Overcoming Overwhelming Obstacles and Reaching New Milestones—Virgin Falls
If you are a friend or family member, you may have read this Hiking with Your Honey blog when we started it five years ago. We had dreams of leaving our day jobs by monetizing this blog and getting accommodations and meals for free to in exchange for reviews. However,...
A Surprise Return Visit to a Beloved Place—Cumberland Mountain State Park
As we approached Nana’s farm, our AirBnB central to six impressive Tennessee waterfalls, we got an unexpected surprise. We passed by a beloved place—Cumberland Mountain State Park. This place was special to us because we were last there to celebrate Christmas in 2015....
Sometimes You Have to Look Up to See the Beauty—Window Cliffs State Park
Before our 6th anniversary hiking trip where we were going to see six waterfalls in six days, we had read a review that said, “Be sure to look up at the overlook to see the Window Cliffs, or you might miss it.” Sure enough, after we had hiked about two miles, we...
Reliving Special Memories—Fall Creek Falls
One of the reasons I wanted to go on this waterfall tour for our sixth anniversary was because I wanted to re-experience the elation that I had four years earlier at Fall Creek Falls touching the tallest waterfall West of the Mississippi Not only did I touch it, but...
Views from the Bottom – Cummins Falls
“I descended to the roots of the mountains. Jonah 2:6 The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. Sometimes the Best Journeys are along the Bottom of the Trail—Cummins Falls When we set out on a six-day...
A Short Day Trip with Loads of Grace-Filled Memories
Five Is the number of grace, so on the fifth day of our six-day waterfall tour, we decided to give ourselves some grace and to take it easy all morning, and just do a small trip in the afternoon that was close to where we were staying at Nana’s Farm, an Airbnb in...
Supernatural Signs on an Unexpected Stop
Not Ready for Our Trip to End… We had just wrapped up a wonderful, six-day waterfall tour. As we left our AirBnb at Nana’s Farm, in Pikeville, Tennessee, and started our way home on Saturday, September 12, 2020, just before noon, we weren’t quite ready for our...
Helping a Bird, Praying, and Having Fun at the Beach—Gulf Shores
We are at Gulf Shores enjoying the beach, drying off from frolicking in the ocean. Earlier today, Seth helped rescue a pelican that was tied in a fishing line. He had said that he wanted to help it, but we needed someone with a bit more experience. A local fisherman...
Hike Like a Goat: Part 5—Ankles and Knees
Knees and ankles warmed up and ready to climb! Hike like a Goat A 7-Part Skills Series Part 5— Ankles and Knees This 7-part series came out of a conversation that my Honey and I had about being sure footed on the trail. She wanted to leave the fear of falling behind...
Hike Like a Goat: Part 4—Hiking Poles
My Honey, using the hiking pole for stability and to pull herself up out of the creek bed Hike like a Goat A 7-Part Skills Series Part 4—Hiking Poles This 7-part series came out of a conversation that my Honey and I had about being sure footed on the trail. She wanted...
Hike Like a Goat: Part 3—Surface Contact
Hike Like a Goat A 7-Part Skills Series Part 3—Surface Contact This 7-part series came out of a conversation that my Honey and I had about being sure footed on the trail. She wanted to leave the fear of falling behind with all of its timidness and tentativeness. In...
Learning to Deal with the Oopsies on the Trail
A very special place my husband had always wanted to take a lady before we met! Being here made all the oopsies worth it! Guestpost by Loral Pepoon (Honey) Today was kind of a crazy day on the trail. It seemed like we couldn’t get it together—and things kept going...
Hike Like a Goat: Part 2—Center of Gravity
Hike like a Goat A 7 Part Skills Series Part 2—Center of Gravity This 7 part series came out of a conversation that my Honey and I had about being sure footed on the trail. She wanted to leave the fear of falling behind with all of its timidness and tentativeness. In...
Hike Like a Goat: Part 1—Plan to Fall
Hike Like a Goat This 7 part series came out of a conversation that my Honey and I had about being sure footed on the trail. She wanted to leave the fear of falling behind with all of its timidness and tentativeness. In other words she wanted to Walk Like a Goat. When...
Hike Like a Goat—a Skills Series
Practicing "trail goat" skills Have you ever had a conversation with someone and realized that you can’t explain how or why you do what you do? I found myself in just such a conversation of our first all day hike. We had hiked 4.5 miles up to Weser Bald with some good...
