Some of us don’t mind hiking in the heat. Switch to cotton, freeze your water bottle overnight, use your trekking poles as spider web vanquishers … . Sure, you work up a nice glow. But you’re on the trail, and really, it’s not unbearable.

We recognize, though, that not everyone is inclined to keep on hikin’ between Memorial Day and Labor Day. We also recognize that along about the Fourth of July weekend, the aforementioned cool-weather hikers are starting to undergo withdrawal. They get out their phone and stare longingly at those photos from the beginning of the year, when you were bundled in fleece. Ah, the good cold days.

We can’t magically make it cold. But we can direct you to some hikes where it feels less like summer. In some cases, a lot less. As a rough rule of thumb, the temperature drops about 3.5 degrees for every 1,000 feet of elevation. So if it’s 90 in Raleigh (elevation 315 feet), it’s in the upper 60s atop Mount Mitchell (elevation 6,684 feet).

Lesson one: hike higher, hike cooler.

Lesson two: you needn’t go as high, provided you’re hiking near cool waters. Waterfalls, pools on mountain creeks, that sort of thing.

With those two guiding points in mind, we offer 5 high country spots where fair weather hikers can stretch their legs without working up a drenching sweat. You might even want to take along a fleece.

Learn more about those hikes, here. Or, consult the entries listed in either our “Backpacking North Carolina” or “100 Classsic Hikes in North Carolina.”

1. Shuckstack/Lost Cove/Lakeshore Loop

11.6 miles

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Fontana Village

Part of what makes this hike feel cool is that you start at the Fontana dam and climb immediately, gaining 2,280 feet in 3.5 miles. Yes, as you might suspect, you work up a good glow. But once you top out at Sassafras Gap, that glow becomes your cooling agent as you descend Lost Cove Trail through dense woods, then return via the Lakeshore Trail along the cooling waters of Fontana Lake. Unrelated note: I’ve seen both black bear (not uncommon in the Smokies) and wild boar (less common) on this hike.

For details: Trip No. 21 “Backpacking North Carolina”.

2. Hunt-Fish Falls/Gragg Prong Loop

7.3 miles

Wilson Creek area, Pisgah National Forest, Mortimer

Wilson Creek proper gets more crowded than a water park on a summer weekend due to the proximity of parking (if you can find it) to the water. But venture deeper into the Wilderness Study Area and you’ll find better water and fewer people. You’ll just need to invest a little sweat equity. Here’s what you do: hike the Hunt-Fish Falls Trail down to the Lost Cove Trail and go right. You’ll cross the creek, then keep an eye out for the Timber Ridge Trail on your left. Take it uphill (you’re investing in that sweat equity at this point), then go right on the Lost Cove Trail (it loops back around). Take it to Gragg Prong, hike downstream for less than a mile and you’ll have your choice of choice mountain pools to swim in. Related note: If you see a snake in the water, it is likely a harmless northern banded water snake; it is not a cottonmouth, which doesn’t live within a couple hundred miles. 

For details: Trip No. 8, Backpacking North Carolina.”

3. Basin Creek Trail

12 miles

Doughton Park, Longbottom Road access, Roaring Gap

The mile-and-a-half approach from Longbottom Road to Grassy Gap along Grassy Gap Creek is flat, a good opportunity to warm up the legs. There, pick up the Basin Creek Trail, which climbs in bursts along its frisky namesake creek (a creek that flooded in 1918wiping out the entire Basin Cove Community). Multiple crossings help you keep your cool; several pools along the way allow for a more immersive cooling event. Your carrot: the trail terminates at the Caudill Cabin, which survived the 1918 flood and was home to a family of 13. Stunning note: The Caudill Cabin is one room.

For details: Trip No. 11, “Backpacking North Carolina.”

4. Black Mountain Crest Trail

2-12 miles

Mount Mitchell State Park, Burnsville

This is cool hiking, guaranteed. With much of this hike above 6,000 feet (reaching 6,684 feet), you’re looking at temperatures in the 60s on a 90-degree Piedmont day. From the main parking area, make the short-but-obligatory summit, via pavement, to Mount Mitchell, then head north across the main parking lot on the Crest Trail to Mount Craig. Craig is only a mile out, but it’s a challenging mile and there’s no shame in topping out and proclaiming, “I’m good, heading back.” Big Tom, though, is just a short distance beyond, and that would give you your third 6,000-foot peak for the day. Balsam Cone, Cattail Peak and Potato Hill lie beyond, before the drop into Deep Gap at just over 6 miles. Warning note: Remember, this is an out-and-back; making it to Deep Gap with zero energy for the return is does not constitute a successful hike.

