Hiking trails continue to be over-run. Thank the run of great weather (OK, there’s been a little rain here and there) and a lack of other recreational options during the age of Coronavirus for that.
But this overcrowding is more of a situation for trails intended for two feet. What about all the trails built for four?
Carolina Beach Double Sprint Triathlon: the triathlon so nice they let you do it twice. Plus, surviving the wilds of South Mountains and experiencing Mount Mitchell’s gentler side.
Coast
Loaded with energy? Say, twice the energy you typically have?
Then perhaps you’re up for Saturday’s Carolina Beach Douple Sprint Triathlon in Carolina Beach. Swim 375 meters in the Atlantic, run 1.5 miles, bike 20K. Then, instead of collapsing and kicking back a cold one, collect yourself for another 1.5-mile run, another 375 meters in the ocean. The course is described as flat.
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
The following is a post, tweaked and updated, that originally ran a year ago, on the Great Outdoor Provision Co. blog. It heralds the start of our fourth season of GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking clinics.
Over the past year and a half, I’ve watched a remarkable thing happen to about 80 people.
They’ve became backpackers.
On the way to their initial goal of extending their day on the trail into night, they found much more. They dispelled irrational fears. They learned to be be self-reliant. They escaped the electronic world and they discovered that carrying your world on your back is not a burden but a blessing.
In 2013, we launched the GetHiking! program, initially in the Triangle, later in Charlotte and the Triad. The goal: to introduce more people hiking by: a) assuring newcomers they wouldn’t get left behind; and, b) showing folks great trails locally and throughout North Carolina.
I had a hunch there were a lot of hikers-in-waiting out there and I was correct: today, the three hiking groups and a corporate wellness affiliate have about 3,000 members.