Viewing entries in
Adventure
There's a reason why hikers get wide-eyed and eager when they hear "Grayson Highlands." There's a reason why those who have been before return time and again, and why those who haven't been are encouraged to go as soon as they can. Ponies! Balds! Easy hiking! PONIES!
On Saturday I dragged McCrae to downtown Raleigh for one of the few places showing National Parks Adventure, an IMAX showcase of some of "America's Best Idea" as part of the National Parks Service centennial celebration. While a St. Patrick's Day parade surprised us and kept us from the early showing because we couldn't cross the street to the theater, we did eventually get to there to see the film. Included in today's post is a review of the movie.
Neusiok Trail, Croatan National Forest - Leading up to my trip I really thought I was going to walk into a Lost Colony sort of scenario and just disappear into unknown woods. My efforts to research the trail and plan my overnights had just been one big "404 Not Found" love fest. "Click here for a link to a map!" 404 Not Found. "Click here for directions to the trail head!" 404 Not Found. "Click here for shuttle information!" 404 Not Found. But my backpacking NC book and Mountains-to-Sea Trail book encouraged me to go ahead and just explore.
Spring tingles. It's like that feeling at the end of yoga's savasana where you wiggle your fingers and toes after lying perfectly still and meditating. There's a gentle prickling as blood and sensation moves through your extremities following minutes of utter calm.
Weekends are for moving. After long weekday hours in a cubicle and workouts in the evening that you force yourself into - despite being tired, despite being hungry, despite the bad weather and that one treadmill whose motor whines - it feels so great to have two days of non-stop action. Long run! Soccer practice! Hiking! Soccer game! Yoga! Biking!
Not every soccer game is great. Not every run is perfect. Sometimes the elements will get you down, or maybe it will be an injury, or maybe it will be a guy with very long legs who injures you, but in any case, some days you need a little time for a tendon to heal or for your skin to stop bleeding and oozing, or for your head to clear. And sometimes what you need is a story of incredible endurance to make you stop being squeamish and try again (after you've cleaned up and bandaged the flesh wounds, of course).
What do you think of when you hear the phrase "national park"? Maybe sweeping vistas of canyons, volcanoes, geysers and glaciers? Maybe mountains - bare and rocky or green and hazy - that rise and fall in reams and rows and out of sight? Maybe wildlife like bison or wolves or thick-horned, hardy ungulates? Maybe your favorite public playground, or a distant, inaccessible place? The national parks are indeed this, and so much more.
“Can I help you find something?” the REI saleswoman asked me.
“Yeah, I guess. I need some protective gear for, uhm, doing something really stupid.”
The saleswoman didn’t bat an eye. “What kind of something stupid?”
“Like, skijoring. Well, rollerjoring.”
“Is that like rollerblading?”
“Yeah, but with a dog attached to you who’s pulling you along at a sprint.”
