More than 60 pilots are expected at this weekend's Hang Gliding Spectacular and Air Show.

A good looking weekend is on tap across North Carolina. Our thoughts on how to make the most of it include a trip to the coast, where some of the best hang gliders around will be circling Jockey’s Ridge; an excursion into the Piedmont, where they’ll be celebrating another milestone for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail; and a visit to the high country where they’re doing what you do when the spring wildflowers start to pop: you go for a hike.

Coast

If man were meant to fly he’d have swept-wing craft made of durable lightweight fabric attached to an aluminum or composite frame that he could harness himself into and take flight from an elevated location.

Like a sand dune.

Specifically, like the sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge, home to this weekend’s Hang Gliding Spectacular and Air Games. The event kicks off Thursday night with a Pre Spectacular Party and runs through Monday morning. In between, there’s lots of competition and a film festival. More than 60 top hang gliders from all over are expected to participate. If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of flying, make plans to be at Jockey’s Ridge this weekend to see what it’s about.

Logistics: A full schedule of events and other pertinent info can be found at the Web site for sponsor Kitty Hawk Kites.

Weekend forecast: Looks like it will be overcast and warm, for the most part, with highs around 80.

Little Lick Creek Bridge.

Piedmont

If you’re a fan of long hikes, make plans to be at Falls Lake Saturday morning when the 100-foot bridge over Little Lick Creek is officially opened, officially establishing 60 miles of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the lake’s south shore. (“Officially,” because the bridge has actually been open for a couple months; apparently they just found the ribbon-cutting scissors). Words will be spoken at the Rollingview Recreation Area of Falls Lake, followed by a hike to, and over, the bridge-of-honor. It’s a nice stretch of trail, through tight forest at the beginning and, at the bridge, over an open wetland.

You can now hike the MST nonstop from Penny’s Bend at Old Oxford Highway near Durham downstream to the Falls Lake Dam. When the 1,000-mile MST is completely done (it’s a little over halfway now), you’ll be able to hike from Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee border to Jockey’s Ridge on the Atlantic.

Logistics: The dedication is at 10 a.m., the hike follows. More info at the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Saturday forecast: Partly cloudy, high of 73.

Mountains

This past weekend the weather was ... challenging in the Craggy Mountains. Which means this weekend should bode well for the Carolina Mountain Club’s Bee Tree Gap to Tanbark Tunnel hike Saturday on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. The 6.2-mile hike features passage over Lane Pinnacle and through Rattlesnake Lodge. Expect good views and lots of wildflowers.

Logistics: Shuttle to the trailhead departs from the Folk Art Center in Asheville at 9 a.m. For details and to register for the hike contact hike leader Kathleen Hannigan at 828-230-4883 or kathleen.hannigan@pgnmail.com. For more on the route, go here.

Saturday forecast: Partly cloudy, high of 74.

* * *

Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

* * *
Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

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I wrote the following article for the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer in Raleigh; it appeared in both papers on May 15. It appears here in expanded form, with links.

OK, time for your daily workout. Put on the sweats, lace up the sneakers and now to get limbered up with some long, deep stretches ... .

Not so fast there, Jane Fonda.

It wasn’t long ago that most people began their workouts - be it an aerobics class at the gym or a 5-mile run - with a series of stretches. Toe touches, lacing your fingers behind your head to stretch your upper back muscles, and other so-called “static stretches” were once considered the proper way to prepare your body for a workout.

The Southern Apps Mountain gods exact their revenge.

Sunday, Day 4 of the MST Endurance Run, began on schedule for Diane Van Deren with a 3:45 a.m. wake up call. After getting off the trail the previous evening at 9:36 with Annette Bednosky, her trail guide for the weekend, she’d gotten her first good night’s sleep — 4 hours. She arrived where the Mountains-to-Sea Trail passes the Folk Arts Center in Asheville ready to rock a 43.8-mile day.

The mischievous Southern Appalachian Mountain gods had other plans.

On Thursday, Van Deren began her quest for a speed-record crossing of the 1,000(ish)-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail, descending from the murky 4:30 a.m. dark of Clingman’s Dome en route to Jockey’s Ridge on the Atlantic, hopefully on May 30. By Sunday morning, she had covered 134.3 miles.

