On Saturday’s final hike of our 2018-2019 Winter Wild hike series, we decided to add an extra mile or so. It was a mile of trail I hadn’t hiked.
This past weekend I hiked 4.8 miles on three trails with a combined elevation gain of nearly 4,000 vertical feet. That’s an average grade of about 14 percent.
On Saturday’s final hike of our 2018-2019 Winter Wild hike series, we decided to add an extra mile or so. It was a mile of trail I hadn’t hiked.
As we made our way up the north bank of New Hope Creek, I could hear the gradient increasing upstream, the sound of water cascading over rock a bit more intense than we’re used to hearing in the Piedmont. As the noise grew, some mild scrambling was required; we shinnied up a rock outcrop overlooking the creek and emerged on a slab 30 feet above the water.
We have a season-appropriate forecast for the weekend: partly sunny with temperatures in the upper 50s! Perfect for getting out and exploring. Perfect for:
Spring Hike, Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, Seven Springs, Saturday, 1 p.m. Spring comes even sooner on the coastal plain, so expect an extra-special treat on this 1-mile hike through a longleaf pine forest. The trail is flat, suitable for a range of hiking abilities. Learn more and sign up here.
Even if you’re a dedicated couch surfer, that springlike weather we had last week, when the temperature reached 80 in some spots, got you thinking, didn’t it? Maybe the outdoors isn’t such a bad place. Maybe I should plan to spend more time outside.
As always, you can find more opportunities this weekend here:
Here are highlights of what GetHiking! and GetBackpacking! are up to this weekend:
=&6=&, Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m., Great Outdoor Provision Co., Raleigh. Join our GetBackpacking! braintrust for an all-encompassing discussion of all things backpacking, from how to get started to how to drop a pound or two. Learn more and sign up here.
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