A little over a month ago we waxed over our upcoming Winter Wild series of monthly hikes. We won’t wax again; you can read that account here.
But we can’t help but mention one more time, here on the cusp of the 2021-22 Winter Wild season, how much we love exploring off trail when the temperatures and the leaves drop. With more freedom to roam, without being as tied to a trail, winter offers a more true sense of adventure. And so we make the most of it.
Just as a retailer’s thoughts turn to Christmas once Halloween has passed, our thoughts turn to the coast once the fall color starts to fade here in the Piedmont. While I love a summer’s day at the beach, the coast — and coastal plain — are at their most alluring in late fall and winter. A week at a vacation beach house is swell over the summer, but a week at the coast in winter leaves memories that aren’t soon forgotten.
Maybe, in the course of human kind, there’s been a better time to be out in the wild. But we can’t imagine how or when.
In case you missed the weekend, here’s a look at how ours went: specifically, our Sunday GetHiking! hike at Medoc Mountain State Park. And when you’re done kicking yourself for not taking advantage of this incredible, vow not to let it happen again. In fact, vow to not let it happen despite the fact we are heading into the busy holiday season. Because really, there’s no reason not to get out, especially since we’ve put together a holiday hiking package that includes 16 hikes in November and December on various days (and nights of the week): Sunday afternoon, Tuesday night, Friday morning — even a couple of Wednesdays at the end of December. You’ve got a free minute? We’ve likely got a hike planned.
The following originally ran in November 2012. We rerun it today, with some tweaks, because its message is timeless come November. Here’s why.
Come November, we’re usually in fighting’ shape. A lot of folks start hiking again, in earnest, come September; by early November we’re hiking farther, we’re spending more time on the trail. Then come the holidays.
The salad days of fall continue this weekend, days so perfect with sun, dry skies and 70-degree temperatures that we can’t help but suggest, lettuce be outdoors. To that end, some thoughts.
Fall Wonder Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Morrow Mountain State Park, Albemarle. Fall color is the focus of this 1-hour hike on the 0.8-mile Mountain Loop Trail at the Scenic Vista, Morrow’s window to the Uwharrie Mountains and Piedmont below. Catch the beginning of the fall Piedmont leaf-peep show. Learn more here.