18 Keys to Better Balance On The Trail
Using your arms with slightly bended knees leaning a bit forward are all ways to be better balanced on the trail! I (Loral) have always struggled with being a prone to tripping—even on a city sidewalk. When I first moved to Chicago years ago and got places...
Lessons from the Fire
Lessons from the fire What can we learn about life from rebuilding a fire that has nearly gone out? Do the steps to rebuild a fire sound similar to the steps you can take to rekindle passion for your spouse, your church, your job or an abandoned hobby? I’ve spent many...
The Joy I Feel When He Builds a Fire
A lovely romantic fire on Christmas Eve Honey's Perspective The first time I (Loral) saw my Hiker build a fire in the woods was mind boggling. Here are several things I felt—and still feel every time! Where am I and what year is it?I felt like I had been transported...
How I Became His On Unexpected, Redeemed Dates
The special swing: the scene of my risk taking and a late evening proposal The Scene—A Sacred Place in a Special Town It was August 2, 2014, and I (Loral) was going to be maid of honor in one of my best friend’s wedding celebration in Grand Rapids, Ohio, a town that...
To Rebuild a Fire—When the Flame Has Gone Out
Bonfire burning bright! As fascinated as I was reading from Jack London as a child, I’m not going to retell To Build a Fire. I am, however, going to address the art of bringing back the flame when it has almost died out. Let’s pretend that you built a fire in a fire...
The Best Path Ever
I (Loral) collect these little signs on our adventures sometimes. This one says “The best path I ever took was with you.” We found it in a little town near Rock Island State Park, a day that taught us about taking our time and building in margin in the Summer of 2015....
Sleeping Comfortably with Big Agnes
the Mother of Comfort... No Silly! My Honey is fit and cute—Big Agnes is the name of her sleeping mat. Sleeping comfort is probably the most important thing to get worked out. You could argue that staying warm in winter and cool in summer or that eating for sustained...
Hiking with Broken Lenses—6 Ways to See More Clearly
Our backyard. Do you see a weed, an allergen, pretty flowers for a vase or picture? What do you lenses let you see? Look at a beautiful mountain scene or a pretty flower and tell me what you see… Do you see beauty, reality and imperfections? What are you...
Fantastical Fireflies—His Perspective
If you want to see a fantastical phenom, win a pass to go see the synchronous fireflies in the Great Smokey Mountain National Forest just behind Elkmont Campground. It is like walking into C.S.Lewis’s Narnia gone SciFi. It was whimsical, magical, spectacular, awe...
Thousands of Fireflies Make the Woods Magical
A Guestpost by Loral Pepoon (Honey) Something magical happens when you don’t know what to expect and an experience ends up being far better than you could have imagined. We happened to get lucky and snag the last campsite in the Smokey Mountains at Elkmont campground,...
Why Do You Hike?
Getting down to the roots of a thing Why do I love to hike? I get this question a fair amount—sometimes in the form of “Are you crazy?” That usually happens when I sleep on the ground by the fire in the snow or when I stay for three days in a downpour and don’t go...
Keeping the Edges Wild
A Happy Birthday day at No Where Farm Today is my Honey’s birthday—the Honey that I want on the trail with me that inspired this blog. To honor her I want to tell you about a special place that we visited for her birthday last year. Before Loral and I met, she had...
Christmas in July – Getting to Talk to Grandma on Time
Our Christmas Cabin Last Christmas was our second one together—we've been married almost two years now. We got to Celebrate Christ's birth by combining lots of traditions and making some new ones. We celebrated with family before and after the big day. But on the 25th...
Component hiking-getting used to the backpack
Hiking the Volunteer Trail in Mt. Juliet The spot we chose for this bit of fun practice was Long Hunter State Park. We made our plan, packed the backpack and drove to 2910 Hobson Pike, Hermitage, TN 37076-4027. It is an easy trail that is about 11 miles long if you go...
Longing for the Spring
Justin, Andrea, Loral and I at the Trail Head in Spring of 2015 It’s hot in Tennessee right now and I am enjoying it but really missing the Spring…I’m a bit nostalgic actually about a particular spring when we got to take a trip in 2015 with my daughter Andrea and her...
Tips for Enjoying the Trail With Your Man
Guestpost by Loral Pepoon Today I (Loral) would like to share some tips for ladies who are just starting on outdoor adventures, for those who want to get out there but haven’t yet, or for those of you who really don’t want to go on the trail at all—but your man does....
