Great Outdoor Blog

We now have approval to construct a new section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in Eno River State Park, and works begins on Saturday, October 3rd from 9 am to 4 pm. We hope you’ll join us that day!

Work involves constructing new natural surface hiking trail, and will involve clearing brush, moving logs, picking up debris, and constructing the trail surface.

Tools will be provided. Please RSVP to fred.dietrich@duke.edu.

Please wear work clothes, and bring a bag lunch, plenty of water, hiking boots, work gloves, sunscreen, and insect repellent.

All volunteers under the age of 18 will need a signed permission slip, and must be accompanied by an adult volunteer. Individuals and groups welcome.

Meeting location: Eno River State Park Cabe Lands Parking lot on Howe street, off Sparger Road. Parking is limited. Please car pool when possible.

How we build trail at Eno River

Stage 1 – By the time you arrive at the worksite the approve flag line is done with surveys tape (pink or orange) tied to trees. Small “stake flags” are placed in the ground about every 8 to 10 feet to show where the trail tread is to be placed. All of the chainsaw work of major trees is complete as well.

Stage 2 – A team of people with fire rakes or garden rakes come along and remove the leafs and duff from the ground by following the small stake flags.

Stage 3 – A team of people with cutter mattocks come along and hand dig the trail tread into place at a width of two feet wide. The overall goal is to have a nice flat trail (with a small degree of slope to allow for waterrunoff) to hike on that is root and rock free.

Stage 4 – A team of people with fire rakes come along and do the fine detail work to remove any small roots or correct any tread issues that were accidentally left out from Stage 3.

Stage 5 – A team of two or four people remove the stake flags to be used further down the trail. At the same time white blazes are painted on the trees to guide a hiker on the final trail route.

Trail Quotes at Eno River:

“Water is the number 1 trail enemy” – Bad water erosion problems lead to huge trail issues. If the trail tread is constructed properly water erosion will not be an issue.

“Quality is better than Quantity” – Great quality trail means that we will not have so many future trail maintenance issues in the long term. We must build quality trail instead of seeing how far we can accomplish in one day

Find more MST Month Events across the state

My husband and I are on a kayak trip, paddling from Lubec Maine to Key West Florida and we have been using the spot all the way. When we first started this trip, we only had about 10 people following the trip via our spots. Now, 4 months of paddling later, we have over 100 people who receive our SPOT updates. It’s fun for our family and friends to follow along with us, and also a great way for us to be able to track our route after we finish.

Of course it’s also comforting to know that we have the “help” and “911″ options right at our fingertips, if we ever need them. Since our “OK” messages had never failed to go out, I have no doubt that the other messages will be just as successful if needed.

We have really enjoyed it and will continue to as we finish our east coast paddle.

- Bethany Cox

Follow their adventure: dbkayak.com and twitter.com/dbkayak

Learn more about the Spot Messenger here.

Great Outdoor Provision Co. welcomes Shiloh Mielke and Team Vasque as they arrive in town for this year’s Triple Lakes Trail Marathon to be held October 3 in Greensboro, NC. Vasque is the title sponsor of this year’s event which kicks off the Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month. Come meet Shiloh at the packet pickup on Friday, October 2nd. We look forward to a great weekend of trail running and thank Vasque for their support.

Shiloh Mielke, Weaverville, CO – Team Vasque

Shiloh honed his speed and form while on the cross country and track teams at Northern Arizona University. He set his personal bests of a 14:35 5K and 29:48K, before focusing his efforts and agility on trail running. Since taking up the sport, he’s been a two-time member of the World Mountain Running team, 2008 winner of the La Sportiva Cup and a bronze and silver medalist at the 2008 NCAC Mountain Running Championships held in Mexico. Shiloh’s favorite accomplishment is being a four time winner and the course record holder at the Shut In Ridge Trail Run, held near Asheville, NC. He will be on hand for the 27th running of the race this November, to defend his title and break his record. Otherwise, Shiloh likes to focus on one race at a time and be in the moment.

Kayak Fishing Clinic – Oct 10 and 24
Kure Beach Community Center – 10am-12noon

Ashley Williams will be presenting all that you need to know about this new and upcoming sport. The emphasis will be on the balancing act between fishing and kayaking. Ashley will make the process easy and very do-able for the beginners. Those folks with some experience will learn some techniques that should make the experience easier. Cost $20

Anyone interested can contact Bob Fitzpatrick at 910-200-6025. He will sign them up for the clinic and take payment.

