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My weekend at the Nantahala Outdoor Center was teasingly painful: two days in the Southeast’s premier outdoors playground and not once did I hike, bike, or paddle.

On the other hand, it was the most enlightening outdoors-related weekend I’ve spent.
Saturday and Sunday, I attended the Wilderness First Aid certification clinic held by New Hampshire-based Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities. SOLO, as it’s commonly known, has been offering courses in wilderness medicine since the 1970s. The Wilderness First Aid course is intended to train the first people on the scene of a backcountry incident with the basic skills to deal with a range of injuries and illnesses. In my class of 15, most were taking the class because they take people into the woods: there were four women from a nature park in Birmingham, Ala., two river guides, the head of the outdoor adventure program for a private school in Tennessee, the coach of a high school mountain bike team in Georgia’s fledgling interscholastic mtb league, three women who work with troubled youth in outdoor settings. I lead weekly hikes that range from mellow after-work strolls to day-long plunges into wilderness areas.
We were there because we needed to know how to deal with everything from dehydration to amputation should the occasion arise.
And what to do when you find a mountain biker injured by the side of the trail. Or in this case, a fake mountain biker with a fake injury.

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“We’re going to ask you a few questions,” Jake, who heads the private school outdoor program, told Laura Jane, our downed mountain biker.
The MO for our clinic was: classroom instruction followed by a scenario in the field. Listen, hands-on, repeat.
In the Patient Assessment Triangle, our first responsibility was to make sure there were no immediate dangers in the vicinity, first, to us (we’re not much help if we’re laying next to the victim gripping our arm), to any bystanders, to the victim. Then ask if they need help. Assuming an affirmative, we then dive in with a quick patient exam: make sure their airway is clear, that they’re breathing properly, that they have good circulation. Check the length of the body for any “deformities” (breaks, fractures, anything not looking quite right), then assess the environment to see if the victim is safe staying put for further examination and treatment.
In Laura Jean’s case, her “chief complaint” was her injured left arm. Was that her only issue?
“You need to watch for distracting injuries,” instructor Allan Ange had told us in the classroom. “It may be the most painful issue to the patient, but there could be other, more serious issues to deal with.”
In the end, Laura Jean’s injury was indeed her injured left arm. Whether it was broken or fractured was the concern of qualified medical personnel down the line. Our job was to get her to those qualified medical personnel. Our main objective: fashion a splint that would immobilize her arm, prevent additional injury, minimize her pain.
I’ve included a photo of a splint I made. You probably looked at it and broke out laughing, then thought, “I hope I never break a leg on a hike with this guy.”
In fact, I got a “Nice splint!” from co-instructor Lara Christy. My handiwork met the splint criteria summed up in the acronym BUFF — Big, Ugly, Fat, Fluffy. Use whatever you have on hand (in my case, hiking poles, rain gear, cord, and some layers), don’t worry about looks.
Much of what we learned was captured in acronyms. There’s MOI (methods of injury), SS (signs and symptoms), LOC (level of consciousness) and the related AVPU (which is not the convenience store clerk on the “Simpsons” but stands for Alert Verbal Pain Unresponsive). Some of the acronyms were forced, but they stuck.
We learned to diagnose a variety of common backcountry injuries and illnesses and how to deal with them, at least until qualified medical personnel was available. Perhaps most importantly, we learned that, despite what we learned, thinking on your feet and reacting to the situation is paramount. Sometimes, there are no good options, only less bad ones.

* * *

On an early morning run this morning at Umstead State Park, I came upon another runner who had slowed and may have been weaving slightly (or he may have been avoiding a rutted trail). It was already in the 80s, the humidity was ridiculous. Prime conditions for heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
“How’s it going?” I asked as I caught up to him.
He perked up. “Great! How about you?”
We ran together and chatted for a half mile or so as I looked for signs and symptoms: pale skin, panting (more than the conditions might warrant), incoherence.
He seemed fine. But if he hadn’t, I was prepared to help.

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For more on SOLO, go here.  For more on SOLO Southeast and its courses offered through the Nantahala Outdoor Center, go here.

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Tuesday, I had one of the more exhausting times I’ve had in 20 years of covering outdoor adventure — and I was in an air-conditioned building. At a catered affair.
The affair was a media event sponsored by the North Carolina Division of Tourism, a gathering of tourism promotion types from around the state and the people they hoped would write about them. People such as myself.
Immediately upon walking in the door of the Contemporary Art Museum — CAM for short — in downtown Raleigh I was met by my old buddy, Suzanne Brown. Suzanne and I worked together for years in the Features Department of The News & Observer, Suz overseeing everything entertainment, me doing my outdoors thing. In 2008, we were both part of a massive newsroom exodus. I landed here, Suz  at Tourism, a job that suits her as she wasted little time getting my attention.
“Do you know about the Southeast Coast Saltwater Paddle Trail?” she asked.
I didn’t, but I didn’t feel too bad upon learning that the trail is a work in progress, a proposed — though some of it exists — paddle trail running from Virginia south through the Carolinas and Georgia, where it will meet with the existing 1,515-mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail. A kind of Appalachian Trail for paddlers.
“Cool!” I said.
“What about Jetpacks?” she wanted to know.
“And what about telephones with TV screens and flying cars?” I said.
No, she said, you can now rent a JetPak on the Outer Banks.
Then, in a Graduatesque nod to the Next Big Thing, she leaned in and whispered “Zip Lines.”

