“I couldn’t go back to the trail without my stick! The constant ups and downs with 30 pounds on my back were very hard on my knees, and without a stick they would be unbearable. My hiking stick had become an extension of my hand — I was lost without it.”

That’s Jennifer Pharr Davis, 33 at the time, who has hiked more than 13,000 miles on six continents, including a 2011 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail that set the record at the time for hiking the 2,175-mile trail faster than anyone at that point: 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes (that’s about 47 miles a day).

Her painful discovery, recounted in her book, “Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail” (about her first AT thru-hike) came as she discovered that the truck she’d hitched into town on had departed with her beloved hiking stick — her crutch, to a degree — on board.

We came across the passage as Jennifer Pharr Davis prepares to hike the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in celebration of the 1,175-mile statewide trail’s 40th anniversary. We share the anecdote in our ongoing effort to get more of you to embrace trekking poles.

Why use trekking poles? We’ll defer to an expert, Dr. Edward R. Laskowski with the Mayo Clinic.

“Walking poles work your arms, shoulders, chest and upper back muscles through a functional range of motion as you walk — which can help you turn your daily walk into a full-body workout,” according to Dr. Laskowski. “The arm movement associated with walking poles adds intensity to your aerobic workout, which helps you burn more calories.”

Further, he adds:

• Walking poles improve balance and stability. This is especially helpful on the rocky, rooty trails of the Southeast, a region where stream crossings are common and balance and stability is especially critical.
• Walking poles help you maintain proper posture, especially in the upper back, and may help to strengthen upper back muscles.
• Walking poles take some of the load off your lower back, hips and knees, which may be helpful if you have arthritis or back problems.

Hiking poles aren’t expensive. You can spend around $20 on a pair just to see if you like them. Lighter poles that are easier to adjust to your height will run $70 and up.

For a reasonable price, trekking poles will make your hikes happier today and simply possible on down the line.

* * *

Poles apart?

Not sure how to tell trekking poles apart, to determine which ones may be right for you? Check out these recommendations from two of our favorite sources:

SectionHiker.com: Top 10 Backpacker Recommended Trekking Poles

Outdoor Gear Lab: The Best Trekking Poles

The post JPD uses trekking poles (and so should you) appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

At just 6,311 acres, this pocket of the Nantahala National Forest is full of great views, numerous waterfalls, and mountain streams noted for their trout. It also has 30 miles of trail to help you see it all. It may not be Yellowstone; rather, it’s a microcosm of what Yellowstone is known for. It’s also one of the most ecologically diverse areas of the country. 

How diverse?

On Saturday, you’ll have a chance to find out. For the past month or so the Friends of Panthertown have been conducting a Biolblitz, an effort to catalogue as much of the valley’s flora, fauna and geology as possible. It’s the first such effort ever, and the results will be shared at the Bioblitz Final Celebration Saturday in Cashiers from 2-5 p.m.

Hearing about Panthertown’s naturally occurring virtues is great; seeing them is even better. That’s why, as part of my day job with the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, I’ll be leading 5-mile hikes into the valley on both Saturday and Sunday, commencing both days at 9 a.m. from the Salt Rock Gap trailhead. The hikes: 

• Saturday’s hike: Panthertown Valley Trail to Mac’s Gap Loop, 5.4 miles. This hike starts with a pleasant downhill, then includes a loop taking in the popular Schoolhouse Falls and a well-earned view from atop Little Green Mountain. Lots of variety on this hike, which you can check out here on AllTrails. Find details on the hike and sign up (spots are limited) here.
• Sunday’s hike: Blackrock Mountain, Granny Burrell Falls, Frolictown Falls and Wilderness Falls, 5.5 miles. We hike out to Blackrock Mountain, then drop down hike to three waterfalls before returning to the trailhead. Find details and sign up (spots are limited) here. Piece together these two hikes on AllTrails — this one and this one — and you’ll have a good idea of the hike.

Are you a backpacker? We’ve got you covered, too.

• Weekend backpack trip: Get both hikes AND a night or two of camping in the valley. We meet at 5 p.m. Friday, May 15, at the Salt Rock Gap Trailhead, then hike a mile downhill to camp for the weekend. After setting up and eating dinner, we’ll take a short hike to the Salt Rock Overlook to enjoy sunset. Saturday and Sunday we do the hikes listed above. You can also join us Saturday morning, if you like. Find details and sign up (spots are limited) here.

