Every Friday, we give you a glimpse into our weekend past to give you a nudge to get out and explore the weekend future. Meaning this one.
Last weekend we spent Saturday exploring dang near all of Pilot Mountain, then Sunday we were at Little River Regional Park and Harris Lake County Park. For us this weekend we’ll be hiking a 7-mile stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake in Raleigh on Saturday, and doing 8 miles Sunday along the Eno River.
This picture means a lot to me because everyone in it still speaks to me. In fact, they’ve all gone on trips with me since.
The photo was taken last August on a GetBackpacking! trip into Linville Gorge. It was a three-day, 22-mile trip that involved two crossings of the Linville River, a knee-busting descent into Chimney Gap followed by a calf-burning ascent out, navigating a river section that had little interest in being navigated, and this drop into the gorge on the Leadmine Trail—a path that looked relatively innocuous on the topo map. In reality, it’s a path best tackled by tossing your pack down the mountain first, then scooting down after it. You know how trails rarely look as steep in photos? Not this one.
Hike NC, the hiking program launched in the fall of 2016 by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, is back with 60 hikes this spring. This weekend, Earth Day weekend, the spring season kicks off with seven hikes. While many of those hikes are aimed at beginners — the goal of the program is to get more people moving and outdoors — there are several good reasons for more experienced hikers to check out those hikes as well.
Finally, the forecast and the calendar align: we should have springlike weather this weekend.
As we’re attempting to do on an every-Friday basis, we’re here today to get you thinking about the weekend. Today, 40 seconds of last Sunday’s GetHiking! adventure at Umstead State Park in Raleigh: a little on the cool side, but sunny and glorious nonetheless.
The weather is finally turning springlike, which means that many of you are starting to think about the epic hikes you have planned for summer. Since nothing can torpedo an ambitious mountain hike quicker than legs that aren’t up for the hills, it’s time to start getting your gams ready for game day.
