Cool & wet: NetFlix or TrailFix?

Still smiling, after nine hours on a rainy trail.

Cool, cloudy, chance of rain. Some people see that as a forecast for a Netflix weekend. We see it as a trail fix weekend.
Three weeks ago, we spent a cool, wet Sunday hiking 12 miles on the Tanawha Trail at the base of Grandfather Mountain. Perhaps a little wetter than we would have preferred, but one thing is for sure: for the 25 or so folks on the hike, it was one memorable day.
The forecast for this weekend isn’t quite as wet. It is, however, supposed to be cool, with mountain temperatures expected to stay in the 60s. A good weekend to kick off your fall hiking season.
Where might I kick it off? you inquire.
Here are five hikes we especially like on cool, wet days. Included are links where you can find more information on how to plan and execute your hike. read more

This weekend: September is for State Parks

From paddling the Great Dismal Swamp to a morning hike to a mysterious hole to a mountain-top celebration, there’s a lot to in North Carolina’s State Parks this weekend.

Coast

The notion of paddling in a swamp is at once intriguing and slightly terrifying: People go into swamps and never come out, don’t they? read more

90 Second Escape: GetHiking! Into Fall

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb. read more

90 Second Escape: Pilot Mountain

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb. read more

Explore the outdoors, discover yourself.