Growing up in Arkansas, Jim Warnock enjoyed day hikes with his parents on family camping trips and in the woods behind his home. He found hiking to be essential to his physical health and in maintaining relationships with family and friends.

His love of hiking led him to like-minded friends who have hiked Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Colorado and have made repeated trips into the Grand Canyon of Arizona. He thru-hiked the Ozark Highlands Trail in January 2014 and completed the John Muir Trail in the summer of 2016.

While he’s come to love the long and legendary trails, he relishes the joys of day hikes and finds that they provide endless discovery and pleasure with limited travel time and expense. As an educator and school principal, he has unique insight into the needs of young hikers. In his book, you’ll find trails for the experienced outdoors enthusiast seeking a challenge as well as for the novice or young hiker who benefits from shorter hikes that hold interest and provide new learning.

Jim was designated as a National Distinguished School Principal in 2006 and has served as president of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators. He has served as a board member of the Ozark Highlands Trail Association (OHTA) and maintains memberships in both the OHTA in Arkansas and the Ozark Trail Association in Missouri.

Jim has written numerous articles on hiking and travel for Do South Magazine and Entertainment Fort Smith. He has also written for state and national educational leadership publications and has served as an editorial advisor for Principal Magazine.

When not hiking and writing about trails, Jim might be found maintaining his adopted 4-mile section of the Ozark Highlands Trail from Jack Creek to Dockery Gap. He enjoys photography, blogging, drumming, and daily hikes on the Lake Alma Trail with his black Lab, Hiker-dog.