We’ve got another gift-of-fall weekend coming up. There might be some rain Sunday, but at this point Saturday looks ideal, with lots of sun and temperatures in the upper 50s to upper 60s. So many ways to take advantage of weather like this, weather that won’t be around a lot longer. And as today’s video shows, there’s finally good color moving into the Piedmont.
Tag Archives: Rumbling Bald
Your weekend: More seasonable, more options
The snow and bitter cold are gone. Time to get back out and explore!
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There’s something extra special about the Coastal Plain in winter. The still air, the open views, the absence of flying biting things. All of which makes it a great time for a hike, to learn, perhaps about the phenomenon known as Carolina Bays.
What are Carolina Bays? you inquire.
Sorry, you’ll have to head down to Jones Lake State Park Saturday morning and find out from a ranger on a hike that circles the park’s namesake lake.
Logistics: Intro to Carolina Bays, Saturday, 10 a.m., Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown. More info here.
Saturday forecast: High of 52, mostly sunny.
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Looking ahead: 9th Annual Cold Stroke Classic, Jan. 21, Wrightsville Beach. More info here.
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One of the many great things about winter outdoors: you can see things. Like birds, who in warmer months are shielded amidst a mass of greenery.
Now, seeing birds is one thing. Knowing which ones they are is another. Learn to put names to beaks Saturday morning at Eno River State Park, when an experienced birder leads a hike in search of the park’s avian residents.
Logistics: Saturday Morning Birds, Saturday, 8:30 a.m., Eno River State Park/Fews Ford Access, Orange County. More info here.
Saturday forecast: High of 45, cloudy.
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Looking ahead: Silent Hike (no talking!), Jan. 29, 2 p.m., Hanging Rock State Park, Danbury. More info here.
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“What does a forest look like after a wildfire?” That’s the question to be answered Saturday, when a ranger at Chimney Rock State Park leads in the Rumbling Bald area of the park. Rumbling Bald was part of the 7,154-acre Party Rock Fire that burned in late fall. On this hike, various experts will be on hand to explain what happened, and what happens from here. A great opportunity to learn first-hand about the role of fire in the forest.
Logistics: Four Seasons Hike: Rumbling Bald Trail, Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Chimney Rock State Park, Chimney Rock. More info here.
Sunday forecast: High of 51, 30 percent chance of rain.
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Looking ahead: Snowshoe Hike, Jan. 29, Grandfather Mountain State Park. More info here.
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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed 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 coastal 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
Your weekend: Hike NC!
It’s been — and continues to be — a rough week for a lot of folks in North Carolina, especially down east. For the weekend, we recommend the best therapy we know: a walk in the woods. Today, we pull hikes from Hike NC!, our statewide hiking collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. For more information on Hike NC! go here.
Coast | Coastal Plain
Somehow, Carolina Beach State Park near Wilmington managed to escape the full wrath of Hurricane Matthew and quickly reopen. Saturday, the park will host a hike on the Sugarloaf Trail, which passes through a variety of habitats, from its start along the banks of the Cape Fear River, to its inland passage through a pine savanah, to its climb up a 60-foot dune festooned with a maritime forest.
The hike is listed at 2 miles and rated Easy.
Logistics: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2 p.m., Carolina Beach State Park. To register for this hike and for more information and to register, go here.
Saturday forecast: High of 73, mostly sunny.
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Looking ahead: Night Hike at Halyburton Park in Wilmington, Oct. 28, 6 p.m. More info here.
Piedmont
Of the five Hike NC! hikes in the Piedmont this weekend, we’re especially excited about the one on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the Haw River Sunday because we’re leading it. Our hike starts out of Glencoe, an old mill village, and heads downstream for a couple of miles, taking in the river’s rich history as home to roughly two dozen textile mills, back in the day. We’ll get up close and personal with both the Haw River’s natural and human history.
Logistics: Sunday, 1 p.m., MST out of Glencoe. For more information and to register, go here.
Sunday forecast: High of 75 and sunny.
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Looking ahead: Climb to the Clouds, “meet an Environmental Educator at the Moore’s Knob Observation Tower and learn to identify the surrounding landmarks, wildlife, and vegetation visible from the park’s peak closest to the clouds,” Saturday, Oct. 29, 11 a.m. More info here.
Mountains
Think of Chimney Rock and you tend to think of its touristy side: the gift shop, the lounge and deli, the elevator that takes you do the top. But Chimney Rock State Park also has its kinder, gentler and wilder side, which is the side Hike NC! will explore early Saturday morning (not too early: 8 a.m., to be exact). On our 1.5-mile hike, we’ll hike the base of Rumbling Bald Mountain and its stark cliff face and its huge boulder fields. (On this hike, you might get up close and personal with rock climbers who especially love the cliffs southern exposure in cooler weather.)
Logistics: Saturday, 8 a.m., Chimney Rock State Park. For more information and to register, go here.
Saturday forecast: High of 71, mostly cloudy.
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Looking ahead: The Life and Death of Elisha Mitchell, Sunday, Oct. 30, Mount Mitchell State Park. More info here.
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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed 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 coastal 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
This weekend: Trees, stars, rocks
Clear a path for National Trails Day this Saturday
Saturday is National Trails Day, a day set aside for us to appreciate the more than 200,000 miles of trail in the U.S. Officially, National Trails Day dates back to 1991, when the American Hiking Society deemed that one day a year be set aside to honor our trails; the first NTD, however, didn’t occur until June 5, 1993.
Over the years, we’ve increasingly embraced the concept of NTD. Last year, more than 2,000 events were held drawing more than 157,000 participants. Some events are workdays, intended to spruce up existing trails or blaze new ones. Other events celebrate our trails by encouraging us to use them, while still others have more of an educational bent.
The 25 NTD events scheduled in North Carolina for this Saturday reflect that mix.
In the Triangle, for instance, the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail will work to link 60 miles of MST along Falls Lake with bout 10 miles along the Eno River (see No. 2 under Piedmont). Likewise, NTD volunteers will work to build the new Beech Tree Trail at Elk Knob State Park (No. 3, Mountains) and to add to the ambitious 12-mile Trombatore Trail which will link various features in the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge (No. 9, Mountains).
They’ll be doing trail maintenance at Hanging Rock State Park (No. 12, Piedmont) and on the Carolina Thread Trail (Nos. 10, 11, Piedmont); they’ll be dedicating new trail in Cary (No. 3, Piedmont) and in Panthertown Valley (No. 5, Mountains); and they’ll be celebrating in all kinds of ways in Greensboro (No. 4).
We’ve compiled a list of the 25 National Trails Day events reported to the American Hiking Society. (We suspect there are more; if you know of one, let us know about it and we’ll add it to the list.) Scope out our list, then plan to show your favorite trail some love on Saturday.
Mountains
1. One Step at a Time – Trail Work Day
Organizer: Stone Mountain State Park
Location: Stone Mountain State Park, Roaring Gap
When: Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Workday on the Loop and Wolf Rock trails, plus a kid’s activity.
More info: janet.pearson@ncparks.gov, 336.957.8185.
2. Appalachian Trail Hike: Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Gap