North Carolina Outdoor Afros!

Check out this trip report of a recent outing lead by Outdoor Afro leader  Beky Branagan in her own words.

Our Story

At 9:00 AM on Saturday, June 23rd, we met at the rest station at Umstead State Park, Cary, NC. Four of us attended including myself and my child, Gabby. One of the participants (Brenda) found the trip on the Carey REI web site. YAY REI! We thouroughtly enjoyed ourselves, even my niece the teenager, who said that it was very “relaxing and refreshing.”

While it was in the mid 90s and quite humid, we hiked the five miles on the Company Mill trail, enjoying the scenery and each other’s company. We also chatted about other events we might like to do. We finished the hike in about two hours.
What was the most memorable moment of the trip?

The first moments of the trip, when I realized that it was actually happening!
I also recently found out that the entrance that we used, the Reedy Creek entrance, was once the African American portion of the park.

From the State Park website:
“In 1950, more than 1,000 acres of the park were established as a separate park for African-Americans. This area was named Reedy Creek State Park. Crabtree Creek Recreation Area was renamed a few years later after former Governor William Bradley Umstead because of his conservation efforts. In 1966, the Crabtree Creek and Reedy Creek areas were united under the same name; William B. Umstead State Park was open to everyone.”
Beky Branagan of North Carolina has an M.S. in Recreation Administration and served as a medic in the US Army Reserve. She volunteers as an Outdoor Skills Facilitator; teaching Girl Scout Leaders about how to take their troops camping.
Read more about the Outdoor Afro Leadership Team!
Thanks REI, the national retail co=operative, and KEEN shoes for outfitting Outdoor Afro leadership!