The snow and bitter cold are gone. Time to get back out and explore!
Coast | Coastal Plain
There’s something extra special about the Coastal Plain in winter. The still air, the open views, the absence of flying biting things. All of which makes it a great time for a hike, to learn, perhaps about the phenomenon known as Carolina Bays.
Several years ago, when Keith Nealson was a ranger at Umstead State Park, I nearly had him talked into a canoe trip down Crabtree Creek through the park. Alas, he transferred (he’s now the superintendent of Eno River State Park) and the trip never advanced beyond talk.
I don’t recall where I was headed, but this wasn’t it. I was on a road I was somewhat familiar with. Then I took a right, onto a dirt road and thought I might wings it. That rarely works out, and soon it was clear it wouldn’t this time, either. This was long before Siri, long before the government made its global positioning system useful to civilians. I was on my own.
Answer the following: The weather forecast for this weekend is:
a) Frightful
b) Delightful
If you answered a), then you’ve already resigned yourself to spending the weekend indoors. Here’s a list of good books.
If you answered b), stick with us as we depart from our usual format, which is to recommend planned outdoor activities scheduled for the weekend. Organized bike rides, hikes, runs, that kind of thing. Odds are that anything scheduled throughout much of the state will be canceled should the forecast illustrated above (thanks WRAL Weather, btw) come true. No sense recommending something that likely won’t happen. Instead, some thoughts on how you, as an individual, can take advantage of the snowy cold weekend.
“The one thing,” Curly tells Mitch, displaying his black-gloved index finger. “Just one thing.”
“That’s great,” says Mitch. “But what’s the one thing?”
“That’s what you’ve got to figure out.”
