Jim Parham is at it again.
The patriarch of mountain biking in the Smoky Mountain region, Parham has been cranking out trail guides for a quarter of a century, continually updating, refining and refreshing his line-up of mountain bike manuals.
His latest installments have once again proved Parham’s prowess — not only in his knowledge of the trail, but his knack for delivering what mountain bikers need know in an easy-to-follow format.
The mountain biking landscape was in its infancy when Parham wrote his first book in the early ‘90s, an era of makeshift maps scrawled on scraps of paper from the glove box and passed around at trail heads.
“People were all of a sudden showing up with bicycles wondering where on earth they were supposed to ride these things they had bought,” Parham said.
That first guidebook, Off the Beaten Track, achieved Biblical status among mountain bikers. Updated editions were released three times over the next two decades, but the popular title has now been replaced by his latest companion guidebooks simply called Mountain Bike Trails — one for the North Georgia Mountains and Southeast Tennessee and one for the North Carolina Mountains and South Carolina Upstate.
While Off the Beaten Track is being retired — so save those torn and tattered copies as collector’s items — it won’t be forgotten as the book that sealed Parham’s status as an early pioneer of mountain biking in the Southern Appalachians, a legacy that will live on for generations.
For Parham, that’s what guidebooks are about: the missing link that connects people to the outdoors, giving them the keys to unlock the world of nature.
Parham has more than a dozen outdoor guide books under his belt, running the gamut from road bike routes to waterfall hikes in the greater Smokies region. While Parham’s name is the one on the cover, the secret to his success is his wife MaryEllen Hammond, the brains behind the couple’s publishing business Milestone Press.
Milestone Press specializes in outdoor guidebooks of all kinds — from motorcycle touring to day hikes — with a geographic footprint spanning four states surrounding the Smoky Mountains.
The couple founded Milestone Press in the early ‘90s after making the Smokies outdoor adventure town of Bryson City, N.C., their home. The outdoors lifestyle is what lured them here, and they dedicated their careers to sharing that passion with the masses, whether its their guidebook for families on Natural Adventures in North Georgia or a compilation of favorite road rides by the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club.
For adventure-seekers who journey to the outdoors Mecca of the Smokies, guidebooks are essential to navigate the terrain, but Parham and Hammond also hope their guidebooks can serve as a stepping stone to rekindle locals’ relationship with their own backyard.
That was the premise behind one of Parham’s more unique titles, Backpacking Overnights, serving up 50 short overnight backpacking trips in the Smokies region.
Parham’s philosophy is that backpacking should be easy, accessible and fit into the schedule of the 9 to 5 working stiff. No expensive hiking boots? Go in your sneakers. No sleeping bag? Buy a light summer one for $30 on sale. No stove? Pack leftovers for the night.
“It doesn’t require huge amounts of time, gear and money to go backpacking,” Parham says. “With just little bit of knowledge, you can have lot of fun in the woods.”
The book has how-to’s for beginners, knot-tying 101, choosing a campsite or hanging a hammock.
One of his latest strokes of genius was a three-in-one guidebook for Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina — combining the trifecta of biking, hiking and camping into one all purpose guide, saving outdoor lovers both shelf space and backpack space.
The life of a outdoor guidebook writer isn’t as romantic as it seems.
“People will say, ‘That sounds like a great job. You go out in the woods and have fun all the time.’ And in a way they’re right,” Parham admits.
Parham’s lunch break has a better view than most. Instead of loitering by the office water cooler he’s lounging by a waterfall.
But he’s not always sleeping under the stars roasting marshmallows. Instead, he’s eating granola bars and PB&J while sleeping in the back of his Subaru at trailheads all week. The weather doesn’t always cooperate either.
“When you’re out there and it’s about 33 degrees and raining, you’re not exactly what you’d call enjoying yourself,” Parham says.
And there’s the work side as well. Parham explores the trails with cameras, GPS units and log books, constantly recording and documenting.
“I refuse to put anything in print if I haven’t been there in person a number of times,” Parham says. “So that I know the area, I know the trail, I know the terrain, I know the plants that are growing there, the animals you’re going to see, what the creeks are like at high water and low water.”
While Parham is best known for his mountain bike books, he’s an equal opportunity outdoorsman.
“My love of the outdoors is just being out there — the mode that gets me out there is not so much important,” Parham says. “It’s just being out there and seeing and experiencing what there is.”
These and other guidebooks by Milestone Press are available at local, independent bookstores in the region, as well as Mast General Store locations and other outfitters. www.milestonepress.com.