For details: Hike No. 65, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina.”

5. Pink Beds

5 miles

Pisgah National Forest near Brevard 

Look at a topo map of the Blue Ridge Escarpment north of Brevard and you’ll wonder, “What happened there?” Amidst a sea of tight, brown topographic lines is a sea of nearly unblemished green, a flat ledge on the escarpment known as Pink Beds. It’s a rare Appalachian bog through which the South Fork of Mills River runs, occasionally stopping to collect itself in a series of small ponds. A 5-mile trail circumnavigates Pink Beds, the wetter spots navigated via boardwalk. There’s the occasional meadow, some dense woods, precious little climbing. At just below 4,000 feet there may be cooler mountain climbs, but none as flat. Geographic note: Pink Beds got its name after early settlers cleared the land for farming, exposing an abundance of pink wildflowers. 

For details: Hike No. 80, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina.”

GetHiking! Southeast Podcast

This week on the GetHiking! Southeast Podcast we explore one of the iconic backpack trips in the Southeast, the 35-mile Virginia Triple Crown. Give a listen here.

The post Defeat the heat with these 5 N.C. mountain hikes appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

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.

Now, if there were only a dozen Classic Hikes in North Carolina, we could declare mission accomplished and be done. In fact, there are so many more than a dozen Classics in the state (I’ve written a book that documents 100, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina,” Mountaineers Books). And there are so many more Classics throughout the Southeast.

Thus, our mission continues in 2016, with the expanded GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes series.

First, we’re not abandoning North Carolina. In fact, we’re only adding two out-of-state hikes in 2016, both in Virginia (a stretch of the Appalachian Trail near Lynchburg and the Grayson Highlands/Mount Rogers area). And while we are repeating two hikes from 2015 (Panthertown Valley, by popular demand, and Doughton Park, because it’s a good late winter mountain hike), we’ve got a North Carolina lineup that will expose you to even more great hiking than you thought possible. We’ll get to a full calendar of hikes, with descriptions, in a sec. But first … .

Why join this fee-based hiking program? We had about 90 hikers participate in the 2015 program, all with their own personal motivation. Basically, though, they boiled down to two key motivators: the challenge, and the chance to explore more of the state’s wild areas.

The Challenge

Right about now you’re likely thinking what most people are thinking on the cusp of a new year: how can I be more active in the year ahead? Hiking is a great option. First, just about anyone can do it, and unlike many other “active” options, it’s something you can be active at late into life. (Of our 90 or so 2015 hikers, at least half are over 50.) Hiking requires some basic equipment: hiking boots/shoes, good socks, a day pack, for starters. But once you’ve got the basics, it’s cheap fun: transportation and food are your key expenses.

If you’re new to hiking, you might be intimidated by the “Classic” designation, equating “Classic” with epic and visions of a death march rather than an enjoyable day in the woods. First, our hikes are actually two hikes, a longer hike and a shorter hike. For instance, our first hike, on the Neusiok Trail in the coastal Croatan National Forest, gives you the option of hiking the entire 20.4-mile trail, or a 6-mile stretch. Start with the shorter options, maybe you’ll want to go longer after three or four hikes. Plus, the monthly hikes are good incentive to do shorter, local hikes in the interim.

If you’re looking for an activity you can embrace for the longterm and one that doesn’t seem like work (as is often the case with a traditional “workout,” hiking is a good option. Likewise, if you seek a sense of accomplishment and reward, you’ll find it in a hike (just ask the folks who did our 13.4-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail north of Carvers Gap in September).

And if you’re worried about being left in the woods, don’t be. Our hikes are led from the rear, guaranteeing that no one, not the slowest hiker, is dropped. This approach benefits our more experienced hikers as well; with direction supplied before the hike, they become more confident in their ability to navigate in the backcountry.

