Now when you want to find out where to rent a boat, you can just click on the "Paddling' link on the left rail of our home page.

Yesterday’s Weekend Plans section, in which we offer our thoughts on how and where you can have fun over the coming weekend, was a clean sweep for paddling. That made us realize that the paddling season is upon us, which made us realize that our helpful guide to 33 places where you can rent a canoe or a kayak (or a Sunfish-type sailboat) is buried somewhere in this Web site. That made us realize we needed to spend some time under the hood of this operation and make it easier for you to find certain key resources — such as those 33 places in the state where you can rent a canoe or kayak.

Far too many hours, a few panicked phone calls to those more familiar with Web software, and another too many bad words later, we are pleased to say “mission accomplished.”

No, really.

Look to the menu guide in the left rail and you’ll see the new entries of “Paddling” and “Climbing.” Drag your cursor over “Paddling” and you can click on a link to those 33 places where you can update a canoe or kayak in North Carolina (and if there are more not on the list, let us know and we’ll add them pronto). It’s a list we first published last June, updated as of April 27, 2012.

And so excited were we that we’d figured out how to make this happen that we went ahead and added a category for Climbing. Specifically, indoor climbing. Drag your cursor over this this activity and you’ll be presented with two options: “Learn to climb,” and “Climbing gyms,” a rundown of climbing gyms throughout the state.

Keep your eye on the left rail: We’ll be adding more activities in the coming days. If you have an idea for an activity you’d like to see added, leave a comment and we’ll get on it.

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: Pilot Mountain.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I needed to be outside to do it. I needed a destination that wouldn’t restrict my options, one accommodating to the soul who couldn’t decide whether he wanted to hike or paddle, to be still and take in the wildlife, or to be about as wild as I get and go climbing. I also didn’t want to drive all day to get there.

That left one obvious option: Pilot Mountain State Park. Tag along for 90 seconds and see what I found.

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Matthew Meinzer (climbing), Quinlin Riggs (on belay) and Carson Fawzie (sitting) tke advantage of spring break at Pilot Mountain State Park.

The three teenage girls sat on the stone steps at the Ledge Spring trailhead, parallel texting and oblivious. All wore sunglasses, all were elsewhere. Sensing my approach, one leaned slightly, thumbs continuing to hammer her tiny keyboard. I managed to squeeze by. At least they’re outside, I thought, trying to put some positive spin on the scene yesterday afternoon at Pilot Mountain State Park.

Less than a mile down the trail I stumbled upon another young threesome. This one needed no spinning.

Matthew Meinzer was two-thirds of the way up a vertical crack on Your Grandpa’s Belay, a 5.7 route in the park’s Little Amphitheater area. Quinlin Riggs was on belay, offering insight. Carson Fawzie was on deck, providing color commentary. Respectively, they are in the 12th, 11th and 9th grades at Cary's Panther Creek High School. They were taking advantage of the convergence of a gorgeous spring day and spring break in the Wake County schools to engage in one of their many, it turned out, outdoor passions. And they were more than happy to entertain an older fellow with a camera and lots of questions.

“Let’s see, we’ve done Papa Bear, Mama Bear, That-Crazy-Thing-That-Leonard-Did, Place Your Bet,” Quinlin rattled off when I asked what they’d climbed so far.

That-Crazy-Thing-That-Leonard-Did? Is that the name of a route?

“Nah,” said Quinlin. “Leonard’s just some guy who’s always up here.”

Quinlin said he’d been climbing for a year; Matthew and Carson were newly minted climbers. In fact, it was their first time climbing outdoors. All belong to the Triangle Rock Club, an indoor climbing gym in Morrisville. I saw a chance to establish some credibility.

“I belong there, too,” I casually mentioned.

“I thought you looked familiar,” said Carson. So much for credibility.

We exchanged questions. I asked what time they’d started climbing (9 a.m.), they asked if I’d come to climb. I explained that I wrote about the outdoors and had come up to do a presentation on backpacking that evening at the library in King.

“We backpack,” Carson said. “We’re into hammock camping. Wanna see my hammock?”

With that he pulled an Eno sleeping hammock out of his daypack and within two minutes had it slung between two trees.

Matthew Meinzer about to top out on Your Grandfather's Belay at Pilot Mountain.

“We quad stacked them once,” Carson said, and with that he showed me a photo on his iPhone of four hammocks strung above one another between two pines. “The top one’s about 15 feet off the ground.”

“What if the guy on top has to pee in the middle of the night?” I asked.

“You don’t want to be below him,” Quinlin answered.