Both day hikes should end around 12:30 p.m.. On Saturday, that’s to allow time to get into Cashiers by 2 p.m. for the Biolblitz festivities, on Sunday that’s to give folks time to drive home in daylight.

Panthertown Valley is a must-explore for the adventurous Southeasterner. This is the perfect weekend to mark it off your list.

More info

• Learn more about the Bioblitz here.
• Learn more about the Friends of Panthertown here.
• Learn more about lodging options nearby here.

The post It’s a great weekend to blitz Panthertown Valley appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

A stream with no bridge or obvious rock-hop crossing can be intimidating to the unprepared hiker. The mere thought of getting your feet wet and continuing on in soggy boots seems capable of raising blisters. Fortunately, most rivers can be easily forded. Here’s a look at the gear and technique for a successful crossing:

Gear

• Footwear. If you know you will be dealing with multiple crossings in a short span, slip into a water shoe. Keens (or anything that’s similarly constructed) are ideal, with their closed toe and firm fit. Old running shoes also work, though they don’t dry as quickly. So, it wouldn’t hurt looking for some good ones at shoe hero. If it’s just a crossing or two, walking across in hiking socks (preferably wool) provides a bit of protection to your feet and improves grip.
• Trekking poles (or at least a hiking stick). Your balance crossing water is greatly improved if you have trekking poles or a hiking stick: three or four points of contact beats two. Probe with your poles/stick, plant firmly, take a step. If you don’t have poles or a stick, you can often find one leaning against a tree or rock at the crossing.

Scout the crossing

Don’t be hasty, it’s a several step process:

• First, check the opposite bank and see where the trail resumes. Often, the direct line across is where you’ll find the logical crossing, though not always: water levels in particular can impact the best place to cross.
• Check to see if there is a viable rock-hop.
• Generally, the widest spot in the river — where the water is often shallower and the current not as strong, is the best place to cross.
• Look for a worn path headed either upstream or down on your side of the river. Odds are it leads to a preferred crossing.
• In general, slow moving water shouldn’t be above your thigh, fast moving above your knee. If it is, scout for another location.
• Look for large rocks or other obstacles in the stream; they create an eddy (slow moving water) behind them, making for a good spot to rest and catch your breath before continuing on.

Making the crossing

Again, take your time …

• As you wade in, face upstream, leaning slightly into the current. Cross slowly, taking a slight angle downstream.
• Don’t hurry. Make sure every pole and foot plant is secure before applying full weight.
• Always maintain at least two points of contact, ideally three (again, why you need poles or a stick).
• If you’re with another person, try linking arms and cross. Ideally, the heavier person is first and slightly upstream, lessening the flow’s impact for the second hiker.
• If you fall, try to fall forward, or upstream; if you’re in fast-moving water and are swept downstream, dump your pack and point your feet downstream: better your feet hit any downstream objects than your head.

Post crossing

• Dry your feet, regardless of whether you’re continuing on in river shoes or putting on socks and boots.

This is an abbreviated version of our Water Crossings tip sheet, which you can downtown here for free through the end of April.

The post Tips for taking the fear out of water crossings appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

* * *

Before we set out Saturday morning from our campsite at Yellow Mountain Gap on the Appalachian Trail, I outlined the morning plan. “We’ve got a long climb — 900 vertical feet in 1.7 miles — up to Little Hump Mountain. We’ll take a break there. Then head on to Hump Mountain for lunch.”

The afternoon before we’d started from Carver’s Gap around 1:30. “The first mile is one long great view,” I explained. “Sunset isn’t until 8:03, so we’ve got plenty of time.”

I’d made a variation of that speech on at least a dozen previous trips on this revered 14-mile run of the AT from Carver’s Gap to US 19E. The backpackers are always glad to hear there’s no rush — then proceed to rush after paying brief homage to the more deserving views. Maybe spend 5 minutes at Round Bald, taking in the 360-degree views of everything from Roan High Knob to Grassy Ridge to ridge after ridge fading west into Tennessee, a few minutes less at adjoining Jane Bald. The grass is always greener at the next bald, apparently.

But this group was different. We hung out at Round Bald for a good 15 minutes, stayed nearly as long at Jane Bald. Even after descending into the mountain ash forest at Roan Mountain, we stopped frequently, for the wildflowers (white snakeroot, yellow sneezeweed), to check out a briskly running spring, to enjoy more wildflowers.

