JESS DADDIO

o you follow the Van Life blog? What about Foster Huntington’s photo book, Home Is Where You Park It? I bet you own a copy.

You might have even supported his Kickstarter. Did you bookmark that episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous featuring climber Alex Honnold’s Ford Econoline E150? Or do you find yourself sometimes (just occasionally) cyber-stalking your friend’s cousin’s buddy’s Instagram feed? You know, the one that lives out of the back of his pickup so he can park and huck waterfalls full-time?

It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re a restless spirit, a modern day gypsy-at-heart, a wandering soul stuck between four walls with a fire in your belly and an itch you can’t scratch. There’s something about a life on the road that doesn’t just speak to you—it kicks and screams, and it’s becoming increasingly hard to shut out. It’s telling you to just say, “screw it”, pack the car, and hit the road.

My job here is to tell you one thing: do it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing easy about a wayfaring lifestyle. Logistics you ordinarily would never think twice of, like where you’re going to sleep, when/if you’re going to shower, become the uncertainties of your day. Finding a good cup of coffee or doing a load of laundry can morph from a simple chore into an all-day mission.

For an unprepared road warrior, it won’t take long before you find yourself stranded with a flat tire in a cell phone dead zone with no food and no plan B. It’s moments like these that can make or break a rookie roadie. That’s why it’s important to consider the following ten things before you give up your place for good and embrace the open road.

Toyota Tacomas, Chevy Astro vans, and even Subaru Outbacks, but I’ve had friends who have lived out of something as small as a two-door sedan. There’s no one best vehicle for this kind of thing, but just be mindful that, yes, the larger the automobile, the more space you’ll have. But on the flip side, you’ll also be spending more time at the pump wondering where those hard-earned dollars went.

you respond with where you’re from. Don’t just bum things off your friends either. Make an effort to hang out, buy a round of drinks, or offer to cook meals if you’re couch surfing for a night or six.

2. Have a buffer fund. You don’t touch it, you don’t even look at it unless you really need to, but it’s nice to have a separate fund for when SHTF (sh*t hits the fan). Maybe it’s a flat tire, a dead alternator, new brakes, or a hotel room for the night. Whatever the emergency, it’s a good idea to have some money already set aside to take care of it.

7. Go the extra mile to stay organized.

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to lose things even in such a confined space—headlamps, wallets, rogue pairs of socks. Those things fit perfectly in between the seats. The less junk you have floating around, the more likely you’ll be able to find it when you need it.

Have a bag always packed with the essentials for a night of couch surfing—some clean clothes, a toothbrush, maybe even a little deodorant.

Everything else should be packed away into storage bins—one for camping gear, one for shoes, one for climbing ropes. You get the picture. Find your system and stick with it.

1. Find a set of wheels. Bigger is not necessarily better. The key here is finding a vehicle that’s reliable.

It’s not enough anymore that the third-owner beater you bought for $700 off Craigslist can get you from point A to point B—this thing has to be your home.

Staple mobile pads of the dirtbag world include

5. Don’t contribute to the dirtbag stereotype.

Showers are not that hard to come by. If you’re really out there, a lake or river will suffice. Just make an attempt, and brush your hair. It’s one thing to look like you’re living out of your car. It’s another to look relatively “normal” and surprise people when

24

3. Purge your belongings. Twice. The reality of living on the road is that you’re never more than a day’s drive from anything you might need.

Consequently, you don’t really need much. A few pairs of clothes, snacks for the road, the gear you need to go outside and play. The less you have, the less you’re at risk of losing or having stolen.

That being said, sometimes it’s nice to have stuff like coffee cups and Christmas lights to make your vehicle feel less like transportation and more like home.

4. Use your network. It’s a fact—former roadies help current ones. It’s like an unspoken code.

Chances are, you know more people than you think you do, too. One connection, no matter how far removed, can be a saving grace when you find yourself in a pickle.

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

6. Learn to cook. Eventually you will get tired of eating out every single day. If you don’t, your wallet surely will.

8. Take the scenic route. The hare never won the race. Quick and easy might be quick and easy, but realistically, how authentic of a Sunday driving experience are you going to get blasting down I-40?

Take backcountry roads and you could be rewarded with off-the-beaten-path overlooks, hole-in-the-wall diners, and some downright bizarre sights.

9. Bring an atlas. Always. Your smartphone doesn’t work everywhere. Don’t rely on that beeping blue beacon to get you anywhere.

