Day Hike

Day Hike – Shortoff Mountain

Shortoff mountain this way.

The trails in the hills of the smokies tend to be pretty vertical. I love the views but my knees abhor the elevation gains and losses.

I’ve been doing a bit of traveling for work lately and have been trying to squeeze in a hike where and when I can. The Shortoff mountain trail is happily nestled in-between Asheville and Charlotte North Carolina. If you ever have the opportunity to make a small detour I highly recommend checking out this trail. The drive there is scenic and relaxing.

Depending on when you go the parking may be an issue as this is a fairly popular trail and the signs before reaching the trailhead speak to a bunch of private land owners annoyed with visitors to the trailhead. Like the people who purchase a home near a busy airport and then complain about the noise, being near a popular trailhead brings its own brand of ‘noise’. I’d still advise being respectful of our trail neighbours whenever possible.

The trail starts off with a gradual uphill that quickly turns into aggressive switchbacks taking you right to the top of the mountain. Thankfully there are plenty of places to pull off and take a quick break on a slab of rock with a breathtaking view.

One of those views.

After the brutal uphill you are rewarded with a nice flat trek to Shortoff mountain which overlooks the valley below. The trail wanders through a bunch of campsites that are available and at the time of year I went was a little overgrown single track. Keep going though and try not to get side tracked by one of the campsite trails.

This was a great trail that is worth the side trip.

Shortoff Mountain Trail on AllTrails https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/north-carolina/shortoff-mountain?sh=g3on75&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

It’s me, I am the aggressive bear in the area.
Videos

Trekkers Life YouTube

New year and I am going to try my darndest to make it a great one. Here’s to 2026 and all the adventures that it will bring!

I need it after the dreadful year that 2025 ended up being. The past couple years my ambitions have been smoldering, not quite extinguished but definitely on the back burner. This year I will re-kindle those old flames of ambition and try to get a few things done. One of which is a YouTube channel that I’ve been toying around with the idea of for a number of years.

I’ve uploaded a brief “sizzle” real of past adventures to kick off my channel and hope to start filming come spring.

So it goes.

Uncategorized

It’s Just Like Riding a Bike.

That may be a true statement but now everything hurst and I am actively dying. It has been over twenty years since I had last jumped in the saddle of a bike and my body aptly rejected it like a rabies victim loathes water. Not to do anything half assed, I jumped in full assed and went out to one of the better bike trails in the Omaha metro around Lake Cunningham in the northern outskirts of Omaha.

If you haven’t checked it out yet I highly recommend a day spent around Cunningham. The lake is big enough to offer slips for sail boats that can be seen constantly on the lake. It is also a “no wake” lake which brings in a lot of kayakers, paddleboarders, and other watercraft of that ilk. There is now a paved trail that loops around the entire lake that is wide enough for all the use that it gets. The RV campground on the east side of the lake is open during the summer for a little local getaway.

I do miss the days when the lake was a little bit less developed and seedier. There was a semi-navigable dirt trail most of the way around the lake before the redevelopment initiative. This trail was a lot more rugged and was used by hikers and equestrian enthusiasts all the time. You could hike around the entire lake but you’d have to walk a part of the highway and a part of it would always be a muddy mess. There are still remnants of the old trail that you can hike on if the whim strikes you. These little remnant trails are found primarily on the west side of the lake.

Here it is from my Garmin: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18395995953

I thought it would just be a little six mile loop around the lake how hard could it be? Then you realize that muscles you hadn’t used in years still exist and are now disproportionately upset about being re-awoken after their long hiatus. I ended up spiking my heart rate near 195 a few times, and had to rest a bit to keep it down to a reasonable level. I’ve been on a new health kick this year but I still have been slacking on my cardio because cardio sucks.

The bike I recovered last year from my mother who had borrowed it for a weekend and then never wanted to give it back. It is an old Dahon full sized folding bike, and it is severely uncomfortable. I have no idea how to fit it correctly or to make it more comfortable or if it is my complete lack of biking muscles. I feel like i am leaning too far forward on the handlebars and that making them taller or just different would help considerably. At the same time I don’t know if the bike is even worth throwing any money at in the first place.

Will I do it again? Absolutely.

Gear

My First Product: Trekking Pole Holder

I present to you my first product, a trekking pole holder. I bet you can presume its purpose. Below is a link to grab one.

https://gearrest.etsy.com/

I’ve stared working on a website that is not Etsy for purchasing and viewing my products as well but that’s still a work in progress.

My Gear Rest Trekking Pole Holders give a convenient place to store your trekking poles when you’re not on the trail. Display your gear when you’re not out hiking in a gear rest today!
The trekking pole holders are manufactured in my garage lovingly by my CNC robot out of Poplar wood and then stained dark. If you need customization let me know and I can work with you.

This was a product that I’ve been working on for some time off and on. I recently made my first sale and I’m very excited about that. Below I’ve posted a few iterations that the project has gone through. Which design is your favorite?

I ended up with the middle design after a survey with friends and family. The dark finish also came out on top.

Pick one up if you think they’re neat: https://gearrest.etsy.com/

Plans

2024 A Year of Water and Ponies.

It’s hard to imagine being out on the water as I write this in the heart of a winter cold snap on the plains. Currently it is -10 out with a ‘feels like’ temperature of -40 degrees Fahrenheit, couple that with a few recent snow storms and it is brutal out. But here I am dreaming of kayaking, canoeing and warm weather.

Due to various reasons I did not get the kayak out once in 2023 and I vow to change that this year. I don’t know if I have it in me to make it to one of the major kayak races or a large multi day adventure though. But I can still make it out to the local rivers and streams this year.

Next up we are planning a backpacking trip to see the wild ponies in the Grayson Highlands in May. This looks like a beautiful trail that should be an amazing experience.