We may skirt a full-fledged hurricane this weekend, but it will be wet and blustery. What does that mean for your weekend adventuring?
It means you should try it vicariously, at least if you live at the coast or in the central Piedmont. With wind and rain now forecast, at least periodically, through mid-day Sunday, what could be better than encamping on the couch with a good adventure, either in video or book form?

Video
On the ubiquitous Netflix, you will find:

• Jaws (1975) Plan this one early in the day — and after you take a bath.
• Into the Wild (2007) If you’ve missed out on the Chris McCandless cult, here’s your chance to catch up.
• The Road (2009) Not the type of adventure most of us envision.
• Deliverance (1972) See above.

• 

  The Way (2010) If you’re contemplating the El Camino de Santiago.

• Touching the Void (2013) Based on Joe Simpson’s classic tale of survival.
• Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) Hey, we’ve got a thing for 1950s cruisers.
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) You kids need to meet Pat Boone.
• Antarctica: A Year on Ice (2014) An internet reviewer thought it focused too much on winter. Hmm.
• Valley Uprising (2014) The well-told story of Yosemite’s first dirtbag community; move it to the top of your list

More of a reader, are you?

Since we first stumbled across it, we’ve been slowly pecking away at Outside magazine’s canon of epic adventure tales. It’s divided into 18 categories; following, is our favorite selection from a few:

The World’s Great Places  | Jaguars Ripped My Flesh, by Tim Cahill. An Outside editor and long-time columnist, this is a collection of some of the Livingston, Montana, writer’s more … eclectic observations. From the jungles of Peru, where he searches for the ruins of a lost civilization; to the cloud forests of Rwanda, where he follows gorillas; to the icy waters of Alaska, where he kayaks among orcas, Cahill is remarkable for his powers of observation, even more so for his ability to explain, often with great humor, those observations. Vintage Books.

Journeys to Hell |  A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, by Eric Newby. Says Outside: “Near the end of this epic mountaineering misadventure in Afghanistan, Newby passes a group of lepers. “That’s about all we’ve got left to catch,” comments his ever-wry sidekick, Hugh. Written in 1958, Newby’s story of dysentery, ill-fitting boots, and failed climbing is a comic masterpiece.”

Discoveries of America | Great Plains, by Ian Frazier. Frazier, a writer for The New Yorker, is “a rare satirist who understands the difference between real humor and hip smugness,” Outside accurately notes. “He drives 25,000 miles up and down and across the often overlooked region between Montana and Texas. His account, which take us from the spot where Sitting Bull’s cabin stood to a house once terrorized by Bonnie and Clyde to an abandoned Cold War command center, is equal parts absurdity and profundity.” Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Natural History | Coming into the Country, by John McPhee. Ever wonder who moves to the back country of Alaska? McPhee answers that question brilliantly in this 1977 look at Alaska environmentalism in the mid 1970s. A sample: ”I’d kill the last pregnant wolf on earth right in front of the president at high noon,” declares one of the many unforgettable characters in this even-handed look at environmental issues. Noonday Press/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Manifestos | Playing God in Yellowstone: The Destruction of America’s First National Park, by Alston Chase. Says Outside: “Chase, a leading ‘optimist,’ infuriated everyone from environmentalists to Reaganites with this hand grenade of a book. An attack not only on National Park Service policies but on the popular ecological beliefs that inspired them, Playing God in Yellowstone may make you mad, but it will also make you think.” Harcourt Brace,

Nature and Culture | Wilderness and the American Mind, by Roderick Nash. Even if the concept of wilderness doesn’t engage you outright, this look at the country’s ever-evolving feelings toward untamed nature is a comprehensive and fascinating insight into man and his relationship with the natural world. Yale University Press, $18.

And if there’s a break in the cloud, you can use the following resources to help find an adventure near you.

The post This weekend: Water, water (and some wind) everywhere appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I don’t believe we’ve ever made that recommendation before. It’s never been too cold, it’s never been too hot, and, until now, it’s never been too wet to get out. This weekend, though, it sounds like it’s simply going to be too wet to safely have a good time. With Joaquin bearing down on the coast and the possibility for up to 15 inches of rain in the high country, we’re thinking it’s a good time to hunker down and do a little vicarious exploring. Read a great adventure tale, perhaps. Maybe catch up on an adventure movie you’ve been meaning to see. Or maybe put together a soundtrack for when you are able to get out on your next adventure.

That said, a few recommendations:

Movies

“The 10 Most Underrated Movies on Netflix,” according to Outside Magazine. From “All Is Lost,” Robert Redford’s one-man show about a sailor adrift, to “A Lonely Place to Die,” “A rock climbing film masquerading as a conventional thriller,” says Outside. And these are just the underrated adventure films on Netflix.

“Top 100 Action and Adventure Movies” from Rotten Tomatoes. Some of these may be a challenge to track down; on the otherhand, you should be able to find a rainy afternoon’s worth. Topping the list: 1927’s “Metropolis.” Also in the Top 10: “King Kong” (1933), “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), “Seven Samurai” (1954), “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948), “Apocalypse Now” (1979) and “The 39 Steps” (1935).

“35 Awesome (and Awesomely Bad) Outdoor Movies,” from the readers of Backpacker. Almost as important as recommendations of what to see are warnings about what not to see. When Backpacker polled its readers about their favorite movie, “The Way,” starring Martin Sheen seeping direction on Spain’s Camino de Santiago topped the list with “The Void” coming in second. And then there’s “Cliffhanger” … .

Books

“The Outside Canon.” When this list first appeared in May of 1996 in Outside, we clipped it — and promptly lost it. Fortunately, it’s easy to find on the Internet, usually the first entry to pop up on a Google search of “best outdoor adventure books.” Because adventure comes in different categories, so does the list: The World’s Great Places, Journeys to Hell, Discoveries of America, Natural History, Manifestos, Nature and Culture, Sportswriting, How-to Bibles, Outside Lit 101 and Overlooked Gems. Best make sure your Kindle is charged.

“The 50 Greatest Adventure Books,” by Men’s Journal. The men’s lifestyle magazine weighs in with its selections.

“Popular Outdoor Adventure Books,” by Goodreads. How selective is this list? Not to cast aspersions, but it’s 904 titles long.

FYI, I just finished an engrossing read, “The Blue Bear: A True Story of Friendship and Discovery in the Alaskan Wild,”  by Lynn Schooler. It was a blind find at Reader’s Corner in Raleigh. Perhaps it received the attention it deserved when it came out in 2003, but I don’t recall it.

Music

Maybe you’d like to put together a mix tape for your next outing?

“16 Great Songs for Backpacking,” from backpacker.com. “I’ve Been Everywhere” by Johnny Cash, “Wagon Wheel” by the Old Crow Medicine Show,” “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers, and more.

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The post Weekend Plans: Read a Book appeared first on GetGoing NC!.