Nepalese browntop, bamboo grass, Mary’s grass, Chinese packing grass, Japanese stiltgrass. It goes by many names, but the people who engage it in an ongoing battle to be rid of it refer to by it’s Latin name: microstegium. It is among the most egregious of the invasive plants, a ground cover who’s mere mention elicits a low growl reminiscent of that offered by the Addams Family’s Lurch.
Category Archives: Fall
Your Fall Hiking Plan
Sunday, I’m leading a hike at Horton Grove Nature Preserve north of Durham. To my hikers, the location may seem like a random choice. It’s not.
There’s a lot of pressure on a hiker this time of year. Arguably, it’s the best time of year to be on the trail. Cool temperatures, clear skies, dry air, color — fall has it all. Including a lot of pressure to make the right trail choices. Here’s why.
Goodbye, Summer
Today, fittingly, may be the last hot day of the year. As I write, it’s Monday, Sept. 21 — the last day of summer (that’s the fitting part) — and the temperature is 85. It’s forecast to hit 92 by day’s end. Tomorrow, however, the temperature will barely break 80 and it may not top 70 for the rest of the week. Overnight lows may dip into the upper 40s:
Fall back — and hike in the AM
Sunday morning we undergo that annual ritual of falling back. Meaning, when the clock strikes 2 a.m., we wind the hour hand back an hour, to 1 a.m. So when what had been 7:42 a.m. rolls around, it will actually be 6:42 a.m.
Normally, we celebrate this occurrence with getting to sleep an extra hour. But it’s true import? Instead of the sun rising at 7:42 a.m., it will be up at 6:42 a.m. Meaning … ?
10 Ways to Make Fall Hiking Even Better
Hiking Thursday on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake I suddenly realized I couldn’t see the trail. The colorful fall leaves that had lured me were now messing with me by covering the trail and obliterating the path ahead. Years ago, I might have panicked. But years of fall hiking have taught me a trick or two — or 10.