I used to get lost. Now I just get turned around.

The difference?

I no longer panic when I discover I’m not where I thought I was — or should be. And the reason I no longer panic is because I learned how to use a map and compass.

Let’s get something straight up front: I’m no Meriwether Lewis. I’m more a Ponce de Leon: eager to go in search of one thing, only to be distracted by something else. That makes it especially important to figure out where you are and the way to get to where you want to be.

When I decided to start leading people into the woods on hikes, I realized I needed to stay more focused. With a bunch of hikers in tow, I quickly discovered how embarrassing it was to think you’re in one place but are actually some place totally different. Just ask Columbus. So I started carrying a topo map, learned to use a compass, and I worked hard at figuring out how the map related to the terrain I was traveling. I learned that the wavy lines are called contours, which depict the elevation at a given point; that the closer together the contours are, the steeper the terrain; that as they emanate away from water, that means the terrain is rising. Those simple basics made figuring out where I was and where I was headed so much easier. And, for the most part, made it so much easier to figure out where I was when I discovered I wasn’t where I thought I was.

Where the heck am I?

One day a few years ago, I decided to take a lunch break and hike Eno River State Park. The Cox Mountain Trail is one of my favorites, and at 3.75 miles, I can get it done in a little over an hour. Hiked clockwise, it has a nice climb at the beginning, a generous descent on the backside of the mountain, a long return along the river. Just before reaching the loop portion of this lollipop, however, I noticed a narrow clearing — maybe 15 feet wide — that headed into the woods for maybe 75 yards, then vanished around a bend. The path was relatively clear … . What the heck, I thought.

Another reason to become familiar with a map and compass is so that when you do come across an opportunity like this — an old roadbed, a fisherman’s trail that’s not on your map — you’re more apt to check it out. Eno River State Park, like many state parks, wasn’t always a place of escape. In the Piedmont, most state parkland was actually farmland until the early 1930s, when the federal government began buying up overworked land and selling it to the state, cheap, for parks. Even though it’s been nearly 90 years in some cases, remnants of the cultivated past remain: a rock foundation, a stone boundary marker, ancient oaks signaling an old homestead, these roadbeds. Take one of these long-abandoned paths, pay attention, and you’ll be treated to a decaying blast from the past.

Ponce gets distracted

Which I did — and was. As often happens, I got caught up in searching for the past while neglecting the present. After a half hour or so, I found myself headed down a rocky tributary that I was sure would deposit me down at the Eno. Then I noticed I was following the tributary upstream.

“This won’t work,” I mumbled aloud.

Out came my map and compass.

First, I took in the surrounding terrain: an intermittent creek (appearing as a broken blue line on the map), a healthy slope to my left (tight contours), a generous floodplain to my right (no countours) and a steep draw straight ahead (tight, converging contours). Where I thought I was on the map didn’t look anything like this. I began searching the map for contours that matched my location, slowly scanning upstream until — bingo! And holy cow! I was nearly a half mile west of where I thought I was.

Lost — and found

But now I knew exactly where I was and how to navigate my way down to the river (which actually involved hiking atop a bluff rising 60 feet above a sharp bend in the river).

Was I worried? Only that I’d be back from lunch a few minutes late.

Learning to use a compass and make sense of a map isn’t genetic, it’s not an ingrained skill that either you can do or you can’t (like pole vaulting). Most of the folks who go through our GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods class show up saying they have zero sense of direction. And usually after we spend a half hour or so going over how to read a map and how to use a compass, they still haven’t a clue. But as we head down the trail (and off), as we stop every so often and ask them to figure out on the map where we are, they almost always have an “Aha!” moment. The map suddenly makes sense, the compass no longer carries the mystique of a devining rod. Suddenly, their love of being outdoors isn’t overshadowed by their fear of getting lost in it.

Knowing how to use a map and compass doesn’t guarantee that you’ll always know right where you are in the world. But it’s a good bet it’ll keep you from getting lost. Just turned around.

