Rainy today, partly sunny tomorrow: Isn’t that how the adage goes? Or something along those lines? If not, well, so be it. That’s the forecast we’re dealing with, and it’s a pretty darn good one: clouds and rain move out overnight Friday, partly sunny skies and temps in the low 60s move in — perfect weather for a weekend of exploring60Some options:
Tag Archives: Umstead State Park
Challenge Yourself on These 5 Trails
As we transition into spring, our hiking genes kick in. We think not only of our favorite two-hour hikes, but also of those hikes that present a greater challenge, that will prepare us for the epic mountain hikes we hope to take this summer, whether in our own Southern Appalachians or beyond.
Hike with us and avoid the spring crowds
It started two weeks ago with a serenade by spring peepers in a pond at Horton Grove Nature Preserve. It was reinforced a day later by the sudden appearance of perky yellow daffodils near an old homestead along the Eno River. Then, last Friday, on a hike through bottomland forest at Ayr Mount in Hillsborough, I got the sign I’d been waiting for: a trout lily unfurling its delicate yellow and maroon petals.
The RDU Solution: Let’s think big
Several years ago, when Keith Nealson was a ranger at Umstead State Park, I nearly had him talked into a canoe trip down Crabtree Creek through the park. Alas, he transferred (he’s now the superintendent of Eno River State Park) and the trip never advanced beyond talk.
Your Weekend: Plunge, Meet the MST, Run for Chocolate
Reduce your bucket list with a mountain polar plunge, get up to speed on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, or run for chocolate: they’re all options this weekend in North Carolina.
Mountains: 4th Annual Polar Plunge
One of the iconic winter sporting events that might be on a bucket list or two is the polar plunge. If you find the prospect of immersing your already cold body into cold water intriguing, check out this weekend’s 4th Annual Polar Plunge Benefit-t-t-t-ing Kids in the Creek and Youth Education at Lake Junaluska benefitting Kids in the Creek and Environmental Education.