Back when hiking was pretty much my full-time job I hiked daily, racking up 30 to 40 miles a week. My philosophy, to borrow from Dani Rojas, was “Hiking is life.” When I scheduled hiking programs I did so under the assumption that hiking was everyone’s life. Who wouldn’t want to hike as many days of the week as possible?

Since entering the 9 to 5 world I’ve discovered that wanting to and being able to are two very different things.

Since 2013 I’ve run a weekly Sunday hiking program, divided into the seasons. Each season consisted of 12 weekly hikes. Not a big thing to me, even when I was doing both a Sunday morning and and Sunday afternoon hike. Turns out, though, that not everyone, even the most devout hiker, can commit one Sunday every week to hiking. It took me a surprisingly long time to figure that out.

But I have, and I think I have a solution: a program that gets you out twice a month, once on a Sunday, once on a Tuesday evening (or “night,” as will soon be the case). A guaranteed day hike once a month, a shorter midweek evening hike once a month as well. Less a commitment, more something to look forward to. Here’s how it works:

Sunday hikes

The first Sunday of the month we gather at a different trailhead to hike 5 miles or so. Those trails are:

• October 4  Horton Grove Nature Preserve, Bahama, 5 miles. A GetHiking! favorite, this Triangle Land Conservancy property north of Durham is good in any season, but especially in autumn, where a rich mix of hardwood canopy and understory gets an early start on fall color.

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  November 1 Cane Creek Mountain Natural Area: Peach Orchard Trailhead, Snow Camp, 5 miles. This is the third area of Cane Creek to open in six years. A mix of hardwood hiking, including a nice ridgeline run.

• December 6  Butner Game Lands: Flat River Access, Bahama, 5 miles. Part of the 40,000-acre Butner Game Lands located along the north shore of Falls Lake, we hike the Brickhouse Road parcel, which includes wide open stretches, ponds, and encounters with the Flat River and Falls Lake.  
• December  27 Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake, DH-R,S Redwood Road to Red Mill Road, Durham, 6 miles. A mix of forest and meadow, this hike includes a brush or two with Falls Lake, an old railroad trestle, a long-abandoned barn. Our favorite Winter Hike along Falls Lake.

Thanksgiving Friday

• November 27 Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake, DH-H, Shinleaf Recreation Area, Wake Forest, 6 miles. Duck in and out of several coves, disappear into upland hardwood forests, catch good views of Falls Lake on this out-and-back hike.

Evenings

• September 8 — Brumley Forest North, Hillsborough. 3 miles. Sunset: 8:35 p.m., twilight ends: 9:03. p.m.. A mix of meadows, ponds and mature forest make ideal features for enjoying sunset.

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  October 13 — Pennys Bend Nature Preserve, Durham. 3.2 miles. Sunset 6:44 p.m., twilight ends: 7:08 p.m. A lollipop loop that goes out along the Eno River, returns, in part, through a Piedmont prairie.

• November 10 —  Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake: Dayhike Section M, Durham County. 3 miles. Sunset: 5:13 p.m., Twilight ends: 5:39 p.m.. We hike west on the MST through one of the more mature forests the trail encounters along Falls Lake. There’s a small waterfall a mile in.
• December 8 — Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake, Dayhike Section T, 3 miles. Durham. Sunset: 5:13 p.m., Twilight ends: 5:38 p.m.. A hike we recently rediscovered after a long absence, we begin at Red Mill Road and hike west on the MST, mostly through bottomland forest until a climb takes us to our turnaround and a bluff overlooking the Eno River. 

It’s a good mix of trails, a good mix of times to hike, a good way to make sure you get your hiking fix this fall.

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