* * *

Find Your Way with us

Love the trail but uncertain about your wayfinding skills? This three-hour session goes over basic map and compass skills, then hits the trail to offer key tips on how to follow and stay on the trail, how to find it again if you stray, and how to explore off trail. We’ll start with a 30-minute map-and-compass introduction, then use that map and compass — and some Daniel Boone skills — to find our way in the woods. We’ll also do some off-trail exploring, with the goal of purposefully venturing off the trail, then rejoining it again. Our goal is to make you confident hiking alone or taking a novice friend on the trail. Our next class:

• GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods: Wednesday, July 10, 6-9 p.m., Haw River State Park: Iron Ore Belt Access, Greensboro. Learn more and sign up here.

The post GetOriented: Finding Your Way in the Woods appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

A simple misconception.

When you think of  backpacking, you likely think of hiking  with 40 pounds on your back all day. In fact, you don’t. If every backpack trip we took involved lugging a full pack for days on end, we wouldn’t backpack, either. 

That’s why we advocate a different approach to backpacking: Basecamp Backpacking. You hike in a short distance — typically under three miles, sometimes not even a mile — in full pack, set up camp, do day hikes — with a lightweight day pack — from there. Here are the two big advantages to basecamp backpacking:

• 

  Backcountry camping solitude at a fraction the cost of traditional backpacking. The physical cost, that is. You’d be surprised at how short a hike it can take to achieve camping solitude. For example, one of our favorite basecamp trips is to Doughton Park along the Blue Ridge Parkway. From the Longbottom Road Access it’s a flat, mile-and-a-half hike in full pack to basecamp, a spacious backcountry site served by two creeks. From here, you have access to about 30 miles of trail for day hikes. It’s an even shorter hike — maybe a quarter mile — to the primitive site at Rock Castle Gorge in Virginia (pictured at top), from which you can day hike the popular — and challenging — 10.8-mile Rock Castle Gorge loop. Short hikes in full pack, access to miles and miles of hiking in a day pack.

• More miles, more scenery (and less aching). Most of us hike a mile and a half, maybe two miles per hour in a full pack in the mountains. After six or seven hours, we’re done. In a day pack — bearing only the 10 essentials and weighing, what, five pounds tops? — you’ll cover closer to three miles in an hour. That’s close to twice the distance based on pace alone. Then factor in the likelihood you’ll be able to hike longer with a lesser load. Who wouldn’t rather hike 15 miles as opposed to 7?

Here are some other advantages to Basecamp Backpacking:

• One home, not several. Show of hands: whose favorite part of backpacking is setting up and breaking down camp? With Basecamp Backpacking you set up camp once, you break camp once. You get a chance to settle in, to make camp feel more like home.
• It’s cheaper. If your goal is to add up miles getting from point A to point B, then you’re going to quickly become obsessed with weight, and as every backpacker knows, to trim weight you have to spend more, way more. With Basecamp Backpacking, you can get away with, for instance, a $100, 5-pound tent. If you’re doing a section hike or thru hike, you’re looking at at least halving that weight, which means tripling or quadrupling the price. And that goes for every piece of equipment you have.
• Luxuries. Ask a thru-hiker what “luxury” he’s indulging and he’ll sheepishly admit to bringing a stove. This as opposed to saving the 2.6 ounces ounces his stove weights and — yech! — cold soaking. Ask me about my luxury and I’ll reply, without hesitation, it’s my Helinox Chair Zero, a camp chair that weighs in at just 17 ounces — more, likely, than the distance-hiker’s tarp tent. And frankly, I balk at referring to it as a “luxury” — it’s my dadgum right to sit comfortably around camp and I will not be denied!
• Campfire. One of the saddest things about distance hiking, in my book, is that after hiking  15 to 20 miles in one day these bedraggled distance hikers just want to eat their tepid porridge that’s been cold-soaking in a Talenti container since noon and fall asleep. I know, the campfire has been under a lot of criticism of late, but if there’s a better form of therapy out there, I’d love to hear about it. Sitting around a campfire in the evening with your people, talking about anything and everything that doesn’t have to do with work or politics or civilization is my favorite part of the backpacking experience. I love the hiking, I love nature, I’m even pretty good with inclement weather. But it’s those campfire conversations that keep me coming back.
• Don’t fret the wet. I like hiking in a light to moderate rain. What I don’t like is setting up and breaking down camp in the rain. If you’re section hiking for 10 days, that’s 20 times you need to hope it’s not raining. With a basecamp trip, it’s really only once, when you set up your one and only camp, that it needs to be dry. Set up dry and, barring an issue with your tent, you’ll stay dry.  
• In fact, embrace the wet. If it rains when you return from a day hike, you’ve got a dry place to hang out and read, nap, listen to music.
• Quick bug out, if need be. If something goes wrong on a basecamp trip, you’re likely just a short hike from your car.

