Temperatures in the upper 60s, sunny skies, summer vacation season in full bloom. All the makings for a miserable day atop Mount Mitchell in the summertime-popular Mount Mitchell State Park. Miserable, that is, if you stuck around the snack bar, the gift shop, the newly yellow-brick-trailed path to the mountaintop observation deck and the parking lot, where an endless stream of silence-piercing motorcycles slowly, loudly lit.
Category Archives: Hiking
This weekend: Learn to surf, a 5K trail run, scratching Grandfather’s spine
At the coast, fulfill a lifelong dream (learn to surf), in the Piedmont run a rare 5K trail run, in the mountains, take a guided hike atop Grandfather Mountain.
Coast
Looking for a summer challenge? Learn to surf. Carolina Surf School offers “Public Group Surfing Lessons” twice a day at Wrightsville Beach, mornings from 8-10 a.m. afternoons from 4-6 p.m. “Learn surf board positioning, paddling, safety, etiquette and how to stand up and fall properly.” Falling with style — isn’t that what it’s all about?
25 North Carolina hikes tailor-made to beat the heat
Come summer, with its 90/90 days (heat/humidity) the last thing on most of our minds is a long hike in the woods. Oceans of sweat, acres of trail-clogging cobwebs, no hydration pack big enough to sate your insatiable thirst. Very understandable, this hike aversion — if you don’t know where to go. For if you do, there are plenty of trails — from North Carolina’s steamy coast, to the stuffy Piedmont to the sun-drenched high country — ideal for summer exploring.
This weekend: Celebrate National Trails Day
National Trails Day is non-denominational: you can celebrate on a paddle trail, a bike trail or a hiking trail. Come one, come all.
Coast
Most ranger-led paddle trips are quick one-hour affairs. This Saturday at Lake Waccamaw State Park you’ll have a full half day to explore this Carolina Bay in the wake of a knowledgeable lead. The paddle starts at 10 a.m.
Saturday is National Trails Day: Get out and celebrate
There are roughly 200,000 miles of trail in the United States, according to the American Hiking Society. Of those that came about over the past couple of decades, the vast majority were created largely by volunteers. And of those that existed beforehand, it’s a good bet they’ve been maintained by volunteers. Without volunteers we wouldn’t have the growing system of trails we now have.