It started as a mellow saunter, progressed to an up-tempo hike, then, on a modest downhill, evolved into a trot. It was one of my first hikes at the Triangle Land Conservancy’s new Brumley Forest property near Hillsborough, and the absence of rocks and tree roots coupled with the gentle flow reminded me of my bygone days of being able to run a 10-minute mile on trail.

For the most part, I believe trails should be treated like a nice wine: savored and not rushed. But every once in a while, you find one that begs to be consumed with abandon. Here are five trails/trail networks where speeding is understandable and should be tolerated.

1. Brumley Forest

Hillsborough

7.5 miles

Multiple trails

There are about 15 miles of trail at Brumley Forest, half of which are open to mountain biking and have the best runner mojo. Wood Duck Way is a nice warm-up, connecting to the lengthy — 4.2 miles (more if you aren’t paying attention) — Springhouse Loop. You’ll find a few, brief rocky spots, engineered for the enjoyment of mountain bikers, but they break up the run with some focused tip-toeing. Throw in the whoop-de-doing Buckeye Loop and you’ve got 7.5 miles of fast, foot-friendly fun.

More info here.

2. Pilot Mountain State Park

Pinnacle

Mountain Trail/Grindstone Loop

6 miles

Two reasons to run this loop. First, it eschews the crowds that frequent the top of Pilot Mountain, where you can wait 30 minutes for a parking spot, and once you’re on the trail, you’re constantly dodging hikers. (You can begin this loop from the lonely Surry Line Road Access.) Second, it has it’s challenging moments (read: climbs) but none are severe and none last long. Plus, you’ll be spending your time in a nicely shaded hardwood forest, especially important on a summer run.

More info here.

3. Hagen Stone Park

Pleasant Garden

3.5 miles

Chatfield Trail

To indicate how threat-free most of this trail is, it’s one of the most popular cross-country courses in the region. It’s noted for its passing lanes, its push-me-but-don’t-break-me climbs, and its overall flow. As for the half mile or so that’s not part of the course, if you start from the gravel lot just inside the front gate and run clockwise, you’ll get it out of the way first, while you’re still fresh.

More info here.

4. National Whitewater Center

Charlotte

30 miles (with smaller runs easily doable)

Multiple trails

This multi-use network is shared by runners and mountain bikers, but the wide trails (in most spots) make it work for both. A traditional rating system for the mountain bikers makes it easy to see whether a trail is easy, intermediate, or holy-cow-how-did-I-wind-up-here? hard. Designed with mountain bikers in mind, the trail has good flow, and the compacted surface minimizes slippage. One caveat: while you don’t have to pay the Whitewater Center admission fee to run, you do have to pay to park: $5 a day, $40 a year.

More info here.

5. Harris Lake County Park

Holly Springs

5 miles

Peninsula Trail

The true joy of this hike isn’t the smooth running surface, or the absence of elevation. Rather, it’s the ever-changing scenery that makes this 5 miles fly by. You’ll run through a swamp, amid the longleafs of a pine savannah, along the lake, past a disc golf course — you’ll even catch a glimpse of the nuclear reactor over yonder. That smooth trail surface lets you enjoy the views and allows your endorphin-energized brain to emphasize the pure enjoyment of the run.

More info here.

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Coast

At less than a mile in length, the Basin Trail at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area offers about as much bang for the hiking boot as any trail around. The park’s website says it best: “Fort Fisher provides a glimpse of the dynamic ecosystem known as a barrier spit where the only constant is change. Sixteen threatened and endangered species can be found at Fort Fisher depending on the time of year.”

From beach to maritime forest to Spartina salt marsh, there’s so much nature to appreciate. The trail is also rich in human history, passing a bunker built as park of Camp Davis in World War II and later adopted as home by the Fort Fisher Hermit. A worthy hike on several levels, a hike best enjoyed when lead by a knowledgeable ranger, which will be the case this Saturday.

Logistics: Saturday, April 18, 2 p.m., Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. For more information, call 910.458.5798.

Saturday forecast: High of 70, mostly sunny.

Piedmont

Trail running has a weird mystique about it. Runners accustomed to pavement think you daft when you wax about running through the woods on rocky, rooty, potentially-ankle-twisting terrain; hikers can’t understand why you’d want to go any faster. Logical arguments, granted.

And yet …

Those rocky, rooty trails with every foot-strike different are actually easier on your body and, provided you’re paying attention, less likely to result in injury. And by going that much faster, hikers, you get to see that much more of the forest. It makes sense. Really.

See for yourself Saturday afternoon at Eno River State Park when a park ranger hosts “Intro to Trail Running. Participants should have some experience either running or hiking, and be comfortable with a 12- to 15-minute per mile pace. The run will be on a mostly foot-friendly stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail downstream from the park’s Pleasant Green Access.

Logistics: Saturday, April 18, 3:30 p.m., Pleasant Green Access, Eno River State Park. For more info call 919.383.1686. Wear shoes good for running, bring water and a snack.

Saturday forecast: High of 75 with a chance of light rain.

Mountains

This likely falls into the “spectator” category for most of us, but hey, go, watch and who knows about next year?

NCDH @ Mount Jefferson

This weekend, on the twisty road down from Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, is the Downhill Skateboard Race @ Mount Jefferson. Contestants riding longboards will fly (not quite literally, but pert near) down the road at speeds of 40 mph or more. You’ve seen the videos, now see it live. To prepare for the event, we suggest you check out this profile of contestant Kevin Shelton in the Asheville Citizen-Times.  Shelton is 49.

And check out the video … .

Logistics: Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19, Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. More info here.

Weekend forecast: High of 74 with a chance of rain Saturday, high of 57 with a real good chance of rain Sunday.