Backpacking has long been romanticized as the one true way to escape into the wild — but at a price. With Basecamp Backpacking, that price has dropped considerably. 

* * *

Intro to Backpacking

Now that you know what backpacking can be, you’re likely wondering how you can get into it. With our GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking class. And the next class begins March 16. Here’s how it works:

Session 1: Getting to know you, getting to know your gear. In this Zoom session we’ll spend a few minutes getting to know one another and learning why you’re interested in backpacking. Then, we’ll go over the different types of gear, focusing on good options for beginners. 1 hour. Wednesday, March 15, 6 p.m.

Session 2: Training Day. In full gear, we will meet at Morrow Mountain State Park for a 5-hour training session that will go over: Evaluating a campsite, setting up camp, breaking camp, meal preparation (including the various food and cooking options on the trail), and more. Expect to hike about 4 miles in full pack, during which we will work on hiking technique (including the use of trekking poles); ensuring a good pack fit by adjusting your pack during the hike to make sure it continues to fit; and more. Saturday, March 18, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

* Graduation hike. Three-day, two-night trip to South Mountains State Park, a great place for your first trip. Friday, April 14, 2 p.m. thru Sunday, April 16, 1 p.m.

Learn more and register to join us here.

Next week

Next week we share some of our favorite spots to Basecamp Backpack.

The post Basecamp backpacking: The Best of Two Worlds appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Most of us hike in the protective bubble of a group, and that’s a good thing. You have people around should anything happen: a twisted ankle, overheating, you emerge from deep conversation to discover you have no idea where you are. Critters, including the few potentially harmful ones, are more likely to scatter when they hear a group approach. Strangers present less of a danger when you’re in a group. And there’s the social element.

All good things. Usually.

But consider: Those critters that scatter when they hear a mob approach? That’s one less coveted experience you’ll have in nature. Strangers present far less of a danger on the trail; in fact, they’re likely to advise you about something up ahead that you shouldn’t miss; at the very least, you’ll probably get a smile and a hello. And frankly, sometimes, you don’t want the constant squawk of conversation: You want that disconnected solitude that is such plus when you’re in the woods.

And yet, there’s that nagging fear factor. A factor likely born of the unknown, since you likely haven’t tried it yet. As Irish author James Stephens once noted, “Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”
So, aren’t you the least bit curious about what hiking alone is like? You must be if you’ve read this far.

Today, we offer some quick tips about hiking alone, then an opportunity to explore solo hiking further.

When to hike

At least at first, hike when you know there will be other people on the trail. Yes, a goal of hiking alone is to be alone But initially, you’ll want the assurance of others nearby. Here’s when hikers are more likely to be on the trail:

• Winter: Saturday 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.; Sunday afternoon.
• Spring: All day Saturday and Sunday; early evenings weekdays one Daylight Saving Time kicks in.
• Fall: All day Saturday and Sunday
• Summer: mornings between 7 and 9 a.m.; evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday morning, Sunday morning.

