“Usually,” Alan observed, “we wait until we’ve been hiking a while before we get lost.”
Indeed, getting lost before we could even find the trailhead was a record. It was also a tribute to the trail, five newly opened sections of the Falls Lake portion of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which is expanding at breakneck pace through the Triangle. Likely by year’s end, and possibly at a Nov. 21 Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail workday, 60 miles of continuous trail will exist from the Falls Lake dam in Wake County to Pennys Bend on the Eno River in Durham County. That about 37 of those miles — from NC 50 northwest — have been blazed and cleared since 2007 is thanks entirely to FMST volunteers who show up once a month to rake, dig, hack and otherwise clear trail. That we were slightly challenged finding the trailhead for Section 20 wasn’t surprising considering how quickly this transportation project is evolving.read more
In my previous running life — in my 20s, in the ‘80s — I found myself on two occasions in New Orleans, covering conventions. On both visits it rained, and even though I’m a wimp when it comes to running in wet weather — soggy shoes, chaffing in especially sensitive places, I wear glasses, shall I go on? — I was able to put in my usual five miles thanks to a word of wisdom passed along by a hotel valet:read more
You know what that means — time is running short to explore the outdoors before the weather gets really cold. A few of your options this weekend:
Coast
Few things make you feel like a kid more than flying a kite. The thrill of getting your kite airborne after a dogged sprint, watching it climb higher and higher into the wild blue, chasing after it over fences and through the neighbors’ backyards after the string snaps. Good times — and a good workout, too.read more
An hour or so into the hike, the lightbulb went on for Alan. “Now this looks familiar.”
The problem up until now? We’d been hiking in the daylight.
Alan Nechemias and I had probably hiked this stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake — sections 10 and 9 — a couple dozen times over the past three years. But we could only recall hiking it once in daylight. The other times had been under conditions much like this: cool to cold late fall and winter nights once the sun had long since set.read more
You’ve got more important things to do today than read a long, windy blog. Like vote and get in some exercise — which you can likely do at the same time.
I just got back from fulfilling both my obligation as a member of the greatest democracy mankind has known, and my obligation to my body. Walked about a mile to my polling place, voted, walked another half mile to Starbucks where I celebrated the privilege of being part of the greatest democracy mankind has known with a little caffeine, walked a mile and a half home. Fulfilled my duty as a citizen, did my heart and assorted other body parts good in the process. And, a caffeinated beverage. Is this a great country or what?read more