Hiking Adventures With Thea

Sep 21

“The best view comes after the hardest climb.” - Anonymous

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” - Beverly Sills, world renown American operatic soprano

“Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” - Jaime Lyn Beatty, a founding member of the viral sensation Team Starkid

“The mountains are calling, and I must go.” - John Muir

The Story -

Knowing her love of hiking and for all things outdoors, I asked my friend Thea to consider writing a post for my hiking blog. Thea, her husband Edmond, and their kids are avid hikers and have traveled the country and the world over seeking experiences and adventures. They also have hiked many local trails in the Triad as well as ones in the North Carolina Mountains. I am thrilled she agreed to contribute to my blog and after reading her post and viewing her amazing pictures, I know you will be too! Perhaps she will even inspire you to lace up your boots and start hiking more, worrying less!

Young, Dumb, and Ill-Prepared (Is No Way To Go Through Life Son) -

Edmond and I did not grow up hiking. We both grew up in New Orleans, LA where the closest mountains were hundreds of miles away. Our first hiking experience actually occurred while we were both in college, backpacking through Europe for two months. We fell in love with Switzerland, and our first hike was to the top of Sharks Fin in Gimmelwald. And like the title of this paragraph, minus the Animal House reference, we were young, dumb and ill-prepared - wearing cotton shirts, tattered running shoes, and carrying only sixteen ounces of water between us.

It’s A Family Affair -

When Edmond and I married in 1997, we went to the Canadian Rockies for our honeymoon and weren’t much smarter when it came to gear and hydration. We vowed then to take our children hiking and skiing regularly one day, with better preparations of course! Edmond finished his medical schooling in Winston-Salem and we loved North Carolina so much that we decided to stay, having lived here for over 20 years now! The main draw for us was how close we were to beaches, but mostly the mountains. As our children got older, we started doing a lot of adventure travel all over the world.

Hiking - The Original Social Media -

Hiking attracts a variety of people from all over the world and we have met so many hikers from all walks of life, simply by striking up a conversation while on the trail. In our experience, we have learned that most tourists will not hike more than just a couple of miles at a time, so if you can manage to hike just a little longer (perhaps 3 miles or more), the trails clear out. Here the hard work really pays off, with fantastic views and amazing people who all like to hike more and worry less!

May I Have The Envelope Please -

We love to hike, bike, kayak, and climb - basically any kind of active outdoor activity! We have so many favorite hikes and adventures that it was impossible to choose just one - so we decided to list our favorite hikes into three categories - most beautiful, most difficult, and favorite backyard hikes.

Most Beautiful -

Haute route - Chamonix, France to Zermott, Switzerland - It doesn’t get much more beautiful than this 150 mile hut to hut trek!

Garden Wall Trail - Glacier National Park - One of the most memorable trails with the last quarter mile straight up. The hike up to the glaciers is definitely worth the extra energy that has to be mustered up.

Dolomites, Italy - Tre Cime di Lavardeo - Picturesque hike to see three unusual monolithes.

Via Ferrata, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy - One of the coolest things we have done as a family and NOT for those afraid of heights. You literally hang off a cliff face bolted in with only lobster clips attached to a cable following the old WWI trek up and over a pass the whole time.

Narrows, Zion National Park - Talk about feeling SMALL in a BIG world! Hike up the Virgin River through an amazingly beautiful slot canyon.

Angels Landing, Zion National Park - Although not the most challenging hike we’ve done, it’s not for those afraid of heights as you hold onto cables as you get up toward the top. Amazing views and well worth it!

Maroon Bells - Crested Butte to Aspen - a fabulous 11 mile hike over the pass. July would be the best time to catch all of the wildflowers in bloom.

Most Difficult -

Bonanza trail - Kennicott, Alaska - This hike up to an old mine was a real “take your breath away” on both views and lung capacity!

Backpacking through backcountry of Yosemite - This was one of the most challenging trips we have done as we carried 35-50 pound packs for six days through the backcountry of Yosemite. It was TOTALLY worth it (though we would not have said that the day after...kind of like having a baby, you forget the pain and it’s well worth it in the end)!

Sharks Fin, Gimmelwald, Switzerland - This was our first introduction to hiking when we were in our early 20’s and were VERY inexperienced (not a CLUE what we were doing). After reaching the top, we stayed at a mountain hostel overlooking the fin. We remember it being so hard to get to the top and I would love to see how we would fare now. This is one we must go back to and do better!

Backyard Hikes That We Love -

Greensboro

Owl’s Roost - Challenging mountain bike trail but also can be hiked.

Natty Greene - Great hiking trail from Lake Townsend to Bur-Mil park along the lake.

Osprey - Off of Church; our favorite running trail or trail to take our dog Copper along.

Lake Toxaway / Brevard

Toxaway River Trail - A magical fairy land resembling the hobbit where you cross the Toxaway river no less than twenty times.

Dismal Falls Trail - A challenge to climb down (must always go UP first) into a beautiful gorge with three fabulous waterfalls.

Gorges State Park - One of our all time favorite places to slide off of a Turtle Back shaped rock into the Horse Pasture River.

Looking Glass - After a three mile moderate climb, there are beautiful views from the top and you are truly surrounded by beauty as though you are looking through a looking glass.

Wrap It Up -

As you can tell, hiking is a passion of ours and we have found after many years of this amazing sport that the hike is ALWAYS worth it!

Thea

Thea Fitzgerald

Thea is from New Orleans, LA and lives in Greensboro, NC with her husband, and their favorite Ridgeback, Copper. She graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1995, with a BS in Exercise Science. She spent 5 years at the New Orleans Country Club as a trainer before starting her own business, Health and Fitz-ness, LLC while pregnant with her first child. Thea and Edmond are now new to the empty nesting scene with their daughter, at UGA and son, at UC - Boulder. When not working in the Whine Cellar, walking her giant dog, biking around town, hiking through NC trails or doing yoga, Thea enjoys a variety of sports, reading, cooking, spending time with family and friends and relaxing on the screened porch with an iced coffee. The Fitzgerald's love to adventure travel and learn about new cultures, food, and amazing landscapes. Thea has a passion for people and helping to lead them to a healthier lifestyle to ultimately live their best life. She truly believes that life is an endurance event that should be trained for daily.