Poppycock.

The first time I hiked John Rock I was skeptical that the hike, midway up the same escarpment, could have one of the best views around. 

At 3,320 feet? Wouldn’t the best views be from atop the ridge some 2,000 feet higher?

One would think.

And one would be wrong. On both counts. 

Pink Beds gains only 331 feet total over 5.2 miles, making it an anomaly for the Pisgah, and certainly for the Davidson River area where it’s located. That you could hike 5.2 miles here and not be drained is a surprise to first-time hikers. And that John Rock, an expansive rock slab at roughly the midpoint of a 4.7-mile lolipop loop, does indeed have stunning views, including the iconic Looking Glass Rock across the valley, is something of a head scratcher. 

Great views on one hike, an easy 5 mountain miles on another that’s not 15 minutes away … . Hmm …

It didn’t take a genius to realize these two hikes pair well for a long day of hiking. Which is why I’ll be leading both hikes — John Rock in the morning, Pink Beds in the afternoon — on Tuesday, Sept. 9, as part of North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein’s Rediscover the Unforgettable campaign, which aims to let folks know that Western North Carolina is rebounding from last September’s Hurricane Helene and is eager to welcome tourists. A second, similarevent is planned for Sept. 12-14 in Sylva.

If you haven’t hiked the mountains since Hurricane Helene last September, these hikes are a good reason to return. For one, no guesswork about whether the trails — and the roads leading to them — are accessible. They are. There’s also no doubting that these are great hikes: Do a general search of either and you’ll come up with nothing but superlatives:

Of John Rock, Gabrielle wrote on Sunday: “Well-marked and beautiful scenery the whole way through.”

Of Pink Beds, Laura, also on Sunday, wrote: “Really beautiful, very shaded, lots of nice spots to see the water.”

John Rock offers the challenge, gaining 1,000 feet in less than 2 miles (the first two miles), and the payout in great scenery, while Pink Beds makes for a good recovery hike and a more intimate encounter with the Southern Appalachians, in an unusual mountain bog. 

A great opportunity to hike two awesome Pisgah trails in one day. And a great way to reintroduce yourself to western NC.

Hope to see you there.

* * *

Info

To learn more about both hikes:

• Go here for details and to sign up for the John Rock hike
• Go here for details and to sign up for the Pink Beds hike
• For more on the Brevard Rediscover the Unforgettable event, go here
• For more on the Sylva Rediscover the Unforgettable event, go here

The post A Pisgah doubleheader: John Rock and Pink Beds appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

* * *

My first hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway, ever, a month or so after moving to North Carolina in early 1992. A moody but not threatening sky hung over the sprawling high meadow of Doughton Park, offering occasional glimpses east to the rolling Piedmont below, west to the impressive Black Mountains, the pinnacle of the East Coast. A temperature of maybe 40, made cooler by a persistent wind sweeping down from the northwest. I took cover behind one of the lonely rock outcrops dotting the open range and watched the scudding clouds alter the scene.

* * *

Leading a group along the Tanawha Trail, from Beacon Heights to Price Lake, we stop about midway, atop Rough Ridge, a generous, gently sloping rock face designed seemingly for the purpose of having lunch. It’s warm, bordering on hot but the sun still feels great. I lean back with my head on my pack, forget about lunch and indulge that wonderful warmth, that seeping orange glow of sun penetrating my eyelids. I think we’ve gone far enough, I say to the group. For lunch or for the day is not clear. Still, everyone agrees.

* * *

In 30 years of hiking in the Southeast, these three scenes are among my most memorable. That they all occurred on the mountain section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail is no surprise. The MST, on its run across the state, spends its westernmost 350 miles linking Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains with the Devil’s Garden Overlook, the point at which the trail tumbles down the Blue Ridge Escarpment to the Piedmont.

It’s a stretch that starts above 6,000 feet (Clingman’s Dome rises to 6,643 feet) and stays above 5,000 feet from Waterrock Knob to the Pisgah Inn, passing through designated wilderness (Middle Prong) and balsam forest. It drops into Asheville before rising up and over the highest point east of South Dakota’s Black Hills, 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell. It skims one of the wildest areas in the East, Linville Gorge, and it runs along the base of the Grandfather Mountain massif. It also has remarkably tranquil stretches of trail where a hemlock forest, a surprise waterfall, a round-the-bend meadow suddenly appear and take your breath away. If you wanted to spend the summer really getting to know the North Carolina mountains, you could easily do so just on the MST. While the MST parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway for much of its mountain run, you rarely know the popular scenic highway is there. 

