I woke up Wednesday at 5:30, took Dog #1 out, checked the weather.
60 degrees!
I knew it was supposed to cool off this week, but 60? I couldn’t remember the last time it had been so cool in this summer of record heat. A good two months, at least.
A spirit-lifting temperature, but still shy of my fall benchmark. Then, an hour later I took out Dog #2 (she likes to sleep in) and it was 58. Within a half hour it would drop another degree, to 57.
Summer officially cedes to fall on Saturday (at 2:50 a.m.). So where’s a good place to take your first fall hike? We have 10 thoughts on the subject, based on two things:
Based on those two criteria, most of our recommendations are all in the mountains. Enjoy!
In my 30 falls in the Southeast, I’m pretty sure this is the best yet for fall color.
No surprise, considering that, save for a tropical storm, the conditions have been ideal for the past month for great color: cool nights, warm days, and lots and lots of sun.
The following piece first appeared in 2015, following author Kathryn Aalto’s appearance at Raleigh’s Quail Ridge Books to promote her then-new book, “The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh.” Aalto reflected on the joy’s of walking-at-will in her new home of England, about how little is off-limits in a country that grants a legal right to roam. Her observations and wanderings seem especially pertinent in fall, a time when all we want to do is roam and take in this season of color.
The following first appeared at the start of Fall 2019. It appears again today, updated and tweaked, but relevant as ever as we head into the Fall 2022 hiking season.
From an astronomical standpoint, fall doesn’t begin until around 9 p.m. on September 22. That would be the autumnal equinox, that magical day when we have as many hours of daylight as dark.
