GetHiking! Triangle

Don’t let a lack of sunlight end your midweek hiking routine — join us for our monthly Tuesday Night Hikes series! One Tuesday night a month, from October through March, we’ll don our headlamps and explore a local trail — a trail you may know by the light of day, but will grow to appreciate in a new light when there is no light. Hike dates and locations: November 20 — Location tba. 4 miles December 11 — Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Hickory Hill Boat Ramp, Raleigh. 3.6 miles. December 18 — Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Upper Barton Creek Boat Ramp, Raleigh. 4.2 miles. January 8 — Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Bayleaf Church Road, Raleigh. 3.6 miles. February 12 — Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, Chapel Hill. 3 miles. March 5 — Brumley North Nature Preserve, Hillsborough. 3 miles. In addition, we will hold two expedition-length night hikes (from 5 to 8 miles) on weekend nights, one in January, one in February, dates and locations tba. Questions? Do I need a headlamp? Ideally, but if you don’t or want to check out the headlamp options before buying, we have loaners. What all do I get? In addition to the seven hikes in the series, you’ll get a hot beverage at the end of every hike (we bring the beverage, you bring a mug). You’ll get a tip sheet on hiking at night, and a list of our 10 favorite night hike destinations and what makes them good in the dark. Cost: $75. That’s less than $10 a hike, half what you’d pay for a yoga class. And it's outside! At night! Not sure you can commit to the full series? Every Monday before a Tuesday Night Hike, if we know we'll have openings, we will open up this slots for $15 per spot. Those spots will be available on a first-to-sign-up bases.

Black Friday — or Chill Friday, it's your choice the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday, of course, is the chaos of consumption that commences the day after Thanksgiving and turns otherwise sane individuals into crazed consumers. Chill Friday, on the other hand, is a concept coined by our benefactor, Great Outdoor Provision Co., to denote a day of devotion to the outdoors (and if you want to swing by afterwards to browse, that's cool, too). We'll be honoring the spirit of Chill Friday with a morning hike at Brumley North Nature Preserve east of Hillsborough. Brumley's 3-mile trail network is the perfect medicine to wake you from your turkey-induced tryptophan torpor. Our hike will be surprisingly flat, pass meadows and creeks, take in a couple of old ponds and the silo remains of an old dairy farm. A good hike, too, for kicking off an active holiday season. We rate this hike easy to moderate, depending upon how active you've been. And if you haven't been active and aren't sure about three miles, you can cut this hike at 1 mile or at about the 2-mile mark (it's roughly three loops, with bail out options).

This park is a hidden jewel in North Raleigh and has 3 diverse trails with of a total of 3 miles. It is a wonderful hike for families as there are natural playgrounds off the trails that both kids and adults can use their imagination to play in nature. We will hike all the trails and include a short segment of the MST for an out and back route. The property does border the Mountains-to-the-sea where more hiking will be done by going off the property and following MST to Raven Ridge Road. We will turn around there for the hike back to the park's boundary and finish walking their loop trail to our cars. The total mileage will be about 7 easy to moderate trail. For a shorter hike, just skip the MST part for a loop of 3 miles. This is a city park with the land being donated by Dr. Annie Wilkerson with the stipulation that it remain a nature preserve for all to enjoy. Bring the kids and that Thanksgiving crowd still at your house. Don't forget water, hiking shoes and clothes for the weather.

Note: This trip originally was planned for the Neusiok Trail in the coastal Croatan National Forest. That trail was closed by recent hurricanes and likely will remain closed through year's end. We hope to reschedule that hike for mid-Winter. Instead, we will hike a 15-mile stretch of the Uwharrie Trail in the Uwharrie National Forest southwest of Asheboro. You can get in a last backpack trip of the year in December, provided it's to a spot that's not likely to get a head start on winter. The Uwharrie Trail is just such a spot. We will do a 15-mile run of the 40-mile Uwharrie, from NC 109 north to Pisgah Covered Bridge Road. The trip includes both the high spot on the Uwharrie Trail, 1,015-foot King Mountain, and the one spot where you'll find great mountain-top views, Little Long Mountain, where we will camp Saturday night. The plan: Day 1 (2 miles) 3:30 p.m. — Arrive at Pisgah Covered Bridge Trailhead; shuttle to NC 109 Trailhead 4 p.m. — Get on trail 4:45 - 5 p.m. — Arrive at Spencer Creek primitive campground, a 2-mile hike in. Day 2 (9 miles) 9:30 a.m. — Get on the trail 12:30 a.m. — Lunch, Jumping Off Rock Trailhead (6 miles) 3 - 3:30 p.m. — Arrive at Little Long Mountain camping area and shelter. Day 3 (4 miles0 9:30 a.m. — Get on Trail Noon — Arrive at Pisgah Covered Bridge Road Trailhead, end of hike. This trip includes an eguide , with custom map of the hike, tips on cold weather camping, but not too cold: the typical overnight low this time of year is in the low 40s, daytime high in the low 60s; and information about the forest and the area. Fee for this trip is $65.

