Five-Star Trails: Asheville

Jennifer Pharr Davis grew up in the North Carolina Mountains, where day hiking was part of her life with her parents and two older brothers. At age 21, she took on the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) as a solo female and fell in love with long-distance backpacking. Since then, Jennifer has hiked the AT twice more, earning endurance records. In 2008, averaging 38 miles per day and completing the AT in 57 days, she became the fastest woman on record to hike that trail. And in 2011, she set the overall record, completing the AT in 46 days, averaging 46.9 miles per day. Even though this record has now been eclipsed, Jennifer remains the fastest woman on record to hike the AT—and the fastest mother to hike the AT. By mid-2011, she had logged more than 11,000 miles of North American trails. In addition to the AT, those treks include the Pacific Crest Trail, Vermont’s Long Trail, and the Colorado Trail. Traveling to six continents to exercise her hiking wanderlust, she cites Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, Peru’s Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and Australia’s 600-mile Bibbulmun Track among her international highlights. The author’s 2010 memoir, Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail (Beaufort Books), chronicles her 2005 and 2008 AT thru-hikes. She also authored Best Easy Day Hikes: Charlotte (FalconGuides, 2010) and articles for Trail Runner magazine and Away.com. She is a frequent contributor to Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine. In 2016, Jennifer was the recipient of the prestigious Laurel Wreath Award, bestowed upon her by the state of North Carolina for her outstanding athletic achievements. Jennifer lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, Brew, and daughter Charley. In addition to the important job of being a mother, she is the owner and founder of Blue Ridge Hiking Company, a thriving enterprise at which she and her husband work together. Her company mission statement is, “Making the wilderness accessible and enjoyable through instruction and guiding.” For the latest on Jennifer, please check out www.blueridgehikingco.com.

1Arboretum Explorer Loop


2Destination Center Track Trail


3Haw Creek Overlook


4Lake Powhatan


5Rocky Cove


North


6Craggy Gardens and Craggy Pinnacle


7Douglas Falls


8Hawkbill Rock


9Rattlesnake Lodge


10Max Patch


11Lover’s Leap


12Hickey Fork Loop


13Big Firescald Knob



East


14Catawba Falls


15Mount Mitchell Circuit


16Mount Mitchell High Loop



South


17Bearwallow Mountain


18Florence Nature Preserve


19Carl Sandburg’s Connemara Farm


20Dupont State Forest Four Falls


21John Rock


22Lake Julia


23Looking Glass Rock


24Mills River Loop


25Turkey Pen Loop



West


26Black Balsam Knob High Loop


27Cold Mountain


28Cradle of Forestry


29Graveyard Fields


30Moore Cove Falls


31Mount Pisgah via Buck Springs Lodge


32Pink Beds Loop


33Sam Knob


34Shining Rock


35Skinny Dip Falls