For instance, when we think of goals we tend to think in terms of physical goals. New Year’s goals have come to be associated with physical health, specifically with weight loss. So while our stated goal may not be to lose 35 pounds by swimsuit season by hiking, that may well be our underlying motivator. “I’m going to hike twice a week,” or I’m going to hike 20 miles a week,” may not be overtly about weight loss, but that might well be the underlying factor. The problem? Having such a metric-driven goal may diminish the joy you get out of hiking. Rather than looking for a 5-mile hike with lots of scenic stops for a given Saturday, you may opt instead for a longer hike where you’ll burn more calories, but derive less enjoyment. Eventually, it becomes like going to the gym. And we all know how successful that New Year’s goal generally is.

You hike because you want to. So make your hiking goal for 2024 in synch with your passion. Some examples.

Complete a hiking challenge

When you think of a hiking challenge, you likely think of things such as thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail or section hiking the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. And what if you don’t have a half year to hike the AT, or a year or more to section hike the MST? You have reasonable and admirable options:

• South Beyond 6000 Challenge. There are 40 recognized peaks with elevations in excess of 6,000 feet in the Southeastern U.S.. Climb all 40 and you get not only bragging rights and a patch, you get to explore the 6 highest mountain ranges in the Southeast: Smokies, Plotts, Balsams, Craggies, Blacks and Roans. And if you think the challenge too widespread to complete in a year, consider: 39 of the 40 peaks are in North Carolina or on the N.C./Tennessee line (Mt. LeConte is entirely in Tennessee). Also consider that in one extremely vigorous day of climbing in the Black Mountains you could conceivably knock off nearly a quarter of them, from Mt. Hallback north to Celo Knob along the Black Mountain Crest.
• Pisgah 400. Maybe you’re more driven by the need to make sure you get to the mountains on a regular basis. The Pisgah 400 patch is awarded every hiker who completes every trail in the Pisgah Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest (Shining Rock, the Davidson River and North Mills River areas, Bent Creek, Lake Powhatan). Probably the best hiking in the Pisgah N.F.

You can find additional challenges at the Carolina Mountain Club website (see below).

Complete a long trail section

Again, recognizing that you have limited time — perhaps not enough to hike the 2,175-mile AT or the 1,200-mile MST — what about a section of a long trail. A popular goal in the Triangle, for instance, is to hike the 60-mile stretch of the MST along Falls Lake, or maybe the 120-mile run from the Pleasant Green Access at Eno River State Park to Clayton. Or perhaps the 90.3 miles of the MST along the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Devil’s Garden Overlook south to Beacon Heights. 

As for the AT, maybe you want to hike the 95.7 miles in North Carolina. Or perhaps the 224.7 miles that straddles the North Carolina/Tennessee line. Or both.

Complete a shorter long trail

There are a number of shorter long trails that offer challenge cache in their own right.

• 

  Neusiok Trail, Croatan National Forest, Havelock. This 21-mile trail could be done in a day. It could also be done in a weekend — preferably a weekend in winter, before it warms ands activates the local buzzing and slithering population.

• Uwharrie National Recreation Trail that now runs 20 miles north to south through its namesake forest. An advantage to this goal: it’s challenging hiking close to Charlotte, the Triad, the Triangle.
• Art Loeb Trail, Pisgah National Forest, Brevard. The perfect challenge for a week-long mountain vacation, this 31-miler includes the Shining Rock Wilderness and the Davidson River area. A mix of exposed mountain meadows, balsam forest and classic Southern Appalachian hardwoods.

Master a trail

Acquaintance of many trails but master of none? Wouldn’t it be great to be the go-to person for a given trail or trail network? “You want insight into hiking Hanging Rock? Well, you’ve absolute got to talk to Jane Doaks!” 

How to make this happen? You don’t need to hike an area exclusively, but you should hike it in all four seasons, and you should hike every trail in it in all four seasons. Again, using Hanging Rock as an example, there are 15 hiking trails covering roughly 25 miles (a little less, since about 7.4 miles of the MST, which is an official park trail, piggybacks on other trails). You should also plan to hike each trail in both directions (which you’ll likely do anyway, since most are out-and-backs). That commitment would definitely make you the go-to person for Hanging Rock.

Hike a different trail every time

Maybe that’s a bit extreme and a little counterproductive since most of us have a trail or two we love for various reasons (convenience, a certain scenic hook, etc.) But what if you vowed to hike a new trail a month, or every other week? A goal that would get you out of your been-there-hiked-that rut.

