Face it: you miss your coworkers. Sure, Bob in the next cube could drive you nuts with his frequent “Got a minute?”s. The chronic tongue-clucker near the copy machine, the dude 

overmedicating on Creed Aventus, the fantasy football guys, the never knowing when Ms. Dithers might drop by “just to say hello.” 

Yeah, it could drive you nuts. But boy, do you miss it. 

One of the things we’ve learned over the past six months is how much we miss people, even the people we thought we could never miss. Getting together via Zoom is nice, but it isn’t the same as being together.

Staying safe outdoors

If there’s one thing research into the spread of the coronavirus seems to agree on, it’s that the virus spreads far less effectively outdoors. In August, the Mayo Clinic published a list of activities based on their risk of spreading COVID-19. Topping the list of low-risk activities: walking, running and hiking. On Sept. 11, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its advice on preventing the spread of the virus. It takes into account a variety of factors, but found two key activities help curtail the spread:

• Maintaining a minimum distance of 6 feet from one another
• Being outside

Hiking/walking meets both of those criteria. Easily.

Since late July, GetGoingNC has been holding small group hikes (no more than 10 people) and small backpacking/camping trips (also limited to 10 or less). I was tentative at first about the success of these outings because of our requirements that:

• Hikers wear a face mask at the trailhead, and keep it handy on the trail in case we pass other hikers.
• Hikers keep their distance from one another.

Would hikers comply? They have, with no complaint. Or hesitation. That’s because they’ve been so grateful not just to be on the trail, but to be around people.

GetHiking! with Co-Workers and Friends

That made us wonder whether more people — disconnected co-workers, for instance — would  get together if they knew they could do so in a safe environment. So starting Sept. 28, we’re launching our GetHiking! with Co-Workers and Friends hiking series. 

 Here’s how it will work:

• Weekly hikes. Once a week for eight weeks, we will take your crew on a 1-hour hike somewhere in the Triangle. If your people are largely in the eastern Triangle (Raleigh, Cary), we’ll hike there; if they’re in the western Triangle (Durham, Chapel Hill), we’ll schedule your hikes in that area. If you don’t care, we’ll spread them around.
• Hikes based on ability. The goal of GetHiking! with Coworkers and Friends is to reunite you with your co-workers and friends, and to get some fresh air at the same time. If those co-workers and friends are into a good workout, we’ll take you on hikes that are a little more aerobic, likely in the 3- to 4-mile range. If you’re more into the socializing and scenery, we’ll take you on trails suited to a more civil pace. These hikes will be 2-3 miles.
• Ground rules. The ground rules for these hikes will be the same as we have in place for our other GetHiking! hikes: 
  • Face masks. You must wear a face mask when we gather at the trailhead; you can remove it once we start hiking, but keep it handy in case we run into other hikers. 
  • Keep your distance. You must keep a minimum of 6 feet apart. If you’re not familiar with hiking, hikers rarely get that close on the trail in normal times.
  • Sickly? If you’re under the weather, stay home.
• Group size. We’ll take groups as small as 5, but no more than 10.
• When. We will offer these hikes Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• The plan. When you sign up and pay a $100 deposit, you’ll be asked for the number of people in your group, where you would prefer to hike, the date and time of day you would like to hike. When we receive that information, we’ll respond with the schedule for your group, noting the day, time and location of your hike, as well as how your people should dress and what they should bring. Each week, at least two days before your hike, you will receive an eguide for that week’s hike, including a map of the route, trail description, mileage guide, where to meet and more. Twenty-four hours before your hike, you will receive a reminder, plus a report on the weather forecast. In addition to the weekly eguide, each member of your group will receive a copy of “Explore Your Neighborhood: A Guide to Discovering the World Immediately Around You,” to help you create your own local adventures.
• Cost. The fee is $115 per hiker for 5-7 hikers, $105 per hiker for 8-10 hikers.

For co-workers, these weekly hikes can simply be an opportunity to stay in touch, to keep “office” morale high. They can also be working meetings; you might be surprised at how your creativity is juiced by walking (“The West Wing” made the walk-and-talk notion popular in 1990s).

And did we mention it’s fall, the best time of year to be outside?

Whether you’re walking to bond or to brainstorm, a walk in the woods with GetHiking! with Co-Workers and Friends may be the best hour of your week.

GetHiking! with Friends 

Learn more about the GetHiking! with Co-Workers and Friends program start the process of getting your group signed up by going here.

The post GetHiking! with Co-Workers and Friends: Reunite hiking appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We are in the cusp of a gorgeous weekend, at least here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. A cold front is moving through, dropping temperatures 20 degrees from the past several days. At least through Saturday, that means temperatures only in the low 60s under sunny skies.

