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AshevilleExplorer

A super original Asheville, NC travel blog. Consider yourselves motivated, inspired, and influenced.

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Tag: travel

Full moon hike on Black Balsam Knob in Western North Carolina.

Lessons From My First Full-Moon Hike in Western North Carolina

I finally checked “full moon hike” off my Western North Carolina bucket list with a nighttime trek up Black Balsam. Here’s what I learned about timing, trails, and how to make a full moon hike actually magical.

adventure, Art Loeb Trail, backpacking, Black Balsam Knob, Deep Thoughts, Full Moon, hike, hiking, Investor Gap Trail, nature, Shining Rock Wilderness, travel
Sunrise at Mt LeConte viewed from Alum Cave Bluff in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A Sunrise at Mt LeConte

After getting laid off at a Virginia rest stop, I hiked to watch the sunrise at Mt. LeConte. Reflections on layoffs, friendship, and the kind of clarity only the Smokies can give you.

adventure, backpacking, hike, hiking, Mt. LeConte, nature, sunrise, travel
The wrecked Second Gear in Asheville's River Arts District following Hurricane Helene.

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

A stream-of-conscious reflection on one year since Hurricane Helene.

Asheville, hurricane, Hurricane Helene, north-carolina, travel
The grand reopening of Zillicoah Beer Company in Asheville 11 months after Hurricane Helene.

Asheville Is Healing

Two big post-Helene reopenings this past weekend in Asheville: Zillicoah Brewing and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Asheville, hiking, Hurricane Helene, north-carolina, travel

Changing for the Better…

Sometimes, I think it’s best to just think things, and not necessarily post them…

Asheville, Deep Thoughts, Hurricane Helene, news, north-carolina, People Are Awful, rants, Social justice warrioring, travel
A foggy view from the western-most portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I Woke Up Early to Catch a Smoky Mountain Sunrise, and All I Got Was This Gloomy Photo

I woke up to see a gorgeous Smoky Mountains sunrise, but nature had other plans.

adventure, backpacking, Great Smoky National Park, hiking, nature, travel

Some Ashevillians Are Taking Up TOO Much Space

According to the Google overlords’ AI Overview, “the phrase ‘taking up space’ doesn’t have a single inventor It’s an idiom … More

books, life, love, travel, writing

The Ashevilleization of Gloria

I unexpectedly loved Angel Olsen’s cover of Laura Branigan’s (cover) of Gloria.

blog, life, music, travel, writing
A sunset at Sam's Knob in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

A Solo Sunset at Sam’s Knob

Sam’s Knob might be the best place in Western North Carolina (and Asheville-adjacent) to get a mountain sunset all to yourself.

adventure, camping, hiking, nature, Sam's Knob, sunset, Sunset hike, travel
The Asheville Mall.

A Trip to the Asheville Mall

Did a trip to the Asheville Mall teach me anything about our capitalistic, consumerist society? Not really. It just taught me that Old Navy remains a time capsule to the early aughts.

Deep Thoughts, I want to go shopping, Malls, Old Navy, Shopping, The Asheville Mall, travel, writing

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