You’re eager to show your visiting friends and family why you love living where you do: the outdoor opportunities that make this such a wonderful place to explore. You also don’t want to alienate your guests — or worse, harm them! — by taking them on an outing beyond their capabilities. Fortunately, you can do the former while avoiding the latter with the 10 hikes below, hikes that offer considerable esthetic bang for minimal physical exertion. 

We give a short description of why these hikes are suitable for the non-adventurous in your life, then provide a link for additional information.

Coast, coastal plain

The Basin Trail

2.2 miles (out and back)

Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach

Spending time at the coast this holiday season? This hike (pictured above) just outside Wilmington starts at the Atlantic Ocean and makes its way through open marsh (the soggier parts are on elevated boardwalk) to The Basin on the sound side. At the midpoint, visit an old World War II munitions bunker that was later home, for more than a decade, to the Fort Fisher Hermit.

More info here.

Bay Trail

4 miles

Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown

Need to get your beloved visitors out of the house for the day? Send them to Jones Lake southeast of Fayetteville for a 4-mile meander around a regional oddity: a Carolina bay. No one is quite sure how these shallow, oval-shaped bays originated (the result of a meteor shower is the best bet), but there were once a half million of them along the East Coast. The hike around this surviving bay is half pine savanna, half swampy bay forest, all flat.

More info here.

Charlotte area

The Boulders Access

0.5 miles

Crowders Mountain State Park, Kings Mountain

Lure your hiking-recalcitrant crew to The Boulders with the promise of seeing the boulders just a short hike from the car. Then, when they’re smitten, suggest hiking just a little farther, a little farther, a little farther on the Ridgeline Trail, which will take you either south into South Carolina or north for about six miles to the main part of Crowders Mountain State Park.

More info here.

Triangle

The Peaks Loop

1/2 mile

Horton Grove Nature Preserve, Bahama

This half-mile trail is especially alluring in late fall, with the mature beech forest casting a brilliant yellow glow over a carpet of fallen copper leaves. Ridgeline and valley hiking, with a short drop in, a short climb out on well-groomed trail. Want more? Tack on the 0.8-mile Holman Loop through a recovering Piedmont prairie.

More info here. 

Seven Mile Creek Natural Area

2 miles

Orange County southwest of Hillsborough

You’ll find some of the foot-friendliest trail around on this ramble through mature upland woods and down to Seven Mile Creek, a spritely creek that, shortly, feeds into the Eno River. The preserve’s difficult-to-find trailhead all but insures you’ll avoid holiday crowds.

More info here.

Pump Station Trail

The rocky Eno is at its scenic best south of the Cabe Lands access.

1.5 miles

Pump Station Access, Eno River State Park, Durham

An especially good hike for kids — closely supervised kids — because it takes in the ruins of the old Durham waterworks. Brick foundations, an old dam, and other remnants of the long-abandoned water plant make for great kid exploring. The trail includes a stretch along a particularly rocky run of the Eno.

More info here.

De hart Botanical Garden

up to 4 miles

Louisburg

A short hike in gets you to a waterfall, a bamboo garden and a lake with a rock outcrop perfect for hanging out on. Venture farther and you’ll find another waterfall and one of the oldest white oak trees in the region. Something is always in bloom at this 92-acre preserve off U.S. 401 between Raleigh and Louisburg.

More info here.

Triad

Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area

2.5 miles

Snow Camp

Live in the Triad or Triangle and don’t have time to visit the mountains? How about the mountains in our midst, the Cane Creek Mountains south of Burlington? You’ll get an Appalachian-type experience on this 2.5-mile loop that traverses surprisingly rocky terrain before topping out just below 1,000 feet. A bit more of a physical investment, but the payoff is worth it.

More info here. 

Horne Creek Trail

2.5 miles

Bean Shoals Access, Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle

The main parking area atop Pilot Mountain gets so crowded on weekends that hikers are now shuttled from the base to the summit. Avoid Pilot’s plenty by heading to the Bean Shoals Access and hiking this flatter stretch of trail that includes intimate Horne Creek and the expansive Yadkiin River.

More info here.

Little Long Mountain

1.6 miles (out and back) 

Uwharrie National Forest, Asheboro

From the Joe Moffitt Trailhead it’s a 0.8-mile hike up the north side of the 922-foot mountain (you’ll pass a spring midway, on your left) to the best on-trail view in the Uwharrie range. From the summit meadow you have a 240-degree view from the east to the south to the west; early risers can catch sunrise, night-owls sunset and the rest of us an expansive view of this relict central North Carolina mountain range.

More info here.

The post 10 Hikes for Holiday Visitors appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

One thing we don’t do, though, is cite specific beginner trips we like. That is our goal here today.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to look far to find beginner-friendly hikes. More than half the hikes in my guidebook, “Backpacking North Carolina: 43 Can’t-Miss Trips,” fall into the good-for-beginners category. Which doesn’t mean they aren’t great adventures for more experienced backpackers; they just happen to meet the criteria for a good beginner trip, which includes:

• Moderate distances between camps (5-7 miles, tops)
• Obvious, flat campsites
• Easy access to reliable water
• Easy-to-follow trails

There’s more — you’ll just need to listen to the podcast to learn them. Now, on to our 5 favorite beginner backpack trips in North Carolina.

