Camp/Hike Weekends

You love a mountain hike in the fall. What you don’t love is driving there and back in a day. Or paying leaf season rates for a motel. So don’t.

This fall, we’ve got four weekend camping/hiking trips planned to some of the best hiking in the mountains, and one late fall trip to some pretty cool hiking at the coast.

Not a camper, or at least haven’t become one yet? We’ve got a couple of trips that are perfect for you as well. Our weekend base camp trips fall into two categories: 

• Experienced Camper. These weekends are geared to established campers, folks who have the gear and have the process and logistics — packing, setting up camp, cooking food — down. We arrange the campground and guide the hikes, we cook one meal, we provide a fun swag bag and you do the rest.
• Newbie Camper. These weekends are geared toward people new to camping, people who like the idea of camping, but don’t know where to start. Well, you start here, with us. We arrange the campground, cook the food, arrange activities. All you really need is a tent (and if you don’t have that, we have one of those, too, for an additional fee). Feel free to hang with us and learn the ropes, or kick back, relax and let us do the camp work.

What we love about these trips is that there’s time for both great hiking and relaxing. Arrive anytime after 4 p.m. on Friday, get established, settle in, relax. Saturday, we let you sleep in, hitting the trail between 9 and 9:30 a.m. Saturday’s hike is usually in the 10-mile range, a long day on the trail, but without pushing it. Sunday, we sleep in a little later and hike a little shorter, usually around 5 miles.

Here are our trips for fall, including whether it falls into the Basic or Premier category:

Mount Rogers, Sept. 21-23. Pampered Camper. Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia. Includes a hike to Mount Rogers, at 5,724 feet the highest point in Virginia, and an optional bike ride on the 17-mile Virginia Creeper Trail, nearly all of which is downhill. (If you’re not interested in the bike ride, a hike is planned in its place.) The Mount Rogers area is known for its vast meadows, rock outcrops, Rocky Mountain feel — and ponies.

Curtis Creek/Graybeard, Sept. 28-30. Practiced Camper. Pisgah National Forest and Montreat Wilderness. The Curtis Creek campground is in the oldest section of the Pisgah National Forest, dating back to 1913. On Saturday, we’ll summit 5,592-foot Graybeard Mountain in the adjoining Montreat Wilderness; Sunday, we’ll hike from the campground up the Hickory Branch Trail into some of the oldest old growth in the Pisgah. 

New River State Park, Oct. 12-14. Pampered Camper. This trip gets a jump on fall color in the mountains by visiting two of the highest points in North Carolina’s northern mountains: 5,520-foot Elk Knob and 4,655-foot Mount Jefferson. Due largely to their high elevation and rich soils, both peaks offer a fall color experience more akin to that found in New England.

Mount Mitchell, Oct. 19-21. Practiced Camper. From base camp at the Briar Bottom Group Campground at the base of Mount Mitchell, we’ll hike from camp up to the Green Knob Tower on Saturday, an 8-mile roundtrip that culminates with great views of the Black Mountains. Sunday, we drive to the highest point on the East Coast, 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, for a hike on the Black Mountain Crest Trail. Includes a burrito dinner Saturday evening.

Outer Banks, Nov. 2-4. Basic. What better way to close out the fall hiking season than with a trip to the coast. Base camp for the weekend is the National Park Service Campground at Oregon Inlet. From there, we’ll head a short distance up the coast and hike 5 miles through maritime forest at Nags Head Woods Preserve. Sunday, we’ll visit some of the oldest and biggest trees in the state on a 5-mile hike at Pettigrew State Park. Learn more and sign up here.

To learn more about the camping weekends mentioned and to sign up, click the appropriate trip.

• Mount Rogers
• Curtis Creek/Graybeard Mountain
• New River State Park
• Mount Mitchell
• Outer Banks

GetBackpacking!

Since its launch in 2014, GetBackpacking!’s Intro to Backpacking program has minted more than 200 backpackers. With all those backpackers, we eventually had to offer more advanced skills classes and trips. So, if you’re already a backpacker, if you want to be a backpacker — even if you just think you want to be a backpacker, we’ve got something for you this fall.

