You like the idea of hiking solo, but the thought of being alone in woods makes you uneasy, at best.
Most of us hike in the protective bubble of a group, and that’s a good thing. You have people around should anything happen: a twisted ankle, overheating, you emerge from deep conversation to discover you have no idea where you are. Critters, including the few potentially harmful ones, are more likely to scatter when they hear a group approach. Strangers present less of a danger when you’re in a group. And there’s the social element.read more
The three-day Fourth of July weekend is upon us, and boy do we have some great — and patriotically appropriate —options!
Cannon Day, Monday, July 4, five demonstrations from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach. What says the 4th more than the firing of one of the biggest fireworks around — a cannon! Learn about the various cannons at this installation that dates back to 1747 and efforts to protect English settlers from Spanish raiders. At the end of each demonstration, they fire a cannon1 (It’s a blank, but still … .) Work in an ocean walk during your visit. More info here.read more
The following post originally appeared on June 5, 2019. We revisit it today because it’s always important to know where you are in the woods. And if you’ve lost track of where you are, to be able to figure out, more or less, where you might be — and then how to get where you want to be.read more
This summer, though, in deference to the heat, we’re mixing in some paddling trips. Beginner-oriented, on lakes and otherwise still water, one in an area where we hike (the Three-Rivers area of Falls Lake, which abuts Day-Hike Section S of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail), one where we don’t (Saxapahaw Lake).read more
When I lead a hike, I like to know a little about the land we’ll be hiking. About the natural history, certainly. Sometimes, especially for a trail I haven’t done in a while or during a particular season, I’ll scout the trail with my PictureThis app, which does a remarkable job of IDing plants, and providing their story.read more
