Exploring Southern Appalachian Forests: An Ecological Guide to 30 Great Hikes in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia

Southern Gateways Guides

by Stephanie B. Jeffries, Thomas R. Wentworth

This unique hiking guide to the southern Appalachian mountains leads readers to explore the rich forest ecosystems and other natural communities visitors encounter along the trail. Drawing on years of experience guiding forest walks throughout the region, Steph Jeffries and Tom Wentworth invite hikers and nature lovers to see their surroundings in new ways. Readers will learn to decipher clues from the tree canopies, forest floor, and other natural features to appreciate more fully the environmental factors that make the southern Appalachians home to an amazing biodiversity.

These thirty popular hikes in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia range from short walks along Blue Ridge Parkway pull-offs to longer day trips in the region's backcountry. Offering spectacular mountain scenery and natural wildflower gardens, these trails are the perfect place to gain a new appreciation for the natural communities of the region.

Features include
* A summary including distance, difficulty, and GPS coordinates for each hike
* A narrative description of each hike, including the unique natural features waiting to be discovered
* Detailed instructions to keep you on the trail
* Best seasons to go for wildflower and foliage views
* Contact information for each area
* Photos and maps to orient you
* An illustrated guide to southern Appalachia's most common trees and shrubs, including tips on identification

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2014

Reviews

[Elizabeth Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like having your own personal tour guide on 30 hikes through the Southern Appalachian Trail. Each guide shows you more than just what plants you will see but the complexity of factors that influence the forest. It is written in easy to understand language and has wonderful details like which flowers will be in bloom at what time, or what time of year would be the best to visit. There's even mention of specific trees to visit on the paths. This was a great book to read to learn more about the flora on the Appalachian trail but would be useful for any hike in the woods because it teaches you to look beyond the obvious and see the complexity of influences on the forest around you.

[Jonathan Hunsberger]

This would be nice as a field guide while taking the hikes, but i live a few hundred miles from the Appalachian Mountains and don't have any trips planned that way at the moment. It is also an enjoyable and informative read straight through. It is written such that each hike can be read standalone and the resulting repetition of specific names and community types was helpful in settling the concepts into my old brain. Each hike has a sidebar with in-depth discussion of some relevant topic, and these get cross-referenced in other hikes where applicable. Definitely recommend to anyone interested in natural communities of the area.

[Jennifer Fitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! I'm a lifelong outdoors enthusiast, but not a naturalist by any stretch. I always wish I knew more about the land around me -- both the plants and the geology -- but it's daunting finding a guide that is not too technical for an untrained reader.

This book hit the perfect balance for me: Conversational tone, eminently readable, and informative without being overwhelming.

I'd recommend it for readers who have a passing knowledge of the basics of forestry and geography (you need to know terms like "under-story" and "canopy" and have a general familiarity with categories of plants "maples" "oaks" etc.), and who are now interested in learning more.

The hike-by-hike format is great for amateurs because it allows the reader to learn exquisitely more detail than could be covered at the visitor center's generic "Welcome to Appalachia" displays, but no single hike description contains so information that the reader would get overloaded.

This book is a brilliant blend of technical detail and heartfelt enthusiasm for the joy and beauty to be found in the woods. Highly recommended.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Warm, inviting, and humorous. The authors have done an outstanding job in describing the hikes--filling them with rich sensory details and great insights--and teaching us about ecology in nice digestible sized nuggets. Having done a few of these hikes, I know first hand that the authors have outdone themselves. While reading about past hikes that I've taken, I would be magically transported back to those trips...the writing is that vivid! Some of the hikes accounted in this book have been on my travel wish list and now I'm even more stoked about them. Amazingly, this book shines light on hidden treasures that I somehow missed even though I've been within a stone's throw. I took note of the best times to visit (mainly in spring, summer, and fall) and have started planning my 2015 hiking calendar!