We begin our thoughts on weekend adventure with an adventure three weeks out that you can start training for this weekend.
Raleigh/Umstead CureSearch Hike, Saturday, June 1, Umstead State Park, Raleigh. I started leading hikes in 2011 after being contacted by an endeavor called the Ultimate Hike, a new fundraiser benefitting a group out to end childhood cancer. The deal was this: lead at least six training hikes in preparation for a 28.3-mile hike (in one day) on the Foothills Trail straddling the North Carolina/South Carolina line. I’d been telling people where to hike through books and newspaper columns for 15 years, why not actually take them, I thought. So I did. read more
For the most part, I believe trails should be treated like a nice wine: savored and not rushed. But every once in a while you find one that begs to be consumed with abandon.
Two years ago we published five trails that we found to be especially speed-friendly, in large part because of their generally rockless and rootless treat. Today, we double the list, adding five more that we feel fit the bill.read more
Post-hike soak in Kimsey Creek on our Standing Indian weekend.
Tuesday at lunch I headed to a favorite local wild area for a two-mile hike. Five minutes in and I was a glow: my eyes stung with sweat, my shirt stuck to me, I’d even collected a cobweb or two. Ah, the return of hot weather hiking.
I love a good hike in the heat. In large part that’s because not everyone else does. Head out on a day when the temperature’s in the upper 80s, as it was Tuesday, and there’s a good chance you won’t see another soul on the trail. But the summer forest is a whole other world: it’s teaming with life, yet it’s oddly quiet. It’s the best time of year to find a secluded spot and plant yourself for 15 minutes and quietly observe the world around you. read more
When National Trails Day got its start in the early 1990s, it was gauged by the number of events and participants.
And today?
“Media impressions,” of which there were more than 900 million in 2018.
For the past 25 years, the American Hiking Society has decreed the first Saturday in June to be National Trails Day, a day of celebration for our beloved hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Events around the country celebrate by holding trail workdays, hikes and various celebratory events. It’s a great opportunity to get out and let your local trails know how much you appreciate them.read more
Friday might be dicey over much of the GetGoingNC universe weatherize, but the weekend itself isn’t looking too shabby. Not a bad weekend, for instance, for the following:
Lassiter Swamp Canoe Trip, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Merchants Millpond State Park, Gatesville. Usually when we think about paddling the millpond at this state park nestled in the northeast part of the state, we think of a leisurely hour or so on the water. Not with this adventure, which paddles deep into the swamp for lunch, then continues on to “the big tree.” A six-hour tour. Bring your lunch — and a pair of knee boots. Learn more here,read more
