We live less than a half mile from Occoneechee State Natural Area in Hillsborough, and I either hike or run there a couple times a week. Though I generally like to mix things up on trail I do regularly — hiking clockwise one time, counterclockwise the next — I have the same routine at Occoneechee: I enter from the neighborhood entrance off Eno Mountain Road, then take the Occoneechee Mountain Loop Trail, Overlook Trail and Chestnut Trail back to the Loop Trail, which brings me around the west side of the mountain to the Eno River for the hike’s highlight: a 75-yard stretch beneath a north-facing cliff that is perpetually green. Green with holly and ferns, which are common in these parts, but also with mountain laurel, with rhododendron, and even a narrow carpet of galax. For this brief stretch the trail leaves the Piedmont for the Southern Appalachians.
Category Archives: Hiking
GetOut! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure
When Rod Broadbelt began leading hikes at Umstead State Park more than two decades ago, they were events not for the feint of foot. Rod had just retired to Cary, moving from the Philadelphia area where he was a member of a competitive hiking club.
Competitive hiking? you ask.
2020: A happier you through hiking
Thanksgiving is behind us, the end of the year is bearing down: it’s the time we start thinking about next year, the new year and what promise it might hold. About the opportunity to, if not reinvent ourselves, to work toward the version of ourselves we want to become, the image of us we’d like to see looking back in the mirror every morning.
Holiday Adventures with Visiting Family and friends
It’s a common challenge over the holidays: you have family and friends visiting from afar — now, what are you going to do with them?
Take them on an adventure! Or, rather, let us help you take them on an adventure!
We’ve got several outdoor adventures this holiday season that are ideal for getting everyone out of the house and showing off the region’s great outdoor attributes!
GetOut! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure
A little rain in the forecast for Saturday, a lot of sun in the forecast for Sunday. And temperatures in the 50s and low 60s along the way. Sounds like a great weekend to get out and explore.
Flatty Creek Paddle, Saturday, 9 a.m., Goose Creek State Park, Washington. Flatty Creek is a great example of not having to paddle far to see a lot. Good thing, because Flatty Creek doesn’t run very far. But oh what you’ll see on this waterway that pinches to the point where you can touch the branches of the wax myrtle, red bay and groundsel tree along the banks. A great place to paddle with someone — in this case a park ranger — who can show you which is the wax myrtle, which is the red bay. It’s free, but space is limited and reservations are required, by calling the park office at 252.923.2191. Learn more about Goose Creek State Park here.