Yesterday, Jon Holliday of Cary recounted how an annual tradition for four hiking buddies — Pete Sprague of Asheville, David Sprague of Boone and Scott Duffy of Charlotte and himself — took a turn when Pete fell and broke a leg. Today, the rescue.
Category Archives: Hiking
Rescue on Mt. LeConte (part I)
This is the first of a two-part account of a rescue two weekends ago on Mt. Leconte. It’s based on a trip report written by Jon Holliday and a subsequent interview. Part two will run Thursday.
Jon Holliday and his buddies were amused by the guy lugging a beach chair and umbrella up the rugged five-mile trail to 6,594-foot Mt. LeConte last Saturday. What’s the deal? they asked. “I just want a comfortable place to sit and watch the sun set over Tennessee,” the fellow told them.
“We thought it was pretty silly at the time,” Jon recalled this week. “It turned out he ended up playing a pivotal role in all this.”
“All this” was the worst-case hiking scenario that would unfold a day later as Jon, who lives in Cary, Pete Sprague of Asheville, David Sprague of Boone and Scott Duffy of Charlotte headed back down the mountain. It’s a scenario that likely crosses every hiker’s mind at some point.
What happens when you fall in the backcountry and can’t get up?
90 Second Escape: Moments (that make a hike)
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.
This weekend: Hardly a turkey
It’s Thanksgiving weekend! Take the time for a trail trot at the coast, a mountain summit in the Piedmont, or bushwhacking your way through the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard.
Coast
Here’s the perfect way to make amends for today: the Wilmington Roadrunners Club Turkey Trot Trail Race at Carolina Beach State Park. First, it’s only four miles, so there’s not too much penance but you’re not getting off easy, either. Second, it starts at a civil time, 9 a.m. on Saturday. And third, it’s a trail run through Carolina Beach State Park.
Pack light for a short hike
One reason you take a short hike: you don’t have time for a long one, which is especially true as we enter the hectic holiday season.
If you don’t have time for a long hike, you certainly don’t have time to deliberate over packing. For a short hike — an hour or less — you don’t need a big pack, anyway. Pass on the extra socks; you can live with cold or damp feet for 15 minutes. No need for a litany of layers; even if the temperature does drop, you can weather the difference for a few minutes. A big lunch? Eat when you get off the trail.