Today’s 90-Second Escape: Fade to Winter

We can’t recall a recent example of a fall that so vigorously refused to cede to winter. Technically, the calendar says fall has nearly another month (until Dec. 21) of tenure. But in reality, winter typically starts moving in in early November, bringing a box or two here and there, and has full housekeeping set up by Thanksgiving. Not so much this year.

Tuesday, on a short ramble at Umstead State Park in Raleigh, we saw signs that Autumn may finally be fixing to move on. The air was crisper, throwing in a distinctive bite. The light was at a noticeable angle, cutting through the forest, and the leaves on the forest floor finally out-numbered those in the canopy. You may still have a hint of fall on your Thanksgiving weekend outings, but winter will certainly let you know it’s taking up residence.

Here’s a preview …

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Today’s 90-Second Escape: A Classic Weekend on the AT

Have you ever had great expectations for a hike — and the resulting experience ended up exceeding those expectations?

Such was the case this weekend for our GetHiking! Southeast’s Classic Hikes crew. Twenty-seven hikers descended on our base camp, at the Laughing Heart Lodge in Hot Springs, N.C., expecting three good days of hiking. We were hoping for good weather; we had about the best hiking weather you can imagine, with temperatures in the upper 50s under clear (if smoky) skies. We were hoping for a little remaining fall color; we were treated to a surprising amount of eye-popping reds, oranges, yellows and peaches below 4,000 feet. We knew we’d be in good company, and we were.

Click on the above photo (or click here) and enjoy more scenes from our three days hiking roughly 35 miles on the Appalachian Trail, from Max Patch north to Rich Mountain (and back to Hot Springs on 3.1 miles of “ghost” AT).

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Today’s 90-Second Escape: Hiking Colorado’s Front Range

We ventured back to the motherland of Denver last week to see the family, managed to get in a couple hikes along the way. We didn’t have time to venture into the mountains, but with so many great county and state parks along Colorado’s Front Range, it didn’t matter.

Here are some scenes from our two hikes. For more information:

• South Mesa Trailhead, Boulder, go here.
• Roxborough State Park, go here.

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Today’s 90-Second Escape: Shy Fall Color

Here we are, heading into the last week of October in the Piedmont — and where’s the fall color? Sunday, we saw a smidgen of oak yellow at the Triangle Land Conservancy’s Horton Grove Nature Preserve. Today, on a run at Duke University’s Al Buehler Cross Country Trail, we saw less than that.

Still, fall is certainly in the air. Saturday, on a hike at the TLC’s White Pines Nature Preserve, the temperature didn’t get out of the 50s, and all weekend the sky was a crisp blue — crisp, because there was precious little moisture in the air. All the components of fall, except the color.

Maybe next week?

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Today’s 90-Second Escape: On the Water

We haven’t been on the water in a long time. A very long time … .

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