It was still on the murky side of sun-up when we gathered this morning for our weekly GetHiking! Friday Morning Hike. As we fine-tuned our clothing strategies for dealing with the cold — at 30 degrees, the coldest morning since April — we scanned the eastern sky for signs of the type of day ahead. Gradually, the rising sun revealed a mostly clear sky as it lit the autumn canopy above.
Category Archives: Hiking
Keep your healthy mojo revving thru the holidays
The following originally ran in November 2012. We rerun it today, with some tweaks, because its message is timeless come November. Here’s why.
Come November, we’re usually in fighting’ shape. A lot of folks start hiking again, in earnest, come September; by early November we’re hiking farther, we’re spending more time on the trail. Then come the holidays.
Friday Morning Hikes: Why wait to start your weekend?
Why wait for Saturday to kick off the weekend when you can start with a Friday Morning Hike. We’re on the trail at 7:30, off by 9, and even if there’s a day of work ahead, we’ve got our weekend mojo humming!
On this Friday Morning Hike — literally this Friday morning — we kick off the weekend with a 3-mile hike at the Triangle Land Conservancy’s Horton Grove Nature Preserve in Bahama, N.C., which is brimming with fall color.
GetOut! Another great weekend to fall for fall
Temperatures first thing in the 40s, rising only into the 60s during the day, plenty of sun: our awesome autumn continues. As do our thoughts on how best to make the most of it. If you’re looking for a guided hike, for instance:
Basin Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. This is about the time when we start getting excited about hiking at the coast. I know, we’re just hitting peak color in the Piedmont, but the cool temperatures and clear skies are made for a coastal adventure. And this hike is always the first one that comes to mind: the 1.1-mile hike starting on the beach, heading inland through salt marsh, past a World War II bunker that once housed something of a celebrity, and finally to an overlook overlooking The Basin and Zeke’s Island beyond. Some of the most wide-open space you’ll encounter on trail in North Carolina. Space is limited, reserve a spot by calling 919.458.5798. Learn more here.
Embrace the coming dark with a night hike
If you think it’s bad that the sun sets today at 6:25 p.m., wait until 11 days from now when the sun disappears at 5:14!
Yup, Daylight Saving Time ends in the wee hours of Nov. 7, and we lose an hour of sunlight on the backend. (On the plus side, while we’ll continue to lose afternoon daylight for another month or so, we’ll start gaining it back, slowly, on Dec. 14.) The start of Standard time, alas, means many of you will curtail your evening adventures. Too bad, because you don’t need to. Not when the dark offers so many new reasons to explore.