So, as we are every Friday, we’re here to encourage you to GetOut! and enjoy. But, as we’ve had to do over the last few weeks, we’ve had to alter that message: Instead of encouraging you to get out and explore the world at large, we’ve had to rein in and encourage you to explore your more immediate world at large.

And not do it with 10 or more people.

And not get within 10 feet of one another.

On the surface, that may seem limiting. But it’s not. Odds are there’s a lot more adventure nearby than you realize. What do we mean by “nearby”? 

The Outdoor Alliance recommends traveling no more than 50 miles. That, they say, is about as far as most of us can go without having to stop for gas, for food, to go to the restroom. 

In fact, the closer to home you can keep your adventure, and more importantly, the farther you can stay away from other people, the better. 

Yesterday, we published a guide on the subject of exploring your nearby environs called, “Explore Your Neighborhood: A guide to discovering the world immediately around you in these shelter-in-place times.” You can learn more about “Explore Your Neighborhood” and buy a copy ($3.45) here. 

A few tips from the guide to help with your shelter-in-place weekend adventures:

• Google Map your neighborhood. Call up your neighborhood, use the Distance tool to determine how far out you’re comfortable walking, see what lies within that zone. 
• Look for streams and other waterways in your neighborhood. They may not have official trails, but they may well have unofficial trails forged by game and people fishing.
• Pick your time of day wisely. If you live in a more populated neighborhood, head out at a time when your neighbors are less likely to be out. Early morning, for instance. Or later in the evening. Or when it’s raining (really!).
• Take time to take in what you’re looking at. You’ve got loads of time, right? Don’t rush yourself.
• Don’t trespass. If an undeveloped tract of land is marked with “No trespassing” signs, or if a greenspace is closed due to the coronavirus, move on.
• Don’t take risks. The last thing you or anyone wants is for you to get injured and have to call in emergency personnel, who have their hands full already.

That said, get outside this weekend and enjoy. You need it.

Explore Your Neighborhood

For help on exploring your own backyard:

Morning Walk with Joe. Join us every weekday morning at 7:30 (and a little later on most weekend mornings) for Morning Walk with Joe on Facebook Live. It’s 10 minutes or so of Joe’s morning walk, no 10 minutes of which are the same. It’s another opportunity to pick up tips on how to make the most of your neighborhood adventures. Catch it here.

“Explore Your Neighborhood.” Again, our 44-page guide helps you make the most of your neighborhood adventures. Learn more and buy a copy ($3.45) here.

The post GetOut! Explore Your Neighborhood this weekend appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Every Thursday until the world reopens, we’re going to share with YouTube videos of the outdoor world. Each week will have a different focus. This week’s: The places our GetBackpacking! program hopes to visit this year.

OK, so maybe we can’t hike some of the places we want. But somebody has, and odds are they’ve posted a video about it on YouTube. They may not be the real thing, but they do provide voyeuristic escape, a bit of humor (both intentional and otherwise), and they can inspire your planning for trips in the hopefully not-too-distant future. And the videos cover just about every trail you can imagine.   

For instance, this coming weekend our GetBackpacking! group was supposed to head up to Roan Mountain for a 14-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. Ah, Carvers Gap to US 19E in the spring: perhaps the most scenic stretch of trail in the Southeast in the most inspiring season of the year. 

Sigh.

In lieu of an actual visit, we’ll start with revisiting one of our trips from last year, with this short recap on our GetGoingNC! YouTube Channel.

Then, we can get a different perspective on the trail by tagging along with HikingFreak on his trip there last September. And to help envision a longer version of the hike, we can go with

Zpacks on his 50-mile trip on the AT in 2017, which included this stretch.

Some other regional options:

Shining Rock Wilderness

We had to postpone our trip at the end of this month to Shining Rock. In the meantime, check out these videos, including the channel, title, duration, date and a one- or two-sentence description.

Explore Your Land’s “Shining Rock Wilderness Loop,” 22:15, January 2019. Captures the essence of wilderness exploration by starting out on the wrong trail. Watch here.

Golden Blaze’s “Backpacking in the Shining Rock Wilderness,” 9:26, May 2017. A solo loop including Art Leob Trail, Chestnut  Bald, Silvermine Bald, Black Balsam Knob, Tennent Mountain, Shining Rock, Sams Knob. Watch here.

TrailTakers’ Solo Backpacking in the Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wilderness, 59:51, July 2018. Includes Shining Rock’s wacky neighbor, the Middle Prong Wilderness. Five days, four night solo trip. Watch here.

Southeast Backpacker’s “Shining Rock/Flat Laurel Backpacking 2-Night,” 8:32, February 2017. A winter trip by SB, who notes at the beginning that he hasn’t been out in a while. Hijinks ensue. Watch here.

Art Loeb Trail

The Art Loeb was to be one of four thru-hikes we were planning this year, and hopefully we’ll still be able to pull it off. Until then, we’ll watch these videos to help with trip planning.