Neusiok Trail

Croatan National Forest, Havelock

20.1 miles

2-3 days

If you’re looking to bust out some miles on your first weekend, here’s your hike. There are three shelters along the way, letting you break down the hike into manageable days of roughly 4, 7 1/2, and 9 miles. But because this is likely the flattest 20.1 miles in the state, a two-nighter is easily doable. There’s water at the shelters, the trail is well maintained by the Carteret County Wildlife Club, and it’s perhaps the best winter hike in the state (winter being the only time you’ll want to hike through this otherwise buggy, steamy coastal forest).

Trip No. 42, “Backpacking North Carolina”

More info here.

Hunt-fish Falls

Wilson Creek area, Pisgah National Forest, Mortimer

2.8 miles in full pack, 13.6 miles in day pack

2-3 days

While we are big fans of backcountry camping, we aren’t quite as keen on putting in big miles with 30 pounds on our back. Thus, we gravitate to basecamp trips: hike in a short distance in full pack, establish basecamp, hike in a day pack from there. This hike is one of our favorite basecamp options, with a 1.4-mile hike to camp, an expansive, flat area along Lost Cove Creek. We like to spend one day on a roughly 6-mile hike along the creek and on the Timber Ridge Trail, a more casual day hiking about 3 miles up Gragg Prong and lolling in the numerous pools at the base of numerous falls. A good summer trip.

Trip No. 8, “Backpacking North Carolina.”

More info here.

Birkhead Wilderness

Uwharrie National Forest, Asheboro

7.4 miles

2 days

The quintessential one-night trip, used as both a first-time outing and to try out new gear. One reason the trip is so popular is its proximity to the state’s three prime population centers: Charlotte, the Triangle, the Triad. This 5,160-acre northern tip of the Uwharrie National Forest also carries the cachet of being a wilderness area — a wilderness area much of the state can reach within two hours. Camp 5 makes for a campsite capturing the morning and evening sun, Camp 3 is on water. This relic range in the heart of the Piedmont gives a sense of the mountains minus the extreme elevation.

Trip No. 35, “Backpacking North Carolina”

More info here.

Panthertown Valley

Cashiers

1 mile backpack in, 30 miles of day hiking

2-5 days

Pantherton is base camping taken to extreme. An easy hike in, a shelter, campsites on the water — and then the day hiking. There are multiple waterfalls (Schoolhouse, Frolictown and Granny Burrell are musts), there are views (Little Green Mountain is a good lunch spot because of the sweeping views). And then the miles and miles of trail, none of which will disappoint. Its appellation as “the Yosemite of the East” is a bit hyperbolic, but you’ll definitely see the resemblance.

Trip No. 28, “Backpacking North Carolina”

More info here.

Sam Knob Loop

Shining Rock area of the Pisgah National Forest, Waynesville

8.2 miles

2-days

Shining Rock is one of those bucket list backpacking areas in the Southeast, but the fact that much of it is a designated wilderness may deter the novice. That and the lack of reliable water and bear activity. But there is a way to ease yourself into Shining Rock, and that’s with the 8.2-mile Sam Knob Loop. You start from the same trailhead, Black Balsam off the Blue Ridge Parkway, but instead of heading north, hike west, toward 6.050-foot Sam Knob. Great views from both Sam and Little Sam, an abundance of water, and passage through a black balsam forest. And with surprisingly little elevation gain.

Trip No. 14, “Backpacking North Carolina” 

More info here.

* * *

GetHiking! Southeast Podcast

What makes for a good first-time backpack trip? We tell you, on this week’s podcast. Give a listen here.

Backpacking North Carolina

Today’s recommended backpack trips for beginners were but 5 of 25 included in “Backpacking! North Carolina: The Definitive Guide to 43 Can’t-Miss Trips from Mountains to Sea.” Learn more here.

The post 5 trips made for the first-time backpacker appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

This week’s focus: Gear, including a shoe and socks

Salewa Ultra Train 3 ‘speed hiking’  shoe

I’m protective of my feet: without their support I not only miss out on my favorite recreation, I’m deprived of a living as a hiking and backpacking guide. So when I’m approached by a shoe manufacturer about test-driving one of their fleet, I’m a bit apprehensive: when you hike about 40 miles a week you can’t afford for them to be unhappy. It helps, though, if you’ve had good experiences with the manufacturer’s line. Such is the case with Salewa, which sent me a pair of Ultra Train 3s a couple months back.

I’ve hiked in Salewas, off and on, for about a decade. I’ve been particularly happy with the Ultra Train line, though I’m not a fan of the elastic lacing used in the Ultra Train 2. Fortunately, that system has been replaced in the UT3 by traditional laces, which offer more flexibility in securing a snug fit. 