Which is what we plan to do this summer.

This summer, our monthly GetHiking! Weekend Escapes will focus on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, exploring one 20-mile-or-so stretch of the trail over three days. The sections were selected to showcase the diversity of the Southern Appalachians that can be found on the statewide MST. More than 60 miles of hiking in all.

Each trip in our GetHiking! Weekend Escape on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail series begins with a short sunset hike Friday evening, followed by an all-day hike Saturday and a shorter hike Sunday, which should end around 1 p.m. Below are the three trips, a quick explanation of why we’ve selected them, and the trails we plan do hike. Each trip includes camping, trail snacks and 5 meals (no worries about cooking). Not a camper? Indoor lodging is available near each hike.

Doughton Park

June 10-12

Total distance: 19.6 miles

Basecamp: Doughton Park Campground on the BRP

Why here? The Blue Ridge Escarpment is where the Southern Appalachians dramatically drop to the Piedmont some 2,400 feet below. Nowhere do you get a better sense of that drop than at Doughton Park, especially on the Friday evening hike out to Wildcat Rocks, where you can look, seemingly straight down, to the Caudil Cabin 1,500 below. Most notable on this hike, though, is the passage through open mountain meadows offering views east into the Piedmont, west to the highest of the Southern Appalachians. We pass through a surviving hemlock forest and visit a homestead from pre-parkway days.

The hikes:

• Friday evening: Wildcat Rocks, 3 miles
• Saturday: South Laurel Fork Road back to Doughton Park Campground, 11 miles
• Sunday: Campground to Devil’s Garden Overlook, where the MST leaves the mountains for the piedmont, 5.6 miles

Mount Pisgah/Graveyard Fields

July 22-24

Total distance: 22.8 miles

Basecamp: Mount Pisgah Campground on the BRP

Why here? The hiking is above 5,000 feet, making it a cool respite from the summer heat. But that’s just a part of this section’s allure. We start in the eerily enchanting Graveyard Fields, where intense wildfires a century ago burned so hot that everything eight inches into the topsoil was incinerated. It’s taken years for anything to grow back, and today the area is populated by low-growing foliage. We follow Yellowstone Prong east, past several waterfalls and through mature hardwood forest. Views to the north and south and passage above Pink Beds, a rare mountain swamp.

The hikes: 

• Friday evening: Mount Pisgah, 4.5 miles
• Saturday: Graveyard Fields to Mount Pisgah Campground, 13 miles, with a 7-mile option
• Sunday: Mount Pisgah Campground to Big Ridge Overlook, 5.3 miles

Price Lake/Grandfather Mountain/Moses Cone Park

September 9-11

Total distance: 20 miles

Basecamp: Julian Price Campground on the BRP

Why here? Saturday’s hike starts by passing under the Linn Cove Viaduct, a highway engineering marvel that took 20 years to get just right. From there, it’s a non-stop run of rugged beauty, from the boulder passages at the base of Grandfather Mountain to the rock outcrop of Rough Ridge to the quiet mature woods that give way to small mountain meadows and finally, a rollicking finish along Boone Fork. There’s a sunset walk Friday around Price Lake, with Grandfather Mountain looming in the distance, and a finish on Sunday on the groomed carriage trails at Moses Cone Park.

The hikes: 

• Friday evening: Price Lake Loop, 3 miles
• Saturday: Linn Cove Visitor Center east to Price Park, 10.6 miles
• Sunday: Price Lake to Moses Cone Park (or vice versa)

* * *

Learn more

Find our more about our GetHiking! Weekend Summer Escape series on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and register to join us by clicking the following links:

• Doughton Park, June 9-11, go here
• Mount Pisgah, July 22-24, go here
• Price Lake, Sept. 9-11, go here

Learn more about the statewide Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which runs 1,175 miles from Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee Line to Jockey’s Ridge at the coast, by visiting the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail website here.

The post Spend this summer on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I reserve Wednesday mornings for scouting; I’ll elaborate shortly, in a post from 2018. As a lead-in, I’ll highlight one of the reasons I scout trail, the reason I was out this morning on the Hanging Rock Trail at Hollow Rock Nature Park in Durham, then on trail in an adjoining section of Duke Forest.  

