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Mining for lesser-known hiking gems in NC
It has 15 miles of trail, mountain biking, camping, cabins, birdwatching and paddling through swampy area where the course of the Neuse River is constantly changing. It’s a 2,800-acre outdoor adventure...
View ArticleExperience Old Growth Forest in a New Light
The first time I went to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest—a 3,800-acre tract— I was awe of the concentration of old growth trees along the 2-mile trail takes you through one of the last remaining...
View ArticleWelcome the Weekend! (Your Friday Nudge)
Weekend forecast: Saturday’s looking a little iffy in GetGoingNC land, but Sunday promises sunny skies and cool temps, ideal for a day of exploring the woods. Today’s Friday Nudge offers takes from...
View ArticleFrom Beginner to Backcountry expert, Hike NC returns with 60 Spring Hikes
Hike NC, the hiking program launched in the fall of 2016 by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, is back with 60 hikes this spring. This weekend, Earth Day weekend, the spring season kicks off with...
View ArticleGet Out and Backpack
This picture means a lot to me because everyone in it still speaks to me. In fact, they’ve all gone on trips with me since. The photo was taken last August on a GetBackpacking! trip into Linville...
View ArticleGet Out! Your Nudge for Weekend Adventure
Last weekend, we hiked more of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake and saw our first mountain laurel bloom of the season — a lone bloom, but an impressively full and vibrant (if white can be...
View ArticleOn Saturday, Celebrate National Trails Day!
This Saturday, our GetHiking! hike will also be a National Trails Day hike. For the past 25 years, the first Saturday of June has been—by decree of the American Hiking Society—National Trails Day, a...
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Fall 2018: Hike, Camp, Backpack with us
We’ve got a lot going on this fall, for hikers, campers and backpackers. Camp/Hike Weekends You love a mountain hike in the fall. What you don’t love is driving there and back in a day. Or paying leaf...
View ArticleGetOut! Your Nudge to Get Out and Explore this Weekend
A cool front moves in this weekend, a sign for you to get out and explore. Some thoughts on that front: Celebrate the MST with a Hike, Friday thru Sunday, anywhere along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail....
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Post Hurricane Florence: What’s open, what’s not?
We’re all wondering the same thing: are my favorite places to explore open post Hurricane Florence? Here’s a look at what I’ve found for our upcoming GetHiking! and GetBackpacking! adventures....
View ArticleNorth Carolina: land of options and opportunity
Our plan for the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend was to take a group of backpackers to the mountains for three days on the AT between Max Patch and Hot Springs. The goal was to give three-season...
View ArticleGetOut! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure
It’s gonna be one summery weekend, with temperatures in the 90s throughout most of our adventuring region. Our recommendations for this weekend are with the heat in mind. Stream Safari, Saturday, 2...
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GetOut! Way cleared for trails to begin reopening
Thursday’s announcement by Gov. Roy Cooper of a phased-in reopening of North Carolina included a lot of good news. Topping the list: social distancing and other measures to curb the spread of the...
View ArticleGetOut! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure
Another weekend after a week of rain is upon us. Another weekend in which we apparently dodge a bullet and enjoy adventure-worthy weather. In the Piedmont, for instance, we’re looking at temperatures...
View ArticleGetOut! It’s a weekend for the trails less-traveled
The weekend forecast: it’s another good one, another guaranteed to have the new converts to hiking flooding the trails and, in some cases, causing our state parks to restrict access. The solution:...
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5 backpacking trips for 2021 (we hope)
Last year around this time, I was licking my chops over a great lineup of backpack trips I intended to take, including four short thru-hikes in the state. I even managed to get in two trips (including...
View ArticleBefore State Parks were open to all
When I moved to the Raleigh area at the beginning of 1992, I spent a lot of time at Umstead State Park. It was a 10-minute drive, you could hike and mountain bike, and, lucky me, I happened to live on...
View ArticleA heads-up on forest service prescribed burns
Over the past week, the U.S. Forest Service has announced plans for numerous prescribed burns in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. We share this information for two reasons: 1. Prescribed burns:...
View ArticleMountain campgrounds begin to reopen
Wondering when your favorite seasonal campground or roadside attraction in the National Parks will reopen? We have some dates: Blue Ridge Parkway Campgrounds Price Park Campground at MP 297: April...
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5 trips made for the first-time backpacker
In today’s GetHiking! Southeast Podcast we scout a potential graduation trip route for our first GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking class in Virginia. In the podcast, we explain what, in our opinion,...
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