Our two favorite times to be in the trail in winter: sunrise and sunset. They’re great year-round, frankly, but much more accessible in winter: Sunrise today is at 7:21 a.m., sunset at 5:34 p.m.

If you have to ask what’s so special about these two golden hours of the day, then you’re probably not a hiker. Or possibly in possession of a pulse. Personally, we love the moment-to-moment change as the sky evolves from yellow to pink to orange to crimson to purple. If we sense the conditions for a good sunset, we’ll dash to the local summit in town, Occoneechee Mountain, which affords an open view to the west: sunset over the Eno River Valley is one of the best. We’re pretty crazy about certain other sunsets as well: from Shortoff Mountain at the south end of Linville Gorge, from atop Shining Rock in the Pisgah National Forest, from Little Long Mountain in the Uwharrie National Forest, from Hump Mountain on the Appalachian Trail. We’ve even seen the queen mother of sunset phenomena: the elusive green flash, a prismatic neon burst that lasts just a second or two, which we saw over the Pacific Ocean years ago in Hawaii.

But really, a great golden hour can be had from so many places. The photo above? The sunrise Thursday morning on Hillsborough’s Riverwalk. It was stunning for about 10 minutes, but at its peak when we took this shot. All week the conditions have been right for stellar golden hours: crisp, cold, skies with a smattering of clouds.

And that should be the case for Saturday evening’s Sunset Hike at Eno River State Park. From the park office, a naturalist will set off at 5 p.m. down to the Eno to catch sunset (at 5:35 p.m.) over the Eno. The hike is about a mile roundtrip, is rated easy (there are some steps to navigate), and the payoff should be sublime. A few clouds in the sky, a temperature in the low 50s and sunset: as the ad says, priceless. And it is — priceless — though registration is required, by calling the park office at 919.383.1686.

Also this weekend:

Basin Hike, Sunday, 11 a.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. One of our favorite gateway hikes in the state: do it and you’ll be hooked on hiking for life. Two reasons: 1. It’s pretty easy, a flat 2.2 miles round trip; and 2. It’s scenic. You start at the Atlantic Ocean, you hike inland through maritime forest, through back dunes, through a salt marsh. And, you visit a concrete World War II bunker that later, in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, was home to the Fort Fisher Hermit. Learn more here, sign up — it’s free, but registration is required — by calling 910.458.5798.

Winter Tree ID, Saturday, 1-3 p.m., Blue Jay Point County Park, Raleigh. Sometimes, you have a real thirst to improve your knowledge of nature. Not just gain a cursory understanding, but to really learn a thing or two that you can carry with you on future outings. Saturday’s 2-hour Winter Tree ID session promises to be just that. Why? One, because it’s two hours (most such classes are an hour at most), and two, because the class earns credits toward North Carolina Environmental Educator Certification. The session starts in a classroom, then heads into the field. Learn more about the class and how to sign up, here. 

Bird Calls for Beginners, Sunday, 2:30-4 p.m., Kathleen Clay Edwards Library, Greensboro. Wish you knew a second language? Here’s your chance. Says the class description, “…discover some techniques from local birders to learn bird calls and songs.” Learn more here.

GetHiking! this weekend

What are our GetHiking! groups in North Carolina and Virginia up to this weekend? Plenty, thanks for asking … 

GetHiking! Charlottesville: Madison’s Montpelier to Grelen and Back, Friday, January 24, 9 a.m., 11350 Constitution Hwy, Montpelier Station. Moderate. 6 miles. Learn more here.

GetHiking! Charlottesville: Ceder Run, Hawksbill, AT, and White Oak Canyon Circuit, Sunday, January 26, 8 a.m., 4105 Lewis and Clark Dr., Charlottesville. Strenuous. 6 miles. Hike Highlights: Cedar Run Trail, Hawksbill Trail, 270 degree views from the summit of Hawksbill, Appalachian Trail, Ridge line views from the Appalachian Trail, White Oak Canyon Trail, Upper White Oak Falls, Lower White Oak Falls. Learn more here.

GetHiking! Charlottesville: Appalachian Trail to Blackrock Summit, Sunday, January 26, 10 a.m., 1125 Emmet St., Charlottesville. Easy. 5 miles. Hike Highlights: boulder scramble, views from Blackrock. Learn more here.