Sunday, we have a hike scheduled on about 5 miles of trail originating in Hollow Rock. Since I hadn’t hiked the trail in a couple years, I needed to check it out before leading a group — two, actually. Specifically, I was out to make sure …

1. … the route was open. Trails can close for a variety of reasons, especially in Duke Forest, a research forest consisting of more than 7,000 acres in three counties. Sensitive project underway? Trail closed. The forest also closes for wildlife thinning (usually weekdays in the fall) from time to time. Finding: the route was open.
2. … there was no downfall or other obstructions making passage difficult. A trail could have recent storm damage and still be open. However, it might take some gymnastic maneuvering to get through. Finding: no storm-related obstacles.
3. … the trail wasn’t flooded or mucky. The trail spends most of its time along New Hope Creek, in a floodplain. Though it hasn’t been rainy of late, it still needed checking out. Finding: a damp spot or two, but mostly dry.
4. … the one creek crossing was passable. There’s a feeder creek a mile and a half in that typically has water. In summer, there’s a crossing a hundred yards upstream that’s dry enough to cross. This time of year, it’s iffy. Finding: the crossing was iffy, but that proved irrelevant because the trail flunked test No. 5 —
5. … the trail was as I remembered it. Parts of it were, but somehow I’d blocked out the not long, but frequent rocky stretches that were surprisingly technical — and in one instance steep. In this particular hike series, folks are looking for a nice, 5-mile-or-so ramble in which they can chat and enjoy the scenery, not one that demands their constant attention. Finding: Find another hike.

Which I did, one more in keeping with the spirit of this group. 

That’s the story from this morning’s scouting trip. Now, on to a look at scouting in general, taken from a post originally appearing Dec. 6, 2018.

* * *

Today is a scouting day. Of my many tasks as a hiking guide, scouting the trail in advance is among my favorite. If I’m leading on a trail I haven’t hiked in a year or longer, I go out beforehand and hike it. I like to make sure the trail is passable, that a hurricane hasn’t laid a stand of trees across the trail, that recent rain hasn’t turned a key crossing into a Class III rapid, that—in the case of a National Forest—the trail hasn’t been closed for logging or another form of resource development. As a guide, I don’t like surprises when trying to get hikers from Point A to Point B safely.

For hikes we do in state parks, nature conservancies, municipal parks, the element of surprise is low, even before a scouting trip. Most land managers post trail disruptions on their websites. Even the USDA Forest Service posts advisories on its more heavily traveled trails. Additional pre-hike insight comes from websites such as alltrails.com and hikingupward,com, where hikers sometimes leave comments on recent trail conditions. 

It’s a different story, though, when you’re hiking the trails less traveled, and the trails that don’t exist at all.

Scouting off trail

Trails that aren’t officially trail are what we’re focusing on in a series of Winter Wild hikes. They may start on established trails, but they won’t stay there for long. For the most part, we’ll stick to game trails and long-abandoned wagon tracks to explore the hidden human history and natural gems of the state parks and national forests. Scouting these trails is especially critical to a safe and successful hike. 

The scouting trip I’m on today is at the coast. I first became aware of the Weetock Trail in early 2006 while researching “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina” (2007, Mountaineers). Coastal trails being at a premium, I was eager to include what, at 11 miles in length, was the second longest trail at the coast. However, I was unable to find the trailhead, which was somewhere off N.C. 58 between Maysville and Cedar Point. If I couldn’t even find the trailhead, it wasn’t a good candidate for a trail guide aimed at a general hiking audience.

A few years later, armed with directions, I did find the trailhead (which now had a marker) and had little trouble finding and keeping the trail for the first six miles or so. I passed the gravel road to Haywood Landing after about three and a half miles, as promised. A little while later, I bumped up against the White Oak River, which my map suggested would happen. And I’m pretty sure I had passed the unmarked road leading to Long Point Landing, about six and a half miles in. 

There was trail, then there wasn’t

Then, I emerged from the edge of a pine forest into a long-abandoned farm field, now a sea of unfettered wild grass standing three feet high that gave no clue as to where the Weetock continued. On the far side of the field, where the forest resumed, were several promising openings where the trail might resume. Eventually, I discovered a trail: unmarked, I could only guess that it was the Weetock and not a game trail, not a hunter’s trail. Whether it was or not is hard to say. The forest/field/forest scenario repeated, and this time the existence of a trail was less certain. But I continued, assured by my compass that I was at least headed in the right direction. 

