Be a Summit Sampler, Get $500!!!

Photo Courtesy: Post®

Want to get paid to hike a mountain? Who wouldn't right? That would be the dream indeed. Well here's a chance to make a bit of "cheese" just for hiking a mountain in your area:

"In celebration of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent up Mt. Everest, Post® Grape-Nuts® is recruiting modern-day adventurers of all ages and abilities to ascend a nearby peak of their choice and distribute samples of the new Grape-Nuts® Fit cereal to any and all they meet along the way (whether it be one hiker or several dozen).  And don't worry...the selected local mountain need not be Everest-like in height or fame!

Getting Ready For A Celebration

In less than two weeks time we will have our 5 year blogiversary. Of course it didn't start out as Appalachia & Beyond, it started out at Robin & Tim's Outdoor Adventures, or something like that. It was back in 2010 that we changed it to Appalachia & Beyond and gave it all a nice make over, but I digress...

We're Still Around

First off, let us just wish everyone a very belated Happy February as well as a belated Happy Valentine's Day. From the looks of it, Spring has sprung rather early for the most of us, and it's quite strange. What's unfortunate, is we haven't been able to get out and enjoy it as much as we'd like, but that's quite alright, we've got very good reason, and we shall be changing that all soon enough.

We're pretty sure that all of you are wondering how life is going with a newborn, and we'll be honest in that it's been stressful, pleasurable, nerve-racking, blissful, fearful, and joyous all wrapped into one. We've done quite a bit with little Miss Dinah since she's come into this world. A few weeks back we made a trip up to Cumberland Gap NHP just to get of the house for a while. We had been cooped up for a while and Robin was climbing the walls. Dinah made her first, but likely not last trip to the Iron Furnace at Cumberland Gap. Of course she was oblivious to the whole thing. What did you expect? Infants sleep, a lot. Well, at least when they are feeling well.

Just Waiting on a Sign: FGR 12/9/2011

Well another week has come and gone and still our newest addition has decided she's not quite done yet. So we continue to anxiously await, with a certain nervous excitedness, her arrival. It won't be much longer now. Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will have the news posted somewhere, everywhere. Wouldn't that be fantastic. We like to think so, and I know you all think so too as you all wait patiently with us. Until that time though, here's something else to get all excited about...Yep that's right, another edition of the FGR. If we can't have a baby yet, let's win some gear instead.

First up is a sweet giveaway. We all love to keep our tootsies nice and toasty warm, especially on these cold winter morning, when there's frost on everything. Well for the next week, you have a chance to get entered for a prize pack of 12 pairs of Goodhew socks. That's 12 pair of their best selling socks. If you remember correctly Robin won two pair along with her Vasque Taku GTX from the Outdoor Blogger Network and even did a review on them. These are great socks, and the good folks over at The Adventure Post, will hook up one lucky winner with 12 pairs. You can enter with a comment, or tweet daily and there's another bonus entry  you can get if you say something about it on Facebook. You have until December 16th to get those comments in, so don't delay. Head over to the giveaway post for all the rest of the warm and fuzzies.

Drum Roll Please...

So we've been teasing you for quite some time now about our upcoming little hiker's nursery. In yesterday's trail report, we even offered a photo that was a small spoiler of what the nursery looks like. As you know the nursery was at one time a full fledged bathroom complete with commode, bathtub, and his/her sinks. It also had a nasty carpet on the floor and beige walls. It is now a nursery fit for a little hiker girl and now we are patiently awaiting Little Ms. Dinah's arrival. If she's anything like Robin and I, she will be late, and stuck in the procrastinators workflow, where she's usually found somewhere between Find Food and Randomly Browse the Internet (with mom of course).

So the moment you've all been waiting for (other than the announcement of her birth) Robin and I proudly give you: Dinah's Nursery.