Princess Loral Loves Part Primitive
My Honey is part princess—the kind that you would normally think of—glamours dresses, jewelry and makeup. She is also the princess who can rule over her feelings and desires to endure some hardship to get to see the beauty out in nature that she loves so much. ...
3 Kinds of Debriefing after a Hike
Sunset on Period Key—we try to work in a sunset every day on the trail. 1. Literally de-brief—we remove all clothing at the door and put them directly into the washing machine. This is a good practice that we didn’t always do. One time after a hike I was babysitting...
Details of the Trail
Delight in the Details—cold clear water...SPLASH! When I mainly hiked with my guy friends, we would plan mileage and time frames that would really push us—sometimes punish us. We seem to have a better estimate of our physical ability than was real. Getting deep into...
Frozen Head State Park – Tennessee
We rolled in around 5 pm to Frozen Head State Park - Tennessee The Ranger's office was closed but Ranger Joe saw us studying the map, stopped his mower, jumped down and came to see if he could help. He let us in to use the bathroom and he answered our...
The Secret to Getting Your Honey on the Trail
My Honey's Journal illustrates a great method for brainstorming questions. Hear from her at cowriterpro.com The Secret Lies with Writing Almost all of us have had to write a term paper or research paper in school. Many of us went on to a write a thesis. You probably...
Fall Creek Falls Tennessee State Park—Part 2
In yesterday’s blog I got to share Fall Creek Falls Tennessee State Park—Part 1 and how we crossed the suspension bridge and climbed the 70 stairs. How we meet and talked with our new friends, Wes and Olivia. After a few well spent minutes we stepped back onto the...
Fall Creek Falls Tennessee State Park—Part 1
Fall Creek Falls Overlook Today my honey and I went to Fall Creek Falls State Park on our way back from Frozen Head State Park yesterday. We came in to the park from the north entrance and stopped at what looked like a main visitor center. We went directly to an...
5 Reasons Not to Hike—Just Table it for Later
The Blue Bird Barn in Seven Islands Birding Park What? Those that know me well will wonder if I bumped my head. What's was wrong with me…was I really having a moment when I questioned going on a hike??!! Well, yes, I did. T.A.B.L.E. it, I thought: I’m too Tired It’s...
Seven Islands State Birding Park
the rainbow that we saw as we entered the park I love this little park! It reminded me of my childhood when I would spend hours walking through the field on neighbor’s farms. The acres and acres of meadows were full of birds. The views of the French Broad River...
Why Do I Want My Honey on the Trail With Me?
Today, as I read my Honey’s blog that she posted last night at cowriterpro.com - her business site, I felt inspired to answer this question in the title of today's blog. Here is what my quotable Queen said in her blog: “So what can I do, today, to affect the spreading...
Rails to Trails and Ice Cream Sales
Behind the veil A few weeks ago we took a trip to Waynesville Ohio to visit our dear friends Beth and John who came from thousands of miles away. Playing with their children and getting to know her Dad was such a blessing. We had many fun activities together including...
A Beautiful “Do Over” Moonlit Night
"Our favorite time of light when the sun kisses the night" “Fighting is terrible but at least you get to make up,” someone said to me once. I’m not a big fan of this idea but when making up follows real resolution, I’m all about that. Still seated in the...
9 Ways to Decorate Your Camp Site
Decorating Diva 🙂 What? Decorate? Who knew? Come on guys - tell me the truth. How many of you knew that pitching a tent was considered decorating? Or maybe I'm just the only guy that didn't get this. My Honey and I used to fight or at least be at odds over setting...
Three Keys to Recovering Your Energy
Meet me at the edge of the world - where the dirt road ends On the flip side of all that productivity talk I shared yesterday is the need for recovery. My rope gets tied in knots so to speak and my ends get burnt and frayed. There’s all kinds of stuff...
Efficiency from Setting Specific Roles
Everybody doing their job! Setting Specific Roles Brings Productivity and Efficiency My last blog gave 6 tips for hiking in the backcountry and was pretty much a practical piece that I hope was useful. There is a back story full of relationship lessons like many...
6 Tips to Hike Backcountry
Awesome beautiful and way back in the sticks! We recently got the privilege of helping some friends build trails on their very large tract of wilderness land. Being backcountry was a blast! We ate good, slept hard and boy did we work! My Honey all gloved up for hard...
