Though conditions haven’t been ideal for spotting early fall color — warm, sunny, dry days followed by cool nights — we are beginning to see some change. Last weekend, we saw sourwoods and dogwoods aflame at South Mountains State Park (a popular and close destination for Charlotte hikers), and even this week we’ve seen those first responders of fall start to light up the woods along the Eno River in Durham and Orange counties. With fall color in mind, we offer our thoughts on the weekend. 

Fall Foliage Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Stone Mountain State Park, Roaring Gap. Located at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, Stone Mountain does seem a likely place to catch early fall color. On this ranger-led hike you’ll explore some of the best places to find that color, and you’ll also be able to learn about the trees in question and what causes the change. Learn more here.

In the Pines Guided Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Gorges State Park, Sapphire. While the focus of this hike is pine trees, there’s a good chance you’ll see some early fall color in this rugged and diverse park, which contains 21 of the 44 natural community types found in the mountains of North Carolina. Learn more here.

Swoop In: Fall Hawk Watch, Sunday, noon to 3 p.m., Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head. You won’t see fall color at the coast, but you will experience another fall phenomenon: the fall hawk migration. Hang out on the dunes, learn about hawks and their fall migration, and participate in the international hawk count project. Learn more here.

If you’re planning to find color on your own, a reminder that last week in this space we wrote about the best ways to find fall color is currently busting out. Find that blog, with numerous resources, here.

Our last thought: this won’t help you find fall color but it could help you find something even more valuable: your way out of the woods. Saturday at 9 a.m., we’re holding our monthly GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods clinic, at Umstead State Park in Raleigh. We spend a half hour going over map and compass skills, then head down the trail and off to help you test your newfound skills and relate what your map and compass are telling you to the world around you. Learn more and sign up here.

Whatever you do this weekend, remember to GetOut! And enjoy!

Hikes for fall

Some trail just lend themselves to certain seasons more than others. We identify six of those trails, in the Piedmont, in two of our GetHiking! Guide compilations. 

• Piedmont: 3 Hikes for Fall. Learn why the Cane Creek Natural Area, Seven Mile Creek Natural Area and Day-Hike Section L of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake are especially good all-around fall hikes. Download the guide here.
• Piedmont: 3 Hikes for Mid Fall. Jordan Lake State Educational Forest, the Fews Ford Access at Eno River State Park and MST Day-Hike Sections Q and R highlight this collection, which you can download here.

The post GetOut! A Fall-like Weekend Awaits appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We start with our GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods class. Ever been hiking in the woods, drift into a little reverie, then emerge, look around and think, Where the heck am I? More often than not your still on the trail, where you need to be, just a little further along. But in those few seconds of being mentally misplaced, there’s a real panic. Will I ever see civilization again?

Not to sound like Ron Popeil about to sell you a Dial-A-Matic (“Makes a perfect gift!”), but you can erase that fear in just three easy and fun hours with our GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods clinic. We start with a quick overview of how to use a compass and read a map, then head down the trail and off to help you learn these new skills and navigate the woods with minimal fear of getting lost. Our next session is this Sunday at Umstead State Park, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Learn more and sign up here.

You’ll find 32 learning opportunities in North Carolina State Parks this weekend. Among them:

• Carnivorous Plan Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach. The Wilmington area is one of the few places where you can find carnivorous plants. On this hike on the Flytrap Trail a ranger will help you identify several and explain why you needn’t fear these meat eaters but a fly shouldn’t get too comfortable around them. Free, but space is limited and preregistration is required. Learn more here.
• Appalachian Rainforest, Saturday, 11 a.m., Mount Mitchell State Park, Burnsville. Appalachian rainforest? Atop Mount Mitchell? You’d probably heard that Mount Mitchell, above 6,000 feet, was more of a boreal forest. In fact, the ranger leading this hike will talk about weather, climate, natural history, the local ecosystem and “what makes the Black Mountains to unique.” Learn more here.
• Mountain Stream Ecology, Sunday, 2 p.m., Grandfather Mountain State Park, Banner Elk. You love to hike along a babbling mountain brook; you’re soothed by its sounds. But do you know what it’s saying? You’ll find out on this ranger-led hike. Learn more and sign aboard here.
• The Amazing Mammals of Crowders Mountain, Sunday, 2 p.m., Crowders Mountain State Park, Kings Mountain. What mammals call Crowders Mountain home? Where do they live? When are they out-and-about? What do they eat? So many questions — and so many answers in this half-hour program. Learn more here.

