Palmer McIntyre and Hollis Oberlies. Photo from trailsandtreats.com
Please join us for a short hike followed by a book talk on TRAILS & TREATS: A HIKER AND RUNNER'S GUIDE TO GREAT TRAILS AND GOOD EATS IN NORTH CAROLINA with authors Hollis Oberlies and Palmer McIntyre.
Monday, November 3rd
Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library
Hike begins at 5:00 PM
Talk at 6:00 PM (Talk will be in the main meeting room which is the first room on the right down the right hand hallway)
The hike and talk are free and open to the public, but registration is required.
“Trails & Treats is a guidebook for people of all ages, featuring both popular and lesser- known trails across North Carolina, paired with good local eats to satisfy post-trail hunger.” (trailsandtreats.com)
Palmer and Hollis met in Greensboro, North Carolina when their daughters became best friends in elementary school. They have hiked and biked many miles together on trails and roads ever since, including a 50-mile backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail, the 40-mile Bike New York, and RAGBRAI, the annual 500+ mile bike ride across Iowa. Hollis and Palmer love all kinds of trail adventures and never pass up the opportunity to fuel themselves with delicious (and mostly nutritious) eats.
Hollis Oberlies
A runner all her life, Hollis usually sits still just long enough to pick a new route, tie up her shoes, and get back out there again. Her passion for adventures in nature, and a knack for finding the best foodie stops, fueled the idea for Trails & Treats. Born in New Orleans, Hollis has Southern roots. At meals with her extended family, it was commonplace to decide where and when the next meal would be before getting up from the table. Food was always a focus, exploring different local favorites and new flavors. Hollis’ family moved to the Chicago suburbs when she was a child, and she grew up running, hiking, biking, and canoeing in the Midwest. Hollis attended Miami University in Ohio and received a BFA with an emphasis in graphic design, her lifetime profession. Her move to North Carolina in the late ’90s introduced her to the vast network of trails to explore, which she, her husband, and two children have been traversing ever since. After living in Chapel Hill for over a decade, hiking and training on trails in the Triangle, Hollis and her family moved to Greensboro where she is owner/operator of a graphic design business, coaches a middle school cross country team, and directs a local 5k race. She recently helped establish a NC nonprofit to raise funds for charities through local races. Hollis was the recipient of the 2019 Will Caviness Award, given to one runner each year in memory of the Greensboro firefighter and runner. This book is, in part, a legacy of that award.
Palmer McIntyre
A native North Carolinian with a passion for conservation and the outdoors, Palmer began exploring trails with her family as a young girl, backpacking with her father and learning about wildflowers from her grandmother. Palmer has devoted most of her career to the Piedmont Land Conservancy, a regional nonprofit land trust dedicated to preserving natural areas in the Triad region. Involved with PLC since 1996, Palmer has helped protect thousands of acres of land and has led the design and construction of trails in nature preserves for public access and enjoyment. In 2020, she helped launch and now leads the NC Great Trails State Coalition, a statewide trails advocacy group with more than 94 member organizations. She served as director for 2023 NC Year of the Trail, which is a statewide celebration of trails with goals to inspire people to try trails, advance diversity on trails, and boost outdoor recreation tourism through a public awareness campaign and events. Palmer settled in her native Greensboro after years away for college, early career jobs in environmental education and environmental policy, and two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. She holds a Master of Regional Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill. Palmer and her husband have three children. In addition to her passion for hiking, she loves gardening, volunteering in schools, serving as a Girl Scout leader, and spending time on her family’s Ashe County farm, which is forever protected by a conservation easement.
The hike and talk are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Link coming soon.