10. Carry cash. You might find it surprising how many places don’t accept anything rectangular and plastic. The last thing you want is to end up at a campground in the middle of nowhere and have the host tell you the nearest ATM is 30 miles back in the direction you just came from. •

621 STUDIOS

Animal, Vegetable, Restaurant Barbara Kingsolver and Steven Hopp’s Farm-to-Table Experiment in Abingdon

by ERIC J. WALLACE

n the outskirts of Abingdon, Va., lies the most dedicated farm-to-table restaurant in the South. Founded by Barbara Kingsolver and her husband Steven Hopp, Harvest Table sources its food less than two miles from its sister farm—yes, that farm — the one featured in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Harvest Table also works with over 50 local farmers to meet additional needs and demands, and in so doing, slashes its carbon footprint while securing the freshest, most delectable produce available.

All of that produce ends up in the hands of culinary wizard Phillip Newton. In a 2011 New York Times review, Newton’s menu of year-round seasonal, regional cuisine was described as being so good it would “make Harvest Table an instant hit in a progressive, urban enclave like Brooklyn or Berkeley, California.”

But the restaurant itself is uniquely Appalachian.

The gorgeously renovated dining room features wide-plank, locally salvaged hardwood floors, street fronting plate-glass windows, custom-carpentered tables and bar, and an open kitchen featuring a pizza oven crafted of bricks repurposed from a century-old chimney.

“Harvest Table is, at heart, the outgrowth of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” says Hopp, professor of

environmental studies at Emory & Henry College.

“It’s sold over a million copies and more-or-less subsidizes the restaurant.”

In 2005, Hopp, Kingsolver, and their family (daughters Camille and Lily) engaged in a somewhat radical experiment. Sick of the artificial and unsustainable lifestyle inherent to living in that manmade, oasis-in-the-heart-of-the-desert behemoth, Tucson, Arizona, and wooed by the promise of a wholesome, country life, the family cut out for Hopp’s Blue Ridge Mountain homestead.

Nestled in the backwoods of rural southwestern Virginia, the property would provide the family with a means of getting back into the flow of seasons and reconnecting with that great and often overlooked sustainer of life, the land.

Over the course of the ensuing year, Hopp and Kingsolver vowed to grow as much of their own food as possible. Could they live completely from what they could grow or buy locally at the farmer’s market? Each family member was granted a freepass, non-local selection for the year. Steven, for instance, opted for fair-trade, organic coffee. But for everything else, the family would eat locally and seasonally. The resulting experience was so fundamentally game-changing that Kingsolver and Hopp were compelled to craft a book: 2007’s

wildly successful New York Times bestseller, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a nonfiction mash-up consisting of memoir, food writing, science-backed environmental and agricultural poliitics.

Buoyed by the success of the book, Hopp decided to up the ante. Why not carry the dinelocally-by-the-seasons experiment a giant’s step further? Thus, Harvest Table was born.

“We’re looking to find a way to bolster the local economy and, in so doing, foster community,” says Hopp. “This is traditionally a farming region, but, in order to make a substantive living, these small, family farmers require a new model. That’s what we’re hoping this restaurant can help provide.”

Much of the restaurant’s produce is grown at the Kingsolver-Hopp family farm, a 4.5-acre homestead positioned on a mildly sloping hillside. Sam Eubanks, an App State graduate in agro ecology and sustainable development, manages the farm’s operations.

“Here we utilize every square inch of what is, acreage wise, a fairly small tract of land,” says Eubanks. Freshly returned from the town-over farmers’ market, she was wearing a pair of colorful, patchwork overalls and handmade, locally crafted earrings. She pointed out rows of vegetation contoured across the hillside to check erosion and DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

25

maximize planting space. Hoop houses were chock full of staked, vertically grown heirloom tomatoes.

Equipment barns doubled as curing facilities for garlic, onions, and potatoes.

While the farm is gunning for ultra-premium efficiency, it is also seeking to create an ecosystem.

Take, for example, the beneficial insects garden, marked by a hand-painted sign flanking an array of brightly flowering, dazzlingly colored shrubs and bushes. “Aren’t you supposed to be growing food?”

I asked.

“That garden helps the food grow,” said Eubanks. “Not only do those flowers bring in bees and other insects to pollinate the crops, they also attract insects that eat pests instead of the produce.”

That same symbiosis is at work in the restaurant, where Eubanks and 50 other local farmers work closely with chef Phillip Newton. A big man with broad shoulders, dark eyes, and a salt-and-pepper streaked goatee, Newton explains that Eubanks is “constantly updating me on what’s happening on the front lines—who’s got what coming in, when it’ll be available, what to expect next week.”