Explore New Trails

Even if you’re an avid hiker, how many of the state’s — and region’s — trails have you hiked? Or are even familiar with? Drop down and take a look at our lineup for 2016: if you’ve hiked half of these trails, you’re doing pretty good. Odds are there are one or two you haven’t heard of.

We aim to expose you to the wealth of hiking opportunities in the Southeast. Take the October hike. Perhaps you’ve heard of, even hiked in the Shining Rock area. But Sam Knob? Its neighbor to the west offers a more varied hike: the views, meadows and black balsam forests Shining Rock is known for, plus rock outcrops and waterfalls. As for the July Standing Indian hike, we’re guessing that one’s got you scratching your head. After the weekend of July 16-17, 2016, you’ll be boasting it’s one of the best circuit hikes around.

Again, check the schedule below for descriptions of 2016’s hikes.

New in 2016

If you’re a veteran of GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes, we’ve added a few new twists to GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes:

• Weekend trips. Over the past year, several of you commented that you loved the mountain trips, but you wished there was more hiking to justify the long drive. This year we’ve added six camping weekends in the mountains. Drive up Friday afternoon/evening, camp, hike Saturday, camp Saturday night, hike Sunday. Camping will be in group campgrounds near the trails we will hike; in some cases we can hike directly from camp. Our one group camp experience in 2015, at Mills River, was a big hit, highlighted by a potluck dinner Saturday evening.
• Aren’t a camper — but you’re interested? This year, we’ve added a Discover Camping option to our weekend trips. We provide the tent and sleeping mattress, give you a list of household items you can use to supplement your other camp needs, and are there to help take the mystery out of camping.
• Lodge/hostel weekend on the AT out of Hot Springs. Over the three-day Veteran’s Day weekend (November 11-13) we’ve reserved the Laughing Heart Lodge in Hot Springs, North Carolina. Hike the Appalachian Trail during the day, return to the lodge/hostel for a civil evening of rest in a warm environment (see schedule for details).

Membership: what you get

Basic membership to GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes is $75, which applies to your first three hikes. (If you’re first three hikes are weekend trips, that’s a savings of $30). Your membership includes:

• Three hikes, as mentioned above. After that, each single-day hike is $25, weekend trips are $35.
• Monthly emagazine with detailed information on that month’s hike, including an overview touching on the trail’s highlights; map of the hike with points of interest; elevation profile; photos; info box with key information, including trail access, length, elevation gain and more. Also in each emag: information on camping and lodging near each hike, as well as hiking tips and resources pertinent to this particular hike.
• Swag bag for each hike. For each hike you’ll get a goody bag filled with hiking-appropriate swag.
• Joining gift. TBD. Last year, members received either hiking socks, a camp towel or a GetHiking! T-shirt, courtesy Great Outdoor Provision Co.
• Loaner gear. Curious about trekking poles but never tried them? Here’s your chance. We’ll also have loaner headlamps (if you’re worried about finishing after sunset).
• Ten percent discount on hiking gear at Great Outdoor Provision Co.

If you think you’ll make all the hikes, save $60 by joining the Classics Club for $300. That covers all the hikes, plus the Discover Camping program, and get a $35 gift card from Great Outdoor Provision Co.

How to join

Sign up today and we will send you pertinent information about the program, as well as details on our first hike, on January 24 on the Neusiok Trail. Pay via PayPal, below, or send a check to GetGoingNC, 4909 Waters Edge Dr., Suite 206, Raleigh, NC 27606.

Hike schedule

Here’s the full schedule of our 2016 GetHiking! The Southwest’s Classic Hikes.

January: Neusiok Trail, Croatan National Forest
Havelock
Sunday, Jan. 24
Long Hike: 20.4 miles (entire length)
Short Hike: 6.4 miles (northern trailhead to NC 306)
$25
We start the year in a coastal forest, on a lowland trail that spends much of its eastern length in pine savannah and on boardwalk elevated above a shrubby bog, its western end in forest that has odd flashes of the Appalachians. The Neusiok is a trail best hiked in winter, when the flying pests common to the coast are less pesky. As you might guess, there’s little elevation on this hike, making it a good hike to start the year.

