Coast

The best time to hike in a swamp? Right about now, when the temperatures are keeping all the creepy, crawly, bitey critters at bay. And the best way to hike a swamp? Elevated, on a boardwalk.

Which is what they’ll be doing Saturday morning at Goose Creek State Park. The Palmetto Boardwalk isn’t long, but it exposes you to a world that otherwise would be difficult to access.  Pennywort and ferns, Dwarf Palmetto, Spanish moss hanging tinsel-like from the canopy, bald cypress, black willows and live oaks, all the flora you associate with swamps — and on a hike with a ranger who will help you make sense of this evocative ecotone.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 10, 10 a.m., Goose Creek State Park, Washington. More info here: 252.923.2191, more information on Goose Creek State Park, here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny with an afternoon high of 38.

Piedmont

Who doesn’t love to discover a new trail? Even better: a new trail that’s actually new.

Saturday and Sunday, our GetHiking! program will explore 6.2 miles of new trail in the Uwharrie National Forest, a northern extension of the Uwharrie National Recreation Trail, from the Jumping-Off Rock trailhead off Flint Hill Road to Pisgah Covered Bridge Road. It’s an especially intriguing stretch, topping both Little Long Mountain, which offers one of the few vistas in the Uwharries, and King Mountain, one of the highest points in the range.

One more reason to do this hike: it will be lead by Don Childrey, author of the “Uwharrie Lakes Region Trail Guide,” the second edition of which was just released. Don knows the natural and human history of the region better than just about anyone.

Logistics: GetHiking! Triangle will do this hike Sunday at 10 a.m. GetHiking! Charlotte and GetHiking! Triad will do the hike Saturday at 10 a.m. For specifics, click on the GetHiking! chapter nearest you.

Weekend forecast: Saturday, sunny with a high of 36, Sunday, cloudy with a high of 44.

Mountains

There’s a perception that just because you’re going to the mountains for a hike, it has to be a hard hike. In truth, there are lots of hikes for folks who don’t view every outing as an episode of “Survivor.”

Like Saturday’s YMCA-Woodfin hike at Bear Wallow Mountain. It’s a three-mile round trip with just a 500-foot overall elevation gain. You needn’t be a Y member, there’s even a carpool from the Y, at 40 N. Merrimon Ave. The hike is free, $5 for the carpool would be appreciated.

Bear Wallow Mountain: Jan. 10, 8:45 a.m.-3 p.m., YMCA-Woodfin, 40 N. Merrimon Ave., Asheville. Three mile round trip. 500 foot elevation gain. Easy. No need to be a Y member. Bring lunch and water. Dress accordingly. Free. $5 if carpooling. Registration required. Contact Blanca Miller at Bmoi735@gmail.com.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 10, 8:45 a.m.-3 p.m., Bear Wallow Mountain. Free, but pre-registration is required, by emailing Blanca Miller at Bmoi735@gmail.com.

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 36.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

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The post This weekend: Warm up to a hike appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

One of the things we love about paddling the eastern part of the state is the intimacy. Swamps and waterways rimmed with giant bald cypress and tupelo gum escorting you through some of the wildest terrain on the East Coast. Just you, an amazing assortment of critters both seen and unseen, and, this Saturday at least, several hundred of your paddling brethren. (And sisteren, since paddling is gender neutral.)

The anomaly this Saturday is the 11th Annual Paddle for the Border, in which a whole bunch of kayakers (and some canoeists) will put in on the Dismal Swamp Canal at the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center in South Mills (Camden County) and paddle north to Chesapeake, Va. It’s BYOB, with breakfast and lunch included in the registration fee. A great opportunity to paddle some water you might not otherwise paddle.

Logistics: Saturday, May 3, 8 a.m. Dismal Swamp Welcome Center, South Mills. $45. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Partly cloudy, high of 73.

Piedmont

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Carolina Thread Trail, the 15-county effort to weave trail throughout the Charlotte area. But do you know much more about it? Like, where the trail will run and, more importantly, where it runs now that you can hike? Or, as is the case Saturday, run?

Saturday, you can experience a prime stretch of the existing Thread Trail at the Tread The Thread 5K and 10K. This fundraiser for the trail explores the 390-acre Buffalo Creek Preserve in Mt. Pleasant, taking in a restored oak savannah, active farmland and forested bluffs along Adams Creek. Live music, too.

Logistics: Saturday, May 3, 8 a.m., Buffalo Creek Preserve, Mt. Pleasant. $30 for either race. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Partly sunny, high of 74.

Mountains

Got a friend who’s been boasting about all the great trail race times he/she has been posting? Then suggest the two of you run Sunday’s Bearwallow Beast 5K. As the website notes, “ … the Bearwallow Beast 5k features one of the most unrelenting climbs you’ll find in the Appalachians — over 1,400 feet. Traversing asphalt, forest service roads and single-track trail, the course will offer a challenge for even the most experienced runner.”

And since the Beast climbs Bearwallow Mountain, you’ll be assured of great scenery (if you dare to look up) as well. Bearwallow Mountain is gorgeous part of the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge that was conserved by the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy in 2009. You can learn more about Bearwallow Mountain and the CMLC’s other handiwork in the high country here.  Live music and a complimentary beer await at the finish.

Logistics: Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m. (late registration commences at 11:30 a.m.), Gerton. More info here.

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 76.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

The post This weekend: A prolific paddle, a beastly run appeared first on GetGoing NC!.