The Great Dismal is one of the few spots in the country so wild it has refused development. It flummoxed George Washington’s earliest surveying efforts, it was so wild and impenetrable that it provided safe haven for enslaved African-Americans escaping the south and Native Americans driven from their homeland by invading Europeans. In fact, evidence suggests that humans have been seeking shelter in the Great Dismal for 13,000 years. Thought to once cover a million acres, about half that is now protected.

And it’s the focus of the fifth Year of the Trail Weekend Trail Days Festivals being sponsored by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and its Hometown Strong initiative. The festival begins with a ranger-led hike at Great Dismal State Park at 2:30 the afternoon of Friday, June 2 and concludes with a paddle on the blackwater Sawyer’s Creek the morning of Sunday, June 4. In between you’ll find bike rides into the Great Dismal, paddling in a cypress swamp and a hike during the magical gloaming.

Here’s a look at what all is planned, along with links for additional information and to sign up.

The post A Weekend Trail Festival for the Great Dismal and Elizabeth City appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Sunday, we expanded our horizons for safe-distance recreation: we took a paddle trip. 

We’ve been walking, walking, walking our neighborhood for the past little bit (check out our Morning Walk with Joe on Facebook Live every morning at 7:30). But Sunday, the weather was grand — sunny, with temperatures in the mid-80s — and it seemed that time on the water would be restorative. And a safe and responsible way to get out.

It was, and it was.

Some of the most peaceful times I’ve known have been on the water. You’re paddling a lake on a summer’s day, you pull up in a shaded cove, put the paddle down, flop your legs up onto the boat deck, close your eyes. A light breeze, the water gently lapping your bow, that feeling of warmth that flirts with but doesn’t achieve sweaty heat. Your mind drifts in a variety of directions, none of them, in my experience, disturbing. It’s one of nature’s best avenues of escape. 

It was safe and responsible as well. We put in at the Eno River boat access off Red Mill Road in Durham. We love this spot because you can paddle upstream or down. Paddle downstream and shortly you meet the Flat River on your north and the confused beginnings of Falls Lake. Though the lake appears well defined on a map, it’s actually a morass of small islands intertwined with tight passages through choking vegetation giving way to small pocket lakes. Scenic, but remember to take a map and compass (or have Google Maps at the ready).

Upstream is how I usually go. Up the Eno, under Red Mill Road, past a couple of collecting points, to the Little River and it’s journey from the north, to Old Oxford Highway and Penny’s Bend, where progress is typically thwarted by the first of several rock gardens that mark Eno’s transition from backed up flatwater to spritely and mischievous creek. We paddled just past Red Mill Road, hung out in an eddy for a while, then slowly let the current helps us back to the boat ramp. It was just the relief we needed.

The boat ramp, both putting in and taking out, was busy with a mix of paddlers and folks fishing from power boats. It was also one of the most socially distanced places I’ve recreated during the pandemic. People were patient about not overcrowding the boat ramp, either to put in or take out. People were also good not to dillydally at the ramp: do your business, move on. And why lose patience, anyway? We were all just glad to be out in a world familiar to us that hadn’t changed. A world we hope remains open.

Where to, how to

A few quick things if you’re interested in getting out on the water during this time of Social Distancing.

NC Wildlife Resource Commission boat ramps. So far, the only COVID-19-related closures have been to restroom facilities; the boat ramps remain open (unless they’d been closed for unrelated reasons). Find the location of the WRC’s more than 200 boat access points here. You can also find a list of accesses closed for other reasons at this same site.

N.C. State Parks. It takes a little more digging to find out what boat access points remain open. As of Sunday, March 29, 25 state parks had completely closed. Some parks, with boat access, remain open. Merchants Millpond, for instance, still appears to allow access to the 760-acre millpond. You’ll need your own boat, though: the canoe rentals are closed. Jordan Lake in the Triangle area has four boat access areas open: Ebenezer Church, Seaforth, New Hope and Robeson Creek. Check the NC Parks website, here, for the latest.

Municipal and county access. Again, it’s a mixed bag. Parks across the state have been required to close their main facilities: rec centers, restrooms, pools, boat houses. In some cases (Durham, for instance), they’ve also closed boat access points. In others, there’s still access, but with modifications. In High Point, for instance, you can still put in your own boat on Oak Hollow Lake and High Point City Lake, with the launch fee paid over the phone. Again, call to check the status of your local launch before heading out.

Practice socially responsible boating. The folks at paddling.com have come up with their guidelines for safe paddling in the age of Social Distancing. Check ‘em out here. And for more on the benefits of paddling, check out this article from Paddling Magazine.

Need a boat?

