What’s up in the GetHiking! and GetExploring! worlds this week and beyond
GetExploring! Greenway Bike and Brew
GetExploring! Greenville
When: Thursday, July 28, 6 p.m.
Where: Five Points, Greenville
The Bike and Brew has become a crowd favorite! This will be a social ride on Greenville’s greenway system.
We’ll meet at the Five Points parking lot, then ride to the start of the greenway at Town Common, and on through ECU’s campus, and back to Five Points.
After the ride, we’ll check out Trollingwood Taproom, the new brewery in town!
Hike leaders: Andrew and Lindsey
More info here
On the horizon:
Hike at Pettigrew State Park, Saturday, Aug. 13, Creswell.
GetHiking! Summertime Fitness Hike
GetHiking! Charlotte
When: Saturday, August 6, 8 a.m..
Where: Crowders Mountain State Park, 522 Park Office Lane, Kings Mountain
Got a summer vacation hike you need to train for? Our summertime fitness hikes are designed for all fitness levels; hike at your own pace, cover as much distance as you like. “Whether your goal is to become stronger, fitter, faster, or simply to get in a mile or two before lunchtime, you will enjoy these hikes!” promises hike leader Lisa.
Hike leader: Lisa
More info here
GetHiking! Southeast’s Classic Hikes: A Smokies Weekend
GetHiking!
When: Friday, Aug. 19 – Sunday, Aug. 21
Where: Smokemont area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Our August Classic Hike takes us to a nationally recognized Classic: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Saturday, we’ll have two hikes: a 15-mile lollipop loop probing deep into the Smokies, and a 10-mile out-and-back along much of the same trail. Sunday, we’ll hike 5.5 miles on the Smokemont Loop Trail.
This hike is part of our 2016 GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes series, sequel to 2015’s inaugural GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes series
Hike leaders: Joe Miller, Anne Triebert
More info here
MR.Walking to Virginia Crest Trail
GetHiking! Southeast’s Classic Hikes: Mount Rogers National Recreation Area (Virginia) Weekend
GetHiking!
When: Friday, Sept. 23 – Sunday, Sept. 25
Where: Beartree Campground, Mount Rogers
Partial as we are to North Carolina’s mountains, you can’t have a Southeast Classic Hike Series without including the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area of southwest Virginia. Basecamp for the weekend is the Beartree Group Camp on the north flank of the Mount Rogers massif in the George Washington National Forest.
Saturday, we will hike on the Appalachian Trail from Elk Garden north (east) past Mount Rogers to Rhododendron Gap. From there, we head south and pick up equestrian/hiking trail to return to Elk Garden. This hike will be in the 15-mile range; a shorter option of around 10 miles will also be available. The terrain is some of the most exposed in the southeast, with open meadows and rock outcrops dominating. It’s a slice of the western U.S. in Appalachia.
Sunday, we will break camp and drive to Scales for about 5 miles of hiking in similar terrain.
This hike is part of our 2016 GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes series, sequel to 2015’s inaugural GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes series
Hike leaders: Joe Miller, Anne Triebert
More info here
Max Patch on the AT
GetHiking! Southeast’s Classic Hikes: Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs Weekend
GetHiking!
When: Friday, Nov. 11 – Monday, Nov. 14
Where: Laughing Heart Lodge (basecamp), Hot Springs, NC
Love to hike, but not camp? You’ll be cheered to hear that our last weekend hike of the 2016 Southeast’s Classic Hikes series will be based out of the Laughing Heart Lodge in Hot Springs. We’ve blocked out the lodge for Veterans Day Weekend, for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. First, about Laughing Heart …
You will need to make your own reservations. The main lodge has 7 guest rooms, all with private baths. There’s a cabin with kitchen, and, for the budget minded, there is a hostel with rates starting at $20 per night. Learn more about Laughing Heart, which is on the Appalachian Trail, and make reservations starting here. Mention you are with GetHiking! when making your reservation. Laughing Heat can accommodate about 30 people.