To be clear, these three hikers weren’t stopping to catch their breath. I’d hiked with all three before: Marie had done one of the toughest trips we do, the four-day, 37-mile Virginia Triple Crown; Nick’s done several trips, including the rugged Joyce Kilmer Wilderness; and Sue has done most of our trips and had just gotten back from a 7-day trip with the Sierra Club in the White Mountains. They’re three of the strongest folks I hike with.

With all the stops we still made it to camp before 5 p.m. — three hours before sunset, with plenty of time to enjoy camp.

* * *

When we set out Saturday morning — sleeping in and leaving camp around 9 — I was prepared for another leisurely day on the trail. We stopped about 15 minutes in at a clearing overlooking where we’d camped. We stopped a short while later to check out an ancient barbed wire fence atop the razor-sharp ridge (“They had cattle up here?”). We stopped to check out a likewise perplexing ridgeline roadbed that had once, presumably, served a vital function. When we topped 5,453-foot Little Hump Mountain, we dropped our packs and settled in for the view. 

Fifteen minutes later we were back on the trail, descending off the bald into another mountain ash forest, then into Bradley Gap at the base of Hump Mountain, the entire mile-long climb visible before us.

“We’ll stop for lunch at the top,” I said.

I’ve done this trip in good weather in the past (I’ve also done it in blinding rain), but the conditions this past weekend were the best I’d ever seen. The temperature was in the upper 60s, early on there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. When we reached the top of Hump Mountain a few scattered and harmless white clouds were drifting in from the west. We stopped at a rock outcrop with a plaque honoring Stan Murray, founder of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, the perfect place to stretch out for lunch. 

“We’ll hang out here a little longer than usual,” I said. “How does an hour sound?” Later, Sue said she was expecting me to say 20 minutes. “You rarely get a lunch break that long on a guided hike.”

After an hour had come and gone, I surveyed my fellow hikers. One appeared to be asleep; one, who’d set up her Helinox camp chair, appeared to be in a trance; one was gazing intently to the southeast. “It’s only a little over an hour to camp,” I said. “If we leave now, we’ll be there by 2:30. You good with staying here a while longer?” They were. So we stayed another hour.

I recall maybe 10 words being said that whole time. I drifted in and out of a light sleep, thoughts pingponging to unexpected places. At first, I smelled a hamburger, a specific hamburger, one from the grill at a pool where I grew up. That made me think of water and my Mike Nelson phase, which made me think of Gragg Prong in the Wilson Creek area, the best summer swimming hole in the Southeast. I thought about my first swimming hole, a mountain reservoir near where I went to school, where I spent a summer diving into its icy waters, then sunning on its exposed granite. I remembered that odd, orange glow on the insides of my closed eyelids, the same glow I was feeling now. It was the feeling of being young, without a care in the world. It was the holy grail of being in the wild.

* * *

As our shuttle driver was unloading us at Carver’s Gap Friday, one of our group said, “Well, maybe we’ll see you again on Sunday.”

“Sunday?” he huffed. “You’re taking two nights to do this? You’re gonna get bored.” 

It struck me as an odd thing to say for someone who makes a living based on hikers’ love affair with these mountains. It also struck me as flat out wrong. Later, recalling the exchange, I told the group, “You could do this trail every week for the rest of your life and not get bored.”

Especially when you take the time to enjoy.

* * *

Last chances

Eager for that feel-like-a-kid feeling on the trail? We have two that can’t miss.

GetBackpacking! Virginia’s Triple Crown. We have one more backpack trip on the schedule this year, one more opportunity this year to feel young! It’s a four-day, 35-mile trip in late October taking in Virginia’s Triple Crown: McAfee Knob, Tinker Cliffs and Dragon’s Tooth. Learn more and sign up to join us here. Two spots remain.

GetHiking! Weekend Classic Escape on the AT at Hot Springs. Not into camping but love hiking? We’ve got one other last chance just for you, our GetHiking! Fall Weekend Escape on the Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs. Stay in the Hot Springs Lodge/Cabins, enjoy two days of late fall (first weekend in November) hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Learn more and sign up to join us here.

The post The slower the better: a weekend on the AT appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Don’t hesitate to adjust your plans based on the forecast. For instance, GetBackpacking! was scheduled to do the 35-mile Virginia Triple Crown loop this weekend. The four-day trip takes a high route, largely sticking to ridges. 

