Super Secret Surprise Birthday Adventure!!

OVERVIEW

Seriously, it’s super secret. Don’t say sh*t about it.

Next Saturday is club member Jamie Wallenstein’s birthday, and she wants to do it outdoors, so I’m getting together (hopefully) a group of you gung-ho outdoors aficionados to help her celebrate her exiting of the teen world with mother nature at her side!

First and foremost, if you’re acquainted with Jamie please oh please don’t mention anything about the specifics of the trip to her! She has absolutely no idea where we are going or what we are doing and will likely be blindfolded for parts of the trip, so spoiling it for her will just take away from the excitement.

The plan…

We’ll be hitting up Dragon’s Tooth on the Appalachian Trail in southern Virginia which is one of my all-time personal favorites. The hike isn’t too long (~2.2 miles up, ~4.4 miles round trip), but features some fun rock scrambling, arguably some of the best views in Virginia, and a ridiculously cool rock formation at the summit that resembles a Dragon’s enormous tooth that can be both scaled and chilled upon! To make it even better, we will be devouring a birthday cake while we soak it all in.

check out the hike: https://www.theoutbound.com/virginia/hiking/hike-dragon-s-tooth
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/dragons-tooth-trail

If the hike isn’t enticing enough for you, Jamie loves animals so we’ll be stopping at the Virginia Safari Park on the way!!! You can check out the link for yourself, but in short, it’s the best $20 you’ll ever begrudgingly spend in college. Giraffes, kangaroos, tigers, llamas, piglets, penguins, zebras, camels, and bobcats are just a handful of the animals we’ll have the pleasure of hanging out with. The park is drive-thru with an additional walk-thru petting village. Need I say more?

check out the park: http://www.virginiasafaripark.com/Home.aspx

Game plan:
-meet at Echols @9:00am
-drive ~1hr15min to Safari Park
-see/pet/take pics of cool animals for ~2 hrs
-leave park ~noon, drive ~1hr to trailhead
-hike up, eat cake and enjoy dank views, back to cars by 4:00pm
-back in Cville around 6:00pm

important: entrance to Safari Park is $20
You bring:
-$20 (you won’t regret it)
-sturdy hiking shoes and clothes to hike in
-water (2L) + snacks + packed lunch!
-fleece or extra layer to wear at the summit (will be nippy)
-camera
-birthday candles???

DRIVERS NEEDED!
-drivers get priority off the waitlist. The club reimburses for gas +50% tip!
-drivers need to show up to Echols with a full tank of gas!
-must be ok with driving your car through a safari park! (little reason for concern)