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.
Share backcountry cooking tips at Cliffs of the Neuse, run a half marathon at South Mountains, have a rad time on the slopes at Beech Mountain: they’re all options this weekend in North Carolina.
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Joe Jacob, owner of Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. and longtime guide, once confided to us that the success of any trip he ran hinged on one thing: good food. It’s true. You can have a miserable day on the trail, but all is quickly forgotten if a feast awaits at trail’s end. Which is why we recommend Saturday’s Outdoor Cooking Potluck at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park near Goldsboro. Says the program description: “Show off your outdoor cooking skills! A Ranger will prepare a meal as well.” Sounds like a great way to pick up some campground cooking tips.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming. Are you prepared?
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This year’s edition of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count is Feb. 15-18. On those days, amateur birdwatchers — or Citizen Scientists, as joint sponsors The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon refer to them — take as little as 15 minutes a day to record the bird activity around them. Count the number of different species you see in a given location, enter your findings at the GBBC Web site.
The count is open to even the most inexperienced birder. But if you are that inexperienced birder, you’d like to have at least some idea of what you’re looking at. If you can’t tell a robin from a wren, then you might benefit from an Armchair Birding class, which they just happen to be offering Sunday at Dismal Swamp State Park. Tips on how to ID birds and “make a contribution as a Citizen Scientist … in next week’s Great Backyard Bird Count.”
When I first started writing about fitness and the outdoors back in the early 1990s, there were a handful of ways you could welcome the New Year in most communities. There was usually a 5K run, a bike shop sponsored a casual ride, canoe clubs held members-only paddles, there was a hike or two, and some oddball group was jumping into a local lake (and jumping right back out again). You had options for welcoming the new year, but not a lot.
We rode at Umstead Tuesday morning and noticed nothing different. We rode Thursday morning and couldn’t help but notice the difference.
Fall had finally begun gracing the Piedmont with its festive palette.
Poplars were suddenly popping yellow, sourwoods were flashing crimson, red maples were glowing red. Real color, the first of the season. And who knows how long it will last.