Fonta Flora State Trail Follow, Retail Therapy, The Forest Reopens

In this week's episode:

• Retail Therapy. We introduce a new feature, Retail Therapy. Sure we're all about the spiritual release of being outdoors — but being outdoors in good gear doesn't hurt. In this debut of our Retail Therapy segment we walk into the Great Outdoor Provision Co. shop in Chapel Hill, N.C., and ask: "What's latest gear we've gotta have?" Chad's answer: the On Cloudventure hiking shoe. For details on the shoe:
  • Cloudventure women's
  • Cloudventure men's
• News. If the weather's warming seasonal closures are beginning to lift! We talk about U.S. Forest Services openings in the Chattooga River District of the Chattahoochee and Oconee national Forests, as well a reminder to check for controlled burns (there've been 17 in Virginia's National Forests alone since March 1), and to also check on wildfires. All information you can find by visiting the home page of the National Forest of  interest:
  • Georgia
  • North Carolina
  • Virginia
  • Tennessee
  • South Carolina
  • West Virginia
• Fonta Flora Follow-up. In a follow-up to last week's interview with North Carolina State Trails Director Smith Raynor we went out and hiked one of those trails, the Fonta Flora. Here's our report — and some links in case you'd like to pay a visit:
  • Burke County Fonta Flora State Trail page
  • View the Fonta Flora Trail map (Summer 2020)
  • For status updates and additional information,  visit the Fonta Flora Trail Facebook page here.
  • For information on the trails in Lake James State Park,  go here