Today, an evergreen post we like to run near the official start of summer (June 21, or next Wednesday): Our 10 favorite mountain watering holes, places where you are guaranteed to escape the death-grip of summer’s 90/90 (heat/humidity) doldrums. Some are just off the road, some you have to work for. All are worth a visit. Links for more information follow.
Tag Archives: Hiking
Don’t let summer’s heat keep you off the trail
This weekend, seasonal temperatures finally arrive, and it appears they will will stick around at least through midweek. As the days heat up, you might be tempted to cool it on your hiking habit. But, actually, you can hike all summer long — the secret lies in the when and where. Here are a few tips from a piece we run the beginning of most summers to keep you on the trail .
A Weekend Trail Festival for the Great Dismal and Elizabeth City
You likely can tick off all the great adventures you’ve had at the coast, in the Piedmont, in the mountains. But what about in the far northeast corner of the state, where perhaps the state’s most unique adventure challenge awaits — the Great Dismal Swamp.
Trail etiquette: Hike nice
We head into the wayback machine again to revisit the timely topic of trail etiquette. The following first appeared here on March 19, 2010, and has appeared occasionally since. It reappears today, with minor revisions.
A few years back, I was running the bike and bridle trail at Umstead when I came upon a sizable obstacle: a phalanx of hikers bearing backpacks spanned the width of the trail, spilling over onto the shoulders. The trail is quiet generous, a converted fire road that should be capable of handling boatloads of trail users without conflict. Provided those trail users are cognizant of other trail users. Which brings us to today’s topic:
Get in Shape for Summer Hiking
Every few years we rerun this post at the start of the spring/summer hiking season because of its relevance. Face it, you may consider yourself a year-round hiker, but that may only mean you hike once or twice a month in the winter months. And that’s not enough to sustain you through those upcoming epic hikes you have planned for summer.