How about the gift of North Carolina’s best hikes?

In 2015, our GetHiking! program will launch a series of monthly hikes on the trails that no North Carolina hiker’s resume should be without: Linville Gorge, Shining Rock, Slickrock Wilderness, Black Mountain Crest Trail, the Great Smokies, Mountains-to-Sea Trail, The Appalachian Trail, Mount Mitchell Trail, Bartram Trail, Tanawha Trail, Panthertown Valley. Hikes that have earned their place for great views, for impressive waterfalls, for old growth forests, for altitude or, perhaps, for attitude.

Each month starting in February, our GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes group will hike one of the state’s classic trails. But it won’t be just another group hike. It will be a hiking event. In addition to the guided hike, this fee program (we’ll get to that shortly) includes:

• GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes T-shirt.
• Monthly enewsletter with detailed information on that month’s hike, including an overview touching on the trail’s highlights; map of the hike with points of interest identified; elevation profile; photos; info box with key information, including trail access, length, elevation gain and more. Also in each enewsletter: information on camping and lodging near each hike, as well as hiking tips and resources pertinent to this particular hike.
• Swag bag for each hike. For each hike you’ll get a goody bag filled with hiking-related swag.
• Loaner gear. Curious about trekking poles but never tried them? Here’s your chance to try before you but. We’ll also have loaner headlamps (if you’re worried about finishing after sunset).
• More bennies to be announced at our informational kickoff gathering on Jan. 22.

Like the idea of hiking the classics, but not as crazy about hiking some of the classic distances? Most hikes will have both an Epic option and a shorter, Somewhat Epic, version. For instance, if you don’t like the idea of the full 18-mile Shining Rock Loop starting from the East Fork trailhead, you can opt for the 7-mile version on the Art Loeb and Ivestor Gap trails that eliminates half the mileage and most of the climbing.

Worried about getting left behind?

Each hike will have at least two hike leaders, one leading from the front, the other from the back. As is the case with all GetHIking! hikes, no one is left behind.

In addition to our monthly enewsletter, we’ll communicate with you through quarterly get-togethers in Charlotte, the Triad and the Triangle. We’ll meet at the Great Outdoor Provision Co. stores in those areas, discuss the upcoming hikes in detail, touch on future hikes, answer your hiking questions.

Now, about the fee. GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes is a fee program. There’s a $50 membership fee to join, which includes two hikes of your choosing. Each subsequent hike is $25. Or, pay $250 for the 12-hike series and get two hikes free.

North Carolina is blessed with some of the best hiking in the country. Make 2015 the year you experience the best of the best. Be a part of GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes.

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GetHiking! The North Carolina Classics

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