Wolf Packs’ “Art Loeb Thru Hike,” 27:14, September 2017. Hiked from north (Daniel Boone Boy Scout camp south to Davidson River Campground. Watch here. 

Golden Blaze’s “Art Loeb Thru Hike,” 14:32, March 2018. Two buddies hike the 30-mile trail with good humor, which is good because it’s not an easy hike. Watch here.

Shug’s “Art Loeb Trail Thru-Hike with the Hickery Brothers,” 11:58, October 2014 (Part I). Shug lives in Minnesota, grew up in Charlotte and shoots some of the most entertaining backpacking videos around. Watch here.

The Blackalachian’s “Art Loeb Trail 2020,” 29:31, February 2020. Yup, one of the last videos before the shut-down.

Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock-Citico Creek Wilderness

Another trip we do every year, and a trip I hope we can do in August. 

GetBackpacking! “Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock Wilderness,” 1:39, July 2019. A tidy recap of our visit last year. Watch here.

Zachary Robbins’ “Backpacking The Hangover: Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness,” 22:28, October 2017. A 3-day trip in one wild, wild place. Watch here.

Bryan DeLay’s “Slickrock Creek-Yellowhammer Gap Loop, Joyce Kilmer Slickrock Wilderness,” 11:59, January 2017. A three-day in winter, with lots of crossings of Slickrock Creek. Bold. Watch here.

Wilson Creek

GetBackpacking! “Hiking for Shutins: A Virtual Visit to Wilson Creek,” 3:30, Summer, 2019. Our last visit, last summer, including Hunt-Fish Falls, Gragg Prong, Big Lost Cove Cliffs. Watch here.

Side Trail Adventures’ “Backpacking on Harper Creek Trail,” 28:25, February 2019. We don’t go here in winter because of all the creek crossings, so it’s all the more interesting to tag along on a winter trip. Watch here.

Preloheded Hiking’s “Lost Cove Loop,” 22:02, October 2019. Fourteen-mile loop with 15 creek crossings. Watch here.

Southeast Backpacker’s “Wilson Creek: Hunt Fish Loop,” 11:20, May 2014. A spring visit to the popular Hunt-fish Falls area. Watch here.

Linville Gorge

We try to hit Linville three times a year, on different levels: an intro to Linville, a basecamp trip from Shortoff, and the southern half of the Grand Loop (which is in our GetBackpacking! video).

GetBackpacking! “90 Second Escape: Linville Gorge,” 1:30, June 2015. Snippets from our successful trip on the southern half of the gorge’s Grand Loop. Watch here.

Sintax77’s “Hammock Camping in the Linville Gorge,” 54:25, July 2014. A four-day visit, an hour-long video: a good intro to the gorge. Watch here.

River Kings’ “The Linville Gorge Loop: Is That All Ya Got,” 1:51, May 2019. High water on the river, “sketchy weather” — pretty much sums up a visit to the gorge. Watch here. 

Outdoor Adventures’ “Linville Gorge: 2-Day Backpacking the Grand Loop,” 57:54, April 2018. WARNING: includes a sequence of backpackers eating Spam. Watch here.

The post Virtual escapes: Videos of the places you’d love to be exploring appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

A week ago, trails were open. The outdoors were seen as the last open sanctuary to escape The Virus. Then, over the weekend, many of the more popular trail venues drew crowds that made staying 6 or 10 feet apart from one another near impossible. Sunday evening, North Carolina announced that four of its State Parks were closing, two recreation areas were restricting access. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which had already closed certain areas, followed suit, announcing that the park was shutting down, trails included. The number of North Carolina State Parks that are completely closed has since grown to 15 (see the list below).

Clouding the picture further: While North Carolina has yet to enact a statewide Shelter in Place order, several counties (including Durham, Mecklenburg and, starting Thursday, Wake) have. Basically, that means that aside from essential travel, you need to stay home. 

The one bright spot in many of these orders: exercise is considered essential. You can walk out your front door and explore — again, practicing social distancing — to your heart’s content. (If you are in a jurisdiction with a Shelter in Place order, check first to make sure getting out to exercise is OK.)

You might be surprised by just how much there is to see in your own backyard. Some thoughts on the matter from someone who grew up exploring their backyard:

• Use your first neighborhood expedition four scouting. You may be doing this for a while, so it’s good to know what your future options are. Is there an easement that looks intriguing? A street you’ve never explored because it’s not on your usual route? A small wooded area that’s something of a mystery?
• Keep a journal I. Approach these neighborhood adventures as you would a renounced explorer probing terra incognito for the first time. Are you being stalked by a wily tabby? Intrigued by the  mounds of dark material that seemingly appeared in a neighbor’s yard overnight? (So it’s just mulch: Have some fun with it.)
• Keep a journal, II. It needn’t be a strictly written journal. The great explorers often doodled along the way (some did it themselves, some had designated doodlers). So you can’t draw; that makes it all the more fun. And entertaining to others as you share later on.
• Share your adventures. We’d love to have you report on your journeys and what you’ve found on our Facebook page. You may inspire others (or at least amuse them).
• Pick a hike theme. Spring is advancing: perhaps you dedicate a neighborhood hike to seeking signs of the season. 
• Pick something in advance to search for. Wow to spot a particular thing on a given hike. A plots hound, a clothes line, a Big Wheel. 

