What’s more important to nurturing Mother Earth than anything?

Water.

So in a way, it’s appropriate that we shall spend Earth Day this year getting drenched. A week of sun, a day of rain: What better prescription for the planet we love?

That being the case, instead of kvetching about our plans for tomorrow — which is Earth Day, btw — on the verge of being rained out, we instead make the most of what, in Mother Nature’s view, is a good thing, we make the proper adjustments. In our case, that means tweaking the Year of the Trail Weekend Trail Days Festival we’ve been planning with the city of Eden, the county of Rockingham, and the Dan River Basin Association over the past eight months. (“We” incidentally, being the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong initiative, of which I am employed.)

Fortunately, there’s a lot of enthusiasm for Year of the Trail here in the land of Eden and rather than cancel the event outright, we’ve opted to simply move as many events as possible to Sunday. We’ll still have a kickoff twilight hike this evening on the Smith River Greenway, we’ll still have a downtown festival in Eden Saturday evening, Otherwise, it’s all on Sunday. Here’s our revised schedule:

9 a.m. – Hike at Mayo Mountain State Park, Mayodan. Deshazo Mill, 1.5 miles. Beginner/family. Ranger led. Learn more and sign up here.

10 a.m. – Hike at Lake Reidsville, 4 miles. This trail ducks in and out of forested coves along the lake. Beginner/family friendly. Learn more and sign up here.

1:30 p.m. — Hike on the Smith River Greenway, Eden, 3 miles. See Friday’s evening hike for a trail description. Beginner-friendly. Learn more and sign up here.

1- 4 p.m. – Paddle on the Dan River. 5 miles, mellow stretch of river with some Class I rapids and assorted riffles. BYOB (Bring Your Own Boat), shuttle will be provided. Paddlers from the Dan River Basin Association will lead this trip. The Dan is wide and easily navigable on this stretch from the new Dan River Game Lands boat ramp to the Leakesville Landing boat access in downtown Eden. Members of the Dan River Basin Association will lead this trip. Learn more and sign up here.

The forecast for Sunday: Highs in the 50s and low 60s under sunny skies. A gift from Mother Nature after she takes her day in the spotlight for a well-deserved drink.