This weekend recognizes two fundamentals of outdoor recreation: One, when it’s hot out, water is an essential element of any activity. And two, sometimes you just can’t wait until the weekend to have some weekend fun.
Coast
Guided canoe trips are great. Sometimes, though, they can be a little staid: Now if we all raft up and be still, we might see the alligator gar surface to feed. Usually doesn’t take more than a half hour, again, provided no one moves or speaks … .”
Need another triathlon before the season ends? We’ve got one? Another century ride? Got one of those, too, in the mountains, no less. And if you’re just into a good time with food, music and water, water everywhere, we’ve got that covered as well.
When I first started writing about fitness and the outdoors back in the early 1990s, there were a handful of ways you could welcome the New Year in most communities. There was usually a 5K run, a bike shop sponsored a casual ride, canoe clubs held members-only paddles, there was a hike or two, and some oddball group was jumping into a local lake (and jumping right back out again). You had options for welcoming the new year, but not a lot.
This late summer weekend the great hiking is at the coast and the paddle festival is in the mountains. Crazy, eh?
Coast
Think fall hiking and you typically think of the coast. But Saturday at 10:30 one of the weekend’s best guided hikes will be at the Rachel Carson Reserve. Sponsored by the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort, the hike is a rare opportunity to learn about life on this barrier island.
North Carolina’s diversity shows this weekend. At the coast, you can look for signs of spring, in the Piedmont you can run a venerable 5K and in the mountains, you can take a hike — possibly in the snow!
Coast
This is about the time the natural world starts to awaken from its cold winter nap — or as much of a nap as you can work in with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Most people assume that wildflowers such as the hepatica and trout lily represent the vanguard of spring, showing, typically, at the beginning of March. But knowing that spring is on the way is really a matter of knowing where to look. Under a log, for instance, which is where they’ll be looking for harbingers of spring on Saturday at Dismal Swamp State Park. Take a hike, find a log, flip it and see what scurries about. (Salamanders, millipedes and assorted insects will be your likely subjects.)