The following is an updated version of a post that originally ran a year ago.
Let’s talk for a minute about backpacking.
You mean strapping a bulky, steel-frame pack with 60 pounds of gear to your back and hiking 20 miles?
No, I’m talking about slipping on a custom-fit, internal-frame pack with about 30 pounds and hiking 10, maybe 12 miles tops.
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 or slide show 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.
You know how in the NCAA Tournament you’re always rooting for the little guy (provided the little guy isn’t playing your guy)?
Content from RDU #BestTown2015
That’s the situation the Triangle currently faces in its battle for Outside Magazine/Toad&Co.’s #BestTown2015 crown. Dubbed Raleigh-Durham for recognition reasons (but really encompassing all the great recreational assets of the Triangle), RDU, a No. 8 seed in the South regionals, handily beat No. 9 seed Bentonville, Ark., in first-round action. Now, in Round 2 we find ourselves up against No. 1 seed Chattanooga, Tenn. Chattanooga: been to the dance before, known as a top-notch player not only regionally, but nationwide. It’s got whitewater paddling, it’s got climbing, it’s got hiking and mountain biking.
Just like you’ll find in the Triangle. But does it have scuba diving? Miles of flatwater paddling? More than 280 miles of greenway?
RDU deserves your support as #BestTown2015. And it needs it: currently the Triangle trails Chattanooga by a 63 percent to 37 percent margin. And time is running out: voting ends at midnight Wednesday.
Check out our brief slideshow campaign for RDU’s candidacy. If you need more convincing, read Raleigh-Durham’s complete position paper here. Then, let the country know what a great place this is to explore — vote!
This way to the ballot box …
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 or slide show 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.
Why get out and confront the elements, sleep on hard ground, eat dehydrated food, drink water filtered from a pond, forgo fancy $5 coffee in the morning and not bathe for days on end?
Content from GetBackpacking! in Linville Gorge
Because of weekends like this past weekend spent by our GetBackpacking! group at Linville Gorge. Because of the rare chance to see half of North Carolina’s high country on a brilliantly clear day. Because of the whip-poor-will, whose enchanting (if, after a while, annoying) call serenades you throughout the night. Because of the abundance of perfectly drawn wildflowers. Because of the full moon that envelopes your campsite with just enough light. Because everything and anything tastes great after hiking 18 miles. Because it’s a weekend you won’t soon forget.