A new approach to bringing you adventure

White Pines Nature Preserve: GetGoingNC.com's information on the Triangle Land Conservancy's Web site.

Life as an adventure writer is all about survival. Not surviving the adventures; it’s the writing that’s the challenge. Or rather getting paid to do it.

When I got into this business 20 years ago at The News & Observer all I had to do to justify writing about outdoor adventure was convince one editor that people wanted to read about outdoor adventure. Fortunately, the first person I had to convince was a Travel editor desperate for regional copy. She was all too happy to run stories about Raven Rock, Medoc Mountain, Morrow Mountain and the other state parks I was discovering as a recent transplant to the state. read more

House Creek Greenway to open June 25 (read: Memorial Day)

This stretch under Lake Boone Trail is finished; only two paving projects remain on the House Creek Greenway.

If you’ve been driving Raleigh’s Beltline between Wade Avenue and Glen Eden Drive, sneaking peeks into the woods and wondering when on earth the House Creek Greenway is going to open, the answer is June 25.

That’s the official answer. In reality, it should be passable by Memorial Day. read more

Athlete, evaluate thyself

After warming up, it's time to evaluate.

I was talking to Steven Wheelock, a wellness instructor at Rex Wellness in Raleigh, about stretching for a story coming soon to a McClatchy Newspaper (Charlotte Observer/News & Observer) near you when he sought to put the practice in perspective by anatomizing the four phases of the workout: 1. Stretching/warmup, 2. Evaluation period, 3. The workout itself, 4. Cool down. read more

This weekend: wildflowers, a wild ride, a ride into the wild

Saturday: a good time on the Dismal Canal.

I know it’s just Tuesday, but what better time to start planning for the weekend ahead than while the memory of the weekend past is still fresh

Coast

Two great options at Dismal Swamp State Park this weekend. Saturday, it’s Bike to the Bull North Burn, an 8-mile round-trip bike ride to the site of last year’s Bull North Fire. There’s a 20-minute program at the site, followed by a box lunch. Brink your own bike or rent one on site (make arrangements when you call to register). Starts at 9 a.m. 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 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.