Intro to Backpacking, September, October sessions. Our comprehensive learn-to-backpack program includes a two-hour session on gear and how to pack a backpack; a six-hour session at Morrow Mountain State Park where we go over everything from finding and setting up camp, to cooking, to hanging food, to breaking down camp; and, finally, a weekend graduation trip to South Mountains State Park. Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Overnight Sampler, Sept. 15-16, Oct. 20-21, Eno River State Park, Durham. You like the idea of backpacking, but you aren’t ready to make a full-on commitment — you’d like to take a test-drive first. That’s what our Overnight Sampler is all about: we provide the key backpacking gear and food, you get to see what it’s like to hike in a full pack and camp in the backcountry overnight. Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! AT from Carvers Gap to 19E, Sept. 21-23, North Carolina/Tennessee line. A two-night, three-day 14-mile trip that may be the most scenically spectacular run of trail in North Carolina. We start at Carvers Gap and top Jane and Round balds right off the bat, meander through forests of mountain ash, then encounter more stunning views from atop Little Hump and Hump mountains. Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Intro to Linville Gorge, Oct. 5-7. We’ve twice done an Intermediate Skills trip to Linville Gorge, attempting a 20-mile look along the east rim and up the gorge: it’s one rewarding (and intense) immersion into the gorge. On this trip, we take a more relaxed approach, setting up basecamp on Shortoff Mountain, then day packing into the gorge. Learn more and sign up here.

Joyce Kilmer/Citico Creek Wilderness, Oct. 25-29. Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock and the adjoining Citico Creek Wilderness in Tennessee were no-brainers for inclusion as designated Wilderness Areas because so little has changed in the region since Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto came through the area in the early 1500s. Too rugged even for timbering, the rugged area retains its primitive feel amid its old growth forests. We’ll spend three full days exploring the area. Learn more and sign up here.

Neusiok Trail, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, Croatan National Forest. What better way to wrap up the 2018 backpacking season than with a trip on the 21-mile coastal Neusiok Trail. In early December, the stillness and quiet of these coastal woods offers an overnight experience you likely haven’t had. Learn more and sign up here.

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Discover new trails. One in particular caught our eye: Saturday’s hike on the Sand Live Oak Trail at coastal Carolina Beach State Park. “It is our newest trail,” says park ranger Carla Edwards, who will lead the hike. This trail takes you deeper into the park’s community of ancient live oaks, sprawling evergreen trees that seem to extend forever. You’ll encounter a variety of other coastal plant communities as well, including the park’s rare carnivorous plant gatherings. 3.5 miles.

Discover slap-your-forehead, why-haven’t-I-known-about-this-before? trails. Again this weekend, that includes Sunday’s 3-mile hike on the Bee Tree Trail at Pettigrew State Park.  One of the state’s off-the-beaten-path gems, Pettigrew State Park is located south of Creswell, which is east of Plymouth, which — it’s on the way to the Outer Banks, off U.S. 64. Here, you’ll discover a rim of the massive old growth hardwoods that shielded Lake Phelps—at 16,000 acres the state’s second largest natural lake—from the prying eyes of early Europeans for years. You’ll find some of the oldest trees in the state here.

Slow down and learn a thing. You may hike a lot, but how well do you know the terrain through which you’ve hiked? Several Hike NC hikes have an educational component: On Saturday’s Wildflower Hike at South Mountains State Park, Ranger Lance Huss will lead a 3/4-mile hike along the Jacob Fork River, identifying the many wildflowers now in bloom. And if you want to hike a little farther afterward, you can hike the 2.7-mile High Shoals Falls Loop and check out its 80-foot namesake waterfall. 

Discover trails in your own backyard. Again this weekend, on Sunday afternoon: a 4-mile hike on the Lake and Laurel Hills trails in Gaston County’s George Poston Park. One of the key partners in Hike NC is the N.C. Recreation and Parks Association, which represents the state’s various parks and rec departments. These NCRPA members have played a huge role in sponsoring hikes and getting more folks moving by showing off some of the great trails they have that you may not know about. “After doing Hike NC with you guys last year,” says Gaston County’s Josh Henderson, “we decided to implement our own hikes … because they have been highly attended.”

Break your routine. Are you in the habit of going to the same park and hiking the same trail? At Pilot Mountain State Park, for instance, folks drive lemming-like to the summit and hike the Ledge Spring Trail and other trails from the summit parking lot — even though on a brilliant spring weekend it can take a half hour just to find a parking spot. Well, your friends here at GetGoingNC and GetHiking! — did we mention that we are partners in Hike NC as well? — like the popular places, too, but we seek out the backdoor entrances. Saturday, we show you one of our favorite lesser-known entrances to Pilot Mountain. Where? You’ll have to visit the Hike NC website (details in a minute) to find out.