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

Coast

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The post This weekend: A unique trail, a trail run, a run downhill appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: Exploring Hampton Roads

Ever look at a map and say, “I wonder what you can do there?” And then decided to find out?
That’s not exactly how my trip to the Hampton Roads region of southeast Virginia unfolded; my visit was work-related, albeit work that required me to get out and explore. A pretty fun place, as it turns out.

Here’s a 90 Second peek into where and how can actively amuse yourself in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News-Hampton-Suffolk-Chesapeake area. I’ll report more in the weeks ahead.

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Here’s an exchange I find myself having surprisingly often.
Other Person: I’ve been trying to find a local hiking [slash-paddling-slash-cycling-slash-climbing-slash-other-favorite-activity-here] club but haven’t had any luck. Are there any?
Me: Have you tried Meetup?
OP: Meetup?
Yes, even today, after 12 years, 14.1 million members, 131,119 Meetup groups and 2.65 million monthly RSVPS (members indicating they plan to attend a Meetup activity) there are still people out there unfamiliar with Meetup.com. In short: Meetup is how people gather to play in the internet age. You want to go on a group hike in Charlotte, you join Outdoor Club South: Charlotte. You want to go kayaking in the Carolinas? Simply join Simply Kayaking. You want to do just about anything and you live in the Triangle? Become one of the 5,392 members of the Triangle Hiking & Outdoors Group: they’ve got 20 events currently scheduled and odds are at least one will tickle your adventure fancy.
Finding a group is easy. Go to Meetup.com, click “Find a Meetup Group,” click on your interest and how far you’re willing to drive, and options will appear. If they don’t, if there’s not a group that does what you want to do, start one.
To give you an idea of what’s out there, here’s a list of the 17 Meetup groups I belong to. Click, see what they do, where they go and who they are. Like what they’re about? Click one more time and become a member.
It’s that easy.

1. Outdoor Club South: Charlotte
2. Outdoor Club South: Greenville, S.C.
3. Outdoor Club South: Wilmington
4. The Charleston Sea Kayaking Meetup Group
5. Extreme Obstacle Course Runners
6. Hiking – Charlotte/Piedmont Areas
7. Kayak Flatwater Paddlers
8. Palmetto Adventure Club
9. Raleigh Recreational Hikers
10. Raleigh Rock Climbing Meetup
11. Raleigh Trail Runners
12. Raleigh Weekday Outdoor Activity Group
13. Simply Kayaking
14. Trailblazer Adventure Racing Club
15. Triad Hiking & Outdoors Group
16. Triangle Hiking & Outdoors Group
17. Triangle Off-Road Cyclists

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When I started running in the late 1970s, I would find a shoe, run it into the ground in six months, head back to my local Phidippides to buy another pair — and discover the manufacturer either no longer made that shoe or had drastically altered it to the point that a shoe that recently fit a short, wide foot now only accommodated a sleek Cinderella. It would take me three or four more six-month cycles to find another Mr. Right Fit — and six months later that shoe was likewise gone. I still remember the sales guy trying to console me after breaking the news that my beloved Saucony Jazz had changed and was no longer right for me.

Last May, three years into my second running life, this one more geared toward trail than pavement, I was introduced to the Brooks Cascadia 7. I thought I’d been happy in my Vasque Mindbenders, and I was. A blister or two is to be expected on long trail runs. Hot feet as well. But it didn’t take five miles in my new Cascadias to tell me I’d found my true shoe. They weren’t the trendy minimalist shoes, the gossamer coverings I’d seen dance past me in trail races. But who was I kidding? My aging bones can’t take that much direct pounding; I need the extra cush. The tread was grippy and the inside wrapped around my chubby foot like dough around the pig in-a-blanket. They were bombproof.

I couldn’t have been happier.

After the Umstead Trail Marathon March 2, I decided to treat myself to new shoes — new Cascadias, of course. I swung by the Great Outdoor Provision Co. in Cameron Village, plucked a new Cascacadia 8 from the display rack and joyfully tossed it in my hands. A little lighter than the 7, I realized. “Can I try this in a 9?” I asked. I wasn’t expecting any surprises; still, always good to play it safe. And safe my foot felt, nestled in this familiar cocoon of comfort.

But as I was bouncing around in my soon-to-be 8s, I happened to notice the 8’s neighbor on the display rack — the Brooks PureFlow2. It was shinny (orange, with black and white trim), it was light (at 8.8 ounces, a significant 3.1 ounces lighter than the Cascadia 8 ) and it looked fast! I playfully tossed this light, sexy shoe in my right hand.

“Here are your shoes.” I found myself holding a box of my old standbys in one hand, an orange vixen in the other. Reluctantly, I put the orange shoe back, paid for my 8s and left.

For a week, the 8s staid in the back seat of my car, unopened. I confessed my longings for the PureFlow2 to my training buddy, Chuck. If you were tempted by the PureFlow2, he said, wait until you see the Altra Running Lone Peak,  “which I think you would find to be a suitable replacement for the Cascadia.” Homewrecker.

I was torn. I loved the Cascadias, I really did. They’d been so good to me over the past year. And really, for a guy my age the PureFlow2 made no sense. Minimal support, clearly inadequate tread for the rocky, rooty trails I run. And glow-in-the-dark orange? If that doesn’t scream midlife running crisis. And yet … .

I needed to clear my head, to think. And of course the best place to do that is on the trail, running. It was cool out but sunny, a gorgeous day for a run and it enveloped me from the start. The first mile or so of this particular run — the Loblolly Trail at Umstead State Park — is a mellow downhill, easy to warm to and get lost in. I juked through rock gardens, floated over rocks, gave in to long, lurid strides on the longer downhill stretches. This is why I run, I thought. And that’s about when I realized me dilemma was solved.
The answer, it turned out, was right at the tip of my ankles.

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