Adventure Carolinas: Your Go-To Guide for Multi-Sport Outdoor Recreation (Southern Gateways Guides)

I always think of Joe as the outdoor counterpart to Dave Barry. Joe's books are always well-researched and very fun to read. I neither live in the Carolinas nor am very outdoorsy, but I love a great read! Joe never fails.

Joe Miller followed a different approach when he wrote “Adventure Carolinas: Your Go-To Guide for Multi-Sport Outdoor Recreation”. When I picked it up, I sort of expected to find a typical guidebook with maps and details. The book was a little thin to offer much in the way of normal guidebook content, so I was a bit concerned about what I would find inside.I found the book organized around six main sections, each focusing on a specific outdoor recreation activity. These main sections are framed by an introductory chapter, and a closing chapter offering high level coverage of ten additional activities. The six primary activities are backcountry exploration (basically hiking off-trail), rock climbing, mountain biking, flat-water paddling, white-water paddling, and scuba diving.As I read the first section, on backcountry exploration, I found a few short tales about Joe’s experiences as he tried out backcountry exploration on a few club outings. The tales were followed by a brief discussion of the basic who, what, and where information. Joe then provided slightly more detailed descriptions of several good areas for the activity, divided between lists for North Carolina and South Carolina.As Joe points out in the introduction, and reminds the reader again in the detail sections, he wrote this book for the beginning enthusiast. Or maybe even for those who might just have a slight interest and are not sure if they will take another step towards becoming a participant. They are the ones who really want to know a little more about what is involved in these activities, what it feels like to participate as a beginner, and where to find out more about taking the next steps. Joe tries to provide just those things in this book.The five other primary activities offered Joe a little more to work with. He was able to include additional information such as climbing and white-water rating systems, recommendations for beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level routes, and lists of clubs and organizations where beginners can learn more of the skills needed for that activity.Joe’s email signature declares the title “Chief Exploration Officer”, and the stories he included in this book back that up. Joe has jumped in and at least earned “beginner” status for each of the activities. In some cases, he has gone much further than that.Throughout the book Joe provides URLs for the clubs, parks, outfitters, etc where a beginner should go to find the next bit of information or take the next step. His lists and links are by no means exhaustive, but that avoids overwhelming a rank beginner with too much of a good thing. The lists offer a manageable handful of options to choose from at each level.I thought I had done a decent amount of paddle-camping and knew about most of the good rivers for that in the Carolinas, but Joe’s lists for flat-water paddling offered up several more rivers for me to explore. Even if you are not a beginner, you will likely find useful information in this book.I am not particularly interested in scuba diving, but the way Joe included stories and did not overdo the details made it interesting enough for me read all the way through that section and not be tempted to skip it. I picked up enough details about the minimum expense of getting involved for me to have an idea of what to expect should I ever change my mind!The last chapter in the book provides a really quick introduction to ten other activities, such as snowboarding, kiteboarding, and ziplining. Joe limited the book to activities that are human-powered and not primarily competitive. His focus is to help others get out and move for the simple joy of doing so.Anyone can hop on the internet and eventually find the links and organizations and information Joe provided, but it will take you much longer than simply reading his book. You will waste time sifting through stuff that isn’t helpful or applicable for your abilities or interests. You will also miss his first-hand accounts of what it is like for a beginner to get started in these activities. Consider “Adventure Carolinas” to be a guided introduction to the beginning of a new adventure or two, with some good advice on where they can take you!