Unfortunately, if being on the water sounds good but you don’t have a boat, well, that’s a challenge right now. Usually around this time you start to see boat rentals popping up, at lakes and through outfitters. That’s not happening. Your options for buying a boat are also limited. One option: a big box that sells groceries — and that also sells other stuff, like recreational gear. Your choices will be limited — to one, likely — but it will likely be an entry-level boat. Our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Co. can also help you out. They stock an array of kayaks, from fishing kayaks to sit-on-tops to the kind of recreational kayak you’re likely looking for. Learn more about their recreational kayaks here, their canoes and kayaks in general here. And while they are currently closed, they will have gear available on their online store starting Friday. Look for news on their web site here.

The post Social Distancing on the water appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Last weekend, we hiked more of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake and saw our first mountain laurel bloom of the season — a lone bloom, but an impressively full and vibrant (if white can be vibrant) bloom about midway between the Shinleaf Recreation Area and NC 98. We also spent a little time exploring all the Eno River in Orange County and planning a trip next weekend to the Curtis Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest. It was a busy weekend on the trail.

We mentioned last week that we also saw our first traces of poison ivy. Traces? Tracts is more like it, ominously sneaking right up to the trail as if it intend to grab us by the ankle and wreak itchy havoc. That prompted us to put together an advisory on how to avoid poison ivy as well as ticks and mosquitoes as we head into our first 90-degree weekend of the summer. 90! Woo hoo.

With the temperature and Mom (Sunday’s Mother’s Day, remember) in mind, we bring you our three picks for adventure this weekend. Get Out and enjoy!

Saturday, May 12, noon. Wildflowers, Mount Mitchell State Park. When the temperature is 90 in the Piedmont wouldn’t you rather check out the evolving statewide wildflower bloom in a place where it may not even get out of the 60s? Grab your layers and follow a ranger on this 1-hour search for the wildflowers abloom above 6,000 feet. Learn more and sign up here.

Sunday, May 13, 8 p.m. Night Hike, Carvers Creek State Park, Spring Lake. You can go high (Mount Mitchell) to escape the heat, or you can wait until sundown and tag along with a ranger on a night hike! On this night, the plan is to hike, with flashlight or headlamp in hand (or on head), down to the millpond in search of “different types of birds, reptiles and amphibians, and any other crepuscular dweller.” Learn more and sign up here.

Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13, Paddle the Haw River, Saxapahaw. On both Saturday and Sunday, our friends at Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. will be running trips on the damed stretch of the Haw River above Saxapahaw. Shuttled trips from Swepsonville River Park to Saxapahaw Lake (just under 5 miles of Class A flat water) run at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Or, put in near the dam and paddle upstream against an ever-so-subtle current at your leisure. For more information and to sign up, go here.

In addition:

• Several hikes are on tap this weekend with Hike NC, the BlueCross Blue Shield of North Carolina hiking program. Check out those mostly beginner-oriented hikes at gohikenc.com. 
• North Carolina State Parks have a variety of adventures planned for the weekend. Check those options here.
• Our GetHiking! program has hikes planned, including a a hike in Panthertown Valley. Learn more and sign up here.
• You can also find more adventures right here, at GetGoingNC.com.

The post Get Out! Your Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Years ago, I was in the market for a mountain bike. I went to the old Spin Cycle in Cary, picked out a bike, asked if I could take it for a test ride. Sure, they said. Plenty of residential streets behind the store: knock yourself out.
Trouble was, it was a mountain bike; riding it on asphalt wouldn’t give me much of a feel for how it handled rocky, rooty trail. Fortunately, I knew of some of the later weaving between the former. I returned a half hour later with a dirt covered bike — which I wound up buying.
The point: for a big-ticket item that’s performance-based, buying it sight-untested is silly. Yet we do it all the time with our outdoor gear. With kayaks, for instance.
The good news?
With a boat, that needn’t necessarily be the case. Great Outdoor Provision Co. sponsors boat demo days in its main markets in North Carolina and Virginia where you’re welcome to come and compare and contrast a variety of boats.
Intrigued? Learn more about demoing a kayak at this blog we wrote in partnership with Great Outdoor Provision.

The post Shopping for a kayak or canoe? Take a test paddle, first appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: Green River Narrows

As we wrap up our first year of exploring North Carolina’s Classic Hikes, our thoughts turned to other iconic adventure spots in the state. That took us back to 2012, when we tagged along on a hike out of Asheville to the Green River gorge. The hike itself was great; the cherry on top was watching some elite kayakers tackle some of the gnarliest whitewater in the East, a series of rapids through the gorge, including the Class V Gorilla.

Here’s a flashback to that day and a reminder of North Carolina’s impressive adventure resume.

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The post 90 Second Escape: Green River Narrows appeared first on GetGoing NC!.