I hoped that I would stumble across an obvious trail. I never did. Sunlight was becoming an issue, and I was relieved, with dusk settling in, when the woods spit me out on a gravel forest access road. I checked its direction with my compass — northeast — and based on the fact this was only the third access road I had passed, I was pretty sure this road would take me straight back to NC 58 not far from the trailhead.

The next day, I went to find the southern trailhead, with the idea of hiking in the opposite direction and discovering familiar terrain to discover where I had strayed. Alas, I couldn’t find the southern trailhead, or anything resembling a trailhead. No roadside pullout, much less a “Welcome to the Weetock” trail sign.

So today, I try again. I’ve got two paper maps (including the alltrails.com map pictured above). I’ve got updated software on my Garmin GPS and I’ve got Google maps on my iPhone (which has more than once aided my escape from a backwoods wander gone awry). 

* * *

GetHiking! Spring Sunday Series

In the next couple of days we’ll be ramping up our scouting for our Spring Sunday Hike Series, 10 Sunday hikes on different trails with the added benefit of watching spring unfold. Each hike is about 5 miles. Learn more about our Spring hike series and register to join us, here:

• GetHiking! Spring 2022 Sunday Afternoon Hike Series (couples/family), go here.
• GetHiking! Spring 2022 Sunday Afternoon Hike Series (single hiker), go here.
• GetHiking! Spring 2022 Sunday Morning Hike Series (couples/family), go here.
• GetHiking! Spring 2022 Sunday Morning Hike Series (single hiker), go here.

The post Failing a scouting test appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

North Carolina has, on average, 28 clear days every winter; only seven states see more cloudless days, according to data compiled from two climate agencies. Virginia averages 25 clear days. In short, you could live in much worse places to avoid feeling SAD

SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, is a type of depression that can set in when the days are short and the sun sets early in the day. Once this mood-altering disorder takes hold, according to the Mayo Clinic, it can be hard to shake; it’s best to fight it off before it has a chance to make itself at home, leaving you hibernating in a stupor of despair.

One way to combat SAD, says the Mayo Clinic, is to go outside and move—the more regularly, the better. Even when it’s cold, a brisk walk in outdoor light can help. Another way to lift your mood is to be with other people; socializing with a dose of laughter helps you connect with others, an opportunity in short supply these days. Hiking regularly also can reduce levels of stress, which can contribute to SAD symptoms. According to psychiatry.org, 5 percent of Americans experience SAD, with the most severe bouts occurring in January and February.

Frankly, all of us could stand to reduce our stress levels. So, even if SAD doesn’t get you down, brisk movement and being with others is a great way to keep stress at bay by releasing endorphins and elevating mood.

So while the benefits of being out in the sun are beneficial year round, they are even more so in the short days of winter. But because of the cold, you sometimes need a little extra motivation to drag yourself outside and make it happen. And the best motivation? you ask. 

Hike with a group. 

It’s one time when peer pressure is a good thing. You wake up, you see it’s 28 degrees, you pull the covers back over your head and reach blindly for the snooze button. But then you remember the group waiting for you at the trailhead. You remember that Sue was supposed to hear about that promotion this week, that Jack was on the verge of adopting a shelter dog, that last week when Elliot failed to show he was the topic of discussion. You also remember that, once you’re 5 minutes down the trail and starting to warm up, you really love hiking this time of year. 

The obvious current caveat about hiking in a group: while being outdoors is still considered safe, you want to make doubly sure the group you’re hiking with is safe. With any group you join, be it a hiking-related Meetup or a group from work, find out what their policy is and see if it’s one you’re comfortable with.

It may take a hike or two to find the group that’s right for you. That’s fine. Because once you do find a group that works, you’ll find yourself spending a lot more time on the trail at a time of year when it will do you the most good.

* * *

Group options

Join a Meetup. Just about every community or region has a Meetup group that hikes. Just go to Meetup.com, and in the search bar type “hiking” into the keyword search box and the town where you live (you’ll have the option of calling up groups up to 100 miles away). Some groups are private and you may need to apply for admission.