February: Uwharrie National Recreation Trail, Uwharrie National Forest
Asheboro
Saturday, Feb. 20
Long Hike: 17.8 (Sections 3-8)
Short Hike: 6.3 (Sections 3-4)
$25
The Uwharries, in the heart of the rolling Piedmont, may have long since eroded from their 20,000-foot peak, but they still present a nice challenge. A challenge not without its reward: especially Sections 3 and 4, where the trail reaches its high point (King Mountain, at 1,013 feet) and offers its best view, a 360 from the top of Long Mountain. Both hikes include this stretch; the longer hike lets you build endurance as you probe deeper into this largely hardwood forest.

March: Doughton Park, Blue Ridge Parkway
Roaring Gap
Saturday, March 19
Long Hike: 18 miles (Longbottom Loop)
Short Hike: 10 miles (Longbottom to Bluff Mountain)
$25
One of the few repeats from the 2015 Classic Hikes season, and for good reason. For starters, it’s an early-season opportunity to get into the mountains. Located on the Blue Ridge escarpment north of Wilkesboro, both hikes begin with a steady 4.5-mile climb before topping out in the rolling mountain meadows of Doughton Park. The short hike finishes at Bluff Mountain, the long brings it back around down a descending ridgeline to the Longbottom Trailhead. Great views from the top — and early spring wildflowers to boot.

April: Appalachian Trail, Virginia
Lynchburg, Va.
Saturday, April 2
One hike: 10 miles (Punchbowl on the Blue Ridge Parkway to James River)
$25
Think of day hiking the Appalachian Trail and you immediately think of driving half the day to western North Carolina. In fact, the AT is closest to the Triad and Triangle, at least, in Virginia. Where the AT crosses the James River west of Lynchburg is an especially scenic stretch of this iconic trail. From the Blue Ridge Parkway, the trail climbs to Punchbowl, then stays along a ridge for about 7 miles, offering an ongoing supply of views, both east to the Piedmont and west to the Shenandoah Valley and George Washington National Forest.

May: Mountains-to-Sea Trail: Craggy Mountains
Pisgah National Forest
Saturday/Sunday, May 7-8
Group camping: Briar Bottom Group Campground
Saturday: Buck Creek Gap to campground (hike lengths to be determined)
Sunday: NC 128 to Craggy Gardens (hike lengths to be determined)
$35
The first of six weekend hikes with group camping. Arrive Friday night, set up camp at the Briar Bottom Group Campground at the base of Mount Mitchell, then hike from Buck Creek Gap back to the campground on Saturday. A potluck Saturday night, followed by more hiking, at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Sunday. A good sampling of a stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail that doesn’t get hiked much because of its remote location.

June: Davidson River / North Mills River
Brevard
Saturday/Sunday, June 18/19
Group Camping: White Pines Group Campground
Saturday: Art Loeb (hike lengths tbd)
Sunday: Fish Hatchery / John Rock loop (7 miles)
$35
Our lone group camping experience in 2015 at Mills River was a hit. We return to the area, this time to the White Pines Group Campground in the adjoining Davidson River area of the Pisgah National Forest for a weekend of hiking. Saturday, we’ll hike a stretch of the Art Loeb Trail heading down from the Blue Ridge Parkway, then return to camp to kick back and enjoy a pot-luck dinner. Sunday, we’ll do the popular 7-mile John Rock Loop, enjoying lunch and views of Looking Glass Rock from the trail’s namesake attraction.

July: Standing Indian / Appalachian Trail
Franklin
Saturday/Sunday, July 16/17
Group camping: Kimsey Creek Group Campground
Saturday: Kimsey Creek/AT/Lower Trail Ridge (hike lengths tbd)
Sunday: Timber Ridge / AT / Bear Pen Gap loop (hike lengths tbd)
$35
On our third Saturday/Sunday hike we visit the Standing Indian area west of Franklin. The Standing Indian group campground is ideally situated for our purposes. Saturday morning, head out your tent door and onto the Kimsey Creek Trail for a climb up to the Appalachian Trail, returning via Lower Ridge Trail. Sunday, we do another AT loop, up Timber Ridge to the AT and back via Bear Pin Gap.