Prior to each season’s planting, Newton and Eubanks plan what and how much of each particular crop they’ll be growing at the farm. Then Eubanks begins contacting other local farmers to determine who can fill the gaps.

“We want to serve as an example for the present, but also create a model for the future, when the system of transporting vast quantities of produce thousands and thousands of miles isn’t possible anymore,” says Eubanks. •

FREESTYLE DOUBLE CROSS wintergreen resort

January 25, 2015 FREESTYLEONLINE.COM

Open to Skiers and Snowboarders!

26

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

Stuck in the Mud

by JEFF KINNEY

“It’s just like delivering a placenta,” my brother-in-law, a doctor, says helpfully.

I fail to see the humor.

Dan and I are trudging through the Alaskan bush on the Canoe Portage From Hell, trying to keep phalanxes of black flies from chomping our exposed skin and boardstiff alder branches from whipping our faces. Moments before, our torturously slow slog ground to a halt when I planted one of my crutches in the wrong spot and leaned on it, hard. The smooth metal shaft promptly sank two feet into the state’s infamous “suck mud,” and my heart sank with it. I tugged gingerly and heard just what I expected: the distinctive slurp of the rubber tip being suctioned off and entombed in the muck. Without their tips, my custom-made titanium crutches were useless on the soft terrain, like trying to posthole through deep snow on stilts.

So now I’m up to my elbow in the ooze and groping blindly—hence the obstetrics joke—while the flies drink deeply from their stationary target. Suddenly, my fingers brush something hard… and immediately slip off. I probe again, stretching, clawing, swatting at my winged tormentors with the other hand, which comes away blood-streaked as I smash their engorged bodies against my skin. This time my grip holds, and I finally manage to free the critical piece of equipment.

Our goal is to circumvent a difficult rapid that rips a frothy white gash through a remote river in a corner of Alaska that tourists rarely visit. Because I was born with spina bifida and am partially paralyzed from the waist down, the portage is taking a while, to put it mildly—eight hours so far, hauling gear through dense vegetation devoid of anything resembling a trail, in prime grizzly bear habitat.

Visibility is only a few feet in many places, which means that surprising one of the beasts is a distinct possibility. It has taken me 20 minutes to crutch, stumble, claw, and crawl the last 20 feet, and suck mud, downed trees, grabby vines, and spiny alder stretch as far as we can see. Not to mention that we barely know where we’re going or how far it is back to the river. Discouragement begins to descend like an Alaskan squall.

Sometimes I ask myself why I do this stuff.

What’s the point of a grueling portage when, even on a paved surface, a mile for me feels like five

or 10 for most people? Why kayak or scuba dive, when just hauling my gear to the water can leave me exhausted? Why crank a 33-pound handcycle up punishing hills?

Today, I’m intensively reevaluating my decision to trudge waist-deep through a mini-swamp filled with rainwater, mud, and shattered branches. At any moment I expect a 900-pound grizzly to spring from the woods and swipe me dead with a platesized paw. Meanwhile, Dan labors somewhere behind, heroically schlepping our folding Ally canoe and the other gear that I can’t carry. Which is all of it. The thought is emasculating, and it resurrects unpleasant memories from my youth. Like sitting alone in the grass at recess while my classmates played a giddy game of kickball. Or searching lists of extracurricular activities for something validating, something I could be good at, but finding only sports.

And then there was that unforgettable blue-sky day in the fourth grade. I was playing alone in the schoolyard near a group of cute pre-pubescent girls who were chattering about secret girl stuff.

“Shhhh!” one giggled. “Someone might hear!”

“Oh, there aren’t any boys around,” another said.

“Unless you count Jeff.”

The afternoon shadows are growing longer, and still there’s neither sight nor sound of the river. At some point Dan materializes out of the woods after a scouting mission.

“I think I heard it,” he says.

I look skeptical.

“No, really. About a halfmile through those trees.” He points. “See that tall spindly one? Head to the left of it.”

I squint into the bush, trying to pick out said tree from hundreds of others.

I’m from Maryland, where trees along trails in public parks are smeared with blue blazes every 10 feet or so, in case you think the wide, sidewalk-like path in front of you is naturally occurring. So my navigational skills aren’t exactly Shackletonian.

“Go on,” Dan says. “I’ll get the rest of the gear.”

My mood doesn’t really improve with Dan’s discovery.

