About The Guide

Burt works under outfitter-guide permits issued by the following agencies:

the U.S. Forest Service
the National Park Service
the US Fish and Wildlife Service
the Oregon State Marine Board
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks

Burt has been nationally certified in the following:

Wilderness First Responder
Wilderness Advanced First Aid
Whitewater Canoe Instructor

Burt is a veteran of the US Marine Corps, 1972-74. He has a B.A. in history from the University of Oregon (1976) and an M.A. in English from the University of N.C. at Chapel Hill (1980). He was president of the NC Bartram Trail Society for 12 years, and he is co-author of the NC Bartram Trail series of maps. Burt is author of A Guide’s Guide to Panthertown Valley and is a freelance writer, with numerous published articles about wilderness skills, backwoods safety, and natural history. Burt has been written about in such magazines as National Geographic, Backpacker, Blue Ridge Country, Southern Living, Cooking Light, American Hiker, Southeastern Outdoor Recreation, Wildlife In North Carolina and Our State. He lives with his wife, Becky, & their son, Henry, in Cullowhee, NC.

"Burt Kornegay is a one-man university on subjects such as the geography of the wilderness area, its animal and plant life, low-tech camping and wilderness survival, and the history of the native Americans who once were the only residents of the mountains. He can identify just about every plant in the forest and tell you which ones are edible and which are poisonous. He can show you how to make rope out of tree bark, and where to find natural tinder and kindling. He can start a fire with a wooden bow and stick, and with that fire he can cook a pot of good chili or chicken stew with dumplings, spiked with fresh ramps pulled from the creek bank."

Jerry Shinn, The Charlotte Observer