Ridges tend to be devoid of water, which is a problem on any backpack trip but especially one with Heat Dome heat. We’ve not had trouble finding water on our three previous VTC hikes, but then we haven’t done a trip where it hasn’t rained the 10 previous days, and no rain is in the forecast. This trip was quickly devolving from sweaty and uncomfortable, to dangerous. So we changed direction. We’re saving the VTC until late October, cooler and colorful late October, and we are instead doing a basecamp trip this weekend at Doughton Park. There’s sufficient water for drinking and, of psychological importance, for lolling about in following a day on the trail (in lighter day packs). Learn more about both trips at the end of this post. Now, on to our Heat Dome Tips.

Minimize the heat

Maybe you can’t ignore the heat. But you can minimize its debilitating effects.

• Clothes. Wear lightweight clothes, preferably clothes that breath. Button-style fishing and hiking shirts typically have ample vents and mesh that do a good job of keeping you cool by letting you vent body heat. 
• Pants. If you’re not a fan of shorts, the good news is there are several relatively inexpensive lightweight nylon pants on the market. Some even come with UPF sunblock protection. The protection that long pants offer can be especially welcome in summer. If you’re on an exposed trail, that protection from the sun is great. If you’re on a trail meandering through tight vegetation, long pants are good protection from poison ivy/oak/sumac and other irritating plants, and from ticks; the little pests can still weasel their way onto your skin, but it’s a harder task.

Drink (a k a hydrate)

Water is important whenever you exercise. It’s especially important in the heat, when you’re sweating more than on a cool day. Two key points when it comes to water.

• Remember to take it. At the bare minimum, take a liter of water. Even if you’re doing a 1/2-mile nature trail, take a liter of water. If you’re going longer, say, between 2 and 5 miles, take two liters of water. If you’re going much beyond that, take two liters as well as a filtering device to get more water along the way. Note: The later only works if you are hiking in an area where the water is devoid of chemical pollution. 
• Make it so you’ll want to drink it. Do you look forward to a nice, tepid glass of water, water warm enough to brew tea? Likely not. If you use water bottles, the night before a summer hike, fill the bottles 3/4 full and toss them in the freezer. In the morning, top off your ice bottle with water. If you use a hydration pack, fill the bladder with as much ice as possible, then fill with cold water. 

How to dress (and undress)

Some key pieces of clothing:

• Wet bandana. Soak a bandana in water, drape it around your neck. When you cross a stream, refresh the bandana. It goes a long way toward keeping your body heat regulated.
• Cotton … refreshes. Normally, you’re discouraged from hiking in a cotton T-shirt. In cold, even cool weather, your T-shirt gets wet from sweat, you stop to take a break, you catch a chill. On a really hot day when you’ll only be on the trail when it’s hot, that sweat-cooled T serves as a form of air conditioning. Do be sure to have a dry T waiting for you when you get back to the trailhead. 
• Take extra socks. Even if you’re only hiking 4-5 miles, take an extra pair of socks. Feet get sweaty in the heat (especially if you’re wearing Gore-Tex shoes), the sweat gets absorbed into the socks. Even if you’re wearing wicking wool socks, there’s only so much wet they can wick. When socks become wet, the friction generated by your moving feet will cause blisters. Change socks before you hear an audible squish coming from your shoes.
• Air out your feet on breaks. Even if you’re just taking a 5-minute snack break, sit down and liberate your feet from your shoes and socks. Drape your socks over a branch to dry, let your hot, sweaty feet have a moment to cool. 

Maybe you can’t beat a spring or fall day on the trail. But summer does have something to offer.

Give it a chance.

* * * 

More tips

This is an abbreviated version of our GetHiking! Guide to Summer Hiking. For the full guide, which includes information on the best times to hike and the best places to hike, go here.

Hike with us!

GetBackpacking! Weekend Escape to Doughton Park, June 21-23, (THIS WEEKEND). Our original Virginia Triple Crown group will hike instead this weekend at Doughton Park, where cooler temperatures and great water opportunities offer a great weekend outdoors. 

The essentials:

• Friday: Hike in 1.5 miles to camp, set up camp, with day packs hike 3.3 miles up Basin Creek (and 3.3 miles back). 
• Saturday: 16-mile loop including the Cedar Ridge, Bluff Mountain and Grassy Gap Trails.
• Sunday: Break camp, hike out. Optional day hike at nearby Stone Mountain State Park.

Camp is along Basin Creek, not only a good water source but a great place for immersing one’s self post hike. $85. Limited to 5 hikers.

Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Virginia’s Triple Crown! This classic 35-mile loop has been rescheduled to the cooler, colorful fall, Oct. 24-27. We now have two openings for this 4-day trip. $225. Learn more and sign up here.

The post Don’t get bullied by the Weekend Heat Dome appeared first on GetGoing NC!.