After a teasing blast of fall early in the week, we’re back to the realities of July in the Southeast this weekend. Not a bad thing, just something to take into account as you plan your weekend. We share our thoughts on what might make for a grand weekend of adventure below.
Category Archives: Paddling
Take a paddle break from the returning heat
That fall reprieve we just had sure was nice. One day it didn’t get out of the 70s. One morning I stepped out and it was 52. In three days I did six hikes.
Then, this morning I woke up and it was not 52 degrees and the humidity was not 20 percent. I still took my morning half-hour hike, but I found my thoughts had strayed …
To paddling.
We haven’t talked about paddling lately. Truth be told, I’ve gotten out of practice. I had both my kayaks out over Father’s Day, but for the benefit of others. I haven’t personally dipped a paddle since … well, it’s been too long.
To get back in the spirit, I’ve pulled some videos of paddle trips past. Don’t worry: there’s no rambling dialogue, no waxing, not much audio at all. Each is mercifully short, just 90 seconds of paddling from 10 different spots. And while some of the footage looks like it was shot in the 1940s on a Bell+Howell Super 8, it’s all within the last six years. Stick around to the bottom of the column and find information about paddling the spots you’ve seen.
Who knows, maybe the next time we see you it’ll be on a blue trail.
Get Out! Your Nudge for Weekend Adventure
Last weekend, we hiked more of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake and saw our first mountain laurel bloom of the season — a lone bloom, but an impressively full and vibrant (if white can be vibrant) bloom about midway between the Shinleaf Recreation Area and NC 98. We also spent a little time exploring all the Eno River in Orange County and planning a trip next weekend to the Curtis Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest. It was a busy weekend on the trail.
Get Out! Your Nudge for Weekend Adventure
Last weekend, we explored the longest uninterrupted stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake in Raleigh: the 7 miles from NC 98 to Creedmoor Road. We were struck by how, seemingly overnight, the woods had gone from a hint of green to full-blown leaf-out. We caught glimpses of the lake; mostly, though, we were enveloped in green.
This weekend: Get a jump on fall
Technically, it may still be summer (fall starts a week from Friday, on Sept. 22), but the weather suggests the season is well underway. Sunny skies, dry air, temperatures in the 70s and low 80s: weather that beckons with a seductive come-hither finger to come outside and have some fun.