Like hiking? Fun? FIRE TOWERS? A little birdie told me about an abandoned fire lookout tower about an hour from Charlottesville that we could possibly camp in. The fire tower is at the summit of Elliot Knob. While it’s a steep four mile trip up, we’ll get to pass two quaint waterfalls on our hike. In total, the hike is …
Phew, Halloweekend was crazy! Now that all that spookyness is behind us, Ed and I figured it would be safe enough to venture into the great outdoors once again. Join us for this scenic, one-night beginner friendly backpacking trip to Devil’s Marbleyard! The plan: Saturday 11/5 Meet at Shred Shack 11am Arrive at Trailhead 1pm Hike 5 miles Make camp …
Fantastic things come in 3’s— billy goats, bones in the ear, R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle)… and ridges✨✨ 3 ridges is a 13 mile loop along the AT with some beautiful views. We’ll be backpacking through the loop and enjoying the lovely sights of late fall! This is an intermediate/ beginner backpacking trip. You should feel comfortable hiking ~10 miles in …
Fantastic things come in 3’s— billy goats, bones in the ear, R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle)… and ridges✨✨ 3 ridges is a 13 mile loop along the AT with some beautiful views. We’ll be backpacking through the loop and enjoying the lovely sights of late fall! This is an intermediate/ beginner backpacking trip. You should feel comfortable hiking ~10 miles in …
The Triple Crown of Virginia is a lovely series of day hikes with nice views that happen to be located within a few miles of each other along the Appalachian Trail. This overnight backpacking trip will take us by each of the main attractions: Tinker Cliffs, McAfee’s Knob, and Dragon’s Tooth. The entire route is about 22 miles. We will …
What better way to spend your Friday evening than outside (but also technically inside??). We’ve both been wanting a good backpacking trip, and now that it’s getting cold what better way to do so then sleeping in a CABINNN!!??? Corbin cabin is owned and taken care of by the PATC (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club), but originally belonged to a moonshiner …
Very simple. 1. I take you to Sandstone Visitor center. You have common sense backpacking stuff, i.e. enough water, food, clothing, and emergency supplies for about a day and a half of hiking. 2. We proceed to hike alongside the river. 3. We continue to hike alongside the river. 4. We hike alongside the river some more. 5. We get …
Hello fellow mountain enthusiasts! Have you ever wanted to watch the sunset on top of a fabulous mountain and then camp right at the summit (like 10 feet away from the lookout)? Fortunately for you I will be taking some people to Mt. Pleasant near Vesuvius Virginia to backpack up and camp for a night. My plan is to leave …
Fuck Cars. I’m doing a trip with no cars for a number of reasons: 1. NO ONE HAS TO DD 2. CLIMATE CHANGE?!?! 3. WE CAN SLEEP OTW 4. TRAINS DON’T HAVE TSA 5. WE CAN WATCH THE HILLS ROLL BY 6. CAN’T GET PULLED OVER FOR RECKLESS TRAIN RIDING 7. CARS DON’T HAVE A COOL WHISTLE 8. Cars can’t …
Howdy fellow lovers of dirt, Did you miss out on the opportunity to go backpacking over fall break? Maybe you did go backpacking and are craving some more quality time in da woods? Or maybe you don’t even know what backpacking is and only clicked on this bc you thought our adventure title was funny (s/o Emi)?! Regardless of what …
Hey hey you you want to learn to backpack? no way no way I’m scared to try it hey hey you you i could lead a workshop *guitar* hey hey you you I know you could learn how yes way yes way I think I’d like to do it hey hey you you come to my workshop! (To the tune …
So I saw Ed and Lila’s Dolly Sods trip coming up, and I got inspired to lead my own Dolly Sods trip of 3 days and 2 nights for Fall Break. This one will start bright and early on Sunday for those of you with Friday activities and we’ll be doing a bit more mileage (26 mi). For that reason, …
Join us for pancake pony magic AKA intermediate backpacking at Grayson Highlands! We will embark on a magical, 20.1 mile, 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip over fall break. Yes there will be pancakes. Yes there will be ponies. Yes there will even be some frolicking. Since this is a three day trip, you should have a little backpacking experience. …