Too hot for you to get out in the mid-day heat and learn? What about after the sun sets? Two options this weekend:

• 

  Nocturnal Nature Hike, Saturday, 8:30-10:30 p.m., Lake Johnson Park’s Thomas G. Crowder Woodland Center, Raleigh. Under a full moon, “We will call for owls and nightjars, look for evidence of mammals, and identify singing amphibians.” $4. Learn more and register here. 

• Stars and Planets, Saturday, 9 p.m., Mayo River State Park, Mayodan. The Greensboro Astronomy Club graciously brings out its telescopes and expertise to help you discover what’s twinkle twinkling up above the world so high / like a diamond in the sky. Learn more and sign up here.

Go forth this weekend and learn!

The post GetOut! And learn a thing this weekend appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast | coastal plain

One of the most popular courses we offer through our Get! programs is GetOriented!, a three-hour class that gets explorers comfortable with map and compass and thus, more comfortable exploring the outdoors, especially on their own. So far, however, we only offer the course in the Triangle and the Triad. So when we find a good opportunity to feel more comfortable in the woods that’s outside our current range, we’re only too happy to share it with you.

Thus, our recommendation of Saturday’s Compass Course at Jones Lake State Park in Elizabeth town. You’ll learn basic map and compass skills, then head out into the park’s compass course to test those skills. Compasses provided.

Logistics: Compass Course, Saturday, Feb. 4, 10 a.m., Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown. More info and sign up (it’s free, but space is limited), here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 50.

* * *

Looking ahead: Island Nature Tour, Sunday, Feb. 19, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., Bald Head Island, Bald Head Island Conservancy. More into here.

Piedmont

We challenge ourselves in many ways: physically, mentally, emotionally, gastrointestinally. And sometimes, on rare occasion, we test ourselves in all four ways simultaneously.

Such is the case with the Krispy Kreme Challenge. As the promotional material for this iconic and wildly successful fundraiser benefitting the North Carolina Children’s Hospital (nearly $1.2 million has been raised over 11 years) succinctly puts it: “2400 calories, 12 doughnuts, 5 miles, 1 hour.” More specifically, run 2.5 miles from the Bell Tower at N.C. State to the Krispy Kreme on Peace Street, eat at down donuts, run back. Only those able to keep the dozen donuts onboard across the finish line are considered true “Challengers.”

Even if you don’t participate, it is a sight to behold (provided you don’t have a strong gag reflex).

Logistics: Krispy Kreme Challenge, Saturday, Feb. 4, 10 a.m., N.C. State University. $50. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Mostly sunny, high of 47.

* * *

Looking ahead: Eno River Sunday Hikes, every Sunday through spring, 2 p.m. Various locations throughout the Eno River Valley. Find a calendar here.

Mountains

It’s a cold, winter day where you live, a light rain falls. You wonder: What’s the weather like atop one of our mountains? How much colder is it? Is it snowing? Is it windy? Do I have the gear to survive.

Find the answer to these questions of summit climate and more Saturday, when a ranger leads you to the summit of 4,683-foot Mount Jefferson to examine the N.C. Climate Office data collection tower. You that tower has some great weather tales to tell; let the ranger act as your interpreter.

Logistics: Mount Jefferson Climate Tower Hike, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2 p.m., Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. More info here.

Sunday forecast: High of 42, chance of rain.

* * *

Looking ahead: Flight of the American Woodcock, Saturday, Feb. 25, 6 p.m., Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. More info here.

* * *

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below. 

Coast

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

The post This weekend: Learn, churn  appeared first on GetGoing NC!.