Dolly Sods is a wilderness area in the mountains of West Virginia. It offers spectacular views, some wildlife, waterfalls to play in, and a satisfying hike. I haven’t yet chosen a route, but I’ll announce that as the date approaches. I estimate we’ll do between 12 and 20 miles; Dave Clark led a trip last year where we did around …
Announcements
Appalachian Trail Intermediate Backpacking
According to my book, this 26-mile, 4-day, 3-night backpacking adventure along the Appalachian Trail (AT) “has almost everything that makes hiking worthwhile in Central Virginia. The trek never drops below 3,200 feet for the first two days, and it crosses the 4060-foot summit of the Priest on the third day out. From the Priest it plummets more than 3000 feet, …
Backpacking for Beginners & More Experienced As Well
This backpacking adventure is a chance for people with little or no experience to see what backpacking (hiking with camping gear on your back) is like, on a relatively short course. We strongly encourage more experienced backpackers to come as well, so that we can learn from each other. The pace will accommodate those who would prefer not to hike …
Overnight Backpacking Trip to Saint Mary’s Wilderness
This will be an overnight backpacking trip to “Saint Mary’s Wilderness.” This is a 17.5 mile overnight loop hike rated. On a scale of easy, moderate, and strenous, it is rated that “even with the considerable change in elevation, it is a trip of only moderate difficulty.” I’m trying to gear this trip towards beginners or intermediates (because that’s where …
One Night Backpacking Trip to Saint Mary’s Wilderness
This will be an overnight backpacking trip to “Saint Mary’s Wilderness.” This is a 17.5 mile overnight loop hike. On a scale of easy, moderate, and strenuous, it is rated that “even with the considerable change in elevation, it is a trip of only moderate difficulty.” I’m trying to gear this trip towards beginners or intermediates (because that’s where I …
Backpacking and Caving: Riprap Hollow, SNP
Blue Ridge Mountain Sports writes, “One of the classic hikes in Shenandoah National Park. Two great views and some of the most beautiful falls and pools in the park make this hike outstanding.” We’ll backpack in about 7 miles, catch some views and waterfalls along the way, and camp out among beautiful autumn colors. Close to where we’ll camp is …
Florida Spring Break: Backpacking, Manatees, Beach!
This spring break adventure in central Florida, a truly awesome deal, will include: ~ 1 day and night at Blue Spring State Park–one of the two best places in Florida to see manatees (see http://www.planetdeland.com/bluesprings/) ~ 5 or 6 days and nights of backpacking 60 miles through extremely varied ecosystems along the remote Florida National Scenic Trail, in Ocala National …
Backpacking Trip to (1/3 of) Saint Mary’s Wilderness Trail
This will be an overnight backpacking trip to Saint Mary’s Wilderness. This is a 17.5 mile overnight loop hike, but we’re only doing approximately 4 miles each day (4 in, 4 out.) As far as elevation, if I remember correctly the part of the hike we’re doing is really flat, so it’ll be an easy hike in. I’m trying to …
Chill Backpacking Trip (6.5 mi one day, maybe 5.5 the next day)
Okay I’ve finally had a minute to pick out where we’re going. It’s a 5.75 mile circuit hike called Cold Mountain. It’s just off of route 60 going west, 9 miles past the Blue Ridge parkway. We’ll hike in 1.2 miles to a place the book says “A grand camp could be made on the large, flat area underneath stately …
Celebration Backpacking (~6 miles total)
**Note, if you want to go on the trip, but there’s a problem, like say your classes aren’t over yet at 2, send me an email and maybe we can push it back to accomidate more people!** I’ve been really busy in the past 10 days or so, then I just realized that classes end tomorrow…wow. So, I thought after …
Backpacking at Dolly Sods
Who wants to do some summer backpacking? Don’t worry, it will be much cooler where we’re going. Dolly Sods is a wilderness area in the mountains of West Virginia. It offers a challenging hike, spectacular views, some wildlife, waterfalls to play in, and a chance to get out of Charlottesville for a weekend. The loop we’ll do is ~16 miles, …
Advanced Backpacking on Snowshoes
Dolly Sods, WV is one of the most beautiful mountain backpacking places around, with varied ecosystems and spectacular views. Come check out what it looks like in the snow! We’ll snowshoe with our backpacks on for 3 or 4 hours, set up camp, and snowshoe out the next day. I don’t have snowshoe backpacking experience and will be learning as …
Spring Break COSTA RICA!
This dynamic 9 day trip gives you the chance to see a cloudforest, an active volcano and some of Costa Rica’s superb Pacific beaches and wildlife. March 5 or 6: Arrive San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica. Check into our hotel and enjoy the city. March 7, 8: La Fortuna / Arenal. La Fortuna, at the foot of …
One night backpacking trip
We’ll be going to a place called Rapidan Camp, which is just off of mile 52.8 on Skyline Drive. It’s a loop hike of ~7.5 miles and ~1500ft elevation change, so we’ll hike until we’re tired, camp, and then keep hiking the rest of the loop back to the car. The book describes this hike (#24) as a “President Hoover’s …
Overnight Backpacking Trip to Ramsey’s Draft (with Lunar Eclipse!)
The little-visited Ramsey Draft trail, which is about an hour west of Charlottesville, is said to host “what may be Virginia’s most impressive virgin hemlock forest”. It’s a 17 mile loop hike (though we may shorten it, if needs be), half of which cuts back and forth along the draft, so expect to get your feet wet! In addition to …
Appalachian Trail Intermediate Backpacking
This trip will be a moderately strenuous 3-day, 2-night trip. We will go 7.7 miles the first day, 7.2 miles the second, and 4.8 the third. This daily schedule is considerably less than what most AT thru-hikers hike in a day. Each day leads to an AT shelter where we can stay the night. Alternatively, we can pick our own …
Two-Night Intermediate Backpacking Trip to Dolly Sods!
We’re going to go to Dolly Sods, WV. You can actually get more information on the park at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/sp/dolly_sods_wilderness.htm. It’s about a 3 hour drive to get there. We’ll eat our dinner before we leave or in the car, your choice. We’ll have breakfast and dinner provided by the club on Saturday, breakfast for Sunday provided, and you’ll need to …
Backpacking at WV Border
This is an 11.7 mile loop hike near Little Sluice Mountain and Cedar Creek near Woodstock, VA up I-81 North near the WV border. Enough near’s in there? 🙂 Anyway, according to mapquest it’s ~95 miles away, so I figure an hour and a half max to get there. We’ll park, hike for a few hours to a “softer and …