I was talking this week with Jim Grode, Trail Resource Manager for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail about backpacking opportunities on the statewide trail. We started in the coastal plain (Neusiok Trail, Jones Lake/Turnbull Creek area), moved to the Piedmont (six campsites along Falls Lake and the Eno River in the Triangle), and finally, on to the mountains.
Category Archives: Hiking
The Surprise of the Seasons
My focus was on the trail; actually, it was on either side of the trail.
I was hiking slowly on a sun-drenched section of trail through a bottomland forest bordering the Smith River in Virginia. It was mid-afternoon, the temperature was in the low 60s and I was determined to find the first sign of spring, be it a trout lily, a spring beauty, whatever. The conditions were ideal; in my mind it was already spring.
Spring is in the air (and, we hope, on the forest floor)
My attention piqued when I saw the forecast high for last Wednesday was 65. I believe I drooled a little when I saw it was supposed to top 70 on Thursday and Friday. Despite the fact it had been 11 two days earlier I could think of only one thing.
Spring. Specifically, spring wildflowers.
Don’t let a closed road ruin your day
We rerun this post, tweaked and updated, around this time of year to help minimize the chances of finding a closed road leading to your favorite trailhead, especially your favorite mountain trailhead.
The winter sky is dry and clear, the temperature cold, invigorating. It’s the perfect weather for a long mountain hike. Then, your car loaded with gear and enthusiasm, you find your travels and day-hike dreams shattered by those two little words on a barricade baring access to the trailhead:
Where (and how) to find the lingering snow
This post ran four years ago after our last significant snow. We rerun it again, tweaked, because the circumstance is similar — for some of us, at least. It snowed last weekend — for some of us — it’s been cold since, and — again, for some of us — a fair amount of snow remains. And who doesn’t love to hike in snow!