Don’t forget your eclipse-viewing safety glasses!

Based on dire warnings from N.C. Department of Transportation message boards statewide (“Plan Ahead”!), we’re guessing that pert near everyone is resting up this weekend for the day of gathering gloom on Monday. Thus, we focus on events focused on the Sun’s disappearance Monday afternoon around 2:30.

Coast

The North Carolina coast is outside the range of total obliteration; Wilmington, at 96 percent obfuscation, is about as close as you’ll get. With a variety of events planned, we like the Solar Eclipse Party planned at Airlie Gardens in conjunction with the Cape Fear Museum, New Hanover County Library and the National Weather Service. They’ll provide those hard-to-get viewing glasses (numbers are limited; first come, first serve), plus family-friendly games, educational activities and more.

Logistics: Solar Eclipse Party, Monday, August 21, 12:30-3:30 p.m., Airlie Gardens, Wilmington. $3-$9. More info here.

Monday forecast: High of 87, chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

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Piedmont

North Carolina State Parks has several viewing events planned, including many in the Piedmont (find a complete list here.)

Centrally located, in Greensboro, is the Solar Eclipse Viewing party planned for Haw River State Park at their Iron Ore Belt Access. The viewing will be from the grassy recreation field near the parking lot, offering a sweeping view to the south and west. Arrive early and hike the 3.8-mile Great Blue Heron lollipop loop — but be sure to get back in time to score one of 70 pairs of eclipse-viewing glasses available.

Logistics: Solar Eclipse Viewing, Monday, Aug. 21, 2-3 p.m., Haw River State Park, Greensboro. More info here.

Monday forecast: High of 89, sunny.

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Mountains

The land will go dark for as long as 2 minutes and 39 seconds in far southwestern North Carolina. Bryson City, Cashiers, Sylva and other towns in the path of Totality have big events planned; Clingmans Dome is a ticketed event, the road to the top closed except to the shuttled few. The Blue Ridge Parkway? West of Pisgah Inn, the nation’s most famous scenic parkway will resemble Charlotte’s I-485 at rush hour. Expect mountain traffic like you’ve never seen.

Committed to the total experience? For our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Co., we compiled a list of five mountain peaks where, with a little legwork, you should be able to experience the eclipse minus the maddening crowds. Find that list here.

If you’re fine with the group experience, RomanticAsheville.com has put together a pretty comprehensive list of events; find that rundown here.

Monday forecast: The forecast for Andrews: high of 85 under clear skies.

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

Coast

The post This weekend: Embrace the approaching gloom appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Moving is good. Learning something while you’re on the move is even better. This weekend is a good one for learning on the move.

Coast

For many, the key to getting active is to resist the urge to overindulge at the start and expect immediate results. That’s why so many New Year’s resolutions go kaput before January is over: you expect to become Charles (or Charlene) Atlas in just two weeks.

That’s why we like events such as Saturday’s Guided Walking Tour of Forest Hills in Wilmington. On this hour-and-a-half walk you’ll take a leisurely pace through the historic Forest Hills section of Wilmington, learning about “architecture and landscape design within the neighborhood, highlighting the economic, social, and community development. These tours bring attention to the special qualities of the neighborhoods and how they contribute to the city’s quality of life.”

Learning and moving. Pretty good combination.

Logistics: Guided Walking Tour of Forest Hills, Saturday, July 15, 10 a.m., Wilmington. $10. Pre-registration required, by calling 910.762.2511.

Saturday forecast: 86 and mostly sunny at walk time.

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Looking ahead: Can’t make Sunday’s walk? It repeats on July 29. More info here.

Piedmont

Conquering our fears: that’s part of why we go outside. We hike at night to get past fearing a dark forest. We go off trail — with map and compass — to explore the less-visited and feel more comfortable navigating the woods. We embrace water crossings as refreshing rather than reject them for the possibility of getting wet.

And yet, we remain fearful of snakes. All snakes.

Sunday, take the first step toward getting past your ophidiophobia by attending Snakes! At Pilot Mountain State Park. Learn how to identify snakes (including the venomous ones), learn about their lives. Learn to appreciate them as one of one of your incentives for heading outdoors.

Logistics: Snakes!, Sunday, July 16, 10 a.m., Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle. More information here.

Saturday forecast: 78 and sunny at event time.

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Looking ahead: Canoe the Yadkin, Thursday, July 27, 10 a.m., Yadkin River Access of Pilot Mountain State Park. More info here.

Mountains

Hiking in the spruce and pine forests at North Carolina’s highest elevations is like hiking in a different world. Or Canada. If you’re accustomed to the ecozones of the lower Southern Appalachian hardwood forests, you likely find yourself asking, like a confused tourist, “What the heck is that?”

Find out “what the heck” on Sunday’s High Elevation Peaks hike at Mount Mitchell State Park. “Join a ranger to understand why the Black Mountain Range and Mt. Mitchell are so unique in North Carolina in terms of its ecology and wildlife,” says the hike description. Then, take a few minutes to head north on the Black Mountain Crest Trail to put your newfound knowledge to work identifying this curious land of boreal delights.