Now, the hiking:
Saturday, we will have two hikes. The longer hike, 14 miles, will begin at Max Patch and head north on the AT to Garenflo Gap. The shorter hike will begin at Lemon Gap and head north on the AT to Garenflo Gap. The Max Patch hike starts atop an impressive bald, meanders downhill and along creeks for 5 miles before a climb up Walter Mountain and a longer climb up Bluff Mountain, from there it’s a 4-mile descent to Garenflo Gap. The shorter hike follows the same path from Lemon Gap to Garenflo Gap.
Sunday, we also have two hikes. The longer, 13 miles, heads north on the AT from Hot Springs up Lovers Leap Ridge (great views of the French Broad River and Hot Springs below), to Rich Mountain, then returns on the Roundtop Ridge Trail. The shorter hike, 6 miles, follows the same AT route up Lovers Leap Ridge and ends at Tanyard Gap, on US 25.
Monday, we will catch a shuttle up to Garenflo Gap on the AT and continue heading north for 7 miles back to the Laughing Heart Lodge.
This hike is part of our 2016 GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes series, sequel to 2015’s inaugural GetHiking! North Carolina’s Classic Hikes series.
Hike leaders: Joe Miller, Anne Triebert
More info here
Backpacking
Shortoff Mountain, looking toward Lake James
GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking (Triangle)
GetHiking! Triangle
When: Four-week session starts Wednesday, Aug. 3, 6 p.m..
Where: Training is at Umstead and Eno River state parks, and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake
Our Intro to Backpacking course consists of three training sessions focusing on a key skill each week. Week 1: Gear and packing; Week 2: Setting up (and breaking down) camp; Week 3: Rustlin’ up a meal. Each session includes a training hike of increasing length: 2, 4.5 and 6 miles. Then, in Week Four, we take a two-night graduation trip to South Mountains State Park.
Learn more about this fee program here.
GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking (Triad)
GetHiking! Triad
When: Four-week session starts Wednesday, Sept. 7, 6 p.m..
Where: Training is at three locations, tbd, in the Triad
Our Intro to Backpacking course consists of three training sessions focusing on a key skill each week. Week 1: Gear and packing; Week 2: Setting up (and breaking down) camp; Week 3: Rustlin’ up a meal. Each session includes a training hike of increasing length: 2, 4.5 and 6 miles. Then, in Week Four, we take a two-night graduation trip to South Mountains State Park.
Learn more about this fee program here.
Gear, Tips, Resources
Tip: Blister-buster bluster?
Among the trail wisdom my stepdaughter recently returned with after a month on the Appalachian Trail: how to “thread” a blister. Basically, “threading” involves digging into your sewing kit, threading a needle (presumably with cotton thread), then puncturing one end of the blister and threading the needle through the other. The thought here is that the blister will slowly drain via the exposed thread, allowing the skin to harden and heal. (Seems you need to get your timing down on that last part, lest you go through life with a sprig of thread sticking out two ends of your skin.)
The bigger caution, though, as expressed by blisterprevention.com, is sterilization. Since the entire needle must go through the blister, you need to sterilize the entire length. And, they argue, it’s hard to get a flame hot enough to sterilize from a cigarette lighter. Plus, the thread needs to be sterile as well.
Despite the sterilization issue, this remains a popular way to deal with blisters on the trail. That might be because it’s challenging to find a sterile method, period, for doing any sort of minor surgery in the wild. Verdict? It all depends on how badly you want that blister to disappear and not be a hinderance.
Lance at your own risk.
Resource: Everything you ever wanted to know about blisters (but didn’t know who to ask)
Since we’re on the topic, check out blisterprevention.com for timely helpful tips on dealing with that crippling scourge of the trail.
Gear: Sewing kit
Again, since we’re on the topic, for everything from one-hour day hikes to multiday backpack trips, it pays to have a sewing kit in your arsenal. For mending everything from blisters to rips in your pack to rips in your pockets (Hey! Where’d my jawbreakers go?), a simple sewing kit could be the best $4 you spend on gear.