I tagged along with Van Deren and Bedonsky for the first five miles Sunday, a steady climb into the Craggy Mountains that began dry but evolved into a steady drizzle. No big deal to Van Deren, who once trekked 430 miles across Canada’s frozen tundra in the Yukon Arctic Ultra.

“The rain is meditative to me,” Van Deren said as she applied a fresh dose of moleskin at mile 5 Sunday morning. “It’s like music.”

That music was about to turn from Neil Diamond to Iron Maiden.

I peeled off at Craven Gap to perform my journalistic duty, with plans to reconnect early afternoon somewhere in the Mount Mitchell area. My journalistic duty took longer than expected, and by the time I was ready to reconnect, it was mid-afternoon. By then, the Craggy and Black mountains were enshrouded in thick (20-foot vis) clouds in a steady, drenching rain. As I drove up  the Blue Ridge Parkway from NC 80 at 15 miles an hour, hunched over the steering wheel, a thought occurred: This is ridiculous. There’s a much faster and safer way to get to the top of Mitchell.

So I turned around, drove to the Black Mountain Campground and began the 5.6-mile, 3,600-foot climb to the highest point east of South Dakota’s Black Hills, 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell.

Mount Mitchell Trail is in considerably better shape than the first time I hiked it in the mid-1990s. At the time, it took the National Forest Service trail philosophy that essentially denies the existence of switchbacks. It followed path-of-least-resistance drainages, for the most part, resulting in a rocky, steep climb that was typically wet, often flowing. The trail came to resemble more of a trail when it became part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Despite the MST upgrades, it remains a steep, rocky, rooty, wet trail. Saturday afternoon, in a steady rain, it was as bad as it gets in warm weather. (Warm? Make that non-freezing; it was a wet 44 degrees.) The closer I got to the summit, the more I realized this would be a dicey descent, especially in the dark.

When I reached the top of Mitchell at 6 p.m. the place was deserted. No cars in the lot, the concession stand bolted shut. The wind was blowing, the rain was picking up. The mountain-top thermometer read 42 degrees. I found a sheltered spot and called expedition leader Chuck Millsaps with the Great Outdoor Provision Co.

I learned that the weather was even worse on the Craggy Mountain end. Van Deren and Bednosky had been pulled off the trail an hour earlier at Walker Knob, about 10 miles from the summit. The plan was to get Van Deren rested, let her feet heal, then resume at 5 a.m. the next morning.

I looked at my watch: It was 6:16. Sunset was in a little over two hours; darkness would come sooner in a cloudy forest. I skedaddled down the mountain and made it to my tent as Sunday faded to black.

I mention my roll here mainly because of the accompanying photo. I only spent 31 miles on the trail this weekend, both with Van Deren and trying to track her down. Yet those 31 miles of wet, rocky, rooty Appalachian Mountain trail trashed my trail runners (look closely and you’ll see the seam at my big toe is busted open, on both shoes) and my feet. When I finished those 31 miles and went to take my shoes off, I thought my feet were just wet. They were bloody as well. And those dark toenails aren’t the result of Goth toenail polish; they’re a sign that we’ll be parting ways by week’s end. That’s the damage done by just a fifth of the miles Van Deren has logged.

Van Deren is an elite athlete with the mental and physical wherewithal to cruise into Jockey’s Ridge on May 30 — or earlier. Provided the cantankerous Southern Appalachian Mountain gods let her emerge from their 300-mile reign with her feet in tact.

I talked with expedition leader Millsaps early this morning. Van Deren and trail guide Doug Blackford made it to the Woodlawn Work Center off US 221 yesterday afternoon at 5:30. That was the good news. The bad news: the rain continues and today’s route through the Linville Gorge includes a rock-hop crossing of the Linville River just below the gorge. The rain-swollen river is running high according to the USGS, very high, at 600 cubic feet per second.

“A crossing is unadvisable,” Millsaps said.

Van Deren has made clear from the start that her MST Endurance Run isn’t a race, it’s an expedition.

The Southern App Mountain gods are seeing to that.

Annette Bednosky leads Diane Van Deren into a rest stop on Day 3 of the MST Endurance Run.

