Coast / Coastal Plain

It’s every kid’s perfect summer night: wait until sunset, then grab a flashlight and wander through the local cemetery. A rite of youth fraught with the forbidden: sneaking out after dark, trespassing, cavorting among the dead … . No wonder it was a highlight of being a kid.

Now, those illicit evening romps are back, albeit with the edge replaced by education. Saturday evening, join local historians Dr. Chris Fonvielle and Robin Triplett, along with cemetery superintendent Eric Kozen on an Evening Flashlight Walking Tour through Wilmington’s Oakdale Cemetery. Learn about the history of Oakdale, Civil War veterans, funerary art and interesting Port City citizens, all while reliving those carefree days — nights, rather — of youth.

Vital Stats: Evening Flashlight Walking Tour, Saturday, July 16, 8 p.m., Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington. $15. More info and to sigh up: 910.762.5682, friends@oakdalecemetery.org

Saturday forecast: 8 p.m. temperature of 82 with a 24 percent chance of rain.

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Looking ahead: Kayak Eco Tour to Masonboro Island, Aug. 16, Halyburton Park. More info here.

Piedmont

Think of Pilot Mountain and you think of crowds. Of cars slowly making the two-mile drive to the summit, of trying to find a place to park, of elbowing your way down the Jomeokee or Ledge Spring trails.

Sunday, we invite you to experience a different side of Pilot Mountain on the trails less traveled. At 9:30 a.m., our GetHiking! Triad hiking group will take a 6-mile hike on the Mountains and Grindstone trails, circumnavigating the conical mountain’s base. We’ll avoid both the clouds and the heat.

Vital Stats: Pilot Mountain hike, GetHiking! Triad, Sunday, July 17, 9:30 a.m. More info and to sign up, here.

Saturday forecast: Temperature of 72 at the start, with a chance of rain.

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Looking ahead: Occoneechee Geology Hike, Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Hillsborough, Saturday, July 23. More info here.

Mountains

It may seem oxymoronic to put the words “sprint” and “triathlon” in succession. Most of us generally associate a triathlon with an endeavor of endurance: swimming, then biking, then running. In the case of an Ironman, that’s swimming 2.4 miles, then cycling 112 miles, then running a marathon, or 26.2 miles. Lordy.

In that context, then, the dimensions of Sunday’s Asheville Triathlon — a 400-meter pool swim, 11.6-mile bike ride, and a 5K (3.1 miles) — may indeed seem like a sprint. Which isn’t to diminish the challenge, a challenge taken up by up to 200 participants annually.

Feeling like a challenge? Details below.

Vital Stats: Asheville Triathlon, Sunday, July 17, 6:45 a.m., Asheville Recreation Park, Asheville. $60. More info here.

Sunday forecast: 63 degrees at 7 a.m. under partly cloudy skies.

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Looking ahead: “Movie: Winter on Mount Mitchell,” July 31, 2:30 p.m., Mount Mitchell State Park. More info here.

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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 Your Weekend: Adventure as different as night and day appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We offered some thoughts yesterday, in our weekly Weekend Plans segment: we’re back today with additional thoughts and direction.

Hiking

We start with hiking because once the hot weather sticks, one of the last things we’re inclined to do is hike. Copious sweating and being encased in spider webs aren’t on the American Hiking Society’s list of reasons to hike.

We won’t tell you where to hike, but we will tell you where to go to figure out where to hike. Four suggestions:

• Mountains-to-Sea Trail. It’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month, so hiking a stretch of the 550 miles of completed MST seems a natural. You’ll find about 50 miles down in the coast and coastal plain, nearly 200 miles in the Piedmont and a little more than 300 in the mountains. You can find helpful descriptions of where to take a hike on the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail website.
• GetHiking! Our three GetHiking! groups — in Charlotte, the Triad and the Triangle — all have hikes planned for Sunday, all on the MST: Charlotte on an eight-mile stretch along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Triad will be doing 6.5 miles along the Watershed Lakes in Greensboro, the Triangle as a 15-miler planed along Falls Lake. If you’d like to explore the MST but would also like some company, click on the appropriate link and join us.
• Great Outdoor Provision Co. Over the past two years, the Great Outdoor Provision Co., with assistance from GetGoingNC, has been developing an online trail guide. So far, we’ve got 55 trails in North Carolina and 15 in Virginia. All the information you need to assess, plan and execute a hike. Start your search here.
• Carolina Mountain Club. This venerable (formed in 1923) hiking club offers at least three hikes a week and has an extensive database of hikes in the Appalachians. A great resource.