A half-mile on this demonic obstacle course might as well be 20, and even if we make it to the river, who knows if we’ll have skirted the rapid? At the same time, we can’t exactly hunker down for the night in a fly-infested alder thicket. So I press on, straining to discern the course Dan pointed out through the trackless terrain. And then…

A low, indistinct sound, like white noise. But not the wind. Rushing water. Another hundred feet, and the forest gives way to dazzling, warm-hued sunlight glinting off the churn and froth of a swift but manageable current. I collapse at the river’s edge and plunge my face into the bracing, gin-clear liquid, giardia or not. I expect a wash of euphoria or exhilaration or something, but mostly there’s relief—relief for finishing the task uneaten by large carnivores, and, except for some blood donated to the bugs, largely unscathed.

Looking back conjures a keen sense of joy and personal accomplishment that went missing in the heat of the moment. At the same time, I’m reminded of something that too often gets lost in the noise: the futility of trying to be the toughest, the smartest, the most accomplished. Chase those things, it seems, and only madness awaits. For me, the wiser goal is to use whatever I’ve been given to the fullest, to play the hand I’ve been dealt rather than coveting someone else’s. There in the Alaskan bush, I like to think I took a step or three in that direction—with or without my crutch tips. • DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

27

The Long Way Back

by JACKSON BUCHMAN ave you ever been lost in the woods?

Sometimes it can take a while before you know you’re really lost. Then panic sets in when you can't find the way out on your own.

Many years ago, I was lost—not in the woods but in my own mind. I struggled with feelings of rejection and an inability to like myself. I made some bad decisions. Then, shortly after my 19th birthday, I found myself running through the woods. I wasn't running for good health or recreation or participating in some outdoor activity. I was running for my life and scared out of my mind. Several jurisdictions of law enforcement were chasing me, including armed men, dogs, and a helicopter.

I had been the subject of a sting operation in which I was set up selling guns to undercover police officers, and momentarily, I had slipped through their grasp. I remember that night clearly. After running for a long time, I had to stop for a minute and catch my breath. I remember bending over and putting my hands on my knees, looking around the woods and thinking, “What am I doing? How did I screw my life up so horribly?” I was scared. The darkness that surrounded those woods couldn’t compare to the darkness I felt inside.

Yet that moment in those woods was also the first moment of clarity I had in some time. I finally saw how out of control my life had become. Law enforcement closed in on me, and I realized that this was the end of my life as I knew it. There was no looking forward to a picnic, a visit with my family, a date with a pretty girl. There was no tomorrow.

The courts sentenced me to 13 years in prison, and I spent a portion of that in a maximum security facility. While there, I met men who would never see freedom. My own cellmate had 800 years for multiple counts of murder. When you spend time in prison, it’s not uncommon to re-live every day of freedom you can remember. Often my mind returned to simpler days of camping as a

28

young boy and exploring the woods with friends and family. I longed for the peacefulness of the outdoors. Sometimes, when allowed to go outside for recreation, I would close my eyes and imagine myself walking through the woods. I could smell the pine, hear the wind in the trees, and feel the freedom of the wild woods.

If I am honest, I really grew up in prison. The lessons I learned while serving my sentence are invaluable to me today: Don’t take my freedom for granted. The world doesn’t owe me anything. And there must be a God because there is no other explanation as to why I’m still alive.

On a cold snowy day in January, I was released from prison after six long years. Snow was falling as I rode toward home outside of Richmond, Va. As .flakes fell over the city, everything looked new and clean. I had so many feelings going through my head. I was frightened that I couldn’t make it in this world. Part of me felt like I didn’t belong out here. But I was relieved to finally be out of prison.

My expectations weren’t high; I simply didn’t want to return to prison, and I certainly didn’t want to get lost again.

The first year out was difficult. It was a struggle to overcome a prison mentality. Fortunately, in that first year, I met the woman who would become my wife.

Several years later we had a son.

It’s been many years since that night in the woods, but those memories keep me from ever getting lost in my life like that. I’ve spent many years volunteering to help others who are lost, worked at a local rescue mission, and went back to school to get a master’s degree.

When I finally returned to the woods—without being chased this time—I was hiking a trail at Pocahontas State Park. The memories of standing in the prison yard imagining the forest returned. Just as I had done so many times in prison, I closed my eyes and smelled the pine, listened to the wind in

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

the trees, and felt tears rolling down my face as the sense of freedom overwhelmed me.

These days, I spend much of my free time camping, hiking, and fishing in the Jefferson and George Washington National Forest. About ten years ago I took up fly fishing and have become very passionate about the sport. However, the outdoors is more than a sporting excursion. For me, it’s spiritual. In difficult times, it is a place to connect with myself and with God. I usually leave the woods with a clearer vision of life than when I entered.