Logistics: High Elevation Peaks, Sunday, July 16, 2 p.m., Mount Mitchell State Park, Burnsville. More info here.

Sunday forecast: 64 degrees under sunny skies.

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Looking ahead: Balsam Nature Trail Guided Hike, Sunday, Sept. 10, Mount Mitchell State Park, Burnsville. More info here.

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

Looking ahead: Can’t make Saturday morning’s Build-a-Boat? The event repeats Saturday, July 29 at noon. More info here.

Mountains

D’ja ever wonder about the weather on top of a mountain? About the highest wind gusts ever recorded? Lowest temperature? Most snow?

Likewise, who hasn’t wondered how they record that information? Saturday is your chance to have these questions answered at Mount Jefferson State Natural Area. Setting out from the picnic area, you’ll make the short clime to MJ’s 4,683-foot summit, home to a North Carolina Climate Office data collection tower, where the mountain will reveal her climatological secrets during the Mount Jefferson’s Climate Tower program.

Logistics: Mount Jefferson’s Climate Tower, Saturday, July 8, 2 p.m., Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Mostly sunny with a high of 76.

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Looking ahead: Can’t make Saturday’s hike, but intrigued all the same by Mount Jefferson? Then consider the Rock Outcrop Hike at the park on Saturday, July 29. More info here.

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

Coast

The post This weekend: Get out and learn a thing or two appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Sunny skies, temperatures in the 50s! By gum, that’s the way winter is supposed to be! And that’s how it will be this weekend, perfect weather for a 5K, a family nature hike and more.

Coast

It’s early in the season, you want to start logging races, but PRs aren’t a concern. Sure, you want a decent time — as a baseline for 2017, if nothing else — but really, you want to get back into the groove of the 5K. The camaraderie, the pageantry, the fun. And if you happen to score a podium in your age group … .

Saturday’s 8th Annual Cardinal Strut sounds like just your race. Sponsored by Holly Tree Elementary School in Wilmington, the Strut features a flat course through the surrounding neighborhood followed by breakfast from the Waffle House. If you’ve ever felt the need to justify a hash brown bowl, the Strut’s 10K option could be it. Best of all, proceeds from the race benefit Strut for Kids, a non-profit providing funds to families of children in New Hanover County who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Logistics: 8th Annual Cardinal Strut, Saturday, March 4, 8 a.m., Holly Tree Elementary School, Wilmington. $35/$40. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, race time high of 34.

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Looking ahead: 3rd Annual SUP Surfing Pro-Am, April 15, Wrightsville Beach. More info here.

Piedmont

Mecklenburg County is peppered with nature preserves — 16 run by the county alone. These oases amid the urban chaos make for great introductions to the natural world, especially for kids.

Saturday, you can make such an introduction at the McDowell Nature Preserve. In the morning, a staff naturalist leads a 2- to 3-mile Family Nature Hike, stopping to examine the flora and fauna found along the way. Wear “sturdy, closed-toed shoes,” bring water.

Logistics: Family Nature Hike, Saturday, March 4, 10:30 a.m., McDowell Nature Preserve, Charlotte. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, hike-time temperature of 41.

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Looking ahead: View From Little Pinnacle, Saturday, March 18, Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle. More info here.

Mountains

Perhaps you’re already in midseason form (see Cardinal Strut, above) and need a race to make things … interesting. If so, check out Saturday’s Oskar Blues 4-Mile Run in Brevard. Top three male and females runners get a gift card from Foot-Rx Running ($100, $75, $50), plus, in an interesting twist, the first male and female runners to reach the 1-mile mark get $100 — provided they wind up finishing in the top 10 overall.

Added incentives: Registration includes a post-race brewski and pastries from Bracken Mountain Bakery.

Logistics: Oskar Blues 4-Mile Run, Saturday, March 4, 11 a.m., Brevard. $35. More info here.

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 46.

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Looking ahead: Bike of the Irish Community Ridge, Saturday, March 18, Asheville. More info here.

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

Coast

The post This weekend: Fun, under a winter sun appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast / Coastal Plain

A lot of folks like the idea of going on a group hike or walk. Trouble is, the vast majority are long and geared toward more advanced hikers. The opportunities to test the trail waters on shorter, friendly hikes are few.

That’s why we like Saturday morning’s Wellness Walk at Smith Creek Park in Wilmington. It’s a friendly distance (1.3 miles) on a friendly surface (pavement) in a most friendly environment. Enjoy the woods and lake, hike with others who aren’t heck-bent on setting a speed record, and discover why walking/hiking is the most popular — and one of the most beneficial — forms of exercise.

Logistics: Saturday, Aug. 13, 9 a.m., Smith Creek Park, 633 Shenandoah Street, Wilmington. Sponsored by New Hanover County Parks and Gardens. More info by calling 919.798.7275.