August: Great Smoky Mountains National Park /Deep Creek
Bryson City
Saturday/Sunday, Aug. 13/14
Group camping: Deep Creek Group Campground
Saturday: Noland Divide Trail/Pole Road Creek Trail/Deep Creek Trail (hike lengths tbd)
Sunday: Indian Creek/Deeplow Gap/Thomas Ridge trails (hike lengths tbd)
$35
August too hot for hiking? What if your hike ends with a tube trip down a mile-long stretch of mountain creek. That’s an option both days, on hikes that start and end from our group campsite at Deep Creek, just outside Bryson City.

September: Grayson Highlands / Mount Rogers

Saturday/Sunday, Sept. 23/24
Group Camping: Grayson Highlands State Park
Saturday: AT/Mount Rogers (hike lengths tbd)
Sunday: AT (hike lengths tbd)
$35
Our second trip of the year to Virginia is our first to the Grayson Highlands / Mount Rogers area of southwest Virginia. Grayson Highlands/Mount Rogers is one of the most popular trail networks in the Southeast, in no small part because the rocky and open terrain has more of a western U.S. feel. Also, the wild ponies.

October: Sam Knob / Panthertown Valley
Cashiers
Saturday/Sunday, Oct. 22/23
Group Camping: Kuykendall Group Campground
Saturday: Sam Knob (8 miles)
Sunday: Panthertown Valley (12 miles, with shorter options)
$35
Our last weekend group camping trip of the season sees us return to Panthertown Valley for waterfalls, views and great fall color, then head up to the Shining Rock Area for a diverse 8-mile loop at Sam Knob. Both areas are known for rock outcrops, open spaces and waterfalls.

November: Appalachian Trail: Max Patch to Rich Mountain
Hot Springs
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Nov. 11-13
Friday: AT (5 miles)
Saturday: AT/Rich Mountain Loop (12.7 miles)
Sunday: Max Patch (7 miles)
Lodging: Laughing Heart Lodge in Hot Springs
$35 (does not include lodging)
Three days of hiking (it’s over Veteran’s Day weekend) and two nights at the Laughing Heart Lodge in Hot Springs. The hiking includes various stretches on the Appalachian Trail, from Max Patch to Hot Springs. The lodging is at the laid-back Laughing Heart Lodge, where we’ve blocked out space for the weekend. Stay in the lodge, stay in the cabin, stay in the economical hostel. Off trail, we’ll explore one of the AT’s classic trail towns.

December: Mount Mitchell
Pisgah National Forest / Mount Mitchell State Park
Saturday, Dec. 31
$25
We wrap up the year with a celebratory climb up the highest peak in the East, 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell.

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The post In 2016, GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

As far is Wings Over Water is concerned, your weekend started Tuesday.

Now in its 19th year, Wings Over Water is the coast’s premier celebration of the natural world. From Tuesday through Sunday, Wings Over Water events are held in a five-county region of northeastern North Carolina, an area that includes six National Wildlife Refuges: Alligator River, Pea Island, Pocosin Lakes, Mattamuskeet, Mackay Island and Currituck. There are birding events, there are paddling trips, there are photo safaris and this year there’s a new stand-up paddleboard tour.  If you’re curious about an aspect of nature at the coast, you’ll likely find a program to fill you in.

Logistics: Tuesday, Oct. 20 through Sunday, Oct. 25, five-country area of northeastern North Carolina. Fees per session are generally between $25 and $40. For a complete schedule and information about the program, visit the WOW home page.

Forecast through the weekend: Very fall-like, with daytime highs around 70 under mostly sunny skies.

* * *

Looking ahead: Bummed because you already have plans for the next few days and can’t make Wings Over Water? Then you’ll be cheered to hear that this year there’s a WOW Encore Weekend, Friday, Dec. 4 through Sunday, Dec. 6. Details here.

Piedmont

There’s more to fall than just the woods brimming with color. The bird population, for instance, is busy making winter travel plans.

Saturday, at Lake James State Park you can hang out with ranger Jamie Cameron and watch the fall migrants head south. Jamie can tell you which birds are which, as well as where they’re coming from and where they’re headed.

Logistics: Saturday, Oct. 24, 8 a.m., Lake James State Park, Nebo. Free. More information here.

Saturday forecast: A temperature of 53 at 8 a.m. under mostly sunny skies.

* * *

Looking ahead: Working on your Thanksgiving Day plan and realize it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get in a hike? See how your North Carolina State Parks can help, here.