Happy Trails,
Tim and Robin

Roane County "Run for your Health" 5k report

I really didn't hype this race or anything on Facebook or Twitter like I did when I went to run in the Coalfield 5k or when I ran the Man Run with the kiddo. Maybe it was because I wanted to make sure I met my goal so I didn't want to jinx it by talking it up. More than likely it's just been the fact that we've been so busy with doctors appointments twice a week, baby shower, nesting, etc. etc. With all that's been going on, we really haven't had a whole lot of time to do much in the way of the blog and because of that, the social network aspects of the blog and our lives in general have "suffered?".

Well I don't know that that is totally a bad thing, you know not spending the majority of our time on Facebook, Twitter, Google +.... you get the drift. After all, we are outdoor bloggers and Robin's been on to me for quite sometime about this social networking addiction I have. Something along the lines of, "people will see right through you if all you do is spend time on Twitter and Facebook. How can you enjoy the outdoors like you blog about if you are consumed?" Yes, the lesson is definitely being learned. Because I've not put so much time in front of the computer, I can tell a difference in myself and in the relationship with the family. I'm more present and I can tell they like it.

Why no posts??

I know what you're asking... "Hey Appalachia and Beyond! Where've you been?? Don't you do anything fun anymore?!?" Well, to be quite honest, we've been really busy with baby, and I suppose it's time for me to air out the nest a little bit. There's been quite a bit going on that we've kept to ourselves - or rather, I've made Tim keep to ourselves - mainly because I've been hoping it would clear up on it's own, blow over, go away, miraculously disappear, etc.

But now it's time to realize that it's not going to be so. Because of that, we want our readers to know that if they sense a lack of involvement on our part, it's only because we are being very diligent and involved in the health of our baby girl. There are certain things I can't do right now - and certain things Tim doesn't want to do without me because he feels the need to stick close to home in case we need him. All of this is so very new to me.

Autumn Activities in East Tennessee

October is such a great month. It's almost as good as September. You start to feel a little nip in the night air. The leaves start to change colors, and harvest festivals are available to all who look for them. Football season is already well underway, but hiking and festival season is just getting cranked up.

Last weekend was the Newport Harvest Street Festival. We went, walked around the town center, and quickly left. I hope this doesn't set a precedence for the other festivals we plan on attending for the next few weekends. Honestly though, we went last year and this time around, it really seemed to be more of a junk sale or there were too many booths for those who wanted to make a small buck selling by their gold, and not near as many crafters as we remembered from last year. Anyway, we decided people-watching in Gatlinburg would be more fun and I had an itch to check out NOC's new Great Outpost in Gatlinburg, located on the main drag just before you enter the Great Smoky Mountains. That place is huge and has all the outdoor gear you could possibly want, albeit at a much higher price than you can normally find online for most things.

Emerald Ash Borer Update

When we first wrote about the purple boxes hanging from the trees in our area, we promised to keep you updated. Remember that these boxes were an effort to identify the spread of the dangerous insect, the emerald ash borer.

An EAB identification has now been confirmed by the USDA in Blount County, TN.  Blount County will now be added to the quarantine list beside Knox and Loudon counties, both of which were added in August 2010.

The quarantine prohibits the movement of ash wood, ash nursery stock, ash timber, or any other material that may transport the EAB.

People can expect to see more purple traps in that area as the survey continues. The purple traps are an important part of finding out just how bad an infestation may be. EAB's have been known to kill ash trees within 3 years of infestation.

Do your part!

Don't transport firewood - even within the state.

Don't buy or move firewood from outside the state.

Watch for signs of infestations in your ash trees. You can find a symptomatic checklist here: http://www.tn.gov/agriculture/regulatory/eabchecklist.html If you see signs, please notify the TDA's Regulatory Services Division at 1-800-628-2631

Now For Some More Give-A-Ways

There appears to be quite a few different contest/give-a-ways/raffles going on in the outdoor blog-o-realm this week. So just to bring all the ones I've come across into one place, it's another edition of Outdoor Blog Give-A-Ways Round-Up.