A large building loomed out of the dark woods to our right.
“Is that the Folk Arts Center?” Annette Bednosky asked slightly perplexed. It was — the very same Folk Arts Center we’d set off from 15 minutes earlier, at 5:01 this morning.
“Well,” said Diane Van Deren, “we just did a 14-minute warmup lap.”
To Van Deren, it was a “so-what” moment. When you’re spending up to 20 hours a day for 21 days hiking a thousand miles, what’s 15 minutes?
This morning was the start of Day 4 of Van Deren’s attempt to break the speed record for trekking the entire Mountains-to-Sea Trail, from Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee border to Jockey’s Ridge on the coast. Her MST Endurance Run is sponsored by The North Face (Van Deren is one of the outdoor gear company’s elite athletes) and the Great Outdoor Provision Co. The goal: raise awareness — and $40,000 — for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, a work-in-progress trail spanning North Carolina.
Since starting her quest before dawn on Thursday, Van Deren has covered about 145 miles. Read on ...

Ridiculously hard, according to the list of goals I compiled. Spend 55 nights in a tent, for instance. Or do a 50-mile trail run, a 55-mile mountain bike race, do 55 pushups in a row, run 11 5Ks. Individually, doable. But cumulatively a challenge even if I’d had the financial luxury of devoting my entire year to just these goals. I did manage a couple: I did a 55(ish)-mile backpack trip in December and my resting heart rate is 55 (though it was 54 a year ago).

While I didn’t check off the majority of my 55 goals, the year was far from a wash. I gravitated away from 5Ks to the less-punishing, longer trail runs, completing the 12-mile MST Challenge and the 20-mile version of the Uwharrie Mountain Run. In the climbing world, I didn’t do a 5.5 climb outdoors, but I have done a 5.9 indoors. I didn’t do a 55-mile mountain bike race, but I did manage to survive Charlie Storm’s 42-mile January Mountain Bike Marathon. And, I’m in the process of getting my open water recertification in Scuba. Not a bad 55th year.

This year, I’ll still have goals but they won’t be arbitrarily set over a health report and too much caffeine. Instead, my goal is to constantly have a goal. Knock off one event, make sure another is lined up to keep me from slacking off. My 56th gets off to a good start with two epics: Next Wednesday, my buddy Alan and I will celebrate our birthdays (his is May 10) by riding 60 (his age) miles at Umstead, Crabtree and surrounding environs. Then, the following Monday I get to serve as Diane Van Deren’s trail guide for the day as she runs across North Carolina. I’ll be doing somewhere between 31 and 39 miles with her as part of the MST Endurance Run.

Not a bad start to year 56. Here’s hoping it ends just as well.

Diane Van Deren and me during a visit to the Triangle last fall that sparked the MST Endurance Run.

Today, Thursday, May 10, marks the start of elite ultra runner Diane Van Deren’s effort to run across North Carolina, a roughly 1,000-mile journey that will take her along the work-in-progress Mountains-to-Sea Trail from Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee border to Jockey’s Ridge at the lip of the Atlantic. Her objective: to finish in 21 days, beating the current speed record of 24 days, 3 hours and 50 minutes set last year by Matt Kirk.

You can follow Diane’s journey in one of two ways:

1. As-it-happens Twitter reports from the trail. You can follow the reports and subscribe to have them sent directly to you, here.

2. Through six periodic reports that GetGoingNC.com will post over the course of her run. The reports will begin here at GetGoingNC.com, then jump to the online base camp for Diane’s run, MSTEnduranceRun.com.  Of course, you could just go directly to MSTEnduranceRun.com, but then you’ll miss the extra coverage we’ll have here.

We’ve made it easy for you to find our coverage. In the upper left corner of the GetGoingNC.com home page you’ll find the heading, “MST Endurance Run.” Run your cursor over the heading and the story headlines will appear. Click and read.

Our coverage kicks off today. Go here.

Mallard Creek (photo courtesy N.C. State Parks)

Mother’s Day means time spent with mom — preferably in the great outdoors. Take mom on a coastal hike, unravel the mysteries of Grandfather Mountain, or run with her through a vineyard. Whatever you do, it’s bound to be memorable.

Coast

Nothing says Mother’s Day outing more, to us, than a relaxed ramble through a coastal wetland. Which is no doubt what the folks at Goose Creek State Park outside Washington on the Pamlico Sound had in mind when they scheduled Sunday’s Mallard Creek Hike. “Enjoy a fresh breath of air and experience nature at its best. The hike will be an easy 1.5 miles and taken at a pace which will allow you to relax and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of nature.” Hallmark couldn’t have said it better.