Paddling

First, a warning: all that rain means the local rivers are running high, local lake levels are up. Unless you’re an accomplished paddler, you might want to steer clear of rivers in particular this weekend. Your best bet: Get a copy of Paul Ferguson’s “Paddling Eastern North Carolina,” find the river you’re interested in paddling, check Paul’s recommendation for maximum runnable river level, then check the latest USGS streamflow numbers.

Lakes may also be a challenge; if possible, call before throwing the boat on the car to check on conditions. And if you need to rent a boat, don’t forget our “51 Places to Rent a Canoe, Kayak or Standup Paddleboard in North Carolina.”

Mountain biking

This is one activity you may be shut out of this weekend. Most trail networks close when wet; even those that don’t might be impassable in spots due to the rain. Again, before throwing the bike on the roof rack, call to see if your destination is open. Find a list of statewide mountain biking destinations here.

Running

This is the time of year when a race can either be sublime or a sufferfest. Most runners are in pretty good shape at this point in the spring, but that first hot race can easily bring even the best-trained to their knees. With morning temperatures forecast in the low 60s  this weekend, it’s PR time.

If you’re a runner and don’t have a race scheduled for this weekend, you might reconsider. The North Carolina Running Calendar has 38 races listed for this weekend, starting with tonight’s Hopewell Hustle 5K in Monroe and The Great Glow Run 5K in Raleigh, to Sunday’s Greensboro Half Marathon (and 5K and 10K). You may have to pay a premium to enter at this point, but it could be well worth it.

Learn about the natural world around you

There’s a lot going on this time of year in the natural world; gain some insight at one of the numerous free nature programs offered by North Carolina state parks.  to the meat-eating plants at Carolina Beach State Park. Check out this weekend’s curriculum here.

Plan for the future

A personal plug here: Yes, get out and explore this weekend. But also take a few minutes to think about your next adventure, by, say, joining me at one of this weekend’s “Adventure Carolinas” talks. Saturday at 11:30 p.m., I’ll be discussing my new book from UNC Press at the Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, while on Sunday from 2-3 p.m. I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble in Burlington, at Alamance Crossing off I-40/85.

Can’t make it this weekend? I’ll be making the rounds for a while. Here’s my schedule.

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The post Weekend Plans: Special Fabulous Weather Edition appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Why the infatuation with the MST?

It’s great hiking, for one. And May is Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month.

The MST, if you’re new to these parts, is a statewide trail begun in the mid-1970s. The goal was to create a 1,000-mile hiking trail linking Clingman’s Dome in the Smokies, on the Tennessee line, with the dunes of Jockey’s Ridge on the Atlantic. The project advanced slowly at first, but in the mid-1990s, Allen de Hart, North Carolina’s Mr. Hiking, revived the effort, which has been advancing at breakneck speed since.

A few things to know about this effort.

One, while the MST is technically a state park, it is an almost entirely volunteer-run operation. It has two paid positions: Executive Director Kate Dixon and JoEllen Mason, Outreach & Membership Coordinator. Other than that, the MST is made possible by hundreds of volunteers statewide who put in thousands of hours to make the trail what it is today, which is, with more than 500 miles finished, more than half complete.

Most of the finished trail is in the mountains. There’s also a goodly amount finished in and north of the Triad, and through the Triangle, where more than 100 miles of MST runs from near Hillsborough down the Eno River, along Falls Lake, then south along the Neuse River into Clayton.

The purpose of Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month is to raise awareness of the trail as well as money to help make the rest of the trail — especially the stretch between the Triangle and the coast — happen. I’ll write more about this later.

The purpose of today’s post is to encourage you to get out and see the MST during one of the best statewide hiking months of the year. Here’s what our GetHiking! programs have on tap:

GetHiking! Charlotte

Saturday, May 10: 10.4 miles, Basin Cove Overlook to Devil’s Garden Overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Sunday, May 18: 8 miles, Jumpinoff Rocks to Sheets Gap along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Saturday, May 24: 5-7 miles, Harper Creek Wilderness, Wilson Creek area
Saturday, May 31: 7.9 miles, Tanawha Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway along the east flank of Grandfather Mountain

GetHiking! Triad

Saturday, May 10: 7.75 miles, mostly within Pilot Mountain State Park.
Sunday, May 18: 6.5 miles, Greensboro watershed lakes (Nat Greene and Laurel Bluffs trails)
Saturday, May 24: 7.3 miles, Greensboro watershed lakes (Peninsula, Osprey and Townsend Trails)
Saturday, May 31: 10 a.m., Doughton Park to Devil’s Garden Overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway

