That's a lot of hiking!

"It looks like a good day for hiking!"

Those are words that folks who enjoys the out-of-doors loves to hear -- and one of those folks is me! I've always enjoyed a good walk in the woods, and some of the very best places to find that walking are waiting for you in Georgia's many and varied state parks.

What kind of hiking opportunities do Georgia's state parks offer?

That's the question that's at the heart of a new book I'm writing. The book, entitled Hiking Georgia's State Parks, will be a comprehensive and extremely detailed guide to every hiking trail in every state part in the state. The book will include detailed trail guides and exceptionally accurate trail maps, with practical, useful and to-the-point info on what you can expect along each and every trail.

It's the kind of book that I've often wished I'd had access to, but since I couldn't find exactly what I wanted I decided to research and write one myself!

This blog will let you go along with me as I work on that book, bringing it toward publication sometime this fall. Through this blog, you'll be able to follow the book's progress and get a look at some of the exciting hiking that awaits discovery along the way.

In the course of writing and preparing Hiking Georgia's State Parks,  I'll be walking every yard of every state park trail in the state. Along the way I'll be chronicling every step of the experience, reporting on what I find and giving you the info that you will need to enjoy hiking Georgia's state parks too.

And now the big question: Just how much hiking is that going to involve?

"A lot," observed by ever-helpful bride. "That's a lot of hiking. Are you up to it? You're not as young as you used to be, you know."

Oh, they can be so helpful.

But she's right. It is a lot of hiking, so step one is gonna be to get a brand new set of hiking shoes to make it all as comfortable and secure as we can make it. My trusty old trail clompers are getting kind of up in years, so this seems like as good a time as any to do a little upgrading in the recreational footwear department. In fact, that's the big item on the agenda this week -- getting those new hiking shoes -- and in the next few days I'll let you know how the experience goes.

Meanwhile, I'm glad to have you walking along with me on this great adventure, and I hope I'll be seeing you on one of the great Georgia state park trails!