GetHiking! on the MST in Hillsborough

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On Saturday, Sept. 9, more than 1,700 people spent the day hiking the entire 1,175-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Almost to a person, they marveled over the trail (even the road sections), over its natural beauty, its cultural significance, the friendliness of their fellow hikers.

Dang! we thought, why just limit that feeling to one day, especially when the best weather of the hiking year is about to unfold. So to carry on the MST high, our GetHiking! chapters are going to hold a hike every weekend on the MST through the end of the year. Starting with Saturday's hike in Hillsborough.

We'll meet at the Weaver Street Market on the Riverwalk Trail and head downstream on the MST along the Eno. We'll take a detour when we reach the Historic Occoneechee Speeday to indulge a quirky lap on this one-mile dirt oval that once, as recently as 1968, was part of the Nascar circuit. Then, we'll continue on the MST through the James M. Johnston Nature Preserve, to its temporary terminus at US 70. From there, we return along the MST to Weaver Street.

This is an easy/moderate hike (the moderate being the out-and back through the Johnston Preserve, which includes a short but stout climb). Total distance is 5.5 miles; we'll offer a shorter 3.75-mile option that bypasses the Johnston stretch.

Join us to help us keep the MST magic alive.