The UT3 is categorized as being for “speed hiking,” a cross, I suppose, between a traditional hiking shoe and a train running shoe. I can see that: the shoe is light (357 grams, or about 12.6 ounces per shoe) and appears spare at first glance. Which brings me to the first thing I love about this shoe:

• No sore feet. On a hike of more than 10 miles or on a backpack trip, the first thing to go for me are my feet. Often, my soles start getting tender after a couple hours of hiking. Not so with the Salewa Ultra Train series. I’ve put more than 300 miles on my UT3s in two months, and I don’t recall a time when my feet cried uncle before the rest of my body did. (And it’s not that my feet are suddenly less tender; I’ve hiked in other shoes and boots during this time and have experienced soreness.) Even with 28 pounds or so on my back, no soreness, bringing me to my second favorite thing about the UT3 …
• Good for backpacking. I’ve done a couple of backpack trips in the UT3s and have been surprised by how they’ve handled the load. I’m neither an ultra-lighter nor someone who brings multiple changes of clothes depending upon my mood: again, my full pack weight is typically 26, 28 pounds. The shoes … well, to quote the Salewa web site, “The sole and midsole work together with Motion Guidance technology to support natural movement and ensure stability over any terrain.” Not exactly sure what that means from a tech standpoint, but it does handle the load and does so with another thing I love about the shoe…
• Stability and grip. Again, I’m not good with interpreting the UT3’s specs, but the shoe’s innards to a good job of providing stability, and the soul has a grip you wouldn’t assume by looking at it. On the morning I’m writing this, my buddy Will and I took an early morning along the Eno River. We came to an unbridged drainage that had steep and muddy banks; I made judicious use of my trekking poles for balance, but the shoes did a much-appreciated job of grabbing onto the slippery slope. Likewise, this past weekend hiking in the Wilson Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest, an area with lots of rock and water, I was further challenged by intermittent rain. The soles — again, with more than 300 miles on them — were faultless on rain-slicked rock and mud. 

The Altra Lone Peak is generally considered the top lightweight hiking shoe, especially by thru-hikers (the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, et al). I’ve had three pairs of Lone Peaks and can see why. With the Salewa Ultra Train 3 you get many of the Lone Peak’s attributes, but in a shoe that’s more stable and, based on my experience, more durable. An especially good shoe choice as we head into prime hiking season and you start logging more miles.

Learn more about the Salewa Ultra Train 3 here.

Warm weather socks

We’re coming up on our first 80-degree hiking days of the season — and the beginning of the mysterious “sweaty foot season.” Why, we wonder, are our feet suddenly hot and sweaty during a hike? I mean, I haven’t changed a thing, and yet … . And yet that’s the problem — you need to change a thing, that thing being your socks. Those wool socks you’ve been sporting all winter, the ones that have kept your feet nice and toasty? They may be too much for warm weather hiking. Most hiking sock makers make socks for a variety of conditions; often, you can tell their suitability for warm weather hiking based on their cushioning. Socks with medium and heavy cushioning will make your feet sweat; switch to a lightly cushioned sock and to either an ankle-length or crew sock: come summer, cool feet are happy feet. For more on what makes a good summer hiking sock, check out this post from BestHiking.net, which also makes five sock recommendations.

Farm to Feet No Fly Zone socks

As soon as it warms up, which it finally is, hikers want to know: What about ticks? Well, they’re out there. And we advocate fending them off starting from the ground up. As in, with Farm to Feet’s No Fly Zone hiking socks treated with permethrin. Permethrin wards off common biting insects such as mosquitoes, flies, chiggers, midges, ants and, yes, even ticks. Plus, Farm to Feet socks are not only made in the USA, the company is based in Mount Airy! And, the socks are 100 percent merino wool. Check ‘em out here.

Convertible pants

We’re in that time of year when it can be cold when we start down the trail, hot by the time we return (or vice versa). That makes it an ideal time for convertible pants, a k a zip-offs. Pants that can go both ways: in the early morning chill, they’re pants, providing full-leg protection and warmth. Then, when things start to heat up, you zip off the legs and — viola! — shorts! We won’t recommend a specific make or brand, but we do suggest that you get the kind with a side zipper up the side of the calf, making for speedy ons and offs without having to take off your boots. Also, make sure they’re made of a quick-drying material. If you need a little direction in selecting a pair, check out SectionHiker.com‘s list of “10 Best Hiking Pants,” which includes four convertibles (including the best bargain of the bunch, the Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible).

The post Wednesday Wisdom: A great summer hiker (and the socks to wear with them) appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

At our sister site, NCHikes.com, we make monthly (or somewhat monthly) recommendations for seasonally appropriate hikes. In summer, for instance, we try to suggest hikes that are either high and cool or ones that involve walking near, or at some point frolicking in, water.

In any event, our recommendations for June and July are up. You can check them out at NCHikes.com.

The post Hikes for June and July, anyone? appeared first on GetGoing NC!.