We take a slightly different approach this week, inspired by what seems to be a greater-than-usual offering of intriguing critter programs this weekend in our state parks system. Today, we simply list the program title, the park hosting it, when it is, and a link. You have no reason not to learn a thing or two this weekend.

Saturday

• Slithering Search for Snakes, Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle, 10 a.m. Go here.
• Wildlings: Up Close with Nature, Weymouth Woods State Natural Area, Southern Pines, 10 a.m. Go here.
• Carnivorous Plant Hike, Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach, 10 a.m. Go here.
• Bears of South Mountains, South Mountains State Park, Connelly Springs, 11 a.m. Go here.
• Reptile Walk, Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head, 1 p.m. Go here.
• Timber Rattlesnakes, Elk Knob State Park, Todd, 2 p.m. Go here.
• Sharks of Fort Fisher, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach, 2 p.m. Go here.
• Frogs and Toads, Merchants Millpond State Park, Gatesville, 2 p.m. Go here.

Sunday

• Black Bears, Mount Mitchell State Park, Burnsville, 10 a.m. Go here.
• Carnivorous Plant Hike, Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach, 10 a.m. Go here.
• Animals of Falls Lake, Falls Lake State Recreation Area, Raleigh, 2 p.m. Go here.
• Snakes!, Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle, 3 p.m. Go here.

GetHiking! this weekend

What are our GetHiking! groups in North Carolina and Virginia up to this weekend? Plenty, thanks for asking …

Live the video

We reached into the wayback machine for this week’s inspiration: it’s a hike from last year on a section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Day Hike Section K) that we hiked around this time last year. It’s also near a section we’ll be hiking tomorrow (see above). For more information on hiking the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and for details on the various hikes supporting the trail’s 42nd birthday on Sept. 9, go here.

More options

Looking for more options for weekend adventure? Check out our GetOut! Find An Adventure resource page here.

The post GetOut! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Moving is good. Learning something while you’re on the move is even better. This weekend is a good one for learning on the move.

Coast

For many, the key to getting active is to resist the urge to overindulge at the start and expect immediate results. That’s why so many New Year’s resolutions go kaput before January is over: you expect to become Charles (or Charlene) Atlas in just two weeks.

That’s why we like events such as Saturday’s Guided Walking Tour of Forest Hills in Wilmington. On this hour-and-a-half walk you’ll take a leisurely pace through the historic Forest Hills section of Wilmington, learning about “architecture and landscape design within the neighborhood, highlighting the economic, social, and community development. These tours bring attention to the special qualities of the neighborhoods and how they contribute to the city’s quality of life.”

Learning and moving. Pretty good combination.

Logistics: Guided Walking Tour of Forest Hills, Saturday, July 15, 10 a.m., Wilmington. $10. Pre-registration required, by calling 910.762.2511.

Saturday forecast: 86 and mostly sunny at walk time.

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Looking ahead: Can’t make Sunday’s walk? It repeats on July 29. More info here.

Piedmont

Conquering our fears: that’s part of why we go outside. We hike at night to get past fearing a dark forest. We go off trail — with map and compass — to explore the less-visited and feel more comfortable navigating the woods. We embrace water crossings as refreshing rather than reject them for the possibility of getting wet.

And yet, we remain fearful of snakes. All snakes.

Sunday, take the first step toward getting past your ophidiophobia by attending Snakes! At Pilot Mountain State Park. Learn how to identify snakes (including the venomous ones), learn about their lives. Learn to appreciate them as one of one of your incentives for heading outdoors.

Logistics: Snakes!, Sunday, July 16, 10 a.m., Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle. More information here.

Saturday forecast: 78 and sunny at event time.

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Looking ahead: Canoe the Yadkin, Thursday, July 27, 10 a.m., Yadkin River Access of Pilot Mountain State Park. More info here.

Mountains

Hiking in the spruce and pine forests at North Carolina’s highest elevations is like hiking in a different world. Or Canada. If you’re accustomed to the ecozones of the lower Southern Appalachian hardwood forests, you likely find yourself asking, like a confused tourist, “What the heck is that?”

Find out “what the heck” on Sunday’s High Elevation Peaks hike at Mount Mitchell State Park. “Join a ranger to understand why the Black Mountain Range and Mt. Mitchell are so unique in North Carolina in terms of its ecology and wildlife,” says the hike description. Then, take a few minutes to head north on the Black Mountain Crest Trail to put your newfound knowledge to work identifying this curious land of boreal delights.

Logistics: High Elevation Peaks, Sunday, July 16, 2 p.m., Mount Mitchell State Park, Burnsville. More info here.

Sunday forecast: 64 degrees under sunny skies.

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Looking ahead: Balsam Nature Trail Guided Hike, Sunday, Sept. 10, Mount Mitchell State Park, Burnsville. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below. 

Looking ahead: Can’t make Saturday morning’s Build-a-Boat? The event repeats Saturday, July 29 at noon. More info here.

Mountains

D’ja ever wonder about the weather on top of a mountain? About the highest wind gusts ever recorded? Lowest temperature? Most snow?

Likewise, who hasn’t wondered how they record that information? Saturday is your chance to have these questions answered at Mount Jefferson State Natural Area. Setting out from the picnic area, you’ll make the short clime to MJ’s 4,683-foot summit, home to a North Carolina Climate Office data collection tower, where the mountain will reveal her climatological secrets during the Mount Jefferson’s Climate Tower program.

