I’ve been a fan of hiking and exploring North Carolina’s game lands for years. I’m even more of a fan after interviewing Brian McRae, Division Chief for Land and Water Access for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for today’s GetHiking! Southeast podcast.
GetOut! Celebrate Imbolc with a search for spring
Do you know what Tuesday (February 2, so you don’t run off searching for a calendar) was?
Imbolc, the pagan observance that celebrates the midpoint of winter and thus, the beginning of the official watch for spring.
We celebrated by hiking along the Eno in search of early signs of the season. To us, that generally means sighting the first spring wildflower — the spring beauty or trout lily — maybe hearing the first spring peeper. With temperatures content to not rise out of the 40s for much of January, it was a search, we were sure, was in vain.
5 Hikes Delayed from 2020, Destined for 2021
Today’s post is a follow-up to last week’s post on backpack trips we intended to take in 2020, but couldn’t because of the pandemic.
Face it, are there no bad hikes. Each hike has its own special, well, “charm” may be pushing it. But each hike we do does have some unique or compelling aspect that, in the end, always has us saying, “That sure beat a day at the widget works.” Even when it’s finger-nipping cold, even when it’s wet enough to pack a snorkel.
GetOut! Here’s how to find the lingering snow
It snowed Wednesday night, you had to work Thursday and today. Alas, the meager yet magnificent snowfall will be gone by the time you can hike it this weekend.
Or will it?
Cold temperatures Thursday and today mean there likely will be some snow left along the trail come Saturday — if you know where to look.
5 backpacking trips for 2021 (we hope)
Last year around this time, I was licking my chops over a great lineup of backpack trips I intended to take, including four short thru-hikes in the state. I even managed to get in two trips (including one of the thru-hikes) before I was forced to scrap my plans for the pandemic.