Wednesday morning I needed the calming powers of a long walk. Trouble was, I couldn’t think of a walk long enough to help. The 1,150-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail? The 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail? The 6,800-mile American Discovery Trail? Compounding the problem: I had to get to work. I had maybe two hours at best to hike.
Tag Archives: Mountains-to-Sea Trail
5 Hikes to Welcome Fall
I woke up Wednesday at 5:30, took Dog #1 out, checked the weather.
60 degrees!
I knew it was supposed to cool off this week, but 60? I couldn’t remember the last time it had been so cool in this summer of record heat. A good two months, at least.
A spirit-lifting temperature, but still shy of my fall benchmark. Then, an hour later I took out Dog #2 (she likes to sleep in) and it was 58. Within a half hour it would drop another degree, to 57.
Racing the clock on Forever Hikes
It wasn’t just another hike. It was a hike that showed I could still go long.
For the past few years, since turning 60, whenever I’ve finished a favorite challenging hike, I’ve wondered: Will I hike this trail again?
In part, that’s because there’s a limited amount of time in life and a growing number of trails. We like hiking our favorites, we like hiking new trails. And since the pandemic, more trails coming on line. Decisions, decisions.
It’s Spring, hike longer
Saturday looks rainy, but Sunday looks hiking perfect, with cloudless skies and temperatures in the 50s. Cool weather coupled with the first weekend of spring and our desire to spend more time on the trail seems like a good time for a longer hike. And by “longer” for this time of year we mean in the 4- to 7-mile range. Nothing too strenuous, but just enough to push yourself, to get you building your hiking legs for peak hiking season.
Discover North Carolina’s State Trails
How do you follow an event like Year of the Trail?
You don’t. But you do build on it.
The just-passed Year of the Trail was intended to promote North Carolina’s vast trail system. Hiking trails, sure, but paddling, biking and equestrian as well. Year of the Trail events were held in 94 of the state’s 100 counties, those events ranging from hour-long guided walks on local greenways to three-day festivals celebrating trails across the state. The ultimate sign of Year of the Trail’s success? When the concept was conceived by the state’s General Assembly in 2021, it included $29.15 million for trail development; in the budget passed this past fall, legislators allotted nearly twice that much for trail development in the next two years.