Saturday forecast: Sunny with temperatures in the low 80s at hike time.

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Looking ahead: Paddle the Millpond, Saturday, Aug. 27, Merchants Millpond State Park, Gatesville. More info here.

Piedmont

We all have that one adventure on our list that, for no good reason, we’ve yet to try. Nope, hard as we try, we can’t figure out why it’s yet to be checked from our list.

If fly fishing is that thing for you, then check out Saturday’s Stone Mountain Trout Fishing Guide, at — Anyone? Anyone? — Stone Mountain State Park. A ranger will discuss trout species in the park’s designated trout waters, and will also discuss seasons, creel limits and bait restrictions. The program is just 45 minutes, leaving you plenty of time to explore Stone Mountain’s scenic — and challenging — 23 miles of trail.

Logistics: Saturday, Aug. 13, 1:30 p.m., Stone Mountain State Park. For more information, go here.

Saturday forecast: High of 79, chance of thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: Ascent of the Century, climb Mount Mitchell with N.C. State Parks and the N.C. Museum of Natural Science, Aug. 26-28, $75. More info here.

Mountains

Are you having a stellar season on the bike? Riding three or four times a week, putting in the miles, crushing the climbs?

Then you’re probably up for a good challenge. Such as Sunday’s Race to the Rock, at Chimney Rock State Park. It’s a 25-mile bike race that gains 900 vertical feet in the last three miles alone (the grade ranges from 7 to 9 percent), finishing at the base of Chimney Rock. Part of the Lake Lure Olympiad.

Logistics: Sunday, Aug. 14, 7:30 a.m., Chimney Rock State Park. $45. More info here.

Sunday forecast: Race time temperature of 81, chance of thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: Asheville Duathlon, 10K off-road run, Sept. 11, 8:30 a.m., Biltmore Estate. More info 828.684.0812, or go here.

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

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Coast / Coastal Plain

If you’ve vowed to do at least one race this summer and have procrastinated, you have no excuse not to do Sunday’s Summer Sizzler at Wilmington’s Greenfield Lake.
A 10K? you whine. That’s too far in this summer heat.
There’s also a 5K.
My hip flexor has been acting up. I don’t think I can hold back my competitive nature — I’ll re-injure myself.
There’s a 1-mile fun run.
Oh … .
Another reason you can’t refuse? It’s the first in a three-race series that includes the First Bank Octoberfest 15K at Brunswick Forest on Sept. 25 and the Battleship Half Marathon Nov. 6. Start building your endurance on Sunday.

Vital stats: Simmer Sizzler 10K, 5K & 1-miler, Sunday, 7:30 a.m., Greenfield Lake, Wilmington. Fee: $25 – $40; register by Aug. 5, here.

Sunday forecast: Racetime temperature of 79, chance of thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: Pier-2-Pier Open Water Swim Race, Sept. 10, Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, Wrightsville Beach. More info here.

Piedmont

Sometimes, we’re not sure what to make of an event, which makes it all the more intriguing. Witness our Piedmont recommendation … .

Sunday afternoon, Charlotte’s Reedy Creek Nature Center & Preserve sponsors the Reedy Creek Olympians. “In honor of the Summer 2016 Olympics this year,” explains the center, “Reedy Creek will be hosting its very own games. What animals are the best of the best? Who can jump the highest, run the fastest, or hide the best? Come find out and test your own skills and reflexes against your friends.”

So … standing long jump vs. a frog? Fifty-meter freestyle against a fish? 800 meter relay against raccoons?

Come and find out.

Vital stats: Reedy Creek Olympians, Sunday, 2-3 p.m., Reedy Creek Nature Center & Preserve. Free, but preregistration required, by calling 980.314.1119.

Sunday forecast: High of 89, chance of showers.

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Looking ahead: Family Hike & Stream Stomp, Aug. 17, 9:30 a.m., McDowell Nature Center & Preserve. More info here.

Mountains

Most trail races are on single-track or double-wide trail with little to look at but the trail itself. Not the Richard’s Run 5K Fun Run for Brain Cancer at Cataloochee. Say race organizers: “The race will begin at the gate above the Chestnut Orchard at Cataloochee Ranch. From there, the route will lead into The Bowl, an expansive bowl-shaped open meadow with dramatic long-range mountain views. The trail will lead runners around the perimeter, following the shape of the bowl, before plunging into a thick rhododendron tunnel that opens back into The Bowl.”

It continues, but you get the notion — the notion of one scenic 5K, not to mention the opportunity to benefit the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University.

Vital stats: Richard’s Run 5K, Saturday, 10 a.m., Cataloochee Ranch, Maggie Valley. $10 online, $15 day of race. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Race time temperature of 74, mostly sunny skies.

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Looking ahead: Blue Ridge Breakaway, 100-, 75- and 30-mile rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Aug. 20, Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center. More info here.

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

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