Leonard M. Adkins-The Habitual Hiker

SPECIAL NOTE!!!
Laurie, MacAfee of Knob (The Amazing Appalachian Bouncing Dog), and Leonard have completed their hike of the full length of the Appalachian Trail, a journey that lasted from February 28, 2007 to November 8, 2007! This was Leonard's 5th thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, Laurie's 4th, and Mac's 2nd. To read about their adventures click on the GA-ME 2007 button above. (See bottom of this page concerning awards this series received.)


Leonard M. Adkins, profiled by Backpacker magazine, and referred to as “The Habitual Hiker,” has hiked more than 19,000 miles exploring the backcountry areas of the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. Almost every hiking season finds him on some new and exciting adventure. He has thru-hiked the full length of the Appalachian Trail five times (and lacks less than 700 miles of finishing for a sixth), traversed the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico, followed the Pacific Northwest Trail through Montana, Idaho, and Washington, and walked Canada’s Great Divide Trail. Other long-distance journeys include Vermont’s Long Trail, West Virginia’s Allegheny Trail, and the Ozark Highlands Trail in Arkansas. His adventures in Europe include a trek of the Pyrenees High Route from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean along the border of France and Spain and an exploration of Iceland’s interior.

The off-season is spent writing books and articles. Leonard’s words and photographs have appeared in Islands, Caribbean Travel and Life, Blue Ridge Outdoors, Backpacker, Colorado Daily, Mid-Atlantic Country, Charleston Gazette, and others. He is currently the hiking columnist for Blue Ridge Country and writes the walking and hiking column for the bi-monthly Roanoker magazine.

Leonard is the author of more than a dozen books on the outdoors, nature, and travel, and his Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail (photographers Joe and Monica Cook) received the National Outdoor Book Award, ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award, and a Virginia Literary Award nomination. The Appalachian Trail: A Visitor’s Companion was honored by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation with a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award.

Among his other books are:

Walking the Blue Ridge: A Guide to the Trails of the Blue Ridge Parkway
50 Hikes in Northern Virginia
50 Hikes in Southern Virginia
50 Hikes in Maryland
50 Hikes in West Virginia
Best of the Appalachian Trail: Day Hikes (with Victoria and Frank Logue)
Best of the Appalachian Trail: Overnight Hikes (with Victoria and Frank Logue)
The Caribbean: A Walking and Hiking Guide

Leonard is not just a writer; he takes an active part in all of the books he produces. He walked all of the trails he writes about in his hiking guides with a surveyor’s measuring wheel to insure accurate mileage and descriptions. For his travel books Maryland: An Explorer’s Guide, West Virginia: An Explorer's Guide, and Adventure Guide to Virginia, he visited all of the places he describes: bed & breakfasts, restaurants, historic sites, museums, golf courses, bookstores, antique shops, amusement parks, beaches, hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, and more.

Jobs as an Assistant Director for George Mason University’s Outdoor Education Center and interpreter for the Virginia State Parks system helped increase his knowledge of the outdoors. He is presently an Appalachian Trail Natural Heritage Monitor, aiding the AT Conservancy and National Park Service in overseeing the welfare of rare and endangered plants. He is on the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club's Board of Director's, maintained a section of the Appalachian Trail, and served as an editor for the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association.

Recently, the Habitual Hiker has been sharing his love of the outdoors by presenting multimedia programs to an array of audiences. Judging by comments from university students, civic organizations, scout troops, outdoor outfitting customers, naturalists, poets, and armchair travelers, Leonard’s programs have entertained, delighted, and informed. Be it tropical islands, snowcapped peaks, emerald forests, or stark desert tracts, the presentations speak to the inner soul of each of us, reminding us of the peace, contentment, and joy only to be found in the freedom of traveling the natural world on foot.

“Best program of its type I’ve ever seen.”
“Great show! We had well over 300 enthralled and entertained listeners.”
“Best Saturday night entertainment and speaker we’ve ever had.”
“The only question the students and I have is: When can you come back?”
“People did not just hear and see your program; they experienced the trail with you.”
Along with his thru-hiking wife, Laurie “The Umbrella Lady,” and thru-hiking dog, Macafee of Knob, “The Amazing Appalachian Bouncing Dog,” Leonard lives in the Catawba Valley of Virginia.

Contact Leonard if you need an expert for your next article or book, a speaker for a conference or meeting, or just want to “talk trail.”

NOTE:
Leonard has recently received several honors. His book, “Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains,” was nominated for the Virginia Literary Award, and he has been accepted into the Society of American Travel Writers.

In December, Leonard received of the West Virginia Division of Tourism's Stars of the Industry Award for his article "New River Gorge Trails" in Blue Ridge Country Magazine, and in October he received the Award of Merit from the International Regional Magazine Association for his work on the column.

In June, the series of articles he wrote and photographs he took during his thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail last year (hit the GA-ME 2007 button above to read them) received a number of awards from the Society of American Travels Writers (www.satw.org) Atlantic/Caribbbean Chapter's Writing and Photography Contest. In August, Leonard and the series of articles received a Lifestyle Columnist award from the West Virginia Press Association.