The first give-a-way is from our good friend Karl @ Live Free and Hike New Hampshire. Karl recently made a trip up to Mount Washington Observatory and picked up a surprise item to give-a-way on his blog once the blog's Facebook page reaches 300 fans. So all you need to do to get in the running for this sur-prize, is go to Live Free and Hike New Hampshire's Facebook page and like it. It's that simple, and if you are already a fan, then you are already entered. So what are you waiting for, get on over there and click that like button and tell Karl how cool he is for giving something away from Mount Washington Observatory.

The next give-a-way comes from another good friend, Steven, over at My Life Outdoors. Steve has reviewed and is giving away a pair of Perfect Curve Gloves by Glacier Glove. This time around Steven has simplified it to only one entry per person, and all you need to do is get the word out about the give-a-way. You can blog about, tweet it, or post it on Facebook. Once you've done that simply go back to MyLifeOutdoors.com and leave a comment on the give-a-way post by May 10th and you are in like Flynn. When you leave your comment be sure to tell Steven how awesome he looks with those gloves on. I'm sure it will make him giggle. :P

Branden and Sarah at The Daily Hiker has another T-Shirt give-a-way. To win a Daily Hiker t-shirt, just send your best Spring Picture to the email address listed in their give-a-way post/announcement. In about a week from now they will choose their favorite photo and award the photographer their very own Daily Hiker shirt. Be sure to include in your email that you think Branden and Sarah are the coolest thing since slice bread and their T-Shirts are the grooviest you've ever seen. You come to think of it, I think Appalachia & Beyond needs a T-Shirt too.?! o_O

Over at SectionHiker.com Philip recently had a chance to try and review an Osprey 46L Hornet backpack. Because of this, Osprey was kind enough to offer one of the packs for a give-a-way. To get a chance at this sweet pack, you just need to head over to Section Hiker, and leave a comment on the give-a-way post. There's a catch though. No ordinary comment will do. Philip wants to know who your hiking mentor is/was and don't just say someone's name, but rather give some detail, a story if you will. While you are at it, tell Philip how cool I think he is that he's section hiking the AT. One of these days I might be as cool as him. ;)

Wooo.. Man that's a lot of give-a-ways don't you think? No, you want more? Okay well here they are.

Tyler at MyCampMate.com (Yes the one and only social Camp Trip Planning App for the iPhone) is giving away a camping trip up to $50. That's right a camping trip, who couldn't use one of those right about now. So here's the scoop, May is National Invite a Friend Month at MyCampMate.com and to win the camping trip, is join MyCampMate.com and invite people your friends to join/register. The first 4 people that invite and have 50 friends win a camping trip up to $50 anytime anywhere. Just let Tyler know when and where and he will get it booked for you.

Over at The Adventure Blog, Kraig (aka KungFuJedi) is having a weekly give-a-way called Ditch the Deet. Every Week for the next couple/few weeks he is giving away some pretty cool shwag. You've missed the first week but there may still be some time to get in on this weeks and of course the rest of the give-a-ways he has. All you have to do for this is send him and email with your plans for outdoor adventure for the next couple of months and how the gear he is giving away would benefit you in those plans. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to The Adventure Blog and get all the details and send those emails in. While you are at it let him know you think he's the greatest for giving away such awesome stuff cause you hate gnats and skeeters and all those winged little buggers you run into in the woods.

Finally, the fine folks over at PAHikes.com is currently giving away a magnesium fire starter and a Granite Gear Toughsack. Every month this year they are giving away some cool stuff and the fire starter and Toughsack from Granite Gear is the special gear they are awarding for May. All you have to do is go to there site find the listing for the May give-a-way (don't worry, currently it's the third item down from the top, May 1st post) and click the register link and fill in the info on the subsequent page. While you are there hit their feedback link and let them know they have a great site and some pretty cool give-a-ways.

