The trail was engulfed in a a tunnel of color and in the course of two days I went from fearing that the fall foliage display had passed us by to believing this was the best fall color show ever.
Going into last weekend I was convinced that fall color in the Piedmont would be at its peak. The week before had seen sunny, dry days and overnight lows had dropped into the 30s: the perfect combo, say the folks who follow the lives and deaths of leafs, for great color. Yet on a long Sunday afternoon hike at Umstead State Park, there was precious little color to be oogled.
Wednesday morning, though, driving to RDU we finally did notice that change, in the hardwoods lining I-40. On a Thursday afternoon run on Umstead’s Company Mill Trail, the change was remarkable. Early this morning, on Umstead’s Loblolly Trail, I was suddenly embraced by the raspberry reds of the dogwoods, the lemony yellows of the hickories and the orangey oranges of the smattering of spectacular sugar maples. It was the Trix triple play of fall color. (Check out our short slideshow, shot this morning on the Loblolly and Old Reedy Creek trails.)
It’s finally happening, folks. Fall color is peaking in the Piedmont, and you best not wait to enjoy it.
According to the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development’s Piedmont Fall Foliage report, Haw River State Park and Falls Lake State Recreation Area are likewise reporting peak color. Officially, Umstead reports that, “The next two weekends should be excellent times to visit the park.” Based on what we saw, it’s hard to imagine this level of brilliance will stick around that long. If you love fall color and you live in the Piedmont, we suggest you not delay — get out this weekend.
For direction, we refer you to this rundown of 35 Piedmont hiking trails we produced in conjunction with our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Co. http://greatoutdoorprovision.com
Pick a trail. Get your camera. Have a colorful weekend.read more
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.read more
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
Today’s 90-Second Escape: Fall color — looking ahead by looking back.read more
Rod gives his followers a rare (and short) break on a hike at Umstead State Park.
“Uh!” Kathy groaned about three quarters of the way up the grinding march up to Moore’s Knob at Hanging Rock State Park. “I wish I’d started doing this when I was younger.”
“Better late than never,” her sister Judy offered.
“Yeah,” I added, “and hiking is something you can do for another 40 years.”
Kathy looked at me like I was nuts. “I’ll be 60 this fall!”
OK, maybe another 20 years. The point, as sis so eloquently put it, it’s never too late to start an activity, especially when that activity is health-friendly hiking.
According to a 2005 report (the most recent year for which I could find demographic information for free), the average age of a hiker was 38 and nearly a third of the nation’s 76.7 million hikers were 45 or older. That’s about 25 million hikers — 25 million smart hikers, considering a 2009 study found that the decline in our level of fitness begins to accelerate after age 45. Because of the constant impact of hiking, it’s especially helpful for women trying to stave off osteoporosis. The additional health benefits of hiking are numerous: hiking regularly can lower your blood pressure by four to 10 points, reduce your chances for cardio vascular disease, reduce your odds of getting diabetes, help you keep weight off, lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels and, perhaps most importantly, clear your head and help you maintain your sanity.
And it doesn’t discriminate on the basis of age.
Take Emma “Grandma” Gatewood. In 1955, at the age of 67, she hiked the entire 2,180-mile Appalachian Trail. That was the first time she hiked the AT; she did it again in 1960 at age 72, and again, when she was 75, in 1963. Lee Barry became the oldest person to thru-hike the AT when he completed the trail in 2004 at age 81. The oldest AT section hiker was 86 when he finished wrapped up the trail.
Closer to home, Triangle hikers have been trying to keep pace with Rod Broadbelt since he started his monthly hikes, mostly at Umstead State Park, in the 1990s. Rod goes anywhere from 8 miles (in the dead of summer) to 22 miles (in the briskness of February) on his hikes, which often leave much younger hikers gasping for breath. On a hike last year he said his goal was to continue leading the hikes after he turns 80. He was 78 at the time.
And lest you be an older hiker and think you don’t have the knees for hiking, we have two words of advice: hiking poles. For just as full-suspension bikes have extended the riding lives of many an older mountain biker, and the over-sized tennis racket meant more control and less darting about the court for aging tennis players, so have hiking poles made it possible for the weak-kneed to keep on hiking. Plus, with poles, not only do you still get a good cardio workout, but your upper body gets to share the toning benefits of a hike.
We can’t blame Kathy for wishing she’d started hiking sooner; think of all the great places she’s missed seeing. But then, think of all the great places she’ll visit in the next 20 years.
Or 40.read more
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.read more
