Category Archives: Hiking

GetOut! Here’s how to beat our first hot weekend

Whooo, baby! We’re looking at our first 90-degree weekend of the year. And you had your heart set on taking a hike.

No need to cancel your plans. You just need to alter them a wee bit.

From our GetHiking! Guide to Summer Hiking, a bit of advice:

  • Dress appropriately. Button-up fishing and hiking shirts typically have vents and mesh that do a good job of keeping your torso from building up head. Shorts are good, but there are also inexpensive lightweight nylon pants that protect your legs without keeping in the heat.
  • Hydrate. Always important, especially in heat. Increase your desire to drink by packing cold water, either by filling a water bottle three-quarters full the night before, freezing it and topping it off with cold water before the hike, or by loading a bladder with ice, then filling in the nooks and crannies with cold water.
  • Hike early. The coolest part of the day. This weekend, the temperatures shortly after sunrise should be in the low 60s.
  • Hike late. Temperatures typically peak late afternoon, then drop as the sun does. By 6:30 p.m. you should be down 10 degrees from the day’s high, and you’ll benefit from a continually dropping thermostat.
  • Choose a heat-resistant trail. How, you ask? Look for trails with:
    • Higher elevations. The temperature drops roughly 3 degrees for every 1,000 feet of elevation.
    • Near water. Trails along creeks or around lakes are especially good. If you start to overheat, kick off your boots and wade in.
    • Look for a northern exposure. Trails that spend most of their time on a northern exposure, away from direct sunlight, tend to be cooler.

    Not sure you want to do that much research? Worry not. We have some recommendations. read more

GetOut! This weekend: hike with a ranger, go camping

Ridgeline Trail

The signs of re-emergence continue this weekend, with North Carolina State Parks hosting some of the more ambitious — and larger hikes — that they’ve done since the pandemic, including:

3 Parks — 2 States — 1 Hike, Saturday, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Crowders Mountain State Park/Boulders Access, Kings Mountain. This 10-mile out-and-back, co-sponsored by the Friends of Crowders Mountain, takes the Ridgeline Trail south into South Carolina’s Kings Mountain State Park and Kings Mountain National Military Park. A long hike, but it flattens after crossing into the Palmetto State. The hike is limited to 30 (been a while since we’ve seen a hike that big), and drinks and snacks will be available through the Friends prior to the hike. Free, but a donation to support the work of the Friends would be appreciated. Register by calling 704.853.5375; learn more here. read more

Ticks, Mosquitoes, Poison Ivy: Avoid if you can, deal with ’em if you can’t

The following is a post we like to run at the beginning of the warm-weather hiking season.

We’ve made the transfer from cool and budding to warm and lush. The weather is great for hiking — the associated annoyances we face along the way, specifically ticks and mosquitoes,  and poison ivy.  read more