Saturday is National Trails Day, that time every year (the first Saturday in June), when we celebrate trails, by hiking them, biking them, paddling them, creating and maintaining them.
This year, the American Hiking Society, the official clearinghouse for National Trails Day events, lists 508 NTD events. Thirteen events are scheduled in North Carolina, 14 in Virginia. Keep in mind this is not a complete listing: Virginia State Parks alone is holding more than 100 events Saturday, North Carolina State Parks has 10. North Carolina’s Great Trails State Coalition events page lists a dozen.read more
The following is a post we 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, despite the associated annoyances we face along the way, specifically ticks and mosquitoes, and poison ivy.read more
Note: In addition to leading hikes and backpack trips, and maintaining this blog, I work for the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong initiative, which works to help communities in North Carolina’s 78 rural counties. Because North Carolina’s 14 State Trails spend most of their time in rural areas, I get to spend some of my time helping people learn more about them.read more
It wasn’t just another hike. It was a hike that showed I could still go long.
For the past few years, since turning 60, whenever I’ve finished a favorite challenging hike, I’ve wondered: Will I hike this trail again?
In part, that’s because there’s a limited amount of time in life and a growing number of trails. We like hiking our favorites, we like hiking new trails. And since the pandemic, more trails coming on line. Decisions, decisions.read more
Maybe it’s a skosh early, but our recent taste of warm weather made me wonder how many people wanted to take a hike, but passed, thinking, It’s so warm out. To nip that type of thinking in the bud, today we rerun our annual guide to summer hiking.read more
