Today I’m heading down to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte to do some … reporting. Yeah, that’s it, reporting.
That’s a taller task than you might imagine because the Whitewater Center is about more than just whitewater rafting and kayaking. It’s about flatwater paddling, about stand-up paddleboarding, about rock climbing, mountain biking, canopy tours … . In short, it’s a microcosm of everything adventurous you can do in North Carolina.
A self-guided nature hike at Cliffs of the Neuse and a do-it-yourself canoe paddle at Haw River State Park leave you in control of your entertainment destiny. And if you’re not feeling particularly self-motivated, sleep in and let a ranger tell you about the fireflies at Elk Knob State Park.
One of the main reasons I do what I do is the people I get to meet. Wherever I go, whatever I do, I always meet active people with diverse stories. And I always come away enriched.
Here’s a snapshot, from a “Backpacking North Carolina” presentation I did a couple Saturdays back at the Mayo Park Environmental Education and Community Center in Person County.
It’s what you’ve been waiting for since September: the first weekend of the year that will feel like summer. Celebrate with a 100-mile bike ride in the coastal plain, a hike under a full moon, or celebrating one of the mountains’ most popular and playful rivers, the French Broad.
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.