Figure out a schedule for getting new trails into your life.

Tackle a challenging, but realistic one-time goal

The one doable challenge that always comes to mind for me as a hiker: climb Mount Mitchell, the highest point on the Easy Coast, at 6,684 feet. And no asterisks here: summiting Mitchell from the mountaintop snack shop 50 yards from the summit does not count. 

This challenge involves starting at the Black Mountain Campground at the base of Mitchell and hiking the 5.5-mile Mount Mitchell Trail to the summit. If that doesn’t sound like much, we forgot to mention that the hike gains more than 3,700 vertical feet on its way to the top. You don’t just pass through an assortment of ecozones, from Southern Appalachian hardwood forest into a black balsam forest more commonly associated with Canada, you feel like you pass through epochs. 

There are other worthy climbs of note: for instance, in the Smokies, the 9.1-mile climb from Campsite 64 to the top of 6,643-foot Clingman’s Dome gains more than 4,000 vertical feet. But the cache of summiting Mitchell, the highest peak east of South Dakota’s Black Hills, puts this one atop our list.

Plan a mountain outing in the West

There’s not better motivation to get your mountain legs under you than the prospect of summiting 14,000-foot peaks. Granted, dealing with the altitude is another issue. But if you’re planning a weeklong vacation, say, to Rocky Mountain National Park, and your goal is to hike every day, then you better be in the best shape of your life to make that happen. And your preparation starts here, with regular hikes locally and frequent visits to the Southern Appalachians. In fact, a trip out West could be just the thing to help you meet one of the other goals mentioned above. Two birds! Can’t beat that.

Note: If you do decide on a goal such as Rocky Mountain National Park, check with the appropriate land manager now to see if they require a permit. A growing number of National Park Service properties do now, and many go early in the year.

Your goal, your motivation

These are just some goal suggestions, some ideas you might not have thought of. The goal of today’s post? To encourage you not just to set a goal, but to set a goal that taps into your true passion for hiking. If that’s losing 35 pounds so you can squeeze into a Speedo by summer, great. If it’s mastering your local state park’s trail network — and you just happen to lose 35 pounds in the process — all the better.

Whatever your goal, just make sure it’s one that will keep your attention.

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More info

For more information on the goals mentioned above, click the appropriate link below:

• South Beyond 6,000 Challenge
• Pisgah 400
• Carolina Mountain Club Challenges page
• Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• Uwharrie National Recreation Trail
• Neusiok Trail
• Art Loeb Trail
• Mount Mitchell Trail
• Appalachian Trail

Make a commitment 

And to better insure that you get a jump on meeting your 2024 goals, consider committing yourself to our hike that start in GetHiking! Winter/Spring 2024 Hike Series. We do one guided hike the first Sunday of every month, January through June, and prescribe recommended hikes for the off weeks. Learn more about the series here.

The post Mulling a 2024 goal? Make it the right one appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We’re all about challenges this year, and are keen on the hikes near home that offer good preparation: Lots of distance, with as much elevation as you can find near the Piedmont’s metro areas. Here’s a look at five of our favorite challenging trails.

1.Uwharrie Trail, Sections 4-7 (NC 109 to King Mountain Road/Joe Moffitt Trailhead).

11.4 miles.

Uwharrie National Forest

Asheboro

Point-to-Point (shuttle)

People scoff at the Uwharries — until they hike ‘em. The relic mountain range tops out at just over 1,000 feet, but located as it is in the low-lying Piedmont, that can result in climbs gaining up to 500 vertical feet in a relatively short distance. And on this particular stretch of the Uwharrie Trail, the trail is constantly going up or down. As training hikes go, this is one of the best. You can build up to the whole 11.4 miles by starting with the NC 109 to Tower Road Stretch (6.3 miles), or continuing on to the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead on Flint Hill Road (8.3 miles). This is also one of the rockier trails around. Shuttle required.