Mountains

If you’re contemplating a trip to the mountains this weekend, it’s likely in hopes of catching a last gasp of great color as autumn’s road show moves into the Piedmont. We’re guessing that color is part of the motivation behind the Carolina Mountain Club’s trip to Big and Little Cataloochee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Sunday.

Another motivator: the chance to explore the trails less traveled. In this case, the old “dug roads,” which date back to the 1850s and remain as viable paths today. This 6.5-mile hike will stick largely to these old roads, starting from the church in Cataloochee and crossing Noland Mountain before returning.

Logistics: Sunday, Oct. 25, 8 a.m. (carpool meeting time in Asheville). For more info, contact hike leader Mike Knies at 828.628.6712, or knies06@att.net.

Sunday forecast: High of 65, chance of afternoon showers.

* * *

Looking ahead: Race to the Taps #5, Nov. 14, Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard: a six-pack of four-mile, chip-timed road races starting and ending at several of WNC’s premier craft breweries. Details here.

* * *

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

The post This weekend: Wing It appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

Friday morning, our friends at the North Carolina Coastal Federation, along with Wrightsville Beach Scenic Tours, are conducting a Coastal Birding Cruise. The one-hour boat ride, aboard The Shamrock, will explore the marsh and backwaters around Wrightsville Beach searching for shorebirds, from the pelican and black skimmer to (hopefully) the endangered piping plover (pictured). Guides will explain the area’s ecology as well. A great way to learn more about an area you may visit frequently, but likely don’t know well.

Logistics: Friday, April 3, 10 a.m., Blockade Runner Beach Resort Dock, Wrightsville Beach. $25-$35. More information: 910.509.2838 or visit here.

Friday forecast: High of 79, 20 percent chance of rain.

Piedmont

We love new trail and try to jump on a new stretch as soon as it opens. So we’re a little disappointed in ourselves for waiting more than a half year to investigate the 5-mile stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail that opened last year linking West Point on the Eno city park in Durham with Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve downstream.

But investigate it we will, finally, on Saturday, with our GetHiking! Triangle group. We’ll meet at West Point at 10 a.m., shuttle to Penny’s Bend, hike upstream back to West Point. It’s a relatively flat stretch, this five miles that links 12 miles of the MST along the Eno upstream of West Point on the Eno, and 60 miles downstream, along Falls Lake.

Logistics: Saturday, April 4, 10 a.m. For details and to sign up, visit GetHiking! Triangle.

Saturday forecast: High of 64, a chance of showers early, then clearing.

Mountains

There’s something about the Smokies and wildflowers that shouts great spring weekend in the mountains. Which is why we’re giving a shout out (Is that still hip to say? Are we trying too hard?) to Sunday’s Baxter Creek & Big Creek Wildflower Hike by the Carolina Mountain Club. The hike originates in the Big Creek Campground on the North Carolina side of the Smokies, goes up Baxter Creek to the overlook and back, then head up Big Creek to Mouse Creek Falls, and back. Expect old growth forest and wildflowers in bloom.

Logistics: Sunday, April 5, 8:30 a.m., Big Creek Campground, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Contact hike leader Stuart English — 828.384.4870, stuengo@citcom.net — to sign up and for more crucial logistical information. For more details on the hike, including maps, go here.

Sunday forecast: High of 65, sunny skies.

* * *

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

The post This weekend: Learn a thing appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

It would be three hours before a first responder could reach the scene, a dispatcher for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park told the hikers. Though it wasn’t cold, the torrential rain meant keeping Pete warm would be a top priority. That’s where Mr. Silly from Saturday turned into Sunday’s savior. He happened by shortly after Pete fell; his beach chair was just what was needed to keep Pete off the wet ground and keep him from slipping into shock. The umbrella came in handy, too, as did the space blanket Jon had purchased just three weeks earlier.
As predicted, Park Service Medic Les Kwiatkowski arrived about 1:30 p.m., three hours after Pete went down.
“He did an assessment of Pete and the injury, relayed the info to the dispatcher, and placed a splint on Pete’s right leg,” Jon said. “He also trenched the trail to route the water running down the trail around Pete.  From that point, Les continued to monitor Pete and stay in communication with the dispatcher while we waited for the rescue team.”
A second medic arrived around 3:30 and administered the pain medication that would make Pete’s bouncy ride down the mountain bearable. A half hour later, more than a dozen rescue team members arrived with a basket litter and a wheeled Teton litter. They also brought gear for an overnight stay if conditions warranted.
“They moved Pete into a zero degree sleeping bag inside a waterproof bivy sack, placed a helmet on him, and strapped him into the basket litter. They then strapped the basket to the wheeled Teton litter and the rescue team and I started down the mountain together.”

