They were, as my wife later pointed out, a dose of trail magic.
I had a narrow window o time — late Sunday afternoon thru Tuesday — and decided to squeeze in a long overdue backpack trip. I got out the maps, searched for the closest high country trail, and quickly determined I’d be heading to the Appalachian Trail just west of Lynchburg, Va., a little over three hours away.
This weekend: Bundle up and learn something
Temperatures across the state this weekend are generally forecast to stay in the 40s under mostly sunny skies. Ideal weather, in our view, for getting out and learning a little about the world around us. Courtesy of North Carolina State Parks, we bring you three options for doing just that. (And you can find more at the State Parks website.)
N.C. State Parks see record attendance in 2013 (pass it on)
Fortunately, the North Carolina General Assembly has a short session this year. Good news, considering the environmental mischief they got into during last year’s regular session.
Still, we shouldn’t underestimate what these folks can do in just six weeks, the typical length of a short session. Nor is there reason to wait until they convene in May to arm ourselves with factual ammunition, so that when someone gets the idea to, say, close North Carolina’s State Parks for the winter, you can contact your local representative with facts and set him/her straight on why that’s not a good idea. Since we’re on the topic of North Carolina’s state parks, let’s focus on them today.
This weekend: Cold stroke of fun
We’ve got hikes in the Piedmont (along the Eno River) and in the mountains (up Little Pisgah Mountain), and a hike, of sorts (walking on water counts, right?) at the coast.
Coast
The Cold Stroke Classic is on our “Pushing-The-Limits-But-Certainly-Doable” lifetime achievement list. Now in its sixth year, Cold Stroke lets amateurs and more competitive types compete in standup paddleboard racing, on protected waterways, at the coast, in winter. There’s a 3.5-mile course for more recreational types, a 7-mile course for the “elite.”
90 Second Escape: GetHiking! at White Pines Nature Preserve
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.