Matthew got out his hammock. “I made mine,” he said. “I got $20 worth of ripstop nylon from Jo-Ann’s Fabrics and sewed it. I don’t really sew,” he added, “but for this you really don’t need to.” It was an ingenious invention of rope and fabric.

“What else do you guys do?” I asked.

“Slackline,” Carson smiled. The term rang a distant bell. Carson waited a respectful amount of time, realized I wasn’t going to answer the bell myself, and filled in the blank. Again, he pulled out the iPhone for visual reference and showed me a short video of himself tight-roping across inch-wide webbing strung between two trees.

“It was created by climbers looking for something to do in camp,” said Quinlin.

“How high off the ground are you?” I asked. The bright sun, screen glare and my not-so-bright eyes making it difficult to discern such details.

“Two feet? No, maybe five,” Carson said.

“It was a foot,” Quinlin corrected. “Six inches. It was on the ground.”

Despite a nearly two-generation age difference, I felt comfortable with these guys. We had some things in common — climbing (albeit on significantly different levels), a desire to be outside rather than in — and what we didn’t have in common — the energy and derring-do of youth — didn’t seem to matter. If I’d had my climbing gear with me, I’m sure they would have insisted I take a turn on the wall, and I would have felt perfectly safe entrusting my life to Quinlin's belay. Nothing against the cell phone sisters — I have two at home just like them whom I adore — but these guys spoke my language. And they were speaking it at a much younger age than I had.

After an hour or so, after all three had at least one crack at Your Grandfather’s Belay, they were ready to move on.

“Should we do one more?” Quinlin asked. The consensus was yes. “We could do a 5.13” — the hardest climb at Pilot Mountain — “and call it a day.” I was reminded of innumerable, ill-advised black diamond last runs from my skiing days in college.

Matthew didn't hesitate: “I don’t think that’s a good way to end the day.”

On a cold, wet, rainy Sunday afternoon in winter, you could sit in your room and sulk. Or, you could head to your neighborhood climbing gym and do some problem solving. Which is what I and a bunch of climbing buddies from the Triangle Rock Club Meetup did yesterday. ...

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"Gosh, according to my journal it's been three weeks since I've done a decent fartlek workout. Better hop to it."

I was thinking I’d just had a bad day on the wall. Then I opened my climbing journal to record my workout and discovered that my last workout, a week earlier, had been “a bad day.” Likewise, the workout before that, during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, had been “somewhat aimless.” Aimless and anti-productive, I discovered upon further review: Had it really been nearly two months since I’d done a 5.9 climb? My journal said it had.

Thanks to my journal, I was able to fully appreciate just how much of a wimp I’d become.

In today’s The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer I have a story on how to get started exercising (an expanded version of that piece will run here tomorrow, with links). I cover a lot of ground — from the importance of mixing up your workouts to working out with a buddy — but one thing I neglected to mention was the importance of keeping a workout journal.

“A journal will give you a great base/foundation for the goals you want to strive for on your fitness quest,” according to Elite Conditioning of Vista, Calif. “Writing down what exercises you’re going to do for the day or week will give you a solid game plan to follow. You can always adjust your workout journal when you see fit, but just having something written down will help you greatly.”
Adds Nick SantaBarbara of The Training Standard, “One of the most important, if not the most important, reason for a journal is the knowledge of whether or not you are over training or under training.”

A workout journal goes one better than a log. Typically, a log is a concise statistical account of your workout: how far you ran, how much weight you lifted, how many reps you did. For instance, on Sunday I ran at Umstead State Park; my log entry for the workout might read: “Umstead B&B, 7.1m, 1:00:53, 8:28.” Translated: I ran at Umstead State Park on the bike & bridle trail, I ran 7.1 miles in 1 hour and 53 seconds for a per-mile pace of 8:28. My journal entry would likely include the same information, but it would also include observations about the run, such as, “Took nearly a half mile to fall into pace,” “Got a sidestitch 30 minutes in but straightened posture and worked through it,” and “8:28!? What a cow!” That additional information reminds me that I’m not a fast starter, that I’m prone to pesky sidestitches but know how to work through them, and that I’m lousy with analogies because a motivated cow can move pretty darn fast.

Statistics in themselves are helpful. They help mark progress (or not) and they remind me of what I still need to do, especially if I’m training for a specific event. For instance, if I’m seven weeks in to a 12-week training program for a half marathon, the above entry might remind me that I need to up my next long distance day by at least a mile, preferably two. And if I’m aiming to run the aforementioned half marathon in an hour and forty-five minutes or less, the pace might tell me I need to up my track workouts to bring that pace closer to 8 minutes. All good information.

