The approach of spring apparently means two things in North Carolina: Get out and learn.
Coast
Learn about the wild habitats that make up Carolina Beach State Park at 10 a.m. nature hikes both Saturday and Sunday. The meeting place of this ranger-led hike — Flytrap Trail Parking Area — should provide some clue about the ecodiversity at Carolina Beach. “Wear good walking shoes and dress for the weather,” advises the park. More about the weather momentarily.
When I wrote “Backpacking North Carolina” and “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina,” I focused on loop trips and hikes whenever possible. The reason? Simple: Shuttles are a pain.
For the traditional shuttle you need two cars; you can’t do a point-to-point solo. If there are just two of you, you both have to drive. That’s not only a waste of gas, it eliminates catch-up time on the drive (not that you won’t be talking on the trail). Setting up a shuttle also eats into valuable hiking time. And what if something happens to the shuttle car or driver? In November, four of us were hiking the Mountains-to-Sea Trail west of Mount Pisgah. As the trail crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of our party suddenly decided he was through. He flagged a passing car and before we knew it he disappeared down the road — to his/our shuttle car at trails’ end. Now what?
Note: This post was amended on Sept. 23, 2015, to reflect my more recent discoveries in great rainy day gear.
I awoke to gray skies, a steady rain and temperatures in the upper 50s.
Perfect day for an off-trail hike.
Alas, only nine other folks shared my feelings for Rod Broadbelt’s annual Wilderness Hike at Umstead State Park. The hike, 98 percent of which is advertised as being off-trail, has in the past attracted more than three times as many hikers. Through the Raleigh Recreational Hikers Meetup alone, at least 25 people were signed up. Yet the prospect of 10 miles in the rain off-trail apparently dampened the spirits of the masses. The weather only made me that much more excited. There’s something more intimate about the forest when it’s dripping wet, especially in winter. The season’s drab brown leaf-littered floor takes on a coppery glow, gray tree trunks take on a metallic sheen and the close, wet air adds an intimacy, a coziness if you will that makes hiking the woods a more personal affair.
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 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.
Rain is in the forecast for much of North Carolina, but don’t let that douse your plans. Dress appropriately (you do have a Gore-Tex tweed jacket, don’t you?) and you’ll be fine.
Coast
Silence is golden. Especially when you’re eavesdropping. And particularly especially when you’re eavesdropping on nature.