Tag Archives: winter

An especially memorable day on the trail

I like to think we take away something every time we hike. Something as spirit lifting as the first spring wildflower to something as simple as the quiet or a conversation with your hiking partner.

Every once in a while, though, comes a hike that will be remembered because there’s a good chance you won’t see another one like it. Sunday was one of those hikes. read more

I miss winter

Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake, on a true winter’s day.

I miss winter.

I realized just how much on Sunday when I found myself in need of a second layer. Light gloves wouldn’t have been bad, either. Or a hat. There’d been snow a ways back, I recalled, and it was cold for a couple days after. But since? I couldn’t recall the last time a hike had started in 30-degree weather. read more

Your weekend: Frightful? Delightful! 

Answer the following: The weather forecast for this weekend is:

a) Frightful

b) Delightful

If you answered a), then you’ve already resigned yourself to spending the weekend indoors. Here’s a list of good books.

If you answered b), stick with us as we depart from our usual format, which is to recommend planned outdoor activities scheduled for the weekend. Organized bike rides, hikes, runs, that kind of thing. Odds are that anything scheduled throughout much of the state will be canceled should the forecast illustrated above (thanks WRAL Weather, btw) come true. No sense recommending something that likely won’t happen. Instead, some thoughts on how you, as an individual, can take advantage of the snowy cold weekend. read more