Hiking is a Destination of Experience—5 Tips to Making Every Moment Count
Stepping light on the Yellow Brick Road To hike: to take a journey from where you are to a destination of experience. Sure, there is a place we are going, but the hike is even better if we love each step and are fully present in the moment! We get to soak up every...
Ticks!—In December?
A couple of Sundays ago, Eric Stewart, my insurance agent, and I were talking in the hall at church about hiking. He is a reader of this blog and was telling me about a great trail across the road from West Haven subdivision in Franklin Tennessee that...
Christmas Conversation on the Nashville Greenway
Peeler Park Trail Head Signage Genuine warm heartfelt conversation is a reward—Talking on the trail is a sure way to feed her soul and to make hiking a happy event. If your Honey is like mine, she wants lots of quality time to just talk. Choose a wide trail, walk at...
The Sweetness of Sunsets and Sand
The Tower Warren Dunes State Park—The park covers almost 2000 acres on the shore of Lake Michigan. It is on the Michigan side beside the lower third of the lake. We could go back and spend several days hiking and enjoying the beach. There are six miles of trails...
Gulls and Groves on Kelleys Island
One hot summer day my Honey and I left the Ohio shore by ferry and sailed into Lake Erie. We landed on Kelleys Island, explored all over and saw two things we had never seen before. Groovy Groves—on the north side of Kelleys Island we found the first of many...
A Deer Between Two Fears
Smokey Valley Lake in Carter Cave Park, Olive Hill KY On our way home from Carter Caves in Kentucky, my Honey and I both had moments of fear. Each of us had a moment that the other took care of. My date did not know I protected her from one of her fears and she...
Happy Hiccups With My Honey
In yesterday’s blog I shared about our Carter Cave family outing. During those few days there were some other moments worth highlighting. The first hiccup was when she thought we were being attacked by a bear—We arrived a little ahead of my sister and family and spent...
Carter Cave Kentucky
During the third week of July we went to Carter Cave Kentucky to hike and hear bluegrass music. This is another great way to combine interests. We both love live music and hiking. We also threw in a little cave tour just because. In a cave opening on Horn Hollow trail...
Wesser Bald Part 2
Posing in the fire tower on Wesser Bald Yesterday, I told you about our climb to Wesser Bald and the fire tower look out. I have been to many overlooks but this was the best view for me by far. We gasped in amazement and “ooo’d” and “ahhh’d” for quite some time. Then...
Wesser Bald and It’s Lessons
The Appalachian Trail crosses Wesser Bald Near Bryson North Carolina. On the top of this bald there was a live-in lookout fire tower. Somebody burned it down in 1979. It has been replaced with a 30-foot tall fire tower that has a 360-degree view. You can see a breath...
When I Thought—She Might Be My Honey
I got a hunch on our third date that this lady might be the one. We had gone out for coffee at the Frothy Monkey on our first date. I took her to a Chaffin's Barn dinner theater for our second. Now I wanted to see if she was for real about hiking and being outdoors....
Right Idea Wrong Place
Enjoying a happy moment in our new nest Falling in love with hammocks—It only took one trip on the Volunteer Trail near Mt Juliet Tennessee with our old hammock to fall in love with swinging between two trees. We enjoyed it so much that it didn’t matter that the...
Building in Margin
Earth shaking power at Rock Island Falls When I hiked BL (before Loral), hiking was always an athletic event. Alone or with my buddies, I would push the limit of my physical ability doing lots of miles carrying 40-55 pounds. Now hiking with my Honey, we build in...
Capture the Interruptions
Woodbridge Inn, out quaint spot to make the trip special A hiking adventure interrupts our plans—Several months back we needed to take a trip to a specialist in Atlanta GA. We planned in a couple of stops to make it special and voila! A hike to a beautiful waterfall...
Adjusting to an Injury
Riding up front in our "Gondola" Injury—Do you have to stop enjoying the outdoors when one of you gets injured? If the injury isn’t completely dibilitating, maybe not. It’s very important to heal and to protect yourself from making it worse; but maybe…just maybe…you...
We Did it Our Way!
It’s not my way. It’s not your way. It’s our way! Natchez Trace where we learned to do it OUR WAY! Both of us are at least 40 and I’ll be 50 this December. We both have figured out by this point in our lives how to do all that need to be done. Our methods and...
Collaborative Camping
Yesterday, I got to tell you about out first night in a tent. I described how we got used to night noises and the fun day we had afterwards to balance out our emotions. I saved the lesson about collaborating for today. We fought and made up prior to the test run in...
