This past weekend was a reminder of why I live in Glen
Alpine, NC. It is not because I have family here because other than Starla, I
do not any family living in western NC. It is not because I grew up here
because I did not, I am a transplant from the eastern part of the state. I’ve lived in this area for 17 years and
can’t imagine living in the flat lands again.
I live in Glen Alpine because I can kayak, hike and mountain
bike year round. I may not go kayaking on the coldest day of the year but it is
rare that the following day is not more moderate. We just don’t get that many
“bad” days during a year. I may not feel like biking on the hottest day of the
year but that is a good opportunity to take the kayak out and get wet or find
some high elevation activity where the temperatures are more comfortable even
in the middle of the summer. When it is too muddy to ride my MTB I can kayak,
hike or road bike. There are so many options.
Back to this weekend, Starla left town to visit her mom on
Friday 2/26/16. I went home to the “empty nest” and realized if I was quick
loading the kayak and gear and rushed out to Wilson Creek that I could manage
to get in an organic Soul-O run by jogging my shuttle. My timing was perfect
and I didn’t even have to jog in the dark. There was no one else on the creek
and I totally enjoyed the solitude. The level felt like about 1.5”.
With a little persuasion, Dan "The Man" was game for a mountain bike
ride Saturday 2/27/16. Since the creek level was still about 1” above 0 and we
had to go right by it for our MTB ride, I talked Dan into running shuttle in my
van while I bombed down another Soul-O run. As usual I took out at the lower
take out and we quickly headed up to do the Big-O. The trail conditions were as good as the
creek level – Perfect!
Sunday 2/28/16, I had planned to meet Johnny
Calhoun for a mountain bike ride at Kitsuma at 3:00. He had suggested it on
Friday and I’m always willing to work my schedule to hang with a buddy. Not
wanting to wait that late in the day to get outside, I packed up the hiking
gear and Felix. We headed up to Gingercake Mountain for 2.5 hours of fast
tracking to some spectacular cliffs and scrambles. I managed to stay hydrated
and ate a couple of sandwiches not wanting to run out of energy on my late day
bike ride. I texted JC around 2:00 to figure out logistics but I didn’t get any
reply. I decided to
stay on the schedule we had agreed to and left him another message that I was
on my way just in case he could make it. I got to Ridgecrest at about 3 and was
riding by 3:20. I got a text from Johnny that he was not coming just as I got
back to the van at about 5 – shame not to get to hang out with him but I am glad
I stuck with the plan and rode Kitsuma. I thought the trail might be a little
sloppy but luckily I was wrong. The trail conditions and weather were perfect.
I wore a short sleeve shirt and biking shorts. Finished at 5:00 and it was
still very pleasant short sleeve weather. The 10 mile loop was the perfect end
to an amazing weekend of cross training. This is why I live in Glen Alpine. I
never drove more than an hour from home and got to enjoy World Class outdoor
activities.
Hike in the morning, Kitsuma in the evening:
I managed to get a picture of a like minded MTBer.