But it’s the observations that, for me, make the difference. Reviewing my climbing journal, I see not just that the difficulty of the routes I’ve been climbing has plateaued (basic log information), I pick up on a recent negative vibe. In the fall, I was bubbly over doing the seemingly impossible and upping my game week after week. Lately, the tone of my journal is that of a a listless slacker who gets spooked easily, worries more about falling and has, increasingly, been climbing alone. My journal leads me to two conclusions:

Make more of an effort to climb with my Meetup group. The comradery encourages a friendly, supportive competition that makes me push myself. Also, if I fall my belay partner will catch me a lot faster than the autobelay, which has an alarming delay before it seems to realize, “Oh, dude is falling. Better catch him.” The autobelay is also reluctant to praise a good effort.

I need to take a class. And it just so happens my neighborhood gym, the Triangle Rock Club, offers a class called “Fight Gravity” that’s “Recommended for the 5.8-5.9 climber who is stuck at a plateau ... .”

My journal hasn’t magically solved my problem, but it’s helped show me what I need to do to make going to the gym fun again. Thanks, journal.

Google around and you can find workout-specific journals with space to let you record stats and an area for workout reflections. They tend to be a little pricey. You can also buy a blank journal and create your own format, or you can do an online journal (yes, there are apps for that). It’s a matter of what works best for you.

Workout. Then write.

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Looking rather relaxed for someone who has just over four months to achieve eight of 10 goals.

While most of you are staring down Day 3 of your 2012 New Year’s resolutions, I find myself with less than five months to go on my annual birthday resolutions. Make that “first” annual birthday resolutions: When I turned 55 last May 11 I got to Googling and discovered that 55 is a somewhat pivital year for a male. Among other things, our muscles and organs begin to atrophy; we shrink, on average, 0.4 inches a year; we dehydrate more easily; our joints stiffen ... . Suffice it to say that on May 11 of last year I didn’t feel I could wait seven months to set some goals, so I set 10 immediately.  All with a theme of 55.

Here’s a status report:

1. Run 11 5Ks (11 x 5 = 55). So far, I’ve run three, all last summer. The good news is that 5Ks are a dime a dozen — or more accurately, at least one a weekend, so the opportunities are there. Plus, I’ve ramped up my running of late (prompted by a more immediate and daunting goal, the Uwharrie Mountain Run on Feb. 4) and feel ready to get back into a 5K rythym. I should fess up, though, that on New Year’s Day I blew off a prime 5K opportunity: the Run in the New Year Run, which was, literally, three blocks from my house. But it started at midnight and my wife laid odds, based on my New Year's Eve track record, that I wouldn’t make it past 10 (I didn’t). Still, I’m optimistic
2. Climb “The Mummy” at Linville Gorge, a 5.5-rated rock climb. This remains unchecked as well, though again, hope springs eternal. I’ve hooked up with the Triangle Rock Club’s Climbing Meetup, been climbing with them at the TRC and know that when it gets warmer, the group’s leadership (comprised of climbing instructors for the Boy Scouts) will be leadings us outdoors. Asterisk: The leadership being leaders and deciding things like where to go, I may have to substitute another climb of equal or greater difficulty.
3. Do a 55-mile backpacking trip. Bit of a conundrum here. Two weeks ago, Chris David and I did a 50-mile backpack trip on the North Carolina Bartram Trail and the Appalachian Trail. Chris, who’s been backpacking since the 1960s, said it was the hardest trip he’s done. Hence, the conundrum: Does the level of difficulty compensate for coming up five miles short? I’m inclined to say yes, especially if I can’t pull off a planned 60-mile backpack trip on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake.
4. Do a 55-mile canoe trip. Again, unchecked but confidence reigns. I’m in the midst of writing a book on adventure sports in the Carolinas, with paddling as a primary focus. The trip may take place in a kayak rather than a canoe, but the fun factor alone should assure that this happens.
5. Do 55 continuous push-ups. As I wrote last May: “I’ve been especially slack over the years on strength training; with my muscles atrophying staying strong becomes even more important.” Turns out, I've discovered, the “atrophying muscles” claim isn’t speculation. I’ve been doing pushups regularly, three to five times a week, in sets of three or four. On the last set, I do as many as I can pump out. In October, I got up to 38 on that last set and plateaued. I’ve recommitted on this one and hope to cross it from the list by the end of February.
6. 55: Total of my waist size (30) and BMI (25). Now, three days after the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year’s bacchanal, is not the time to be taking measure of one's waist and BMI. Again, check back the end of February.
7. Resting heart rate of 55. Just measured it: 48. (Confession: It was already 54 when I set the goal.)
8. 55-mile mountain bike race. That book I mentioned that I’m writing? Mountain biking is another focus area. I’m looking to accomplish this goal at the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race in May. The race takes place in the Davidson River area near Brevard and ranges from 45 to 70 miles depending upon your orientation skills. That should assure I get in at least 55 miles.
9. 55 miles on my mountain bike on my birthday. This didn’t happen, I noted at the time, because I had to pick up the kids from school. So when I do it between now and this coming May 11, I’ll add an asterisk. Oh, and at least half of the total — 28 miles — needs to be on singletrack.
10. Umstead 100 endurance run. First timers such as myself are restricted to just ("just"?) 50 miles in the Umstead 100 endurance run, which is March 31. Alas, I missed the registration deadline and the race is full. In search of an alternative. Suggestions welcome.

