Sometimes you’re intrigued by an ambitious goal — a marathon, for instance, or triathlon — but are hesitant to commit. If only you could see it in action first … . Well, if you’ve been intrigued by the idea of an ultra — a footrace longer than a marathon — then head to Bald Island this weekend and check out the Third Annual Badwater Cape Fear, where runners will be doing either a 50K or 51.4-mile run, most of it along the lonely coastline between Cape Fear and Fort Fisher.
Tag Archives: weekend
A Cool, possibly wet first weekend of summer
On Wednesday, we clued you in to what was going on throughout North Carolina on this upcoming weekend, the first official weekend of summer. Today, we provide a quick weather overview to further help in your weekend decision-making.
In short, the Triad appears to be the driest part of the state this weekend, with no rain in the forecast for Saturday and just a 30 percent chance on Sunday. Could bode well for a trip to Hanging Rock State Park or Pilot Mountain State Park. Elsewhere, temperatures appear to be seasonably cool, with highs in the Piedmont and coastal plains in the low to mid 80s, upper 70s in the high country. There’s a 20 percent to 50 percent chance of rain for much of the state this weekend.
90 Second Escape: Late Sunday afternoon
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 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.
This weekend: Look for spring, Run for Roses, hike in … snow?
North Carolina’s diversity shows this weekend. At the coast, you can look for signs of spring, in the Piedmont you can run a venerable 5K and in the mountains, you can take a hike — possibly in the snow!
Coast
This is about the time the natural world starts to awaken from its cold winter nap — or as much of a nap as you can work in with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Most people assume that wildflowers such as the hepatica and trout lily represent the vanguard of spring, showing, typically, at the beginning of March. But knowing that spring is on the way is really a matter of knowing where to look. Under a log, for instance, which is where they’ll be looking for harbingers of spring on Saturday at Dismal Swamp State Park. Take a hike, find a log, flip it and see what scurries about. (Salamanders, millipedes and assorted insects will be your likely subjects.)
Celebrate the weekend at an N.C. State Park
In honor of Celebrate North Carolina State Parks weekend, which is this weekend, we cull our recommendations from this weekend’s State Park offerings.
Coast
1. Ever see “Little Shop of Horrors” (either the 1960 Roger Korman original or the 1986 Frank Oz remake)? A man-eating plant! How outlandish, you likely thought.