An animal howls off in the distance, the pines whisper to each other, and the smell of fire smoke fills your nostrils as you gaze up into the vast starry sky. To be alone with the world for a moment all you need and everything you’ve been missing. Let’s go spend some time away from our beloved Cville hustle and …
Hey you. You’ve heard of backpacking. You’ve probably heard of swimming too. But… have you ever considered combining the two? A while ago I was doing my usual “research” on combining random outdoor sports, and I discovered that there are people who put all their backpacking stuff in a dry bag, tie it to themselves, and swim long distances. I …
Yup, it’s another queer trip!! This time: overnight backpacking to McAfee’s Knob during fall break Here’s the plan: Meet at echols at noon on Monday 3 hr drive (I know,,, yikes. But its worth it I promise) Hike in 2 miles to Catawba Shelter Hang out, dinner, various shenanigans, sleep Tuesday [times variable, idk y’all] Wake up at the crack …
Who: It is I, Joseph, the officer you don’t know from the emails What: Backpacking When: Sept. 24-25 Where: ‘Bout an hour away https://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/MillsCreek/ Why: Touch grass Merhaba, Well I haven’t led a trip in a while nor have I gotten out much recently for other reasons so why not do some light backpacking. Mills creek sounds like a fun …
Knob knob? Who’s there?! Elliott. Elliott who? JUST KIDDING it’s Cam and Chelsea, and we want you to come backpacking with us this weekend!!! We’ll be hiking up Elliott knob, which is a steep four mile trip to a beautiful grassy summit. On the hike up we’ll pass two waterfalls, and at the top there’s a cool and fancy lookout …
CALLING ALL CABIN CREATURES TO JONES MOUNTAIN. What better way to spend one of the last couple days of summer (technically) inside but outside! A cabin in the woods, the perfect rustic introduction to our beautiful blue ridge mountains. We will hike 3.8 miles to Jones Mountain Cabin, situated close to the Staunton River and the Bear Church Rock. This …
Hey guys, now that it is warming up outside, it’s a great time to go backpacking! And what better place to celebrate this weather than going to a fan favorite, Grayson Highlands! This backpacking trip is a beginner friendly backpacking trip through the The Mt Rogers/Grayson Highlands loop. This is an iconic section of the Appalachian Trail, located in the …
Gear up for some big fun on Little Schloss mountain! Since it’s suddenly not cold as h*ck outside, this upcoming weekend is the perfect opportunity to get outside and go on your next (or first!) backpacking trip. We’ll bring hot cocoa for when the sun goes down! Little Schloss is located in the northern part of George Washington National Forest …
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Greetings fellow traveler! Noosh and I need help embarking on a great quest: backpacking to dragon’s tooth. The journey to the summit is short (2 miles) and there’s some rock scramblin action towards the top (last 0.8 miles) so make sure to wear good hiking boots. All Trails describes it as a strenuous hike with challenging rock scrambles, but this …
I’m too lazy to do a new trip description, so I’m using as much as I can from the last one I led…For the past year, I’ve been working my way through the VA section of the AT. With a goal to finish by the end of May, I’m trying to maximize mileage on short weekends, which means utilizing a …
Amidst the week-long stoke fest of Moab, I learned that ODC bike mechanic Phillip Reeves not only also enjoys backpacking but is a self-proclaimed backcountry chef. Truly a renaissance man. So rather than grabbing a good ol’ bag of Mountain House, Phillip will be bringing plain grocery store ingredients to chef it up in the backcountry. That’s the TBD trip …
Feeling like an indoor kid lately? Growing tired of falling asleep to the artificial darkness in the rigid boxes we like to call homes and waking to the same canned fluorescent light day after day? Join Madeline and me for some beautiful, unadulterated viewing of the magnificent orb that graces our sky. She sets in the West over Big House …
