I’ve been a fan of hiking and exploring North Carolina’s game lands for years. I’m even more of a fan after interviewing Brian McRae, Division Chief for Land and Water Access for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for today’s GetHiking! Southeast podcast.
Tag Archives: Hiking
GetOut! Celebrate Imbolc with a search for spring
Do you know what Tuesday (February 2, so you don’t run off searching for a calendar) was?
Imbolc, the pagan observance that celebrates the midpoint of winter and thus, the beginning of the official watch for spring.
We celebrated by hiking along the Eno in search of early signs of the season. To us, that generally means sighting the first spring wildflower — the spring beauty or trout lily — maybe hearing the first spring peeper. With temperatures content to not rise out of the 40s for much of January, it was a search, we were sure, was in vain.
GetOut! Here’s how to find the lingering snow
It snowed Wednesday night, you had to work Thursday and today. Alas, the meager yet magnificent snowfall will be gone by the time you can hike it this weekend.
Or will it?
Cold temperatures Thursday and today mean there likely will be some snow left along the trail come Saturday — if you know where to look.
GetOut: Seek the Daffodil
On today’s Morning Walk with Joe (Facebook Live, Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 8) I talked about being on the cusp of the spring wildflower season. About how last year at this time we were in the midst of the January thaw, with temperatures in the upper 60s under sunny skies, and how that prompted an early debut of the spring beauty and trout lily, in my mind the true first responders of spring. Others may emerge earlier — certain asters and chickweed — but really, it’s the appearance of the spring beauty and trout lily that let you exhale and realize that spring is just around the bend.
National Forests: Check the Site before Taking the Hike
Empowerment. It’s what we’ve been about since we led our first GetHiking! hike back in 2013. Empowering people through hikes and classes to feel more comfortable and more confident in the wild (or what seems like “the wild” when you first get started).