International hiker and writer Jen Seymour will speak at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 8, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

The General Assembly declared 2023 the “Year of The Trail,” in hopes of getting more people to appreciate the state’s outdoor gems. But will it get beyond a marketing effort to a real investment in building and maintaining routes?

The ‘Kids Hike Highlands’ trail passport program is back, with a refresh for the 2023 season. 

When A.L. Freedlander issued the 1966 fundraising challenge that birthed the Haywood Community College campus in Clyde, he envisioned a space dedicated not only to learning, but also to natural beauty. Freedlander gave $250,000 in seed money to the project, but with conditions attached: that the campus become “the most beautifully landscaped area in Haywood County” and that its grounds should contain “a good collection of dahlias,” Freedlander’s favorite flower. 

The University of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Field School has announced a new slate of programs for 2023, offering adults who love the Great Smoky Mountains National Park a chance for deeper connection to this landscape.

II I don’t own a bathroom scale, which means I had no way of measuring the exact weight of the rust-colored pack I strapped on my back before climbing from the base of Max Patch April 13. And that was fine, because I was just there for a quick overnight — 2.5 miles in to the Roaring Fork Shelter on the Appalachian Trail that afternoon, then 2.5 miles out the next morning.

Spring is here, bringing with it ample opportunity to get outside, stretch your legs and enjoy the abundance of wildflowers and other plant life in the Southern Appalachians. 

Flitting about her apartment on Vancouver Island, Melissa McDevitt had already packed her bag in preparation for the long journey from Canada’s west coast back to Haywood County. 

Readers are now likely to be searching their own minds for the meaning of the term “boomer inn.” Could it be a hotel or boarding house? Maybe the name is associated with the generation of people known as baby boomers following World War II.