Five-Star Trails Charlotte

Five-Star Trails: Charlotte is a handy guide for area residents, vacationers seeking outdoor fun, and for business travelers with a free afternoon. With a diverse collection of hiking routes, the book offers choices for everyone from solo trekkers to companions to families with either youngsters or oldsters to consider.

Researched, experienced, and written by a local author, the guide provides in-depth trail descriptions, directions, and commentary on what to expect along the way. Each hike features an individual trail map, elevation profile, and at-a-glance key info, helping readers quickly determine the perfect trip for them when they are ready to head out the door.

Sized to fit in a pocket, the book is convenient to keep in the car or toss into a backpack. Driving directions direct hikers to the nearest trailhead parking areas, and GPS trailhead coordinates get them to the start of the trail.

Joshua Kinser is a writer and musician based in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, about a 45-minute drive from Charlotte. Growing up by the beaches of Pensacola, Florida, Kinser would head up to the mountains of North Carolina every summer and cater to his passion for hiking and backpacking. Feeding into his love of travel and hunger for new experiences, those early past-times led him to make a profession of writing travel guides, magazine articles, and outdoor-adventure guidebooks.

With regular stints as a wildlife biology field technician for the U.S. Forest Service, Kinser also finds himself these days in back country in Florida, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, in Montana's Glacier National Park, and in California's National Forest lands surrounding Yosemite National Park. Indulging his cultural side, Kinser also is a professional drummer performing in wedding bands, clubs, and in cruise ship orchestras. Aboard the latter, he has drummed his way along the perimeters of Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand, Borneo, and South Korea.

As an accomplished author, Kinser wrote Moon Handbook’s 2011 guidebook FLORIDA GULF COAST, third Edition. In 2010 alone, he published more than 200 articles online for websites such as Trails.com, Ehow, and USA Today Travel. Completing his degree in Journalism from Pensacola State College in December 2010, he also has worked as a staff writer for Gannet with the PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL.