There’s nothing quite like a relaxing hike in the woods.
Even when you’re sitting in the local library.
Adult summer readers with the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library will take a “Tour of the Smokies” Thursday night when two visiting authors share their take on the top 100 hikes in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
Husband and wife authors James and Lin Stepp will share a presentation from their hiking guide “The Afternoon Hiker” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the library. Lin Stepp is also the author of a fiction series named the “Smoky Mountain Series.”
ECCPL Library Assistant Shelby Cole explained the book features excursions for hikers of all experience levels.
“It is for all ages and all abilities,” Cole said. “It really is for everyone.”
On Lin Stepp’s website, www.linstepp.com, Stepp explained why the couple decided to write their own hiking guide.
“We bought several books and guides, checked others out at the library, but quickly found many of these books did not describe aspects of the mountain trails in any detail until eight to 10 miles from the trailhead,” she wrote.
She continued that as casual afternoon hikers, she and her husband had usually turned around and headed back before reaching that point on the trail.
The couple then teamed up to document their hikes. Lin would journal descriptions of their outings and James would take photos to accompany the writing. The duo focused details on site explorations along the trails instead of covering the distance from starting to stopping points.
“Anyone interested hiking in the Smokies should definitely come out as should anyone interested in learning more about her fiction series,” Cole said.
The “Tour of the Smokies” session is open for all ages and is a part of the adult Summer Reading Program.
The program is the third in the series. The adult summer readers previously looked at “Green Cleaning” and “Health on the Internet.”
Three more sessions are planned for August. Two confirmed sessions will include the Gray Fossil Site and the American Red Cross discussing disaster preparedness.