The evacuation begins
It was 4:30. They had three miles of trail ahead of them. The sun would set in about an hour, and the wind and rain were picking up.
Slowly, they began down the mountain.
Jon describes the contraption and process that would help get Pete off the mountain:
“The wheeled Teton litter had a single motorcycle tire in the center of an aluminum frame, with two handles and a hand brake on the back. On the front, a person would get inside a step-through bar on the litter — like you see when people are pulling rickshaws. These two people would guide the Teton litter and control the speed. Two people on each side of the litter would help guide it, lift it over obstacles, and keep it upright as needed. After a while, the team would stop and people would swap off with others when they were too tired to keep going. When the trail got too narrow for people to be on both sides, they would line the trail standing on the mountain sides and pass the litter from one person to the next. At times, they would hook onto the sled when there was a danger of falling themselves.  Throughout the rescue, team members were calling out commands to ensure obstacles were seen before the litter got to them, to halt the litter if needed, and to control the speed of the transport as required.
“The last guy, the trailer, was carrying the beach chair and walking with the polka dot golf umbrella open over his head. He said if he had to carry it he may as well use it. People were giving him a hard time, of course.”

Water, water everywhere
Soon, it was dark and the wind had become more ominous. And there was the water.
“Water was pouring down the trail, running down the mountainsides over the rock walls creating new waterfalls, and previously shallow creeks were now rushing streams, one time coming over my boots filling them with water,” says Jon. “You could hear the water rushing around you through the forest and see the whitewater like a trail through the forest from the reflections of our headlamps.”
They made a brief pitstop in an overhang at Alum Cave Bluffs, swapping out headlamp batteries, grabbing a snack, catching their breath. Then they pressed on.
“We came to an area where the trail is routed up and over the root section of an old downed tree,” Jon said. “The litter had to be lifted and turned sharply to get over that obstacle. Rescue personnel were standing awkwardly all over the sides of the trail and on the roots of the downed tree to get through.”
At a series of steps at Arch Rock, Pete and his sled had to be belayed using a series of ropes set up by the rescue team. Once they’d passed that obstacle, another arose: a one-log bridge crossing common in the Great Smokies.
“It was very tricky to lift the litter onto the bridge and keep the tire centered on a 18 inch wide log with a rail on just one side, with rescue personnel on the back and front and in the stream guiding the litter along when possible,” said Jon. It was the first of many such bridges they would have to negotiate in the last mile and a third.
“One seemed like it was only 12 inches wide,” Jon said.

At the trailhead, 10 hours later
“We finally made it to the parking lot and a waiting ambulance at 8:30 p.m, 10 hours after the accident occurred,” Jon said.
Pete was transported to LeConte Medical Center and put in a full leg cast. Three days later he had surgery in Asheville. He’s expected to be off the trail for at least eight weeks.
What might seem like a harrowing experience to some was, to Jon, just another adventure on the trail that was handled by following some common sense rules of hiking.
Know where you are at all times. Knowing the trail as well as Jon did helped: they were able to let rescuers know their precise location. A map is essential, as is a compass. A passing hiker had an altimeter and was able to provide a precise elevation, which helped rescuers as well.
Hike prepared. Jon and his buddies weren’t expecting to hike at night, but they all had headlamps — and extra batteries. “I always pack a first-aid kit, rain gear and extra food,” said Jon, “even on short hikes at Umstead. You never know what might happen.”
Try to hike in groups of three or more. The power of numbers was key to Pete’s rescue, said Jon. “If it’s just two of you and one of you gets hurt, then you have to decide between going for help and staying with the injured person.”
Make sure you don’t become part of the problem. Hiking down, Jon was in the company of qualified rescue personnel. “I was carrying some gear, but my main goal was to be careful and not add to the problem.”

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