Logistics: Hike commences at 2 p.m. Sunday, meet at Parking Lot #3 (the last lot inside the park). More info at the park Web site or by calling 252.923.2191.

Sunday forecast: High of 75, mostly cloudy.

Piedmont

Here’s something for the whole running family, especially mom and dad: Saturday’s Running of the Vines 10K on the grounds of the Yadkin Valley’s Shelton Vineyards. No mention of wine tastings at the aid stations, but each runner age 21 or older does get two free tickets to a sunset concert that evening. Besides, running through a vineyard? Every barefoot runner’s dream.

Logistics: $35, race starts at 8 a.m. Saturday. Race day registration from 7-7:45 a.m. Free kids fun run at 9:30 a.m. Benefits the Mount Airy and Surry County parks and rec departments. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 75, clear early.

Photo courtesy Grandfather Mountain

Mountains

You always hear about how ecologically diverse Grandfather Mountain is, but just how diverse is it? There’s no better time to find out than on this, the Grandfather Mountain Naturalist Weekend. A spring bird count and owl prowl on Friday; wildflower hike, birds of prey, crayfish research, “Nature on the Edge,” and trees and shrubs on Saturday; and geology, birding along the profile trail, a NASA climate workshop, animal tracking, flora disease and more on Sunday. All with the price of admission.

Logistics: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, park admission ($18 for adults, $15 for seniors $60 and up, $8 for kids 4-12) gets you into all events. More info here.

Weekend forecast: Dry weekend with highs in the upper 60s.

* * *

Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

* * *
Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too
 

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: Down Under.

When the mundane, work-a-day world gets under your skin, there is perhaps no better way to escape it than to return for favor. Slipping beneath the Earth’s watery surface is to slip the reality of this world for a world of weightless wonder. Even if its just in a swimming pool, in preparation for exploring the real thing.

* * *

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

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Diane Van Deren and me during a visit to the Triangle last fall that sparked the MST Endurance Run.

The entry in my workout log yesterday read, “Run for Diane, 7.4 miles @ Umstead, hot — and slow.”

Frankly, it was 7.4 miles I likely wouldn’t have run — in upper 80-degree heat — were it not for Diane Van Deren.

Diane Van Deren, ultra runner, elite The North Face athlete,  and former women’s tennis pro will spend most of this month running across North Carolina. On Thursday, she’ll set off from atop Clingman’s Dome in hopes of running nearly 1,000 miles along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in just 21 days in the MST Endurance Run. The current record — yes, it’s been done before — is 24 days (24 days, 3 hours and 50 minutes, to be exact, set last year by Matt Kirk.

Her schedule calls for her to run anywhere from 27.6 to 53.8 miles a day. On Day 12 of her run, she’ll run 31.1 miles, from Mebane east to West Point on the Eno city park in Durham. My job is to stick by her side the entire way and make sure she doesn’t get lost.

“She’ll probably have slowed a little by then,” Chuck Millsaps, expedition leader of the MST Endurance Run, sponsored by his Great Outdoor Provision Co. and The North Face, told me when asking if I would fill the vacant slot.

Every day, in fact, Diane will have a “Trail Guide.” For the most part, these guides are the elite of the region’s ultra-distance trail runners. Dennis Norris, for instance, has 17 long races under his belt, including three finishes at the 40-mile Mount Mitchell Challenge and most recently finishing 14th with a time of 3:38:24 at the Umstead Trail Marathon. He’ll spend the first two days — and 103.2 miles — with Diane. Or Annette Bednosky, who lives in Jefferson and races for the Montrail/Mountain Hardwear Racing Team. She’ll spend days three and four escorting Diane over 74.9 miles of mountain terrain. Doug Blackford, Mark Rostan, Glenn Wells — all eminently Google-a-ble names in the ultra-running world.

Google “Joe Miller ultra” and you also get a bunch of hits — for “Palin-backed, ultra-conservative Joe Miller,” who narrowly lost a 2010 U.S. Senate bid in Alaska. (You will, eventually, find an ultra runner named Joe Miller, but it’s not me.)