Love the trail but uncertain about your wayfinding skills? This three-hour session goes over basic map and compass skills, then hits the trail to offer key tips on how to follow and stay on the trail, how to find it again if you stray, and how to explore off trail. We’ll start with a 45-minute map-and-compass introduction, then use that map and compass — and some Daniel Boone skills — to find our way in the woods. We’ll also do some off-trail exploring, with the goal of purposefully venturing off the trail, then figuring out how to rejoin the trail. Our goal is to make you confident hiking alone or taking a novice friend on the trail. Course fee of $45 includes a customized map and use of a compass. Course is limited to six participants.

My goodness, is it time for one of our most popular and beloved events? Indeed it is and it's number 5 so we have to do something special. If the truth be told, we really gather to enjoy sweets, hot chocolate, and our friends, and hike if we must... What's new about this? We are doing all the above but in reverse this year. No, we aren't hiking backwards, but rather the day's order is in reverse. First order of business is to gather to enjoy hot chocolate, and hot tea (compliments of your organizers) and all the yummy treats we bring to share which can be either homemade or from your favorite bakery and a zip-lock to take home some extras. You will also need a mug, but if you forget, I'm sure we will have some there. Why the change? Because we finish the hike separately, sometimes there's a sizable gap between the front of the pack and the back — so sizable that sometimes the two ends don't get to socialize. This way, everyone gets to chat, then we burn off the calories on the guide-led hike of your choice: Company Mill ( 5.9 miles) or the Loblolly Trail to the Bike & Bridle Trail, then back by the lake (4.2 miles).

At its northern trailhead off NC 58 near Maysville, the Weetock Trail seems like just another trail: there’s parking, an obvious trailhead, even a kiosk. And there’s easy-to-follow trail — for the first few miles. But then you cross a dirt road and … is that the trail on the other side? Or does it head down the road (which way?) for a spell? The trail's uncertainty is one of the things we love most about it; that and the fact it dives deep into woods that are oddly comforting on a cold, sunny day. It's one of our favorite winter hikes. If you're especially intrigued by a hike that requires navigational skills, you will love this hike. We will provide a map of the known trail, along with a compass for those who need one. Basic navigational skills are recommended, but not required, for this hike. If you've taken our intro GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods course, you should feel comfortable on this hike (if you take the GetOriented! class before this hike, you'll receive a 20 percent discount on this hike). Upon payment, you'll receive an eguide for this trip including: * Map * Distances * Nearby camping and lodging (recommended, due to the early start) * Tips and recommendations on appropriate clothing and gear * Additional information pertinent to the trip

Love the trail but uncertain about your wayfinding skills? This three-hour session goes over basic map and compass skills, then hits the trail to offer key tips on how to follow and stay on the trail, how to find it again if you stray, and how to explore off trail. We’ll start with a 45-minute map-and-compass introduction, then use that map and compass — and some Daniel Boone skills — to find our way in the woods. We’ll also do some off-trail exploring, with the goal of purposefully venturing off the trail, then figuring out how to rejoin the trail. Our goal is to make you confident hiking alone or taking a novice friend on the trail. A great way for families, especially, to spend Christmas break. Course fee of $45 (kids 17 and under accompanied by an adult are free) includes a customized map and use of a compass. Course is limited to seven adult participants.

The tradition continues of trading boots for boats with a cool weather kayak trip. We will be joining the Frog Hollow Outdoors,an outfitter in Durham as we have for the past 2 years. They provide stellar service with all the gear you need for a safe and fun paddle. PLEASE READ EVERYTHING before signing up. You must register and pay with Frog Hollow Outdoors by using this link: http://www.froghollowoutdoors.com/half-full-day-self-guided-trips/saturday-travelling-outpost BEFORE signing up for this event. We will receive a discount if at least 8 boaters sign up and the cost for 3 hrs is 30.00. You will need the code of gethiking on the registration page. Please bring water, sunhat, snacks, and a jacket if the day is cool. No facilities are at the meet site. We will be paddling on Falls Lake and put in site is to be determined. BOAT OWNERS: You are of course welcome to attend but please just put a comment that you are attending with a boat. Just those who are renting should RSVP and is limited to 14 RENTAL boats for a total of 20 boats on this paddle. It gets confusing as to who is renting or bringing a boat and who has paid. .