Where to hike

Where’s  a good place to hike solo? Start with:

• Trails you know. You’re familiar with these trails; even if you’ve only hiked them with a group and you’ve followed the leader, you still have a better chance of recognizing and following the trail, even a trail that’s crossed multiple times, or a route consisting of multiple trails. 
• Trails with a cell signal. Even in an urban area, not all trails have cell service — and thus, a way to summon help if the need arises. Eventually, you may feel comfortable enough to hike remote locations without service. When that happens, you’ll want to invest in a GPS tracking system, such as Spot, In-Reach or Zoleo.

Always take the 10 Essentials

Hiking with a group, if you scrape a knee or run out of sunlight, someone on the hike likely has  a bandage or an extra headlamp. When you’re on your own, you need to be prepared. In your pack — you should always hike with a pack, no matter how short a hike — you should have these 10 essentials:

1. Water
2. Snacks
3. Map
4. Compass
5. First-aid kit
6. Headlamp/flashlight
7. Rain gear/extra clothes
8. Matches, fire starter
9. Duct tape
10. Knife/multi-tool

Safety

• Listen and be aware. If you must wear headphones, wear cheap ones that don’t cancel the noise around you. Rattlesnakes make noise for a reason: to advise you to back off.
• Let someone know where you’re hiking and when you plan to be back. And when you do get back, let them know you’ve returned safely.
• Take medications. Both yours (you might end up in the woods past your scheduled administering time) and Zyrtec or a comparable non-drowsy antihistamine in the event you have an allergic reaction, and ibuprofen, which can mean the difference between hobbling back to the trailhead and maybe getting in an extra mile or two. Also wear a Medic Alert bracelet, or take comparable identification alerting others to any conditions you might have.
• Take a first-aid kit.  Even the basic $10 pre-packaged kit has most of what you might need to handle minor injuries.

Watch the time

True, you’re in the woods to escape the constraints of time, but you also need to be cognizant of it, lest you discover the sun is about to set and you’re still an hour from the trailhead.

Watch the weather

When hiking on your own it’s especially important to check the weather forecast before heading out. If it looks like rain moving in around 3, plan to be back by 2:30. Keep an eye on the radar. Before heading out, check the radar (most weather apps offer that option) to make sure nothing unexpected is moving in. (Keep in mind that on a hot summer day thunderstorms can pop up out of nowhere.) And above all, keep an eye on the sky. This can be especially challenging in summer, when the canopy is leafed out and long views are a challenge. Check it out when you can.

Trouble?

Despite the best preparation and planning, trouble can arise. The good news is that regardless of where you’re hiking, you only need to know one phone number to summon help: 911. Call 911, and they will not only dispatch help, they will notify the appropriate land manager who can respond as well.

* * *

Hike Solo (with us!)

Hiking alone for the first time needn’t be a lonely experience. Not when you start without GetHiking! Hiking Solo class. Here’s what it entails:

• GetHiking! Guide to Hiking Solo. Our tips sheet covers everything, from the Advantages of hiking alone to everything you need to bring with you, including Zyrtec.
• Zoom tutorial session. In this half-hour Zoom session we look at the main concerns of hiking solo, then go over what to expect on your first solo hike and how to prepare for it.
• Solo Hike (sorta). We meet at a local trailhead, review the key elements of hiking on your own, then go for a solo hike. With a maximum of 7 hikers, we send hikers off in two-minute intervals, with the hike leader two minutes behind the last student. We meet at the midpoint to see how everyone is faring and answer questions, then set off again, in two-minute intervals.

Fee: $75

Our next session begins with the Zoom gathering Thursday, July 14, at 6 p.m., and the hike on Saturday, July 16, at 9 a.m. at Eno River State Park in Durham.

Sign up to join us here.

The post Hiking solo tips (and a class) appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

One day, driving, you notice a glint of orange in the trees, a sourwood, you realize after a moment, reverting to its natural color.  Maybe a reaction to the stress of being along a busy roadway where the temperature is elevated. You’ve heard that can happen. Still … .

