Our GetHiking! Southeast Podcast appears every Tuesday, focusing on the news, the trails, the people and the stories of the Southeastern United States. Our goal: to inspire and to inform, regarding the vast outdoor adventures available throughout the Southeast.
Category Archives: Hiking
Trail status: Check ahead (you may be pleasantly surprised)
I was contemplating a backpack trip in the Black Mountains, and step 1, in general but especially in these pandemic times, was to make sure the route I was considering was open.
It’s not.
I was marginally surprised, only because so many of the trails that had been closed in the Pisgah National Forest in April have since reopened. But not, according to the U.S. Forest Service, the Black Mountain Crest Trail from Cattail Peak north to the trail’s northern terminus, at Bolens Creek. The specific reason for the closure wasn’t given, simply for “public health and safety.”
Monday, Monday: Finding quiet along a busy Eno River
Eno River State Park is appreciated year-round, but appreciated to death on weekends, especially the areas with good access to the Eno. Now, with the temporary closing of the Eno Quarry downstream, perhaps no area has more immediate access to recreational water than the Fews Ford Access. There you’ll find pools and riffles, especially popular with families with young kids, as well as Class II rapids, where the more comfortable swimmers hang out.
GetOut! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure
First, the weather: Nice, darn nice, especially for this time of year.
In the Piedmont, temperatures will be in the upper 80s during the day, slipping below 70 at night. The best news, though, is that the Saharan dust cloud will keep humidity low (in addition to providing for some spectacular sunrises and sunsets).
Sunrise, sunset: the best times of day to embrace summer hiking
It was a Wednesday evening four years ago about this time and we were huddled in a splotch of shade just off the parking lot, waiting for the last hikers to arrive. It was a few minutes before 6; the temperature was trying to drop from the day’s high of 88, with a humidity that seemed to match. We hadn’t taken a single step, but already we were aglow.