Reader Submission: Pisgah National Forest from Balsam Grove, NC to Brevard, NC

On Thursday, 2/2/12, I received a new trail report from our (quickly becoming!) regular contributor, Randall Warren.  Randall explored an area in the Pisgah National Forest, in Southwestern North Carolina, from Balsam Grove to the Fish Hatchery in Brevard. 

As always, I have neither verified the accuracy of the descriptions nor checked for legal vehicle travel, I feel obligated to state the obvious...Use the following information at your own risk.

And now, I give you Randall:

From Rosman, North Carolina, take NC 215 ten miles north to the community of Balsam Grove.  Less than a mile north out of Balsam Grove, turn right on State Road 1321, also known as Indian Creek Road.

First Overland and a tribute to Antony Barrington-Brown

One of my favorite travel books is First Overland, written by Tim Slessor and published in 1957.  It chronicles the 1955 Oxford & Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition from London to Singapore.  One member of the expedition, Antony Barrington-Brown (known as BB), was the expedition's photographer and filmmaker.  Last month, both BB and his wife, Althea, were killed in a car accident near their home in Wiltshire, England.

Below is a link to Graeme Aldous' tribute to BB and his wife via his First Overland Newsletter (note, current newsletter content will change so you may need to view his archived newsletters if you read this post late).  Graeme created an excellent DVD documentary of the First Overland story.  His tribute offers some insight into the lives of BB and Althea.

http://www.teeafit.co.uk/firstoverlandnewsletter/

Godspeed BB and Althea.

-David