BEGINNER BACKPACKING AT ST MARY’S!!!

OVERVIEW

Hi all! The leaves are green and the birds are chirping and the weather is warm and it is time to get out and sleep in the woods. AKA time for some chill beginner backpacking!!! This Friday-Saturday, join Loreley & I (evelyn) as we embark on a journey to St. Mary’s Wilderness, which neither of us have ever ventured to before but legend says it is full of mountain views and waterfalls. This is a very beginner-friendly trip, where we’ll teach you how to set up a tent (…or cowboy camp??), make dinner, hang a bear bag, start a campfire, et cetera. All experience levels welcome on this trip!!
The only requirement is that you be a fairly experienced hiker. The loop we plan to take is 10.5 miles (spread over 2 half days) but the elevation gain is over 2,000 feet. Be comfortable with some steep climbs, and know you’ll be carrying 20-40lbs (depending on what you pack) while you’re hiking!

PLAN:
FRIDAY
1pm: meet at Echols
drive for 57 minutes
1:57pm: arrive at trailhead
hike through gorgeous meandering waterfall landscape
Hike until we find a nice campsite (perhaps ~5 miles in)
5pm-on: set up camp, make/eat dinner, watch the sunset, frolic around, enjoy nature
~9/10pm: sleep!

SATURDAY:
probably around 8am: wake up
eat breakfast, pack it up, hike the rest of the loop (likely less than 5 miles)
probably around 11 or 12pm: arrive back at car
drive for 57 more minutes
likely by 1pm: be back on grounds, refreshed and enlightened from backpacking

note: here’s a recommended packing list of what to bring; many of these items can be found at the GEAR ROOM!!
gear room times this week:
Tuesday – Chris 9:15 am
Wednesday – Allie 5 pm
Thursday- Afton 9:45 am
If none of these times work for you, text me or loreley (numbers in the Member Directory) and we can work something out!

PACKING LIST:
backpacking backpack (NOT school backpack)
tent
sleeping bag and sleeping pad
sturdy shoes to hike in
clothes to stay warm in overnight (should be gorgeous spring weather: low of 56, high of 82!) but when you’re sleeping outside you get chillier than you’d think.
rain jacket (just in case)
toiletries
working head lamp
WATER (there are streams/waterfalls but not throughout the whole loop! there might not be water at our campsite so bring 2.5-3L in case.)
stove if you plan to cook food (we will also have stoves)
FOOD: snacks (i recommend jerky, granola bars, clif bars, snickers), dinner for Friday, breakfast for Saturday, snacks/lunch-y items for Saturday (but we could stop somewhere on the way back…!)

TRAIL INFO: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/st-marys-wilderness-loop-trail

that is all! let us know if you have questions, and again, this is very open to beginners/first-time backpackers!! see you out there 🙂 -evelyn & loreley