Ok that's all the give-a-ways that I've got for you for now, well.... there is one more. That's right there's that give-a-way over at Vasque Footwear's Facebook wall going on right now that currently I'm in the "running" to win. If you remember the "I Need You" post, I really need everyone's vote as the competition has really heated up. All you have to do for this is go to Vasque Footwear's Facebook page and like them, if you haven't already. Then scroll down their wall and find my post (Timothy Bird) and click like on the post. That's it. If I win I end up with a free pair of Vasque Mindbender Trail Running shoes and free entry into Rock Creek's Scenic City Trail Marathon and 1/2 Marathon. Once you've done that, if you are feeling really ambitious, tell your friends, family and everyone else you know to do the same. I would really be most appreciative and who knows might even have a give-a-way right here. I'll definitely write up a great post about the shoes and the race experience. Who wouldn't want to read that?

Okay, so that's all I've got now so until next time...

(Edited by Tim) - Another give-a-away that I forgot to mention: OutdoorInformer.com is giving away a pair of Vasque Skree hiking shoes. Check out their post for the give-a-way for the details, I think you enter multiple times but each time there is something you need to do for the entry. Check them out and drool over all the great gear they review. Tell them Tim @ Appalachia & Beyond sent you.

Happy Trails and Vote for Tim,
Tim and Robin

Closures in Parks from Wednesday's Storms

As most of you know, this past Wednesday major storms passed through the southeast with devastating effects that have been felt in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and more. Our heart and prayers go out to those affected.

For those planning on trips to our area for hiking, camping, and other outdoor related activities, you may want to consider the following and alter plans in case these closures affect them.

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area:
Big Creek Road is closed to vehicular traffic until further notice. The road is unsafe for use due to a landslide caused by Wednesday's storms. The park is already working with a contractor to make necessary repairs with hopes to have the road re-opened by sometime next week.

For more information and updates check out their websites current news releases here: http://www.nps.gov/biso/parknews/newsreleases.htm.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park:
Abrams Falls Trail and Beard Cane Trails are closed until further notice. Significant windfall and washouts have made the trails unsafe for hiking at this time. Abrams Falls Trail is closed from it's trailhead inside Cades Cove to the intersection with Hatcher Mountain Trail, but is expected to be re-opened by May 6. Beard Cane Trail is closed from Cooper Road Trail to Ace Gap Trail. There is no estimate as to when the trail will be re-opened. In addition Campsites 3 and 11 are also closed until further notice as well as Rich Mountain Road and Parsons Branch Road all in the Cades Cove area of the park.

For more information on road and trail closures and conditions in the park check out the following page on the parks website: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm.

Needed: Itty Bitty Hiking Boots

Big News! We could garnish this post with Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice - or we could have to decorate with Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails. But I suppose we truly must leave that up to God to decide.

Yes... Eight years later than we expected.... We're Expecting!

Yes, this means we'll have one graduating high school and one going into pull-ups. No, we won't get that early retirement to through-hike the AT (not that we would have anyway). Yes, we'll have to tear out a bathroom, rebuild a bedroom, and stockpile diapers. No, we probably won't get to take our Spring backpacking trip now - unless the doctor clears me....

But, Yes! It is a miracle and a blessing, and we are so very excited about our little Baby Bird - the "improbable" baby growing happy and healthily in my belly and in our hearts.

We aren't blind....

We just wanted to stop by for a moment and let you all know that we haven't turned a blind eye to the possibility of a government shutdown, and hence the closure of our National Parks.

We are just as concerned as every other American, and very frustrated indeed.

We just haven't written about it.

Why? Because this is an Outdoors Blog, not a political platform. And because even though it angers us that our National Parks may face closure - a topic this blog should cover - it angers us more that our active duty military and their families may go without pay. In other words, there are bigger fish to fry.

All we ask is that you pray for this country, and pray that our government gets their act together - and soon.

With love for America,
Robin & Tim