Category Archives: Hiking

90 Second Escape: That first cool hike of fall



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 this trying transition, we’re running a new feature every Monday called 90 Second Escape. Essentially, it’s 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 in the sun. read more

Run and shoot

Last year's Mag Mile had a wildly entertaining finish for the top women runners.

I’m big on goals, big on cross-training as well. Occasionally, these dual objectives create conflict.

For instance, come autumn, the goal-oriented runner in me gets excited about the Second Empire Fall Grand Prix Series. The series consists of eight races, starting with this Sunday’s Magnificent Mile in downtown Raleigh and including five 5Ks, an 8K, and a 10-miler. I like the series in part because of the race variety, in part because the speed-challenged such as myself have a chance to shine in the series. I won’t place in my age group — stunning how many fast 55- to 59-year-olds there are on the circuit — in any one race, but if I run in every race I could place in the top 10, perhaps even top 5 in the series standings. Great incentive to train for the non-elite. read more

It’s a weekend with challenges

This could be you and three people you may or may not know if you participate in Saturday's Charlotte Challenge.

Benefit the land this weekend with ride at the coast or a hike in the mountains, benefit yourself with a crazy 5K scavenger hunt in Charlotte.

Coast

You don’t get many chances to take a group ride at the coast, so when you do it’s wise to act. Saturday is one such chance, when the N.C. Coastal Federation holds its Cycle for the Coast fund raiser. Ride options of 20K, 40K and 80K are available, on a route that takes in Emerald Isle, Salter Path, Indian Beach, Pine Knoll Shores and Atlantic Beach along bike-friendly NC 58. read more

Beat the rush to Hanging Rock

I realized a few weeks back when I went to find a picture of Hanging Rock State Park in my computer archive that it had been a while since I’d paid a visit. The reason: I didn’t have a Hanging Rock file, let alone a single photo of the photogenic state park north of the Triad. Because I always take my camera when I hit the trail, that meant I hadn’t been to Hanging Rock since my dark PC days — at least five years ago. (Re: “the dark PC days” — The first/last PC I’ve had ate my photo library not long after my “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina” came out in 2007. Shame on me, yes, for not backing up. But shame on the PC for having such a convoluted and vulnerable system. Rant over; moving on … .) read more

Threading a 1,200-mile trail through Charlotte

Charlotte's McAlpine Creek Greenway

In the mid-1990s the Triangle’s greenway system wasn’t a system. It was a disjointed connection of asphalt strips scattered hither and yon. If you lived a block or two away from one of these strips, you probably paid it an occasional visit. If you didn’t live within a block or two, you probably had no idea the Triangle even had greenways. read more