No, not all of us are going to jump off a bridge, or even leap off a zip-line stand. And hiking 1,000 miles or running 20 miles of whitewater isn’t everyone’s cup of tea either. But between those fairly extreme undertakings and, well, a cup of tea is a mountain region full of some kind of outside adventures for just about all of us. C’mon along. . .

As the first sprigs of spring arrive in the atriums of Alabama and the gardens of Georgia, ambitious, hopeful  hikers are lacing up their boots to start north from Springer Mountain, Ga., toward Mount Katahdin in Maine – a 2,100-mile walk on the Appalachian Trail.

And what better year than 2012 to start scratching off your own long-overdue dreams and turning your Outdoor Bucket List into reality: From wild to mild, here is a primer of places to see and awesome activities to get you moving and grooving to the beat of the Blue Ridge.