Home Blogs Kurt's Hikes

Photo atop Mt. Pleasant look southwest toward the Peaks by Ken Knott.Photo atop Mt. Pleasant looking southwest toward the Peaks of Otter by Ken Knott.

Blue Ridge Country editor-in-chief Kurt Rheinheimer and his wife Gail woke up on Valentine's Day in 2004 looking to do something a little different in recognition of the occasion.

Since then, Kurt and Gail have hiked at least once every weekend for more than six years. Of those 300-plus weekends, they have missed 14, virtually all due to occasional balkiness from Kurt's old-man knees or achilles. For the first two years (Valentine's Day 2004 through Valentine's Day 2006) they didn't miss a single week. They completed the 546 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia in the summer of 2008, and have walked more than 3,000 miles total, mostly in Virginia but including hikes in West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Oregon and ... New Zealand!

Mountains on the Other Side of the World: New Zealand, Part 1

Thursday, April 1, 2010 Kurt Rheinheimer
Mountains on the Other Side of the World: New Zealand, Part 1

Hikes, February 17-March 6, 2010. Up, down and around all three islands of New Zealand, in mostly short hikes. About 40 miles total.


Part I: Feb. 17-22. Over our nearly three glorious weeks in New Zealand (a gift to me (AND The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All) from Leisure publisher Richard Wells as a 25-years' service pin!), we walked every day – through cities, along beaches and exploring small towns, probably covering 75 miles or more over the 18 days. The brief descriptions to follow are only of the more defined hikes – through the bush, up volcanoes, onto a glacier and to some of the most amazing vistas in the whole wide world.

Read more...
 

Y'all walking for fun?

Friday, March 26, 2010 Kurt Rheinheimer
Y'all walking for fun?

From home in Roanoke in a loop to Franklin Road and back on Brandon Avenue; then on to Grandin Village and back. About 6.5 miles.

On another big-snow weekend (9.9 inches this time, less than the 17.9 of Dec. 19-20, but still real), we set out from hom...

Read more...

Orange-Blaze Detours

Friday, March 26, 2010 Kurt Rheinheimer
Orange-Blaze Detours

Appalachian Trail from Jennings Creek (Va. 614) to Cove Mountain Shelter and back (with short Glenwood Horse Trail side trek). 7 miles.

We'd hoped to visit the Apple Orchard Falls area before things melted away from the falls completely, but FR 59 sti...

Read more...

Urban Legerdemain

Friday, March 12, 2010 Kurt Rheinheimer
Urban Legerdemain

Whereas, the best place to walk is in the woods.

Whereas, Roanoke is surrounded by a bounty of woods and mountains.

Whereas, for scores and scores of weeks in succession over the second half of the past decade and now into a new one we have retreated t...

Read more...

Carvins Cove on a Winter Day

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 Kurt Rheinheimer
Carvins Cove on a Winter Day

Appalachian Trail from U.S. 220 at Daleville to Carvins Cove overlook point and back. 6 miles.

With a son visiting from Pennsylvania and wanting a relatively short hike he hadn't done before, we headed to a convenient favorite for an AT tromp through ...

A Cold Trek to McAfee's

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 Kurt Rheinheimer
A Cold Trek to McAfee's

Another cold day, but predicted to be not as cold as the ensuing two, which as of this writing on January 11 has turned out to be the ensuing 10 at least – some of the coldest weather in Roanoke in a decade. With big ol' wind. And the snow from Decem...

Read more...

A Walk in Record Snow

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 Kurt Rheinheimer
A Walk in Record Snow

From home in Southwest Roanoke to the Roanoke City Market area and back. About 6 miles.

On the morning after Roanoke's record-breaking 17.8-inch snowfall, we set out on a trek that involved no driving to get to the walk; just out the door and onto the s...

Read more...
Page 4 of 12