After meeting so many incredible young folks in Moab, I’ve decided to come out of trip leading retirement for an AT adventure. For the past year, I’ve been working my way through the VA section of the AT. With a goal to finish by the end of May, I’m trying to maximize mileage on short weekends, which means utilizing a …
Charlie Haywood led trips here in 2018 and 2019 and they were some of my favorite trips that I have done with the club. Since Charlie is old now and has a job or something I figured I should step up and take his place. False Cape State Park is a park located in between Back Bay and the Atlantic …
Are you itching to go for a stroll that might take a while? Is your favorite place to sleep also on top of snow? Do you long for more in-depth discussions about the benefits of a really long walk? If your answer to any of the above questions is yes then you should join us for a 1 night backpacking …
MOAB, UTAH 2022 ALL ABOARD THE GNAR TRAIN May we all blossom from this snow and ice ridden East Coast of ours and emerge as sun children in the soft red sands of the Utah desert. There is but one ODC trip worthy of such transition and namesake, and it is our annual pilgrimage the arid paradise of MOAB, UTAH. …
Hey y’all! Need a break from schoolwork, want to hike around in the beautiful fall leaves with some awesome queer folks? That’s right, it’s another queer backpacking trip!!! This is gonna be an overnight backpacking trip, doin a little 10 mile loop on the AT and the Lovingston Spring Trail (we’ll prolly do 5 mi Friday night and 5 mi …
Howdy! So this is gonna be a pretty straightforward out and back. We’re headed to Elliot Knob, because I hear they have this dope lookout tower, which we will totally be on the lookout for. Couple things to keep in mind: 1) It’s gonna be cold and wet. So pack accordingly. Bring extra socks, and don’t forget the raingear! 2) …
Helllooo my fellow creatures of the Earth, ever wonder what to do when we have two full days of no schooling?? WELL COME JOIN ED AND I TO WALK IN OUR GREAT OUTDOORS!!! We shall strut, jumble, hop, sashay and mosey around the Rip Rap loop in Shenandoah, set up camp for a night under the finest stars Virginny has …
Tired of school already? Let the forest distract you from all your exams and assignments with a pre-creekathon backpacking trip! (This is in no way affiliated with creekathon.) The destination is St. Mary’s Wilderness, a beautiful forest just 1 hour away from us that used to be heavily mined. It’s a perfect place to get an intro to backpacking, but …
Hey y’all!!! Want to have a good time backpacking with a group of fellow queer people? Then this is your trip! This is going to be a pretty chill/beginner backpacking trip, specifically for queer and/or trans people! We’re gonna do a 6 mile loop (we’ll do 1 mile on Friday evening to Cole Mountain, where we’ll camp, then about 5 …
I know what you are thinking; this trip is a month away, why are you putting in up so soon? There are two reasons. The first is that I am salty at myself for missing star gazing during the new moon that just happened. The second is that I am old now (in grad school) so my schedule is much …
Late-August, the last of Virginia’s summer green canopy, cool mountain breezes to counteract the deathly cville heat, a lovely picnic dinner complete with warm nalgene water and instant mashed potatoes, singing John Denver while watching the vibrant sun dip slowly behind our beautiful Virginia mountains from a picturesque little fire tower nestled atop Elliot Knob. If you imagine this to …
FREE 95-MILE ADVANCED BACKPACKING ADVENTURE – July 28 – Aug. 10, 2020 = departure from / arrival back home. (Trip leader plans to fly out of Charlottesville airport.) – Kings Canyon National Park, California – Spectacular, endless mountain and lake views on high altitude trails frequently above treeline – Hike past Sierra Club stone hut monument to John Muir at …
Shamelessly copied description(and really just the whole trip) from Anna and Burke’s trip because I should really be doing homework right now: Hey there, dirtbags! This short, exciting, somewhat rock scrambley ascent is great for all experience levels, so if you’ve never been outside before that’s okay! It is worth noting, though, that the rock scramble requires some ~agility~ so …