Celebration after Struggle
Our first night in a tent was in Florida in Fort De Soto campground in Pinellas County near St Petersburg FL. We had decided to take on back country backpacking one component at a time and see how she liked it. This would just be the overnight component in a 1.5...
Warm and Cozy by the Fire
Yesterday, I had fun telling you about hiking after getting to Mossy Ridge Trail in Percy Warner Park. Today I want to pick up where we left off as we got back to Indian Springs Shelter #4. We celebrated our relaxing day hike in the woods—about 5 miles at a leisurely...
Percy Warner Romantic Day Hike
If you got to read yesterday’s blog, you saw a recipe for a romantic day hike. We did that hike! And it was very satisfying for both of us. I highly recommend some variation of it and would like to share more information about that hike with you today and tomorrow. If...
Wardrobe Advice for Your Honey on a Fall Hike
Guest Post by my Honey—Loral Pepoon I don’t like to be cold, and I wanted to have a good time because I knew how much my hubby was looking forward to this hike on the last day of his favorite month. It was supposed to be in the 50s and raining for a portion of the...
She may want a list
When I opened my laptop, there was Half Dome in Yosemite as my wallpaper. What a trip that was in September of 2014 with my hiking buddy, Randy. I want to do more trips like that for sure. Yet, on my mind right now, in contrast, is the next day hike with my Honey. No...
Physically Fit for the Trail?
Running along the dock in Chicago More tone, more strength, more fun—Imagine dropping your pack to climb down 400 feet into a depression to get to the bottom or a water fall. You take in the cool spray and enjoy the scene. You climb back out when you are ready, put...
Exploring Nooks and Crannies
Spectacular views and cozy moments come while discovering nooks and crannies—those out of the way places and small tiny spaces. We keep our eyes open for places to feel cozy. Places where we can snuggle up together for a picture or take fun shots of each other. We...
Lessons from Being Lost
When I was a child, I spent every minute I could in the woods. As I have grown older it has become harder to find the time and less enjoyable to be in the woods with my sweetheart at home. So we started this journey to find what works for us and meets our yearnings...
Romantic Date Night turned Lost in the Woods!
Yesterday, I left my story where we were huddled on a bench just outside the reach of the pouring rain. I had failed to take enough water, a jacket, a light or a map. We were freezing, exhausted and I was sure that I had ruined this relationship for good. As 5 am...
Romantic Date Night Hike!
I planned this romantic date night hike with my wife back when we were dating. The plan for this warm summer night—after a brief walk in a city park, waiting for the sun to completely set—was to return to a hillside overlooking the steeple chase course in her town and...
Bears are sooo rare!
I'm going to talk like we are brothers and sisters here because I'm not a bear expert—hope that is ok. I do know a few things and want to share. Bears are sooo rare! in Middle Tennessee—During dozens of hiking trips in Middle Tennessee I have never seen a bear....
An Easy Teaser Hike Whets the Appetite
Today, we were to start a one or two night adventure on the trail. Early in the week we made a change because that “time of the month” came early(staying flexible is critical, guys). My honey is exhausted so we picked a seriously scaled down event. One with a short...
Improve your experience with these 4 lessons
4 lessons from that first trip Buy lightweight rain gear and always have it with you. We researched the weather like I had never done before. Before hiking with my honey, I just prepared for all weather and didn’t look at the forecast. But my Sugar melts in the rain...
Celebrating Our First Trip!
Avid primitive backpacker gets to teach his honey all things outdoors...becomes more civilized and loves every moment. Come share our adventure! Let me celebrate! Now that I’ve shared what I learned to say and not to say, let me tell you a little about our...
Save the war stories
Avid primitive backpacker gets to teach his honey all things outdoors...becomes more civilized and loves every moment. Come share our adventure! My wife really does enjoy going on adventures with me…honest! Here is the numero uno don’t - don’t tell hiking war...
Brag about the Beauty
Do you want your girl to go with you on your out door adventures? I wanted it so badly. I longed for the companionship of the woman who loves me and am so thrilled that she is happy to “go with.” In case it might work for you, I want to share what I did. Let your...
Come on this adventure with us!
When I was a child, I spent every minute I could in the woods. As I have grown older it has become harder to find the time and less enjoyable with my sweetheart at home. This is a journey we are on trying to find what works for us and meets our yearnings for the...