Logistics: Mount Jefferson’s Climate Tower, Saturday, July 8, 2 p.m., Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Mostly sunny with a high of 76.

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Looking ahead: Can’t make Saturday’s hike, but intrigued all the same by Mount Jefferson? Then consider the Rock Outcrop Hike at the park on Saturday, July 29. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below. 

Coast

The post This weekend: Get out and learn a thing or two appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast: The Snakes of North Carolina

Lake Waccamaw State Park hosts this series daily through June 18. Learn about snakes in general, the snakes found in North Carolina, and about the differences in the 37 species native to our state, such as which ones lay eggs and which ones have live births. Meet at the Visitor Center.

Weekend forecast: The event is indoors. But this weekend it will be on the chilly side; perhaps a light jacket is in order.

Vital Stats: The Snakes of North Carolina, daily at 10 a.m., Visitor Center, Lake Waccamaw State Park, Lake Waccamaw. Contact lake.waccamaw@ncparks.gov or 910.646.4748 for more information, or go here.

Looking ahead: Hike at Fort Macon State Park, exploring the natural side of the park. Meet at the Visitor Center at 10 a.m., Thursday. April 28. More information here.

Piedmont: Eagle Count at Jordan Lake

Join Ranger Steve McMurray at the Poplar Point Recreation area Sunday morning to spot as many eagles as you can. There is no required skill level for this event; beginners to experts are welcome. New Hope Audubon Society counts the eagles four times a year at Jordan Lake; your help will be greatly appreciated in this exercise of citizen science.

Sunday forecast: About 34 degrees during the count; it will, however, be sunny.

Vital Stats: Eagle Count at Jordan Lake (Poplar Point Recreation Area), Sunday, 7-8:30 a.m. Contact: Steve McMurray at 919.362.0586 ext. 219. steve.mcmurray@ncparks.gov More information here.

Looking ahead: Mother’s Day Bird Walk — Bean Shoals Canal Trail on May 8, Pilot Mountain State Park. Pinnacle. More information here.

Mountains: White Water Rafting Adventure on the Cheoah River

Graham County on the southern edge of the Smokies, is home to one of the most challenging and physically demanding rivers for whitewater rafting and kayaking. The dammed Cheoah River has unique features that contribute to some of the best Class IV and IV+ paddling. On Saturday and Sunday, the Cheoah River Release is taking place. You can take part in a guided trip, or purchase a river bracelet and tackle the river on your own. If you can’t make it this weekend, there will also be releases April 16-17, April 23-24, and May 14-15.

Weekend forecast: Saturday: High of 51, low of 29 with winds blowing NW at 25 mph. Sunday: High of 66, low of 42.

Vital Stats: Cheoah River Put-in in Yellow Creek, Saturday and Sunday. River pass bracelets can be purchased at O’Henry’s or Outland Expeditions (800.827.1442). More information here.

Looking ahead: Annual Passholder Spring Sunrise Breakfast, Chimney Rock State Park, Chimney Rock, May 7, 5-7 a.m. RSVP by May 3 to secure your spot. For more information, go here.

The post Your Weekend: Learn your snakes, spot eagles, whitewater appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

• Sex. Male birds generally are more colorful than females (the cardinal).
• Location: Corn snakes throughout much of North Carolina tend to be mostly brown or gray; in the Coastal Plain, they’re bright orange.
• Age: Adults of most species may have completely different coloration than they do as juveniles.

When it comes to snakes, the only thing I try to remember is whether one is harmful. This one, I knew, was not one of the state’s venomous six.
But curiosity persisted: What sort of nonvenomous snake was it?
Easy enough to find out, I discovered, at the “Snakes of North Carolina Online Identification System” run by the Davidson College Herpetology Laboratory.
The site asks 11 questions about your snake, starting with “Snake Length,” and a reminder that it’s common to overestimate length. That caused me to think, then scale back from 3 feet to 2.
Location Where Found: Mountains (easy enough, out of six obvious choices from the drop-down menu).
Body Form: “Moderate,” “Slender” and “Stocky” are the options, with definitions of each to help. Mine was definitely “Stocky” (“thicker than a pencil”).
Scale type: This is where the “I don’t know” default came in handy; I didn’t get anywhere close enough to tell if they were “Smooth” or “Keeled”.
Pattern: Banded.
Main Background Color: Black.
Belly Color: Again with the default (who’s going to roll over a live snake — and the questionnaire wisely advises you not to).
Distinctive Characteristics: “Scared the bejeezus out of me” wasn’t an option.
Time of Day: Day (vs. Night).
Behavior: “Smells bad?” Who was I to judge after six hours on the trail?
Found in Water? No.
The site suggested it was either a timber rattler or a northern watersnake. I knew it wasn’t the former (no rattle), and while it could have been the latter (it was near water), I had my doubts. That lead me to visit the Snakes of North Carolina Web site where a thumbnail lineup appeared to ID my snake as the eastern kingsnake. Clicking on the thumbnail, I made a positive ID: Five additional shots showed the eastern kingsnake in various black-and-yellow-banded configurations, one of which was spot-on to the guy I’d seen on the trail.

My snake mystery was solved. And based on this fella’s girth (well in excess of a pencil, closer to a plump  kielbasa)  and his trail-side lethargy I’m guessing from what the Web site said that he’d just had a nice lunch.

Crotalus horridus tartare,  perhaps?

The post Taking the mystery out of a snake sighting appeared first on GetGoing NC!.