We’ve made the transfer from cool and budding to warm and lush. The weather is great for hiking, but there are some associated annoyances we face along the way, specifically ticks and mosquitoes, and poison ivy.
Here’s a quick look at prevention and treatment for both.
It was the late 1990s when got my first introduction to the Sanford outdoor scene. I was mountain biking more than anything else at the time and the Triangle had yet to develop it’s extensive network of trails (legal ones, at least). Lake Crabtree, Umstead, UNC North — that was about it. Then a friend suggested we try Sanford.
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.)
Next weekend marks the third NC Trail Days Festival Weekend sponsored by local communities and the N.C.Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong initiative as part of Year of the Trail. The festivals’ goal: to highlight the exceptional recreational resources in our rural areas.
We head into the wayback machine again to revisit the timely topic of trail etiquette. The following first appeared here on March 19, 2010, and has appeared occasionally since. It reappears today, with minor revisions.
A few years back, I was running the bike and bridle trail at Umstead when I came upon a sizable obstacle: a phalanx of hikers bearing backpacks spanned the width of the trail, spilling over onto the shoulders. The trail is quiet generous, a converted fire road that should be capable of handling boatloads of trail users without conflict. Provided those trail users are cognizant of other trail users. Which brings us to today’s topic:
