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 … .)
Category Archives: Hiking
Threading a 1,200-mile trail through Charlotte
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.
Make this weekend a Labor of fun
There’s a nice cross-section of events going on this Labor Day weekend, from a 5K in Wilmington to a paddle in Charlotte to hiking in the high country.
Coast
September kicks off the fall running season in North Carolina, and they’ll be kicking it off in Wilmington with the March of Dimes 5K Run for Healthier Babies. GGNC is particularly fond of this race because in addition to the 5K ($30 race day) and Family 1-Mile Run/Walk ($10), they also have the Sleep Walk/Sleep In category — don’t show at all, contribute $25 to a good cause and you still get a nifty race T-shirt. Zs rule!
Let the fall hiking season begin!
Traditionally in hiking circles (my hiking circle, at least), Labor Day marks the end of summer and the start of the fall hiking season. It may technically still be summer (fall doesn’t officially arrive until 5:05 a.m. on September 23) and the temperatures may not typically drop noticeably (though they will this week) but in our minds, it’s fall. School is in, football has started — lace up the Vasques and let’s go.
Exclusive Mountains-to-Sea Trail club grows to 25
Yesterday, Sharon McCarthy stopped to look at the white dot on the tree trunk, the last of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of such white dots she had seen over the past 22 months.
Well?
Robert Williams and I waited. Sharon, a k a Smoky Scout, was yards away from becoming the sixth person this year and only the 25th total to complete the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. She was staring down her last blaze, and the two of us, her escorts for her final day, were expecting a profound statement. Maybe not “One-small-step …” profound, but something worthy of completing a nearly 1,000-mile journey.