Then, one morning you step outside and — whoa! You’re on the verge of goosebumps. Not that it’s that cold, but the unexpected cool takes you by surprise. Indeed, there’s a slight chill in the air, and while the temperature is still expected to reach the mid 80s later in the day, there’s definitely a chill. Later, you check your app and learn it got down to  — 59! It hasn’t been that cool since spring!

It’s too early declare victory in the war against oppressive summer heat, but the tide is definitely turning. In our minds, Labor Day weekend marks the start of fall, while on the calendar fall doesn’t officially report for duty until Sept. 22. And while we’ll still have a hot day or two in October, the swing to cooler, drier days has begun.

Consider, according to weather.gov, the average daytime high at Raleigh Durham International Airport for today, Aug. 17, is 88.5 degrees; the overnight low, 68.7. Come Labor Day, Sept. 5 this year, the average historical daytime high will have dropped to 85.3, the overnight low to 65.4. Come the first official day of fall, the average daytime high is 80.5, the overnight low 59.8. By mid-October, our daytime highs typically are in the low 70s, the temperature drops below 50 at night. Plus, the humidity drops going into fall, the chance of rain diminishes. Could there be a better time to be outside?

We don’t think so.

Which is why we’re getting ready to celebrate fall big time.

A full lineup of our fall hikes and trips can be found here. But here’s a snapshot of what we’re up to:

Fall Weekend Escapes

Black Mountain Crest Trail, Oct. 15-17. The anchor hike of this three-hike weekend is a trek from the north end of the Black Mountain Crest Trail, at Bowlen Creek, to Celo Knob. It’s an awesome transition from a mature Southern Appalachian hardwood forest to a boreal forest of balsam and fir. Check it out here.

Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs, Nov. 12-14. Late Fall is a magical time: autumnal color lingers, the hordes who come to see it do not. We celebrate with two hikes on the AT in Hot Springs, one originating at Garenflo Gap and ending in town, the other from Tanyard Gap into town. Both hikes trend downhill. Check it out here.

Weekly hikes

Tuesday Night Hikes, Sept. 21 – Nov. 23. We love the night hike, and starting Sept. 21 we will revive our annual night hike series with 10 weekly hikes, each starting at 6:30 p.m. on a different Triangle area trail. Each hike is around 3 miles in length. Check it out here.

Friday Morning Hikes, Sept. 10 – Oct. 29. Can you be both a night owl (see Tuesday Night Hikes) and a morning person? Yup, especially on Friday, mainly because who wants to wait until Saturday to launch their weekend? Eight weekly Friday morning hikes beginning at 7:30 and ending around 9. Check ‘em out here.

Sunday Afternoon Hike Series, Sept. 5 – Nov. 21. Fall Sunday afternoons were made for hiking: the temperatures are cooling, the air is drier, the sky more brilliant and, oh, the fall color! If you love the idea of fall hiking but have trouble motivating yourself to get out every week, this is the answer. Check it out here.

Skills

GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods. In this three-hour class we spend 20 minutes going over how to use a compass and how to read a map, then head down the trail and off to discover how the compass, the map and reality all align. Three fall sessions are scheduled:

• Sunday, Aug. 22, Umstead State Park
• Saturday, Sept. 18, Eno River State Park
• Saturday, Oct. 9, Umstead State Park

See why we’re so excited about the fall? Hope you are now, too!

The post GetHiking! gets geared up for fall appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

GetHiking! Fall Sunday Morning Hike Series

• 11 hikes
• Sundays at 10 a.m., Sept. 5 – Nov. 21
• $125 for single hikers, $225 for couples and families
• 15 hiker limit

Make the most of the fall hiking season — the peak hiking season in the Piedmont — with our Sunday morning hike series! Eleven hikes on different trails each week, trails picked both for their esthetics and for their ability to escape crowds. Explore a different trail each week!

Learn more and sign up to join us here for single hikers or here for couples and families.

