The trail climbs a surprising bluff then, briefly, joins forces with an old roadbed. But I’m not aware of the “briefly” part, and it would be easy to miss where the trail darts back into the woods. Easy, but for two things. One, this new 4.2-mile stretch of trail along the Eno River is part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and even freshly minted segments of the MST are hard to get lost on. The Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the non-profit volunteer group blazing this 1,000-mile foot passage across North Carolina, from Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee border to Jockey’s Ridge on the Atlantic, are thorough in their trail construction, and that includes blazing the way with the MST’s distinctive three-inch diameter white dots. Even though the trail was essentially completed at the Friends’ November workday, some pink surveyors flags remain, further helping with directions. read more

I find a gimme water bottle full of fermented energy drink under the 16-year-old’s bed and I toss it into the recycling. Bike water bottles infest every nook and cranny of our house; one won’t be missed.

But a CamelBak, a $19.95 CamelBak, is another matter. I’ll do whatever it takes to revive that sucker. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much, as this instructional video demonstrates. read more

As a recovering print journalist, one reason I prefer an online existence is it provides more opportunity to share information, primarily through links. Rather than give a short, perhaps unfulfilling definition of a concept I can provide that short definition, then link to a site where, if you chose, you can learn your fill (but then return the rest of my story). read more

Among your active options for this weekend in North Carolina …

Coast

Wings Over Water may be over and the tourists may have left, but the star attractions — the birds — remain. Check out the nearly 400 species of birds who call the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge home — either year-round or seasonally — on a guided hike Sunday at 8 a.m. Specifically, the hike will explore the refuge’s North Pond. Bring a field guide and binos if you have them, otherwise you may be able to borrow. Meet at the Pea Island Visitors Center. It’s free, 252.987.2394 if you have questions. read more

Tuesday, we started running the 31-mile Art Loeb Trail in the Pisgah National Forest with Mike Walsh, Charles West and Mike Day. Today, we finish the run.

Charles West and Mike Walsh were a good half hour into telling me about their 11 hour and 10 minute, 31-mile run on the rugged Art Loeb Trail before they mentioned the rain. They were 10 miles into their trail tale, coming into Ivestor Gap when the topic surfaced. read more