We are, in case you’ve been trying to ignore it, on the cusp of the holiday season. The crazy, demanding, nerve-wracking, gift-wrapping, inlaw-visiting, party-attending, work-must-go-on-and-then-some holiday season.
Which is to say, we’re entering a time of elevated stress and precious little time to do anything about it.
Or so you think.
True, you may not have time to burn a day, head to the mountains and hike 12 miles. But that’s not necessarily what you need. Sometimes, just an hour in the wild can ease your defcon level and reestablish you as a functioning member of society. And the good news: there’s likely one of these restorative escapes — a sliver of wild terrain that not many people may know about — close to you.
Throughout the holidays, we’re going to share some of these retreats statewide on the BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina blog. We’ll do five posts in all, each focused in a geographic area, each with five escapes. Our first post, on escapes at the coast, runs today. You can find it here.
Here’s a look at our upcoming posts:read more
Matt Wisthoff, Team Relay Champion, 2012 and 2013.
If your competitive urges are coloring your outdoor urges, head to the coast. But if you’ve got an urge for more color, you can find it in the Piedmont and even in the mountains.
Coast
You love to run, you love to bike — alas, you’re a sinker. No triathlon for you. But you can participate in a duathlon, which taps into your two loves. And you can tap into one Saturday in Wrightsville Beach.read more
The Neusiok trailhead at the Pine Cliff Picnic Area.
On trail or off, it’s a good weekend to take a hike in North Carolina.
Coast
One of our favorite hikes in North Carolina is the Neusiok Trail in the Croatan National Forest. Just not at certain times.
Like when the temperature is much above 60.
The Neusiok runs for 20 miles, from the Pine Cliff Picnic Area on the south bank of the Neuse River not long before the Neuse gives it up to to the Pamlico Sound, to the Newport River. Near Pine Cliff, the trail more resembles the Piedmont — even the mountains in spots. But once it crosses NC 306 headed east, it’s coastal forest all the way, passing through cypress swamps, bottom land forests and pocosins. Warm weather tends to arouse some of the regional denizens — some with little wings, some with no legs — that can make hiking an enjoyment challenge.read more
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.read more
Saturday, will be cool (50s) and rainy in the Piedmont. If you’ve got stuff you need to get done (yardwork excluded), this would be the day to get it done because —
Sunday will be dry, sunny and cool (50s) in the Piedmont. Sunday could also be your last chance to catch good fall color in the region. Wondering where to go?read more