Not all of these hikes are beginner friendly. On May 5, our friends with the Buncombe County Parks and Rec. will lead a 6-mile hike on the Snowball Trail, high in the Craggy Mountains; on June 9, the same hike leaders will hike Sleepy Gap from the Walnut Cove Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway; and on May 6, we’re leading our favorite epic circuit in the Southeast: the 17.5-mile Doughton Park loop consisting of Cedar Ridge, Bluff Mountain and Grassy Gap Road trails. We’ll be adding some more challenging hikes over the next couple weeks.

We love being a part of Hike NC, for all the above reasons. If you love hiking, you should love Hike NC, too. 

Learn more about the program at gohikenc.com. To find hikes this weekend and to register (it’s free; they just like to know how many to expect), click on the links below:

• Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach. 3.5 miles. Easy to moderate
• Saturday, 2 p.m., Haw River State Park, Greensboro. 2 miles. Easy to moderate
• Saturday, 11 a.m., South Mountains State Park, Connelly Springs. 0.75 miles. Easy
• Saturday, 5 p.m., Pilot Mountain State Park (Yadkin River section), Pinnacle. 3 miles. Easy to moderate
• Sunday, 2 p.m., Pettigrew State Park, Creswell. 3 miles. Easy
• Sunday, 3 p.m., Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, Southern Pines. 2.5 miles. Easy
• Sunday, 3 p.m., George Poston Park, Charlotte. 4 miles. Moderate

Happy trails,
Joe

The post From Beginner to Backcountry expert, Hike NC returns with 60 Spring Hikes appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

One of my goals for 2018 is to take better advantage of potential opportunities. In some cases — a car refusing to start before the temperature reaches 20, for instance — that may mean simply recognizing opportunity in the first place. One of our goals at GetGoingNC in 2018 is to do a better job of helping you find opportunities, then take advantage of them. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve identified some of the opportunities we’re creating to help you be more active in this new year. As you contemplate your course for the year ahead, here’s a quick recap of these programs — and a reminder that we’ll be sharing more in the next couple of weeks.

Hiking

Beginning Hiker Series. You’ve wondered about hiking, now’s your opportunity to act. Our Beginning Hiker Series consists of eight weekly hikes at different locations around the Triangle intended to introduce you to the world of hiking. The hikes are 2 to 4 miles long, are on Sunday afternoons, and — and this is especially important for you beginners — are led from the back, so you’ll never be left behind. Starts Jan. 7. Learn more and sign up here.

Experienced Hiker Series. Need a little motivation to keep hiking in winter? Every Sunday afternoon through February, we’ll hike a different trail in the Triangle area. We’ll start with a 4.2-mile hike along the Eno and finish with a 9.7-mile hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. In between, our hikes will be 5 to 6 miles — just long enough to get you ready for the spring hiking season. Starts Jan. 7. Learn more and sign up here.

Piedmont Explorer. Once a month from January through June, we’ll hike a different trail within an hour-and-a-half drive of the Triangle. The series is designed to expose those of you accustomed to hiking locally to some of the great Piedmont trails nearby. The hikes will generally be 5 to 6 miles long. Learn more and sign up here.

Backpacking

GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking. There’s a certain romance, well deserved, about backpacking, about spending a weekend or longer on the trail, detached: no boats, no lights, no motor cars … . But that romance is unlikely to blossom if you aren’t prepared. Our Intro program includes three training sessions each focused on a specific skill — gear and packing, setting up and breaking down camp, food and its consumption — followed by a weekend graduation trip to the mountains. There is no better way to introduce yourself to the sport. Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills. So you already do some backpacking but would like to become more proficient. Our Intermediate Skills classes help you become more confident in the areas of wilderness navigation, river crossings, solo backpacking, hiking and camp set-up at night, and winter backpacking. Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Trips. In 2018, we plan to do a trip a month. Some will be three-day weekend excursions, some will be longer. Most are great opportunities for both beginners, who can to hike with and learn from more experienced backpackers, and more seasoned backpackers, who can not only mentor newbies but also discover new places. Learn more and sign up here.

Opportunities to explore — they abound in 2018. Reach out and take advantage of them today.

Happy Trails and a Happy New Year,

Joe

The post Welcome to a New Year of Opportunities appeared first on GetGoing NC!.