Stories of Appalachia

I have been working on this book, Return to Buck Mountain, as a sequel to my first book,... Read More

My turkey book is going to press this fall, titled Broken Promises.   Here is part of the introduction.... Read More

MEAT © 2019 Walt Hampton *This is a long one, but important to me.  Several years ago a... Read More

FOR THE TABLE © 2019 Walt Hampton Among my favorite pastimes is eating. I make no apologies for... Read More

PHOTOGRAPHY © 2019 Walt Hampton *Certainly one of the best ways to remember our Appalachian home is through... Read More

MOTHER’S HANDS © 2019 Walt Hampton It would take a few volumes to talk about my mother, her... Read More

FAVORITE PLACES ©2019 Walt Hampton If you have spent much time on this planet eventually you will accumulate... Read More

PUBLIC LAND © 2019 Walt Hampton Within Appalachia there are several types of public land, whose access and... Read More

LET’S GO TO THE RIVER! © 2019 Walt Hampton A winding, narrow dirt road beside the river leads... Read More

LAND USE MANAGEMENT: WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE FUTURE © 2019 Walt Hampton   The Appalachian region is a... Read More

THE GARDEN: GETTING A BIT MORE TECHNICAL © 2019 Walt Hampton   I have had a few questions from... Read More

THE DANG GARDEN! © 2019 Walt Hampton   I mentioned to you folks last year that pepper plants... Read More

WALT’S CAMPFIRE 6-19 #1 copyright Walt Hampton 6-1-19   RATTLER!   Over the course of the next thirteen... Read More

FROM SHADBUSH TO AZALEA   THE BLESSING OF A LONG SPRING   Walt’s Campfire Copyright 2019            ... Read More

WALT’S CAMPFIRE   EAT THAT TURKEY! COPYRIGHT 2019 WALT HAMPTON   Before we get too romantic let me... Read More

MAY 7, 2018   BETTER ANGELS               I worked him for three hours on 5-6-18 but... Read More

THE APPALACHIAN WAY   Walt’s Campfire 1-8-19 Copyright Walt Hampton         When I was growing... Read More

Walt’s Campfire Copyright Walt Hampton 1-15-19     NOTE: I am retired from commercial gun stock work; I... Read More

Varmints and the Trapper 12-19-18 Copyright Walt Hampton     Growing up and living in rural America, and... Read More

WALT’S CAMPFIRE HOTROD COPYRIGHT 2-1-19 Walt Hampton   I have often said over the years that if reincarnation... Read More

  The Family Treasure   Copyright 3-4-19   I am fortunate in that my family has preserved a... Read More

WALT’S CAMPFIRE   SAYING GOODBYE   Copyright 2-6-19 Walt Hampton     A long life is both a... Read More

WALT’S CAMPFIRE   CONTINUITY   Copyright 2-18-19 Walt Hampton     Over the course of my lifetime I... Read More

WALT’S CAMPFIRE   THE BLINK OF AN EYE   COPYRIGHT 1-23-19       I do not profess... Read More

WALT’S CAMPFIRE COLUMN 13 THE WAY FORWARD   Copyright 2018 Walt Hampton 3-2018                       I would... Read More

For my last two columns in this series I thought we would take a look at our home... Read More

I cannot remember ever being afraid of the river (here I mean the New River, in Grayson County,... Read More

Every year, usually during Spring turkey season, I set aside a day to climb Buck Mountain. I can... Read More

The first real tool I ever had personal control over, so much so that my parents dedicated one... Read More

Every year, year after year, for thousands of years, our Appalachian mountains have been witness to one of... Read More

Over a long career as a wildlife biologist for state, federal and private interests I have had the... Read More

“A sea of forest to the horizon.” This is how the Appalachian Mountains were described by various explorers... Read More

As the years pass and we grow older, we gain an appreciation for those that came before us.... Read More

*First published in Sporting Classics magazine, this is a true glimpse of the Four Winds Farm mentioned in... Read More

First things first: It is pronounced “Ain’t” Mae. Writing about family is hard for me. Things seen through... Read More

It has been said of me that I am a hard man. I never gave this type of... Read More

If you can get your hands on a good relief map of the central Appalachian region, and in... Read More

The Appalachian region of our country has a unique and storied past. This is an area of exploration,... Read More

I had an editor tell me “Times have changed”. Maybe so. With what we each perceive as different... Read More

After a treaty meeting with the Cherokee at Ft. Chiswell in 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker, with three Cherokee... Read More

It was my Mother’s fault and it was, I believe, intentional–she made Thanksgiving my favorite holiday. When you... Read More

The true magic of the Appalachian Mountains manifests itself in the diversity of life found here. Because of... Read More

From where I am sitting this morning I can see 22 different species of trees. That fact may... Read More

The last person to touch this stone tool, thousands of years before I found it, on a gravel... Read More

It seems that according to the mainstream media today, just the mention of the word ‘gun’ is enough... Read More

No one ever wrote a song about her—but that doesn’t really matter, I suppose. I don’t know how... Read More

WILDLIFE BIOLOGY and WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT A short essay on the state of the art Copyright Walt Hampton 5-25-16... Read More

A DEER HUNT Copyright 2015 Walt Hampton 10-20-15   She was a big old doe, with that long... Read More