Randy Johnson

Let me introduce myself and my books. The brand new 4th editions of "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway" and "Best Easy Day Hikes Blue Ridge Parkway"—both out by October 15, 2022—are ready to entice you outdoors! The new, completely updated "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway" is full of color photos and National Geographic topo maps. The 2017 third edition was a finalist in the "guidebook/travel book" category in the North American Travel Journalists Association Awards. I call this newest edition an "advocacy trail guide." It highlights the countless and critical contributions that the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation—the Parkway's official charitable partner—is making to the Parkway's trails and facilities. The foundation recommends the book and includes an introduction by foundation executive director Carolyn W. Ward, PhD. The new 4th edition of "Hiking North Carolina" is also an award-winner, recently winning the Bronze Award in the "travel book/ guide" category from the North American Travel Journalists Association. Both "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway" and "Hiking North Carolina" are full of less-visited trails and advice on how to take even landmark hikes from alternate starting points that escape the crowds (a strategy that emerged as perfect for the COVID era). 2019 saw publication of my UNC Press book "Southern Snow: The New Guide to Winter Sports from Maryland to the Southern Appalachians," the brand new definitive guide to Southern ski history, the climate of the Southern Appalachians, all the region's downhill ski resorts, Nordic ski sites, and most wintry hiking trails. The 1986 original edition of Southern Snow was called a "cult classic" by ski film pioneer Warren Miller. The new book won an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Skade Award from the International Ski History Association, and was a finalist in the 2019 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards. Or consider my 2016 book, "Grandfather Mountain: The History and Guide to an Appalachian Icon." It won Bronze in the 2016 Foreword INDIES Travel Book of the Year awards, and was a finalist for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. It also won First Place and Best in Show in the 2017 Writing and Photography Contest from the Eastern Chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers. Former "Our State" editor Vicky Jarrett said the book reads "like a James Michener novel." Check out an NPR interview about the book with host Court Lewis. Search "American Variety Radio," choose "Past Shows" and click program 394. My "Best Easy Day Hikes Great Smoky Mountains National Park" is the newest 2nd edition, one of few books bundled with a National Geographic/Trails Illustrated map (at a great price on Amazon). Check out my website for more—www.randyjohnsonbooks.com. I don't just hike trails, I build them too. I launched the program that kept Grandfather Mountain's trails open in the 1970s, and helped create the trail network in place on the mountain and Blue Ridge Parkway today. As task force leader for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail across Grandfather—I invite you to join us (https://mountainstoseatrail.org/). I hope you'll consider my guides. Here's wishing you the kind of hiking experiences that inspire me to write them! See you on the trail.