Explore with Us! Our GetHiking! program has four winter hike series to keep you on the trail. Click the appropriate link for details:

• GetHiking! Winter 2022 Sunday Afternoon Hike Series. 10 weekly hikes beginning at 1 p.m., each on different trails throughout the Triangle. Jan. 9 – March 13. Learn more and sign up: Click the appropriate link: 10 a.m. Single; 10 a.m. Family; 1 p.m. Single; 1 p.m. Family.
• GetHiking! 2022 Tuesday Night Hike Series. 10 weekly Tuesday night hikes, beginning at 6:30 p.m. and finishing around 8 p.m. Each hike is about 3 miles. Learn more and register by going here for a single hiker, here for a couple/family.
• GetHiking! Winter 2022 Series for the Aspiring Hiker. Instruction and guide-led hikes 10 Sunday afternoons from Feb. 6 – April 10. Hikes start at 2 miles and increase to 5 miles. Learn more and sign up here.
• GetHiking! Winter Wild. An off-trail adventure every month, typically from 5-7 miles in length. Learn more and sign up here.

The post Better cold than SAD appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

They are. But they’re also for all kinds of exploring, including hiking. And that’s from someone who would like to see more folks hiking the state’s game lands: Brian McRae, Division Chief for Land and Water Access for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

McRae is quick to note that hiking North Carolina’s 530,000 acres of game lands — about the size of either the Pisgah National Forest or Nantahala National Forest — may not be for everyone. 

“We don’t have restrooms, we don’t have picnic areas, we don’t have visitor centers or onsite staff,” says McRae. “We just offer a very different and unique experience.” 

For starters, most of the “trails” are dirt roads used by hunters to gain access. Some of those roads are accessible to vehicles, more are open only to foot travel.

Another key component of exploring game lands is figuring out when hunting is allowed.

“What I typically tell folks,” says McRae, “is that September 1 through February, then again April 1 through the middle of May, if you’re on a game land you should expect to interact with, and see hunters out there. Definitely wear blaze orange during that time.” You can drill down and get more specific info on specific game lands on the WRC website. 

McRae says the WRC is working on more hiker-friendly maps for their properties. Until then, your best bets are one of two apps: onX, a hunting-specific map, and Avenza, a trail app that allows users with GPS-equipped mobile devices to track their location. 

You can learn more about hiking North Carolina’s game lands, including some recommended locations, in an interview we did with McRae for the GetHiking! Southeast podcast; find it here. 

Curious about exploring game lands but reluctant to explore them on your own? Our GetHiking! Winter Wild program visits one such game land, the R. Wayne Bailey-Caswell Game Land, this Saturday. See “An Intro to Game Lands,” below.

Two other options for this weekend:

• Winter Wildlife, Saturday, Jan. 8, 3 p.m., Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle. Even if you’ve done this program before at Pilot Mountain, it’s likely to have a different focus this time around. The wildfire that burned 1,050 acres a month ago has transformed the mountain — and the wildlife that lives there. Learn more about the fire’s impact on this hike. More info here.
• Night Sky Observing Session, Saturday, Jan. 8, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., Haw River State Park, Greensboro. The forecast couldn’t be much better for this viewing of the night sky: cold, low humidity, cloudless skies. Join the Greensboro Astronomy Club and their telescopes to check out the heavens in this 3-hour program. Learn more here.

Weatherwise, Saturday (cold and dry) looks better than Sunday (warmer but wet), for getting out. Plan accordingly.

* * *

An Introduction to N.C. Game Lands

Saturday, our monthly GetHiking! Winter Wild program hike takes us to the Caswell game lands near Yanceyville for about 7 miles of exploring on trail and on old roadbeds. It’s a surprisingly diverse parcel of this 18,000-acre tract near the Virginia border, including an old farm pond, a mountain-like creek and a little more elevation than you might expect. There is a $45 fee for this hike, which includes a guide for the property, including a map and detailed description of our route. Enter the code WinterWildCaswell at checkout for the $45 fee. Learn more and register for the hike here.

Learn more about game lands

Learn more about exploring North Carolina’s game lands in our GetHiking! Southeast Podcast interview with Brian McRae, Division Chief for Land and Water Access for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Give a listen here.

The post GetOut! Game for a ‘Wild’ adventure? appeared first on GetGoing NC!.