After a dang cold week we’re heading into a darn nice weekend, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures, brace yourself, reaching 60.
So if you’ve been hibernating so far this winter, now’s your chance to emerge from your den for an adventure. An adventure such as:
Here are a few things to keep in mind with the time change:
Come explore with us on the dark side!
Happy trails,
Joe
Explore the night
What to do on the last weekend of July? We have a thought or two …
Geology of Stone Mountain, Saturday, 9 a.m., Stone Mountain State Park, Roaring Gap. No doubt you’ve looked at that strange forehead protruding from the ground, the one from which Stone Mountain gets its name, and wondered, How did that happen? Here, at this one hour program at the Hutchinson Homestead, is your chance to find out. And if you’re left at the end yearning for more, eager to know all about Stone Mountain, then stick around until 2 p.m. for “All About Stone Mountain.” (You can do some hiking in between to pass the time.) For more info on both programs and to register, go here.
=&1=&, Saturday, 8 p.m., Haw River State Park Iron Ore Belt Access, Greensboro. We love a night hike, and we especially love one where we’re not compelled to watch our every footstep to avoid rocks and roots in the trail. On the smooth-as-sandstone 3.8-mile Great Blue Heron Trail you’ll be able to focus on the wonder of the night. Bring a flashlight/headlamp with red or blue filter, bring bug spray and water. For more info and to register, go here.
=&2=&, Sunday, 11 a.m., Mount Mitchell State Park. Visiting Mount Mitchell, which tops out at 6,684 feet, is like visiting another world — so many unusual things to see at that elevation. Sunday, let a ranger explain what it is your seeing and why it’s there on this guided hike on the Balsam Trail. More info and register here.
You can find more opportunities this weekend here:
And learn more about where we spent this past week, featured in the video, by visiting the web sites for
Umstead State Park
Yeah, it’s still hot. But over the past couple of weeks we’ve had delightful dalliances with low humidity. Low meaning less than 50 percent, but low enough to put a little bounce in your step. This weekend, we hope to help you get the most of that bounce with a suggestion or two on what you can do.
Night Hike Adventure, Saturday, 8:30 p.m. Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. Hike at night: that’s something you typically can’t do (legally, at least) in a state park. Saturday is the exception, when a ranger takes you on a tour of the trails atop Mount Jefferson. Sans clouds you’ll see the day’s fading light on some of the Southeast’s most notable peaks. Bring a flashlight for the times you’ll be hiking and not gawking. More into and register here.
Canoe the Mayo, Saturday, 10 a.m. Mayo River State Park, Mayodan. Paddling a river can be a bit of a production even if you have a boat, costly if you don’t. Just one reason we like this periodic paddle trip at Mayo River State Park. The Mayo is a fairly intimate river that’ll you get to spend 4 to 5 hours on (depending upon water levels). Free, put you will need to make your own arrangements to get back to your car at the put-in. More info and register here.
Bike to the Burn, Sunday, 9:30 a.m. Dismal Swamp State Park, South Mills. Notice this this is called Bike to the Burn, not Bike ’til you Burn, the key distinction is this won’t be like that spin class you tried at the gym a couple years back. Rather, you’ll pedal with Ranger Joe out to the site of the swamp’s last wildfire (a wildfire in a swamp — that alone is incentive to attend). About 17 miles total, with no one screaming at you to climb out of the saddle and PUSH! No bike, no problem; you can borrow one. More info and register here.
You can also join our GetHiking! group on a pair of hikes this weekend:
=&3=&, Saturday, 9 a.m., Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake. 5 miles. We hike a section of the MST we haven’t hiked in a while, the 5-mile run from Cheek Road east to just past Little Lick Creek. Not as hilly as much of the MST along Falls Lake, and a tight-wire crossing of Little Lick Creek. An easy to moderate hike, depending upon how much you’ve been hiking. More info and register here.
=&4=& Sunday, 10 a.m., Confluence Natural Area, Hillsborough. Earlier this year, the Eno River Association opened the Confluence Natural Area, a 200-acre preserve at the confluence of the East and West branches of the Eno River in Orange County. We’ll hike two mellow miles and get to know this new preserve. More info and register here.
You can find more opportunities this weekend here:
And learn more about where we spent last weekend, featured in the video, by visiting the web sites for Little River Regional Park and =&9=&
Last weekend, we hiked more of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake and saw our first mountain laurel bloom of the season — a lone bloom, but an impressively full and vibrant (if white can be vibrant) bloom about midway between the Shinleaf Recreation Area and NC 98. We also spent a little time exploring all the Eno River in Orange County and planning a trip next weekend to the Curtis Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest. It was a busy weekend on the trail.
We mentioned last week that we also saw our first traces of poison ivy. Traces? Tracts is more like it, ominously sneaking right up to the trail as if it intend to grab us by the ankle and wreak itchy havoc. That prompted us to put together an advisory on how to avoid poison ivy as well as ticks and mosquitoes as we head into our first 90-degree weekend of the summer. 90! Woo hoo.
With the temperature and Mom (Sunday’s Mother’s Day, remember) in mind, we bring you our three picks for adventure this weekend. Get Out and enjoy!
Saturday, May 12, noon