Ashley is a member of the GOPC Kayak Fishing Team

by Ward Swann, Winston-Salem Staff

Tired of swimming for your anchor in rocky water? Tie the anchor rope to the bottom of the anchor and “wire tie” the rope to the top. In normal functions there is no difference to what you usually do with the anchor. When it gets stuck pull the rope hard enough to break the wire tie and the anchor “backs” out of the sticky spot. This way you spend less time swimming for anchors and more time fishing!

by Tim Glover, Wilmington Manager

Will Huffine (Wilmington store) and I got a late start Wednesday (September 16th).  We ran south out of Wrightsville Beach looking for false albacore, as we heard there were some the day before towards Carolina Beach Inlet.  We passed a couple of small schools that didn’t stay up long enough to cast to, and then circled back up the beach after finding nothing else of interest,  On the way back along Masonboro Island, we found a huge school of spanish mackerel crashing around on bait just beyond the surf.  We caught a couple of fish, and then they disappeared.  As we continued up the beach towards Masonboro Inlet, the false albacore started to show up again, enough for us to hook and land a couple of them.  Finally, we pulled up to Masonboro Inlet on the south jetty, and found big spanish mackerel mixed with schools of false albacore.  They were tearing through schools of silversides, as well as ballyhoo and small bait.  We caught a good number of spanish mackerel, some false albacore, and a few houndfish until the bite tapered off as the tide slowed.

With the winds light and bright sunlight, we headed up the beach to look for drum, but got sidetracked by a shrimp trawler.  As we pulled up behind it, we immediately spotted sharks cruising and picking off bycatch.  Will was up first and he made a nice first cast in front of about a 4 foot shark.   An instant strike was followed by a hookup and a  few fast runs, and we had one shark landed and safely released.  It was my turn next, and it took a few tries with a big fly thrown into a group of several sharks before one followed and ate.  We ended up hooking and landing 2 sharks to round out a day of fast-paced fishing.  Look for some video for Will when he gets a chance to post it… we didn’t take enough shots, as we were both too greedy to stop fishing in the frenzy of activity we encountered, but here are a couple of photos to back up the fish tales!

Tue, Oct 13 • 6:30 – 8pm
Gourmet Cooking in the Backcountry with Mike and Amanda
Come join us in an interactive cooking session to spice up your dining in the field
FREE • Call 704.523.1089 to sign-up

Tue, Oct 27 • 6:30 – 8pm
Backpacking 101
Learn how to plan, prepare and, pack for your next adventure in the woods
Tips on where to go, gear needed, and packing secrets from an expert
FREE • Call 704.523.1089 to sign-up

Clinics will be held at GOPC Park Road Shopping Center

Also check out Kayak Roll Sessions in Charlotte

Wednesday, September 30, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Orange County Main Library
300 West Tryon St. – Hillsborough, NC 27278

Join us for Pizza and Conversation with Alissa Bierma, the Upper Neuse RIVERKEEPER®. Learn about HOT TOPICS in the Falls Lake and Neuse River watershed, as well as opportunities to make a difference at home and in your community!

Visit neuseriver.org to learn more. RSVP on Facebook.

Please note: The Hillsborough Muddy Water Watch workshop has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.

TAKE YOUR LOVE OF ADVENTURE TO THE NEXT LEVEL……
If you crave adventure, love the outdoors and welcome a challenge then this is the experience for you!!

Join us Friday, April 23-Sunday, April 25, 2010 for the
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s newest expedition – Extreme Hike for a Cure.

In just one amazing day, you will hike the 30.1 miles of the famed Art Loeb Trail in Pisgah National Forest while you help raise money towards a cure for cystic fibrosis – this country’s most fatal genetic disease among children and young adults.

Come to an information meeting and get started today on a journey that will give you and many others a lifetime of hope!
Included in your Hike Experience…

• Three month training program
• Daily work out calendar & bi-weekly group hikes
• Wicking shirt
• Accommodations for 3 days/2 nights in Asheville, NC
• Pre-Hike Pasta Party
• Transportation to and from Art Loeb Trail on Hike Day

Information Meeting

Wednesday, January 13, 2010—6:30 pm
Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Park Road Shopping Center, 4341 Park Rd.