2. Company Mill / Sycamore Figure 8

9 miles

Umstead State Park

Raleigh

Figure 8 loop

This trail gets a lot of tough love from backpackers training for a trip to the high country. It doesn’t have the elevation you’ll find in the Pisgah or Nantahala national forests, but the ongoing ups and downs coupled with the distance give you a good workout and a sense of a long miles carrying weight. It’s also a scenic hike. Starting from the park’s Harrison Avenue entrance, the Company Mill Trail crests three small ridges before crossing Crabtree Creek. There, the trail loops; go left(you’ll be returning on the trail to your right) for a short walk along the river before a gradual climb of a mile or so. Cross the bike & bridle trail for more quick ups-and-downs, before transferring to the Sycamore loop at its namesake creek. More up and down and up and down on this 4-mile loop that reconnects with Company Mill for a return with — you guessed it — more ups and downs.

3. Mountain Trail / Ledge Spring Trail / Grindstone Trail

9 miles

Pilot Mountain State Park

Pinnacle

Loop

Experienced hikers tend to shy away from Pilot Mountain in good weather because of the website warning that it can take up to 30 minutes to simply score a parking spot. That, however, is in the main lot, up top. Start from the Pinnacle Hotel Road Access at the base of the mountain and you’ll have your choice of primo spots (and a privy, too!). Start on the Mountain Trail, hiking clockwise, through some mature forest and rock outcrop as you wind your way up the mountain. At the Grindstone Trail, hang a right and then climb, climb, climb to the summit parking area. The Ledge Spring Trail (great views, check out the climbers) returns you to Grindstone, which connects to the Mountain Trail at the ranger office. From there, enjoy a comparatively mellow mile-and-a-half back to the trailhead.

4. Ridgeline Trail / Pinnacle Trail

8.2 miles

Crowders Mountain State Park

Kings Mountain

Point-to-point

One of the advantages here is that on a nice day when the park’s main parking is packed, you can usually find a spot at the remote Boulders Access. From there, take the Ridgeline Trail north over rolling Piedmont terrain to The Pinnacle. Take the spur to the summit, check out the views, return to the Pinnacle Trail and take it to the Sparrow Springs Access and Visitor Center. If you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can return to the Boulders on the Ridgeline Trail, for a roughly 15-mile day. This is a good opportunity to log miles with a weighted pack.

5. Cedar Ridge Trail / Bluff Mountain Trail / Flat Rock Ridge Trail

17 miles

Doughton Park

Roaring Gap

Loop

Our favorite training hike — and yes, it’s technically a mountain hike, located as it is on the face of the Blue Ridge Escarpment. But it’s easily doable in a day from the Triad, Triangle and Charlotte, qualifying it for our purposes. Plus, it’s one of our favorite hikes. If 17 miles seems like too long a distance, consider the layout. You start from the base of the escarpment, from the Long Bottom Road Access, and climb the Cedar Ridge Trail. Cedar Ridge pulls no punches, starting with some challenging switchback climbing. But before you can say uncle, it eases up the remaining ridge to the Bluff Mountain Trail: about 95 percent of your climbing for the day is behind you. Here, go south on the Bluff Mountain Trail (also part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail), which begins in a hemlock woods, then spends most of its time rolling through scenic mountaintop meadows. Another climb or two awaits before you hit the Flat Rock Ridge Trail, which has one short but steep climb initially, but then is a delightful long downhill back to the trailhead. One of the best circuits you’ll do all year.

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Challenge yourself

We’re planning to do several Challenge hikes this year, hikes that live up to the label of “epic.” We launched our Challenge series earlier this month with a series of training hikes that will help prepare hikers for March 10th’s Five Peaks Challenge at Hanging Rock State Park. We’re also looking at a hike in the Shining Rock area of around 15 miles in June and an end-to-end hike of the 13-mile Black Mountain Crest Trail, from Bowlen Creek to the summit of Mount Mitchell, in July. We’re also looking at a hike in the Slickrock Wilderness area of the Nantahala National Forest in late summer/early fall.

We’ll announce dates for these hikes soon. If you’d like to get on our early notice list (each hike will be limited to 10 participants), drop us a line at joe@getgoingnc.com.

Learn more

Learn more about the trails listed above:

Uwharrie Trail: “Uwharrie Lakes Region Trail Guide,” by Don Childrey (Second Edition, 2014, Earthbound Sports).

Company Mill Trail

Mountain Trail

Ridgeline Trail

Doughton Park

Happy trails,

Joe

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Today’s 90-Second Escape: GetHiking! New Trail in the Uwharries

Content from GetHiking! New Trail in the Uwharries

This weekend, our GetHiking! groups in Charlotte, the Triad and the Triangle hiked a new stretch of trail in the Uwharrie National Forest. Specifically, a 6.2-mile stretch that extends the north end of the Uwharrie Trail from the Jumping-Off Rock Trailhead on Flint Hill Road north to Pisgah Covered Bridge Road.

