As available sunlight goes, we hit our annual nadir on Saturday: the winter solstice, officially commencing at 12:11 p.m. The sun rises at 7:19 a.m. and sets at 5:06, with just 9 hours and 47 minutes of daylight in between. From Saturday on, gradually at first, the sun starts setting a little later every day incrementally increasing our daylight for play.
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.
No matter where you are, head out Friday night and take in the Geminid meteor shower at its peak. And during the light of day you’ll find lessons to be learned about snow.
Coast
The Geminid meteor shower is expected to peak Friday evening — and you can have a prime seat at the Dismal Swamp State Park in South Mills. If the conditions are prime, you should be able to see 50 to 100 meteors per hour! This park program starts at 7 p.m.
For the most part, you can hike in the mountains year-round. Hiking in the Piedmont is enjoyable from October into May, and at the coast conditions are favorable for three, maybe four months of the year (the non bug-infested months). Winter, though, is the one time when all regions, from mountains to sea, are in play for a good hike. Here are our recommendations for hikes that seem especially well-suited for December.
The holidays are upon us: Year-end deadlines. Parties to attend. Gifts to buy.
When are you supposed to find the time to get out and play?
Last week on our Facebook page we shared a link to an Outside Online story on how to squeeze in a workout by condensing it. It covers a variety of pursuits with the theme of short (30 minutes) and intense (heavy on the interval work). I’ve been following it with my running and it’s been surprisingly effective, both physically and mentally.
What about when you don’t even have 30 minutes to spare? Try the next best thing: a little vicarious living.
Below are five stories we’ve read in the past few busy, rainy days that have at least let our psyche have some fun. The articles are good, the sources — Outside Online, Backcountry.com and Adventure Journal — offer a springboard to more escapes.
And if you’ve come across a good escapist read that might benefit the rest of us, feel free to pass it along, below.