I have gone 31 miles before — once, on an Ultimate Hike’s trip last fall on the Foothills Trail. But that was as a hiking coach. Plus, we left at 4:30 in the morning and finished just before sundown at 6:50 in the evening, a very long 14-hour, 20-minute day. This year, I’ve done the 12-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail 12M Challenge and the 20-mile version of the Uwharrie Mountain Run. After the latter, which took 4 hours and 22 minutes, I had trouble walking for a couple days. Now, in 17 days, I’ve agreed to run 31 miles with one of the nation’s top ultra runners.

In a conversation yesterday with Diane she assured me, repeatedly, not to worry.

“It’s not a race,” she said, “it’s an expedition. ... As long as we’re moving forward, that’s all that matters.”

Which, frankly, was one of the most inspirational things she she could have said. I’ve long advocated the importance of goals, that unless you have one — a race or another event — it’s very hard to push your training. Yesterday around lunch I went for the aforementioned hot, slow 7.4-mile training run at Umstead. I’ve done this run numerous times, in worse physical condition, and never had to walk; yesterday, I walked about a half mile. I was reconsidering my plan to come back to Umstead over the weekend and run 15. Then I talked with Diane.

Training for a race to set a new PR is a good carrot. Training because, 17 days down the line, someone will be depending on me to help her through 1/21st of an extremely ambitious challenge is a bowl full of carrots that have been dumped and replaced with Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy with whipped cream, hot fudge and a flashing red maraschino cherry. It is not to be ignored.

Not that I’ll be training my butt off over the next 17 days just for Diane and the good of the MST Endurance Run. After safely depositing Diane at West Point on the Eno sometime the afternoon of May 21 you can bet I will indulge in my personal carrot.

A little Chocolate Therapy.

* * *

Follow Diane Van Deren’s epic run

In a joint venture with run co-sponsor Great Outdoor Provision Co., I will be writing a series of blog posts during the 21 days of Diane Van Deren’s MST Endurance Run. The posts will be teased on this site and appear in their entirety on the Great Outdoor Provision Co. site.  The first post will appear May 10 — the first day of the run. For more on the MST Endurance Run, go here.

Coast

If you’re a cyclist looking to do your first century ride, you have a big ally in the coastal plain: the closest things to a hill? Bridge overpasses. Couple your urge to log triple-digit miles with a good cause —  Ride to a Wish, which raises money to help kids battling serious illness a chance to fulfill a dream — and you’ve got Saturday’s Tour de Wish out of Columbia (on US 64 east of Manteo).  The Tour actually kicks off Friday evening with a Zombie Hash (appropriate dress required) pasta dinner at 7, followed by Saturday’s 8 a.m. ride, which winds through scenic (and flat) Tyrrell County. Stick around afterward for live music. 50- and 33-mile options as well.

Logistics: $20 registration fee and you must raise a minimum of $50, a nominal amount as these events go. (That's a minimum: last year’s event raised more than $30,000 and granted six wishes.). More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 90, 40 percent chance of rain.

Piedmont

It’s a full moon Saturday, and nighttime events abound, from paddles to hikes, including one aimed at kids at the Annie Louise Wilkerson MD Nature Preserve Park in Raleigh. “Many animals are active right around sunset or shortly after. Take a walk with a park naturalist to explore the woods and fields at this special time. Look for deer, foxes, coyotes, owls, moths and lightning bugs.” Nothing like a pair of beady eyes glaring at you from the forest’s inky depths.

Logistics: From 8-9:30 p.m., $2 person, all small persons must be in the company of an adult. More info on the preserve here.  Or call 919.996.6764.

Saturday forecast: Daytime high of 86, 50 percent chance of rain.

Mountains

This weekend, starting Friday, it’s the 15th Annual French Broad River Festival in Hot Springs, a classic combination of live music on two stages with outdoor activities, including the 8th Annual French Broad River Festival Mountain Bike Race on Saturday at 9 a.m. (route and other information provided at that time) and a 9-mile raft race, from Barnard down the French Broad to Hot Springs (including one Class IV rapid), also beginning at 9 a.m. You can also get tips on whitewater paddling from U.S. Freestyle Rodeo Team member Eli Helbert in a Paddle with the Pros clinic, and there are various outdoor activities for the kids.

Logistics: The Festival begins Friday afternoon. Fee structure varies: Festival ticket-holders participate free in all events, individual fees for the races. More information here.

Weekend forecast: Highs in the upper 70s, 40 percent chance of rain Sunday.

* * *

Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

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