It’s a scenic stretch of trail, with passage over King Mountain, at 1,020 feet the highest point on the Uwharrie Trail, and Little Long Mountain, one of the few high points in the Uwharries offering panoramic views. We were especially fortunate to have as our guide Don Childrey, author of “Uwharrie Lakes Region Trail Guide,” the second edition of which just came out.
Tag along for a quick virtual escape. Then get Don’t book and plan your own outing.

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Coast

The best time to hike in a swamp? Right about now, when the temperatures are keeping all the creepy, crawly, bitey critters at bay. And the best way to hike a swamp? Elevated, on a boardwalk.

Which is what they’ll be doing Saturday morning at Goose Creek State Park. The Palmetto Boardwalk isn’t long, but it exposes you to a world that otherwise would be difficult to access.  Pennywort and ferns, Dwarf Palmetto, Spanish moss hanging tinsel-like from the canopy, bald cypress, black willows and live oaks, all the flora you associate with swamps — and on a hike with a ranger who will help you make sense of this evocative ecotone.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 10, 10 a.m., Goose Creek State Park, Washington. More info here: 252.923.2191, more information on Goose Creek State Park, here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny with an afternoon high of 38.

Piedmont

Who doesn’t love to discover a new trail? Even better: a new trail that’s actually new.

Saturday and Sunday, our GetHiking! program will explore 6.2 miles of new trail in the Uwharrie National Forest, a northern extension of the Uwharrie National Recreation Trail, from the Jumping-Off Rock trailhead off Flint Hill Road to Pisgah Covered Bridge Road. It’s an especially intriguing stretch, topping both Little Long Mountain, which offers one of the few vistas in the Uwharries, and King Mountain, one of the highest points in the range.

One more reason to do this hike: it will be lead by Don Childrey, author of the “Uwharrie Lakes Region Trail Guide,” the second edition of which was just released. Don knows the natural and human history of the region better than just about anyone.

Logistics: GetHiking! Triangle will do this hike Sunday at 10 a.m. GetHiking! Charlotte and GetHiking! Triad will do the hike Saturday at 10 a.m. For specifics, click on the GetHiking! chapter nearest you.

Weekend forecast: Saturday, sunny with a high of 36, Sunday, cloudy with a high of 44.

Mountains

There’s a perception that just because you’re going to the mountains for a hike, it has to be a hard hike. In truth, there are lots of hikes for folks who don’t view every outing as an episode of “Survivor.”

Like Saturday’s YMCA-Woodfin hike at Bear Wallow Mountain. It’s a three-mile round trip with just a 500-foot overall elevation gain. You needn’t be a Y member, there’s even a carpool from the Y, at 40 N. Merrimon Ave. The hike is free, $5 for the carpool would be appreciated.

Bear Wallow Mountain: Jan. 10, 8:45 a.m.-3 p.m., YMCA-Woodfin, 40 N. Merrimon Ave., Asheville. Three mile round trip. 500 foot elevation gain. Easy. No need to be a Y member. Bring lunch and water. Dress accordingly. Free. $5 if carpooling. Registration required. Contact Blanca Miller at Bmoi735@gmail.com.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 10, 8:45 a.m.-3 p.m., Bear Wallow Mountain. Free, but pre-registration is required, by emailing Blanca Miller at Bmoi735@gmail.com.

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 36.

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

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When Don Childrey was a Boy Scout in Burlington in the 1970s, his Troop No. 73 frequently went backpacking in the Uwharrie Mountains.
“I didn’t realize at the time what a big deal it was,” recalls Childrey.
The big deal was that Asheboro area scout leader Joe Moffitt had grown weary of taking his troops to the mountains for their 50-mile backpacking badges. Shoot, we could do those here, he figured, what with the 51,000-acre Uwharrie National Forest in his backyard. So he set about, over just five years, to build a trail running from the Asheboro airport off NC 49 south to NC 24/27, distance of about 40 miles. (Additional trail on the southern end of the forest boosted the overall total closer to 50.) Moffitt worked with the U.S. Forest Service to blaze some of the trail, he worked with private land owners, primarily on the north end, to blaze more. Moffitt’s localness and ability to get along with anyone went a long way toward getting private landowners on board.
In the ‘80s. Moffitt’s handshake agreements didn’t always translate as land was handed down to younger generations. Increasingly, sections of the once legendary Uwharrie National Recreation Trail on private lands disappeared. By the early ‘90s, the trail was down to 20 miles, from Tot Hill Road south to NC 24/27.