“Have you been to ZipQuest in Fayetteville? It’s a two-and-a-half-hour canopy tour that takes you over the largest waterfall in the eastern U.S.”
A zipline over the highest waterfall in the East — in Fayetteville? I started edging away.
“You can also fly a Wright Brothers glider!” she yelled, chasing me down the hall.
The madness continued inside the main hall.
At the Halifax County booth, Lori Medlin, president and CEO of the county’s convention and visitors bureau asked if I’d been to the Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck. Hike 5 miles at this 18-acre preserve, take pictures of more than 170 bird species from around the world. “There’s even a treehouse. And it’s handicap-accessible!”
“You like trails?” she continued. “The 7-mile-long Roanoke Canal Trail in Roanoke Rapids is pretty popular.”
Lori shared a table with Claire Phillips, director of marketing and public relations for the Pinehurst/Southern Pines/Aberdeen Area. I expected to hear something about golf. “We have an extensive greenway system,”  she said.

I found myself at the Fayetteville table, expecting to hear more about the zipline to outer space. And I did, but I also learned that Fayetteville is also home to the biggest indoor climbing gym in the state, The Climbing Place, with 18,000 square feet of climbing surface, 40,000 holds and 60 top ropes.
I learned that Chowan County has more than 300 miles of mapped paddle trails, that Washington has a Sunrise Yoga Paddle service as well as a Wine and Cheese Paddle, and that Edenton rents canoes and kayaks out of its harbor.
I learned from Craig Distl that since the Hawksnest Resort near Boone abandoned skiing and snowboarding a few years back it’s gone tubing and zipline crazy. And I learned that while they still ski and ride at Ski Beech, the highest ski area in the East, they’ve also opened the Emerald Outback, an 8-mile mountain bike trail network.
I learned that the Biltmore in Asheville is getting its own marathon and that a mountaintop-to-mountaintop zipline is being planned at Navitat north of Asheville.

Farther west, I learned from Charles Conner with the Nantahala Outdoor Center that the NOC is about more than just really fast moving water. Survival, for instance.
“We’ve got a Survival School that shows you how to survive 72 hours in the wild,” he said, adding, “Seventy-two hours — that’s about how long most people stay lost.” The ones who end up getting found, that is.
By the time I’d worked my way to the westernmost part of the state, I was pooped. But not too pooped to visit the craft beer booth, where Win Bassett was more than happy to fill my sampler cup with the handiwork of North Carolina’s 65 craft breweries (or at least the 65 that belong to NC Brewing). Fullsteam Brewery’s Summer Basil was particularly tasty.
A handful of booths remained, but — holy cow! — I’d just been across North Carolina on everything from a zipline to a JetPak to the Wright Brothers glider.
I needed a nap.

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A 5K/10K kicks off the Azalea Festival in Wilmington, there’s a ride with lunch in the Triangle and at the Nantahala Outdoor Center they’ll be celebrating hiking and long trails. A good cross-section of sweaty fun this weekend in North Carolina.

Coast

What better way to kick off a festival than with a run? This Saturday’s Azalea 5K/10K/Fun Walk, for example, which kicks off Wilmington’s annual Azalea Festival. (Kicks off prematurely: while the race is Saturday, the festival proper doesn’t get underway until Wednesday.) The course is flat and USATF certified. It’s $35 to participate, but funds go help the Big Buddy program.

Logistics: $35, online registration ends tonight at midnight. Race begins at 8 a.m. (packet pickup is from 6:30-7:30 a.m.) More info here.

Weekend forecast: Sunny with a high of 66.

Piedmont

Eager for that first group ride of the year? It could happen Saturday on the MS Spring Fling, sponsored by Team MSFits. Both the 30- and 50-mile rides begin at the Sam’s Club in Morrisville and work their way through RTP and out to Falls Lake and Granville County and back. Lunch at the finish, provided by Carino’s Italian, Moe’s Southwest, California Pizza Kitchen and Hooters.

Logistics: $40 to ride, register here.

Weekend forecast: Sunny with a high of 66 (bring your sleeves!)

Mountains

Typically, we associate the Nantahala Outdoor Center with whitewater sports, but Friday and Saturday the NOC celebrates is location on the Appalachian Trail with the AT Founder’s Bridge Festival. “Put on your boots, bring your friends, and join us to celebrate this historic trail,” the NOC implores on its Web site. “Day hikers, long distance warriors, and outdoor enthusiasts alike are welcome to share their passion with like-minded folks. Enjoy trail-steeped speakers sharing their experiences, a vendor village staffed by industry representatives, skills clinics, as well as some great product giveaways and door prizes and live music nightly.” Among the speakers you won’t want to miss: Jennifer Pharr Davis (author, “AT Speed Record Hike,” “Becoming Odyssa”, backcountry guide Patrick Warren and Bill Walker, author of books on the AT, PCT, Camino de Santiago, among others.

Logistics: Festivities from 2 p.m. to midnight Friday, 8 a.m. ‘til late Saturday. A breakdown of the schedule here.

Weekend forecast: Rainy Friday morning but clearing in the afternoon, high of 68. Sunny and 75 on Saturday.

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Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

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