If you weren’t able to commit to Winter Weekend but still want to get sendy this weekend, come try to stay warm with me up on Elliot Knob! Maybe I’m crazy, but whenever the weather gets to be really cold out I just can’t help but get this bizarre urge to go spend a night outside trying to push myself …
The student returned wearily to school. For many, this was a new year, a new start, but despite societal premonitions of renewal, the student was more and more tired of his studies. Books were becoming boring; he felt his mind wandering — wandering, it seemed, to a snendy-er place. A place with trails. Yes, a place with old trees, gnarly …
We’ll be meeting at 12:30PM at the Student Activities Parking Lot on Friday the 22nd. We’ll drop off most people at Riprap, then two people will drive up to Loft Mountain and leave one car there. By this point, it will be 3pm. We’ll hike 2.5 miles to Blackrock to watch/photograph the sunset, then set go set up camp at …
Join me and my wonderful fourth year counterpart, Blair, for sunset, slumbers and snuggles inside the Elliott Knob firetower Friday night! Google weather has a little snow emoji for next Friday so I can only take that to mean that winter is coming and we better get as many fall nights outside as we can before they’re gone. We will …
Channel your inner Zac Efron and become a Wildcat during this overnight, 9.5 mile backpacking trip. We’ll do a circuit on the Riprap and Wildcat Ridge trails, see some great views and cascades, and overall have a gosh-darn good time. This trip is open to beginners but some backpacking experience might be helpful. For more info about the route check …
Hey there, dirtbags! There’s a Dragon in Catawba and it’s due for a dental cleaning. I tried leading this in September but then I got the first-year plague and couldn’t go so we’re trying again. Join me and my fearless co-leader Austin Sullivan in checking out this Dragon’s Tooth for a short overnight backpacking trip. This short, exciting, somewhat rock …
What do you get when you combine backpacking and biking? Naturally: BIKEPACKING! Don’t know what that looks like? Check out Bikepacking 101 at the end of the description. Over the course of two days, we’ll attempt to tackle the 52-mile Slate Springs Loop in George Washington National Forest. This route follows primarily dirt roads and relatively smooth doubletrack around and …
We’re gonna try this again. Why? Because this is Outdoors Club and we get outside B. I’ve heard so much about Mt Rogers and have never been. Yikes. I could use the classic “I’m a fourth year” or “I’m not getting any younger” copout, but I really just wanna see a WILD PONY. Also, it’s October. The weather is gorgeous. …
Hello fellow forest-geeks, I’m looking for some cool cucumbers to explore Ramsey’s Draft, this weekend, in celebration Autumn’s (unhurried) arrival. If you like a roof of stars and the whisper of katydids, this hike is for you. Beginners are welcome. The plan: 1. Saturday: leave from Echols in the morning, hit the trail. Hike to our campsite and ~swim in …
We have days off from school and that means that it’s time to get outside!! (Who needs to do work anyways?) Unfortunately, I can’t leave for the whole weekend, but an overnight backpacking trip is just what the doctor ordered. We’ll be doing the Three Ridges Hike. It’s a total of 14.4 miles and is supposed to be beautiful. Look …
Hello everyone, As the title suggests, I love Backpacking. I have a continuous footpath on the Appalachian Trail from I-66 to about 6 miles north of Harper’s Ferry, and I want to keep that distance growing. When I joined Outdoors club, I was a little disappointed at the number of Backpacking trips available, so I decided to plan my own …
i’m sure your schedule looks like mine & you have exams, papers, and projects due the very day “fall break” ends, but let’s take the reading out of reading days and hike around some mountains instead. if you’re looking for a smokin’ hot trip, look no further than kev & i’s lil backpacking adventure to the smokies! fast facts: – …