Chapter Nine: Dirty Dancing at the Len Foote Hike Inn

The Len Foote Hike Inn, deep in a pocket of Appalachia, invited visitors to go backwards in time and enjoy the community of other hikers, resisting the urge to check in with the outside world. Its no-cell-phone policy found me wandering back down the trail to text our parents, to let them know we wereContinue reading “Chapter Nine: Dirty Dancing at the Len Foote Hike Inn”

Chapter Three: Rocks & Roots

I am sitting on the front porch and dreaming of the woods. My sister is still inside getting ready. We considered delaying our start to avoid the freezing temperatures that awaited us at the top of the falls tonight, but we’d already put off this adventure for two years, our initial plans disrupted by theContinue reading “Chapter Three: Rocks & Roots”

Chapter Two: Firetalker

When he was seven years old, my father-in-law fell and burnt his leg on the metal grate covering the boiler that heated the house. Granny and Pop took him to the doctor, had the burn treated, and then called a distant cousin from up in North Carolina—to talk the fire out. The practice of fire-talkingContinue reading “Chapter Two: Firetalker”

Chapter One: Bad Vibes at Hawk Mountain Shelter

Nine and a half miles, our longest day of hiking yet. We strolled into camp at Hawk Mountain Shelter and found Dorothy had arrived some time before us. “The Yoga Sisters!” she cried out and leapt down from a picnic table as Toto yelped from the loft of the three-sided hut. My sister’s eyes flittedContinue reading “Chapter One: Bad Vibes at Hawk Mountain Shelter”