This might work, you think. But I feel I still need to get out beyond the confines of my neighborhood. 

Again, we think you’ll be surprised by what you’ll find in your own backyard. But if you do feel the need to branch out — and with gas at $1.89 a gallon, it’s hard to quash the thought — and it’s still allowed, we like the American Hiking Society’s 50-mile-limit suggestion, which you can read more about below. 

To get a better feel for exploring your own backyard, we’ve been doing just that with our new Morning Walk with Joe feature on Facebook Live. I share 10 to 15 minutes of my morning walk in and around Hillsborough. One morning I might be walking along the Eno River, one morning I might explore a historic district, one morning I might be searching for wildflowers or hiking a state park, one morning I might report on the interesting things the neighbors are up to — all of which I can do out my backdoor.

You have options. Make the most of them.

 Closings

 North Carolina State Parks. Keep up with the latest N.C. State Park closures here. Meanwhile, these are the parks closed as of noon Wednesday, March:

• Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park (Eagle Rock and Rumbling Bald accesses are open)
• Crowders Mountain State Park
• Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
• Fort Macon State Park
• Gorges State Park
• Hanging Rock State Park
• Jockey’s Ridge State Park (open to residents of Dare County only)
• Lake James State Park
• Lake Waccamaw State Park
• Morrow Mountain State Park
• Mount Mitchell State Park
• Pilot Mountain State Park
• Raven Rock State Park
• South Mountains State Park
• Stone Mountain State Park

Keep updated here.

Virginia State Parks. Remain open, including camping and cabins. Visitor centers are closed. Keep updated here. 

National Park Service. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closed. Visitor centers and restrooms are closed along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Keep updated here.

Appalachian Trail. Appalachian Trail Conservancy President & CEO Sandra Marra is strongly discouraging hikers on the AT for hikes of any length. Keep updated here.

The post Explore the wilds of your own backyard appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

This means that in addition to the closure of visitor centers, camping, restrooms and other facilities that were announced last week, trails at these parks are also now closed.

The reason? Failure to adhere to social distancing guidelines. 

People are turning out to hike like never before. Sunday, hiking Day-Hike Section D of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake, we saw more people hiking than we’d ever seen on this stretch. And probably 95 percent were in compliance, either stepping well off the trail to allow oncoming hikers to pass, or pulling well off the trail to let faster hikers pass. Ninety-five percent seems like good odds: imagine a 95 percent free-throw shooter, or batting .950 in baseball. But with the rapid spread of COVID-19, 5 percent non-compliance is way too high a risk.

We realize how important it is to get out right now. But unless we do it in the most low-risk way possible, we will soon see all of our trails closed. We can work to make sure this doesn’t happen in two ways:

First, it’s vital that you observe social distancing requirements, including:

• Hike in groups of no more than 10 people
• Keep a minimum of 6 feet apart (our GetHiking! program recommends 10 feet, especially now in the spring allergy season when pollen-triggered sneezes can increase your … dispersal zone.
• No touching, no sharing (bring your own water and snacks)
• Do not go out, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if you have:
  • A temperature in excess of 100 
  • A cough or shortness of breath
  • Underlying health conditions that may weaken your immune system, including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
  • Tested positive for the COVID-19

The other thing you can do: hike the trails less traveled. That’s where we aim to help you this week, by highlighting some of our favorite places to explore that typically don’t see as much foot traffic. The reasons for this vary, but here’s a big one: they lack the trailhead infrastructure (visitor center, restrooms, picnic areas) that tend to attract the masses. To get you started, in this post we wrote last week for our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Co., we identify some of our favorite backdoor entrances to the places you already love to explore. (Again, this was last week; Crowders Mountain State Park, which is included, has since closed.)

As of right now, many of our favorite trail networks — Eno River State Park, Umstead State Park, Pilot Mountain State Park (the latter for the most part) — remain open.

Let’s work to keep it that way.

Check before heading out

In these fluid times, remember to check the website of where you plan to hike to make sure it’s still open. Some quick sources of places we love to hike:

• N.C. State Parks
• Virginia State Parks
• U.S. National Forests in North Carolina
• National Park Service
• The Trek, an online magazine that’s doing a good job of covering the national hiking and backpacking picture.

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