Thursday, March 24th 2011 by Mr. Bill.

It’s been a busy month since I last posted here.  I have joined a hiking and outdoors meetup group from the Raleigh Area.  So, I now have some like minded friends to hike and backpack with.  I’ve been to a couple of their outings and enjoyed myself.  I have also joined another group that is from the Greenville NC area.  Although not as big as the Raleigh group they have some interesting activities scheduled.  Unfortunately none of their meetups have worked with my schedule, but I have hopes.  Both groups are about the same driving time so I can pick as choose.

The first trail review is up on the main website.  I think I finally got the pictures small enough to load fairly quickly and big enough that you can see what is in the picture.  As promised the first review is on the trails at Medoc Mountain State Park.  I used Fall/Winter pictures.  As I take some Spring/Summer shots I may change the pictures some.  I am also toying with the idea of doing an online photo album.  But that might just end up on my facebook page.

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Sunday, February 20th 2011 by Mr. Bill.

The last couple of weeks have been a little rough.  I caught the cold/flu bug that is going around and had a hard time shaking it.  So, I missed two weekends of great hiking weather.  But, I was able to get in about 6 miles at Umstead State Park today (Sunday).  It was good to just get out and walk a little.  Tried out a new hat (very wide brim).  It will take a while to get used to.

On Wednesday I went to a free class hosted by the REI store in Cary, NC.  The class subject: “Hiking the AT”.  The presenter was a 2009 thru hiker, “Houdini”.  She was very candid about her experiences and the gear she used.  I will likey try to atttend another one of these classes to see what I missed the first time.

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Saturday, January 29th 2011 by Mr. Bill.

For the past couple of months I’ve been hiking and taking (and retaking)  pictures of the local trails.  I have been enjoying a fairly easy going pace of hiking one or two days from 5 to 18 mile each weekend.   This pace won’t ever give me “trail legs”, but with the exception of the climb at Medoc Mountain there isn’t enough elevation change in this area to really do the required training.  At this point I’m just enjoying my time away from most of the city noise and trying out some equipment to see what I’ll want to use on “the AT”. 

 I did get a good deal on a big (90 liter) ultra light pack on an after Christmas sale and I picked up a day and a half (tactical) pack at Walmart.  Both pack are hydration ready as are the hydration pack (currently in use) and my day pack from my Civil Air Patrol days.  I still haven’t come up with either a summer ultra light or three season down sleeping bag yet.  I think I’ll want both so I can switch off to the lighter bag as the spring nights get warmer.  I had several deals come up this winter, but they were all for normal length bags.  At a little over 6 foot tall I want an extra long bag.  I just have to keep my eyes open.

 For those who wanted to know where the rest of the content is….. Well, I’ve got a list of the links I want to include and that will go up next.  The trail reviews are coming along well but I’ve been unhappy with the pictures I’ve taken.  I’ve re-shot a lot of them now and am in the process of editing, cropping and water marking them.

Tomorrow I’m headed to Howell Woods to hike some.  I’ve visited there twice before.  They are having organized hunts during the week and on Saturdays (controlling wild pigs).  So those days some section of the woods are closed.  But, Sundays all the trails that are safe (not underwater) are open.  This is a nature learning center that belongs to Johnston Community College and therefore a private preserve.  But they are open to the public and very friendly to birders and hikers at any level.  Speaking of level…… It would be hard to find more trails (about 20) that were any flatter.  This area is part of the Neuse River flood plain and is typical in that it is mostly sandy soil and very little elevation change.

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