Whether I’m wading in a trout stream or hiking to a summit, there is this freedom I feel that I can’t experience anywhere else. It is therapeutic. It has helped me heal. It has shown me the way home. •

YOU LIKE IT. YOU LOVE IT. YOU WANT MORE OF IT. Check out BRO's Colorado-based sister mag, Elevation Outdoors!

B LU ER I D G EO U T D O O R S .C O M

EL E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S .C O M

go outside and play.

C U LT U R E B I N

TRAIL MIX

Hard Work Fuels the Mantras Endless Jam Quest

by JEDD FERRIS

NEW YEAR'S EVE SHOWS IN THE SOUTH Avett Brothers PNC Arena – Raleigh, NC North Carolina’s native sons will play another big arena show to close the year, this time bringing the party to the capital city at Raleigh’s PNC Arena.

hen reached at home in Greensboro, N.C., The Mantras guitarist and vocalist Keith Allen is deep in rehearsals for his band’s Halloween show. It’s a sacred holiday in the jam band world, when acts typically don musical costumes and cover the material of others. For The Mantras, October 31 ended up being a doozy; during the Virginia show, the band ran through a performance dubbed “The Talking Dead,” which featured mashups of Grateful Dead and Talking Heads songs. It was quite an undertaking, but as the band’s loyal fans know, the group has never shied away from a sonic challenge—often mixing muscular guitar riffs with psychedelic grooves and electronic tangents.

“We try to play everything we like,” says Allen, who says he recently wrote a country pop tune that’s become a crowd favorite. “Nothing bores me more than going to see a band that just plays reggae or funk. I’ve never been able to pay attention to one thing for more than 10 minutes; we like to switch it up a lot. I think that played against us in the beginning, but now that people know what to expect, it works in our favor.”

The band formed 11 years ago as music school students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has since gone through more than a handful of line-up changes. Despite the shuffles, steady presence on the local music scene, particularly through a longstanding weekly

30

residency at Greensboro’s Blind Tiger, made the band a hometown favorite. Now settled into a solid six-piece lineup, the group has grown an impressive regional fan base through diligent touring.

“We already have a long history, but it’s filtered into the people that were meant to be here,” Allen says. “Every time someone has left, we’ve had to relearn our entire repertoire, and I think that’s made us a tighter band. We practice a lot and we put everything we have into this. That’s what it takes.”

Jam bands have also taken notice of The Mantras’ musical prowess. To make their last album, the tongue-in-cheek titled Jambands Ruined My Life, the band members traveled to Michigan to record with Umphrey’s McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger. The group has also collaborated with members of the String Cheese Incident and Tea Leaf Green.

While it certainly takes a lot of hard work to earn new fans in cities across the country, the band members are always grateful for the consistent support received back home in Carolina. Over Labor Day Weekend, the band’s faithful flocked to Fergus, N.C. for Mantrasbash, the group’s annual multi-band festival, and this New Year’s Eve, they’ll congregate once again for a blowout at the Blind Tiger.

“A lot of people around here have a deep emotional connection to our music, especially in North Carolina,” Allen adds. “They’ve convinced us to keep going, no matter what, and it gives us purpose.” •

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

Widespread Panic Time Warner Cable Arena – Charlotte, N.C. Panic seems to be digging the option to end the year in the Queen City, as this will make three times in the past four years that the band has played New Year’s Eve at Time Warner Cable Arena. Lucky fans will also catch the band during a benefit show at the more intimate Fillmore on December 30.

Pretty Lights and Bassnectar Hampton Coliseum – Hampton, Va. You’ll be hard pressed to find a more epic dance party, as two of the biggest EDM acts team up for a two-night (December 27-28) arena blowout at the Mothership.

Railroad Earth Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, Ga. The longstanding string band expansionists are ending the year in the South yet again, this time with a three-day party (December 29-31) at the Variety Playhouse.

The Revivalists Georgia Theatre – Athens, Ga. New Orleans’ fast-rising soul-rock crew will end the year at the iconic Georgia Theatre with support from AJ Ghent and Larkin Poe. Old Crow Medicine Show Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, Tenn.

Hot on the heels of a killer new album, Remedy, released last summer, Old Crow will reprise their big two-night (December 30-31) end-of-the-year party at the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.

Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend 2015 MARCH 20-22, 2015 | Virginia Beach, Virginia • Yuengling Shamrock Marathon • Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon • TowneBank Shamrock 8K • Operation Smile Shamrock Final Mile

Sells Out Mid-De cembe Don’t Miss Out! r.

Get Your Green On & Regis

ter Today at ShamrockMarath on.com

we’re game

DECEMBER 2014 • BlueRidgeOutdoors.com

31

32

Blue Ridge Outdoors • PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER