Saturday is National Trails Day, a day set aside for us to appreciate the more than 200,000 miles of trail in the U.S. Officially, National Trails Day dates back to 1991, when the American Hiking Society deemed that one day a year be set aside to honor our trails; the first NTD, however, didn’t occur until June 5, 1993.
Whenever we get wind of snow in accumulations of five inches or more in the mountains and Piedmont, we trot out our handy cross-country ski guide. For those of you who have skis, you’ll find some of the best spots to cross-country ski in the mountains. And for those of you who don’t, it will help you find out where to get some. Here’s hoping the prediction of up to 12 inches comes true.
If you live in the eastern part of the state, Irene promises more adventure than you’d care to handle. Thus, it’s a good weekend to head west.
Coast
We’re going to bypass the coast this weekend for obvious reasons. If you live Down East, you’re probably not thinking about where the nearest 5K is, or whether there’s a group paddle nearby. If you don’t live Down East, the region probably isn’t high on your list of recreation destinations.
Last week, according to SkiSoutheast.com, between 18 and 22 inches of snow fell in North Carolina’s high country, more snow is falling (Ski Beech reported 9 inches of new snow overnight), and snow is expected to fall throughout the week. That’s good news for the state’s downhill ski industry, although cold temperatures alone is enough to make ski areas and their sophisticated snowmaking operations happy. The true benefactors of this ongoing dump of Mother Nature’s own?