1998: A trail guide is born
Still, that and about another 130 miles of trail in the region was enough to convince Childrey, then the Randolph County highway maintenance engineer for the NCDOT, to write a trail guide.
“There wasn’t really a good guide just for the area,” says Childrey, an avid mountain biker and hiker.

In 1998, Childrey’s “Uwharrie Lakes Region Trail Guide” was published by Earthbound Sports of Chapel Hill. The guide covered about 150 miles of hiking, biking, equestrian and OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) trails, from Morrow Mountain and the Badin Lakes area to the west, to the Uwharrie National Forest stretching from the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness on the north to the Wood Run Area to the south. It was a five-year effort that Childrey figured would stand for at least that long. In fact, that first edition made it 16 years, until his vastly expanded second edition came out this fall.
The latest edition includes 113 named trails, more than 215 miles of trail, and 95 suggested trips including two or more trails.

2014: … and reborn
“In 2006 I started thinking about it when 40 miles of equestrian trail in the Badin Lakes area, which had been rebel trail, became official,” says Childrey. “I got serious about it a couple years later.
“The second edition took six years,” he says. “You wouldn’t think an update would take more time, but I did have to check all the original trail. And,” he adds, “I don’t live in the area any more.” Childrey has since changed jobs with the state and lives in Cary.
In addition to those Badin Lakes equestrian traills, the second edition includes new trail in Albemarle City Lake Park, Boone Cave Park, and in Troy. He also includes several Forest Service access roads that are closed to traffic. “Most are out-and-backs, but several can be pared with trails or other roads for a loop,” says Childrey. For instance, “Morris Mountain Trip A” (page 324) includes a 2.6-mile stretch of Spencer Creek Road and a 2.7-mile return on the Uwharrie Trail.
Several such connections make more intriguing day trip loop hikes out of the north-south Uwharrie Trail.

Uwharrie Trail: regaining it’s past form
Perhaps the most awaited additions in the book are Uwharrie Trail Sections 4 and 3,  new trail that extends the Uwharrie Trail north from the Jumping-Off Rock trailhead on Flint Hill Road eight miles to Pisgah Covered Bridge Road.
Section 4 heads north from the Jumping-Off Rock parking area and climbs Little Long Mountain. “It’s like a bald on top,” says Childrey. “It’s got great views, which is unusual for the Uwharries.”
That section ends at King Mountain Road, at the Montgomery County/Randolph County line. There, Section 3 continues north and includes a healthy climb (more than 300 vertical feet in a half mile) over King Mountain, one of the few peaks in the Uwharries to brush 1,000 feet. That section ends at Pisgah Covered Bridge Road.

Back to 40?
For those wondering when the 28 miles of southern Uwharrie Trail will link with the 5 miles of trail heading south from Tot Hill Road through the Birkhead Mountains Wilderness — a connection that would essentially reestablish the Uwharrie Trail as it was known in the 1970s — Childrey advises patience.
“It’s only about two, two and a half miles as the crow flies,” says Childrey. But it’s on private land and the current landowner isn’t keen on a trail. For the time being, Childrey offers a 7.2-mile workaround that involves hiking Pisgah Covered Bridge Road, High Pine Church Road and Lassiter Mill Road to the Robbins Branch Trailhead.
So why the Uwharries? What’s the attraction of this ancient, isolated mountain range in the heart of the Piedmont?
Childrey refers back to the logic that drove Joe Moffitt to create the Uwharrie Trail in the first place.
“One of the benefits is that they’re so much closer than the Pisgah [National Forest in western North Carolina],” says Childrey. “Most people don’t think there are good hills around here, but the [Uwharrie] river elevation is 300 feet and the peaks reach a thousand.”
The implication?
Even if you don’t think they’re mountains, your legs may beg to suggest otherwise.

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Check out Don Childrey’s just-published Second Edition of the “Uwharrie Lakes Region Trail Guide: Hiking and Biking in North Carolina’s Uwharrie Mountains,” by going here. 

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