When we launched our GetHiking! program three years ago, the goal was to offer fledgling hikers a supportive hiking environment and to expose more experienced hikers to new trails. Those remaining our overriding goals; we love hiking with you, and while we hope you love hiking with us, we realize that sometimes you’d rather hike alone, or perhaps expose less-experienced friends and family to the joys of hiking. That’s why we’ve moved into a second phase of GetHiking!
Empowerment.
Sure, you pick up a thing or two on our hikes. But sometimes you want to know more. Which is why we’ve created a series of classes designed to make you more confident in the woods.
Tag Archives: camping
In 2016, GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes
In 2015, we launched our GetHiking! Classic Hikes program with GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes. Over the course of the year we hiked a dozen of North Carolina’s most notable areas: Shining Rock, Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountains, Panthertown Valley, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the Appalachian Trail, to name a few.
90 Second Escape: The Campfire
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
It’s Summer!
Summer, it officially begins bright and early (6:51 a.m.) Saturday morning.
To ensure that you’re prepared we’ve assembled a list of resources to help you figure out how to best capitalize on the solstice with the mostest.
Paddling
Rent a boat: Don’t have a canoe or kayak (or stand-up paddleboard)? No problem. We’ve found 52 places across North Carolina where you can rent a canoe, kayak or SUP — and for as little as a couple bucks an hour. A paddle is within reach! Info here.
This weekend, CampOut! Carolina
You’ve meant to go camping, and yet … .
And yet for a variety of reasons you haven’t made it happen. When I ask people what outdoor activity they’ve wanted to try but haven’t, the most common response is camping. There’s always an excuse, usually built on speculation:
I’m not sure about sleeping on the hard ground
I can’t imagine going to bed dirty
It seems like a lot of work
Raccoons! I worry about marauding raccoons!
Well, the time for speculative abstention is over. This weekend, EarthShare North Carolina sponsors CampOut! Carolina, a push to get you fence-sitters off the fence and into a tent.
You can participate in one of two ways. If part of camping’s appeal is the desire to survive on your own, to erect your own shelter (a roomy eight-person tent with separate living and sleeping quarters) and forage for your own food (or at least the firewood to fuel the fire to cook your straight-from-the-butcher steaks over), the CampOut! Carolina website has all kinds of helpful first-timer information.
If you have no illusions about your capacity to rough it, you can take part in one of seven organized events being held statewide. One such events is the Fourth Annual CampOut! Carolina Jamboree this Saturday and Sunday at West Point on the Eno city park in Durham. Sponsored by Durham Parks and Recreation and the Triangle area REI stores, the event will feature helpful information on camping, hikes, storytelling around a campfire, s’mores and more. A limited number of tents and sleeping bags are available free of charge. The event is free, but space is limited; register by calling 919.560.4405.
If you are interested in camping out on your own this weekend but aren’t sure where to go, our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Co. have you covered. Their website includes 35 prime campgrounds near seven of the state’s metropolitan areas (Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington, Winston-Salem), plus another 15 campgrounds in the mountains that are open year-round. The descriptions include all the details you need to plan a great overnight in the wild.
Looks like you’re finally out of excuses, procasticampers. Enjoy your weekend under the stars.