Let's see, according to the 55 for 55 Goals Tote Board that makes me two for 10 with just over four months to go. Wish me luck with my goals, and best of luck with yours in 2012!

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Today: Climbing the walls

Climbing the walls? Isn’t that what we’re trying to avoid? Indeed, but sometimes the answer lies in the question, grasshopper. Enough naval gazing: the walls we’re talking about are climbing walls, as in the climbing walls you’ll find in a climbing gym. First, let’s dispell a myth: You have to be an uber athlete with 0.4 percent body fat to be a climber. As Joel Graybeal with the Triangle Rock Club in Morrisville puts it, “If you can climb a ladder, you can climb.” Can your kids climb a ladder? Good, you’re in. And it’s not a pricey proposition, even if you don’t have equipment (gyms rent the basics: shoes, harness, chalk to keep your sweaty fingers from sweating): You can get by for $20 or less at most gyms — and that’s for a full day of climbing.

Find out more about the indoor climbing experience here;  go here for our list of 15 climbing gyms in North Carolina.

A similar pattern has repeated itself in my life as a blogger. I collect all this great information, and while I technically could include it all here on GetGoingNC.com — I have a seemingly infinite amount of cyberspace at my disposal — it would, frankly, be overwhelming. I was mentioning this dilemma to a far more social-media-savvy friend, who said, “Why don’t you just post the extra, smaller stuff on Facebook?” Which, starting today, is what I’m going.

Go to the GetGoingNC.com Facebook page, like us, and you’ll get even more news about fitness and outdoor adventure. Today, for instance, you’ll discover five great workouts for climbers and a bonus Weekend Plans option. (Hint: It involves celestial bodies.)

GetGoingNC.com on Facebook: From the depths of my notebook to you.

Saturday's competitors look, but don't touch.

I stood behind the boulder, behind the two climbers puzzling over the boulder. Their puzzlement was interspersed with suddenly leaps into action, attempts to make a seemingly impossible leap from one not-so-generous hold about 10 feet an overhang to another modest hold perhaps 10 feet away. Interspersed with those unsuccessful attempts was the occasional bad word muttered under their breath. After each unsuccessful leap — known as a “dyno” in climbing circles — after they’d picked themselves up off the crash pad they would sidle up to a guy in a full black beard, jeans and a black jacket with a USA Climbing patch on the back.

“You need to try and grab the hold ... this way,” USA Climbing guy said, displaying the exact handhold necessary to stick the hold. And it was the exact way: This guy, a Level 3 routesetter for USA Climbing, has set enough climbing routes over the years to be able to eye a move and know exactly what specifically it would take to land the move. He was in town to apply his years of routesetting experience to the 14-foot-high, 3,000-square foot “boulder” in the Triangle Rock Club that will be the site of Saturday’s Raleigh Rampage bouldering competition.

“We’ll have climbers here from Richmond to Columbia South Carolina,” said a bleary-eyed and apparent No Shave November participant Scott Gilliam, the Triangle Rock Club’s chief routesetter. Although the 56 routes to be used in Saturday’s competition must be set by a Level 3 USA Climbing-certified routesetter, which Gilliam is not, he’d been working pretty much non-stop this week to help get the boulder ready. “I’ve slept 14 hours since Sunday,” Gilliam offered Thursday evening. “I’ve only had two caffeinated beverages today.”