GetHiking! Triangle

Tuesday, May 6 (tonight): 4.1 miles, MST along Falls Lake (Possum Track Road to Bayleaf Church Road)
Saturday, May 10: 8.3 miles, MST along Falls Lake (Six Forks Road to Shinleaf Recreation Area)
Tuesday, May 13: 3.7 miles, MST along Falls Lake (Shinleaf Recreation Area to NC 50)
Sunday, May 18: 14.9 miles, MST along Falls Lake (NC 50 to Rollingview State Recreation Area)
Tuesday, May 20: 4.7 miles, MST along Falls Lake (Lick Creek Bridge to Cheek Road)
Saturday, May 24: 11 miles, MST along Falls Lake (Cheek Road to Red Mill Road)
Wednesday, May 28: 3.8 miles, MST along Falls Lake (Red Mill Road to Penny’s Bend)

For more information on these hikes, click the link to the respective Meetup group.

And you don’t have to hike the MST with an organized group. The trail is agreeable to individual inspection as well. Learn more about how to explore the MST at the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail website.

The post A Month on the MST appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: Spring into Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month

May is Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month. Over the weekend, our GetHiking! Triad and GetHiking! Triangle hiking groups kicked off a month-long celebration of the MST with a month of hikes on the MST.

GetHiking! Triangle initiated its quest to hike the entire 60-mile length of the MST along Falls Lake by knocking off the first 8.5 miles, from the dam west/northwest. The temperature reached into the low 80s, the humidity may have reached into the low 20s, there may have been a wispy cloud or two, and the spring wildflowers were abundant.

We’ll be back tomorrow to tell you more about our GetHiking! program (including Charlotte) plan to hike the MST throughout May. It’s a great way to get to know our statewide trail, and May is a great month to make that introduction.

For now, take 90 Seconds to say hello and see what you won’t want to miss the remainder of the month.

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The post 90 Second Escape: Spring into Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

One thing about the recent weird winter weather: the breaks are, mercifully, falling on the weekends. Our upcoming one, for instance, is supposed to be dry with temperatures that’ll defrost your winter-weary soul. At least in the Piedmont and at the coast. The mountains, on the other hand, promise more winter fun.

Coast

Even Carolina Beach, where you can find the occasional palm tree (albeit an immigrant) was icing over midweek this week. Saturday, though, the high is expected to flirt with 50, and the sun is even scheduled to make an appearance in the afternoon. Sounds appealing, no?

Appealing enough, in our opinion, to check out Saturday’s Biological Wonders program. “Join a park ranger on this hike to see and learn about all the different plant communities here in Carolina Beach State Park,” promises the program description. Some of those plant communities — the brackish marshes, the cypress pond — will make the temperature seem a good five degrees warmer.

Logistics: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2 p.m. Carolina Beach State Park. For more info: 910-458-8206

Saturday forecast: Partly cloudy by afternoon, high of 48.

Piedmont

Modesty aside, the best hike on the books for this weekend is our GetHiking! hike Sunday in the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness of the Uwharrie National Forest. The Birkheads present a nice challenge (bigger climbs than you’ll find elsewhere in the Piedmont) and long stretches of solitude. And, they’re centrally located in what the local boosters like to call North Carolina’s Central Park. All three of our GetHiking! groups — GetHiking! Charlotte, GetHiking! Triad and GetHiking! Triangle — will be participating in this hike.

For the more aggressive hiker we have an 11.5-mile option, for the stop-and-smell-the-flowers crowd we have a 7.4-mile option. Both start at noon, albeit from different locations.

Logistics: Sunday, Feb. 16, noon, Birkhead Mountain Wilderness area of the Uwharrie National Forest. For more info, check out the GetHiking! chapter nearest you: Charlotte, Triad, Triangle.

Sunday forecast: Partial sunshine with a high of 47.

Mountains

Sunday’s Carolina Mountain Club hike at Montreat has the potential to memorable on several fronts. On its merits alone, this is a fine way to spend most of a Sunday. This 7.5-mile circuit takes in Lookout Mountain and the Old Mount Mitchell Toll Road up to Pot Cove Gap. From there, it heads back down the mountain on the Graybeard Trail.

The kicker comes if the forecast holds true. Up to a foot of snow is forecast for the area through Friday evening, and light snow is forecast for the hike. Got snowshoes? Bring ‘em.

Logistics: Sunday, Feb. 16, 9 a.m. (carpool meeting time, from Asheville). Montreat. For more info, go here.

Sunday forecast: Light snow early, then clearing with a high of 48 at lower elevations.

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The post This weekend: Escape the wintry mix (or embrace it) appeared first on GetGoing NC!.