GetHiking! Fall Sunday Afternoon Hike Series

• 11 hikes
• Sundays at 1 p.m., Sept. 5 – Nov. 21
• $125 for single hikers, $225 for couples and families
• 15 hiker limit

The same hikes as in our Fall Sunday Morning series, but in the afternoon. Eleven hikes on different trails each week, trails picked both for their esthetics and for their ability to escape crowds. Explore a different trail each week!

Learn more and sign up to join us here for single hikers or here for couples and families.

GetHiking! Fall Friday Morning Hike Series

• 

  8 hikes

• Fridays at 7:30 a.m.
• $95
• 15 hiker limit

Fall weekends on the trail — who can wait for Saturday? With our GetHiking! Fall Friday Morning Hike Series you don’t have to. Our 8-hike series takes advantage of the early light, hitting the trail at 7:30 and finishing up around 9. Our hikes are on trails throughout the Triangle, a different trail each week!

Learn more and sign up to join us here.

GetHiking! Tuesday Evening Hike Series

• 10 hikes
• Tuesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.
• $125 / $225 for couples/families
• 15 hiker limit

The onset of cool fall weather and bright autumn color brings with it the hordes of fair-weather hikers who will soon be crowding our favorite trails — on weekends. Hike on a Tuesday — better still, a Tuesday after dark — and the trail is pretty much yours. In our Fall Tuesday Evening Hike Series, we hit the trail at 6:30 p.m. and hike into the night (literally)  Each hike lasts about an hour and a half; at the midpoint, we take a minute to savor the sounds of the night and the sights of the dark sky. 

Learn more and sign up for a single hiker here, a couple or family here.

GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods

• 3-hour hands-on, in-field map and compass training session
• $65
• Three sessions

Love the trail but uncertain about your wayfinding skills? This three-hour session goes over basic map and compass skills, then hits the trail to offer key tips on how to follow and stay on the trail, how to find it again if you stray, and how to explore off trail. We’ll start with a 30-minute map-and-compass introduction, then use that map and compass — and some Daniel Boone skills — to find our way in the woods. We’ll also do some off-trail exploring, with the goal of purposefully venturing off trail, then figuring out how to rejoin the trail. Our goal is to make you confident hiking alone or taking a novice friend on the trail — and a little bit off!

For more information and to sign up, check the appropriate link below:

• Sunday, Aug. 22, Umstead State Park
• Saturday, Sept. 18, Eno River State Park
• Saturday, Oct. 9, Umstead State Park

GetHiking! Fall Weekend Escape: Black Mountain Crest Trail

The mystery of the northern end of the Black Mountain Crest Trail is one we will unravel on this hike starting from the Bowlen Creek Trailhead and climbing just over 3,000 vertical feet in 4.5 miles to Celo Knob. There, we’ll take the Woody Ridge Trail down the east flank of the mountain for just over 2 miles. It’s a hike that begins in a lush, mature hardwood forest; traverses an exposed ridge with incredible views to the east and west; and finishes on a 2-mile descent through rugged terrain. We’ll do two shorter hikes as part of the weekend as well, catching the peak of fall color in the high country. Breakfasts and campfire smores included. Oct. 22-24.

Learn more and sign up here.

GetHiking! Fall Weekend Escape: the Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs

Late Fall is a magical time: autumnal color lingers, the hordes who come to see it do not. There’s a special quiet you won’t find at any other time of year. And one of the best places for a hiker to enjoy this quiet — and catch some great late fall color — is on the Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs, N.C. The weekend of Nov. 12-14 we will gather in Hot Springs for a weekend of hiking and enjoying the ambience of downtown Hot Springs (through which the Appalachian Trail passes). Saturday, we shuttle to Garenflo Gap and hike 7 miles on the AT back to town; Sunday, we start at Tanyard Gap and hike 6.5 miles on the AT back to town. Five meals and trail snacks provided.

Learn more and sign up here.

The post GetHiking! Fall 2021 appeared first on GetGoing NC!.