Although there will be competition in the mortal division — officially referred to as the Citizen’s Session — it’s the competitive USAC session that's the big draw. About 80 top boulderers from around the region will square off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with finals held from 3-4 p.m. The finals are worth a visit if you’re in the vicinity and appreciate true athleticism. The top 3 to 5 finishers in each category will have 3-5 minutes to solve each of three “problems” — especially challenging routes dreamed up by the USA Climbing guy. They’ll involve moves like the one he was  trying to explain to the two climbers above.

Like that move, but not that specific move.

All around the boulder Thursday night were posted advisories: “This part of boulder CLOSED to Rampage COMPETITORS.” While competitors couldn’t touch, they could at least look, which created the curious spectacle of competitors staring motionless for minutes at a time at a particular route. They’d stare, heads cocked like confused cocker spaniels, then begin what appeared to be mime routines, slowly moving their hands to emulate the moves they’ll use Saturday.

Come to check out the competitive session and who knows, you might be compelled to enter the Citizens’ Session, which runs from 6-8 p.m. ($25 to enter). The Citizens’ Session comes with an added perk: there’s beer afterward. Gilliam emphasized the “afterward” part.

“You’ll get one wrist bracelet to compete,” he said. “When you’re done, we’ll clip that bracelet off and give you a beer bracelet.”

Good plan.

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For more on the Raleigh Rampage, go here.

Mountain bikers, lights ablaze, head down a local trail.

We were on a post-sundown training hike for the Ultimate Hike last month when a beam  of bright light began gaining on us from behind. I turned and saw two headlights bearing down on us, still maybe 75 yards down the road.

“I’ll do the talking,” I said, since I was the hike leader and since I may have forgotten to mention to my fellow hikers that, technically, we were trespassing. We were hiking on a gravel road in a local forest where — again, “technically” — the gates close at sunset. I quickly relied this information to my hikers — then we waited a surprisingly long time for the two beams of light to reach us. When they did, they split, passed us on either side, and continued on their technically illegal way. It wasn’t a park ranger on patrol in a pickup; it was a pair of mountain bikers.

“Wow!” said one impressed hikers. “Those lights are really bright.”

“I can’t imagine riding a mountain bike at night,” added another. “That’s gotta be dangerous.”

“Actually,” I said, about to deliver a speech I’ve issued many times over the years, “It’s just the opposite.” I went on to explain that mountain biking at night is, in many respects, more safe than riding during the day because your world is restricted to this 20-foot-or-so world ahead illuminated by your headlamp. Unable to let your eyes wander off into the woods, or farther down the trail, you’re forced to focus on what’s immediately in front of you. That’s pretty much true of most outdoor activities done at night: they generally are more safe.

I’ve written a good deal over the years about getting out and exploring at night. And since I’d rather get out at night and do something than rewrite what I’ve written about before, I’ll just direct you to those previous articles. Enjoy.

Mountain biking

Since we’re already on the topic of mountain biking, let’s start there. An elaboration on why riding a bike through the forest at night is safe and scenes from a 24-hour race that runs through the night.

• Coping with Standard Time: Mountain Biking at Night
• Beer for Butter, Unprotected Support and Other Insights from the Burn 24

Hiking

One of my favorite times to take a long hike? In the dark of night. A 3- to 4-hour walk in the woods after the sun goes down can be aerobically aurally stimulating. Some tips on making a safe night of it.

• Enjoy the Night with a Hike
• Night Hiking: Beating the Standard Time Blues

Neighborhood walk

Spooked by the idea of hiking in the dark with ... who-knows-what that might be out there with you? Join the masses who bundle up and walk their neighborhoods in the dark.

• Night Moves: A Safe Walk in a Dangerous Place

Climbing

Of course, you can’t stay out every night. Which is why I find myself spending considerably more time at the climbing gym during the winter than at other times of the year.

• Climbing: Before You Go Up, You Gotta Learn to Come Down

Need more incentive?

Another reason not to taper off when the weather turns cold? It’s bad for your hrealth.  According to the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State’s North Carolina Research Campus people who don’t exercise in the winder are more likely to catch cold.

• Run from that Cold

In searching my archive of the past three years I notice one glaring omission: Nary a mention of paddling at night. I’ve mentioned guided paddles that occur at night, but nothing reflecting the experience personally. I’ve paddled at night: I still have vivid memories of being part of a flotilla that paddled to a remote part of Falls Lake one cold November night to watch a meteor shower. But that was years ago, and I can’t find a report on the event. And if that was the last time I’ve had a paddle in my hands in the dark (it was in the mid-1990s), that’s too long a time to go between night paddles.

I'll remedy that situation pronto.