Johnson Jessie - North Carolina adventure weekends: a travelers guide to the best outdoor getaways

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the greatest adventure dog ever, Moe.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

Where are you guys going this weekend?

Pilot Mountain

We had been leaving town so many weekends, our coworkers eventually stopped asking if we were going anywhere and instead started asking where we were going. We realized we had become pretty predictable when they could answer for us: North Carolina!

Both of us spent a lot of time in North Carolina as children. Matt started hiking in the Western North Carolina mountains when he was 6 months old, and Jessie spent much of her childhood romping in the woods behind her Broadway, North Carolina, home. When we moved to northern Georgia, we were excited to live only a few hours away from North Carolina; in fact, the drive was short enough to take on a Friday night after work! Every weekend of camping in the wilds of North Carolina left us craving even more adventure in our new home away from home.

Finding the best places to get our outdoor adventure fix every weekend began consuming a lot of our time. We were always on the hunt for places to fit in as many of our favorite activitiescamping, biking, hiking, paddling, climbing, and, okay, beer-tastingas possible, with as little driving in between adventures as possible. We came to realize that we werent alone. Most of the outdoors lovers we knew craved spending more of their free time playing outside but couldnt find the time to plan weekend trips during their busy weeks. To solve this problem, we decided to put our years of weekend adventures to good use and this book was born.

Trail to the Narrows

North Carolina offers adventures from the mountains to the sea. In fact, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) runs across the entire expanse of the stateand threads its way through several of our chapters. Indeed, this state is as ripe with weekend trip possibilities as your hiking clothes in mid-July. North Carolina Adventure Weekends puts outdoor adventure game plans at your fingertips, making it easy to pack the car and hit the road. As we researched this book, we discovered even more North Carolina locales that seemed to be made for a weekends worth of adventures. A day trip paddling down the Green River turned into two days of camping in the deep and mysterious Green River Gorge and hiking to waterfalls straight from our tent. When we camped at Carolina Beach State Park, we had planned a weekend of paddling, paddling, and oh, more paddling, but the opportunities we found to explore the terra firma on foot and bike were too irresistible to pass up. Weve been asked more than a few times, Whats in the middle of North Carolina, anyway? We respond, with no hesitation: LOTS! Youll find national forests, nature preserves, rivers, and even elevation changes. On a recent trip to Raleigh, we found more lakes, rivers, hiking, and mountain biking trails crisscrossing the states capital city than we could ever conquer in just a few days.

White Oak River

While we cant pack the car for you, we hope this book, with its ready-to-go plans, inspires you to spend your weekends doing whatever it is that makes you happy: cooking over a glowing campfire, gripping cool rock as you scale a cliff, hiking to mountaintop vistas, carving through dirt trails on two wheels, exploring streams, marshes, and ocean, or just relaxing in a hammock as you breathe in fresh air.

This is what makes us happy. So if you see us out there, say hi!

Blue Clay Bike Park

NORTH CAROLINA ADVENTURE ACCOLADES

BEST FOR WHITEWATER PADDLING

BEST FOR FLATWATER PADDLING

BEST FOR HIKING

BEST FOR MOUNTAIN BIKERS

BEST FOR ROAD CYCLISTS

BEST FOR CLIMBERS

BEST FOR KIDS

BEST FOR NEW ADVENTURERS

BEST FOR EXPERIENCED ADVENTURERS

BEST FOR SOLITUDE

Blue Ridge Mountains

INTRODUCTION

Mention North Carolina, and people tend to picture the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway weaving its way through the western edge of the state, up and over the Appalachian Mountains . Or they think of the east coast, with its miles of golden sand beaches and blue-green waves crashing onto the shore. We cant blame them; the far western and eastern parts of the state are natural wonderlands. Central North Carolina is far from an outdoor adventure wasteland, however. For years, we were guilty of ignoring the middle part of the state in search of outdoor pursuits, but eventually we found several of our favorite adventure hot spots in Central North Carolina. (Heres looking at you, Hanging Rock .) In reality, the terrain in between the mountains and the coast is covered with national forests; state parks; paddle, hike, and bike trails; greenways; wetlands; nature preserves; and hundreds of campgrounds. Close your eyes, pick any spot on a map of the Tar Heel State, and youre likely to find some amazing adventures.

Next time you play in North Carolinas great outdoors, keep in mind that the states topography has been a long time in the making. More than 250 million years ago, shifting plates collided and pushed Earths crust together, forming what we now know as the Appalachian Mountains. (Back then, though, they were many thousands of feet taller!) North Carolina still boasts 43 peaks above 5,000 feet, and while people from out West might balk at calling anything under 10,000 feet a mountain, the states lush, tree-lined ridges and peaks offer their own elevating experience. As the mountainous west fades into the Piedmont, 1,000-plus-foot monadnocks rise from the valleys, creating hilly hikes, clifftop views, and tumbling waterfalls. Rivers that originate in Western North Carolinas mountains meander all the way across the state to the coastal plain, where they slow and spread out, providing sanctuary to wildlife and paddlers alike. As a result of the rivers long journeys, you can find mountainous rock just a stones throw from the coast. Speaking of which, millions of people flock to the states idyllic beaches for a relaxing day of lounging, but theres a lot to keep them busy too: towering sand dunes, hiking trails lined with carnivorous plants, and hidden islands only accessible by boat.

Lake Fontana Spring Appalachian Trail

If not for the foresight of Locke Craige, the states 53rd governor, North Carolinas natural treasures might have been destroyed by the mining and timber industries. Craige lobbied for the creation of North Carolinas first state park, Mount Mitchell State Park , in 1915. The U.S. Forest Service stepped in with its own conservation efforts shortly thereafter, establishing Pisgah National Forest in 1916. Today, North Carolina is home to more than 40 state parks and recreation areas, four national forests, and 12 wilderness areas, making it a dream state for outdoor adventurers. With so many options, we dont blame you for feeling a bit overwhelmed. Relax, read, and get ready for an incredible weekend adventure!