Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 25, 1993 TAG: 9307250193
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by JUSTIN ASKINS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When I opened "Afoot in the South," I was expecting little more than an abbreviated field guide to North Carolina natural areas. The author was not claiming any comprehensive knowledge of the state, so he settled on 18 hikes chosen out of 300 miles of trails he had wandered recently. Both figures seemed a little skimpy, but I am always willing to give a book about natural places a chance, so I plunged in.
At the beginning of the first hike, a "River Valley Walk" in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Manning captures a kingfisher: "A medium-sized bird with a distinct, slightly irregular wingbeat flies down the center of the creek. For a moment, the bird is between me and the falls, a wild, dark silhouette against the white water."
Already I felt better, and by the time I got to the second section - the volume is divided into four general areas: Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal and Barrier Islands - I was an avid fan of Manning. He has not just given trail maps and static details of what to expect. He has also created a series of rich miniatures, too short for essays but certainly enticing and diverse little encounters.
Manning's technique is to center each chapter on one or two notable natural or historical facts, and then to weave that information through the hike like sunlight filtering through a stand of white pines. For instance, in "The Tundra Swan Walk" along Lake Mattamuskeet, Manning sketches the history of attempts to drain and farm the lake, then uses that information as an effective counterpoint to the Mattamuskeet's present wintering population of swans and ducks, both numbering in the tens of thousands.
I have spent time in several of the areas Manning describes, and just before I received this volume, I had hiked one of the specific trails Manning mentions. In one of the longest chapters, "The Mountains of the Piedmont" about South Mountains State Park, Manning does an admirable job of bringing those mountains to the page: "the South Mountains are steep and rocky, irregularly eroded by wind, weather, streams, and waterfalls, a terrain almost as rugged as the Blue Ridge itself - and far less visited."
I have visited several other North Carolina state parks that center on plutons ("small, stand-alone mountain ranged") but South Mountains was amazing, "a park that is as close to wilderness as any in the state system, a park for hikers and backpackers, for naturalists and seekers of solitude."
Although Manning's trail descriptions are enviable, each chapter opens with a detailed hiking map (including mileage and degree of difficulty) and concludes with information about whom to contact and where to stay.
This is a fine guide to North Carolina's natural areas, moving through the entire state with passion and sensitivity. Manning says he tried to find "the best trails through the most representative habitats of each region." I can't speak for whether they are indeed the best, but they all sound appealing.
Luckily, I will be spending many weekends in the Tarheel state in the next ten months, so I'll be able to do some more first hand research.
Justin Askins teaches at Radford University
by CNB