In December, a fire burned 1,050 acres at Pilot Mountain State Park. The Grindstone Fire was caused by a campfire run amok. While it caused no damage to structures, it singed a good deal of the 3,700-acre park north of Winston-Salem. And while the “damage” to the natural world may have looked significant, that’s not necessarily the case. Periodic wildfires are important to the health of any forest, which is the topic of Growth After Fire, an hour-long program at Pilot Mountain State Park Saturday at 2 p.m. “Join a park ranger to discuss fire’s effects on plant and tree growth after a fire,” according to the N.C. State Parks website. Learn more here. (Can’t make Saturday’s session? It will be repeated Sunday at 2 p.m.)
Tag Archives: Lake James
GetOut! A moving target of a weekend
About the only thing weather types know for sure about the coming weekend is that Sunday will be a wintry mess. Just how that mess will present itself is unclear: snow, sleet, rain, freezing rain, ice, freezing icy rain, all of the above? Don’t know. But something wintry this way comes.
GetOut! A millpond by night, ‘The Hike,’ meteors and more
We love hiking at night. We started doing it about eight years ago in winter when we noticed hikers missed their midweek trail fix. The hikes proved so popular that we now offer night hikes year round.
So with our predilection for post-sunset saunters, we were pleased to see that as part of Merchants Millpond State Park’s Holiday Decorations program with Gates County Community Events, the park will also be closing later, at 8 p.m. as opposed to 6 p.m., both this Friday and Saturday and next (Dec. 10, 11, 17 and 18). That means you can come and check out the holiday decorations, then enjoy about three hours of nocturnal navigation.
GetOut! It won’t be blazing hot forever!
It has been warm of late. Hot, even. And humid. Boy, has it been humid. But there’s nothing like working up a good sweat, is there? Even if you’re just dashing to your car to go to the store.
Well savor it while you can, people, because it won’t be summer forever! The fall equinox is just 40 days off, and Labor Day, the emotional start of fall, is just 24 days away. So take advantage of the heat while you can. This weekend, for instance:
Your weekend: Water and dark — the keys to beating the heat
The heat, as Glenn Frey once declared, is on. Temperatures this weekend could hit triple digits, meaning one of two things for the outdoor inclined: play on the water or play during the cool of the night.
Coast
Forecast high Sunday for Spring Lake in the coastal plain: 101. Lordy!