Historic Rugby Writer’s Series to Feature Howard Ray Duncan on April 22

RUGBY, Tenn. – Historic Rugby continues its year-long series of writer visits with a reading by Howard Ray Duncan 7 p.m. Saturday, April 22 at the Harrow Road Café. The reading is free and the café opens for dinner at 5 p.m.

In 2015, Howard Ray Duncan retired after 30 years as a ranger in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Duncan is a life-long resident of the Big South Fork area and has always had a deep personal connection to the lands that now make up the park, which he began exploring at an early age. He is a masterful storyteller, and he has honed his stories after three decades of interpreting the region for hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Duncan co-authored “Hiking In The Big South Fork,” now in its third edition, and he shares stories from his time as a ranger, insider expertise for hikers and others who would like to find adventures in the area, and other fun insights about the stunning natural beauty around Rugby.

Hiking the Big South Fork is packed with up-to-date information on the trails of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Tennessee and Kentucky. The book combines numerous details about the natural history of the area with fascinating tidbits of folklore and legend to provide an interpretive guide to the trails. The authors have walked, measured, and rated every hiking trail, and, for this edition, they include information about trails in the adjoining Pickett State Park and Forest.

The book features detailed maps; checklists of mammals, birds, and wildflowers; and valuable advice on safety, park rules and regulations, and accommodations. The trail descriptions include difficulty ratings, distance and time information, notes on accommodations and special considerations, and detailed mileage indicators to keep hikers informed of their progress and to clarify points of confusion. Also included is a handy chart designed for backpackers who wish to combine trails for longer excursions.

Leisure walkers, hikers, and backpackers can enjoy discovering this beautiful, rugged national park service area. Only a 90-minute drive northwest of Knoxville, the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is easily reached in half a day or less from Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta.

Rugby, founded in 1880 as a British-American utopian village, is off State Scenic Hwy. 52, 16 miles southeast of Jamestown and 35 miles from either Interstate 40 or I-75 in western East Tennessee.

For more information, visit www.historicrugby.org.

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