Live the video

Today’s video is from Sunday’s hike at Little River Regional Park, a Durham/Orange counties joint north of the city of Durham. We hike 5 miles here (there’s another 8 miles of mountain bike trail), some through Piedmont hardwood forest, some along the sprightly, especially after a good rain, Little River. Learn more about exploring the park here.

More Weekend Options

Looking for more options for weekend adventure? Check out our GetOut! Find An Adventure resource page here.

The post GetOut! Your friday nudge for weekend adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

When I saw the zipline at Go Ape, my thoughts drifted back a century or so to the kids who lived on the south side of the Rocky River in Chatham County who had to get to school on the north side of the river. With no bridge for miles, someone strung a steel cable across the river, tied it off around some trees, then had the kids ride in a bucket across the river to school every morning, back home every afternoon.
I thought about those frigid January mornings riding in an ice bucket. I thought about those days after (or during) a heavy rain, when the roiling Rocky would have been nipping at their keisters. I thought about how this “zipline” was likely devoid of rigorous safety oversight — or any oversight at all.
And I thought about how those kids who rode in a bucket over the river to school every day likely went through life nonplussed by the challenges they faced, challenges that, compared to their commute, likely seemed pretty manageable.

Lessons learned from the past

Ziplines and high ropes courses have blossomed over the past few years. One estimate puts the number in the U.S. at 7,500, with 200 to 400 more built each year. Ziplines tend to sell adrenaline; facilities that weave ziplines into a high-ropes course take it up a notch: sure, there’s the adrenaline, but there’s also the psychological element. Here’s how the Jim Wall High Challenge Course at N.C. State (in Schenck Forest), which includes 15 high course elements 35 to 40 feet above ground, describes its mission:
“High course elements push participants to go beyond their perceived limits while working as an individual or as a team. Participants are challenged to expand their comfort zone, build self-confidence, and overcome self-imposed barriers, while being motivated and encouraged by other group members.”
In other words, the course aims to teach the lessons some kids once got simply by going to school.
I thought about this while standing on a small platform 35 feet in the air at Blue Jay Point County Park, home of Go Ape, the Triangle’s first open-to-the-public zipline/challenge course.

Going Ape

Go Ape has five stations. Enter a secured station — you access each fenced station after entering the pass code de jour — climb a ladder to a platform, head out on ropes challenges with such apropos appellations as Log Swing, Spider’s Web, Double Stirrups and Apple Picker’s Ladder, end each station zipping back to terra firma. Along the way are two Tarzan swings: swing from a cable into a cargo net. From the time you step foot off the ground, you are secured by at least two cables, sometimes three.
Sessions begin with a safety session, starting with properly fitting your harness and progressing to how (and when) to clip in to the safety lines, the zipline cables, the Tarzan swing. The safety session takes maybe 20 minutes; after that, I was surprised to find, you are on your own (instructors patrol the grounds, making sure you’re clipping in and offering advice when needed).
That you are essentially on your own is a bold thing in this day and age. The instruction is thorough and complete, but you must pay attention and you must do as directed.
In short, you must take responsibility. Being 35 feet in the air is good incentive.

Sense of self

You also must have a strong sense of self. Or have an interest in developing a sense of self. Getting on a plane and assuming a 60-ton tube of steel can stay aloft at 30,000 feet requires faith in others — from aerospace engineers, to mechanics to pilots and air traffic controllers. Stepping off a platform 40-feet up and trusting that a steel cable and your harness will keep you from crashing to the ground sooner than intended depends, in part, upon your trust in the folks running the facility. In the case of the zipline, though, you must take that first step, and in the case of the wobbly sky bridges and other high-rope challenges, the subsequent steps after that.
Are many people freaked out by that, I asked Go Ape Deputy Manager Josephine Bland.
“Not really,” she said, “because if you fall, you aren’t falling far.” A foot, maybe, before the double safety cables grab.
So most people are bold enough to try: that was the good news.
The not-so-good news came from my instructor, Cameron. He agreed that most people can handle the fear factor.
The one thing that will keep people from completing the course:
“They don’t have the physical strength to climb the cargo net after the Tarzan Swing.”

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Today’s 90-Second Escape: Making Like Tarzan

Ever wonder what a high-adventure course is like? Here’s a 90 Second sample, from Go Ape at Blue Jay Point County Park in Raleigh. We’ll be back Tuesday to give you a better idea of the experience — and whether it’s right for you.

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