Bodacious Beach Backpacking 2 – the Seaquel

OVERVIEW

Let’s go to the beach!

Last year’s weekend beach frolicking was a ~rad~ time and a half on all fronts, so I went ahead and booked a few campsites so we can do it all again this spring. This will be a beginner backpacking trip through the Back Bay national wildlife refuge to False Cape state park, located at the southernmost point of Virginia’s shoreline!

Beachy shenanigans will likely include but are not limited to: catchin sunrises over the ocean, jammin, swimmin (clothing optional), sandcastle/fort buildin, frisbee flingin, ghost-crab chasing, strollin down the beach lookin for shells, and star-gazing. Hell, we might even find Nemo.

False Cape is a really special little state park at the southernmost tip of Virginia Beach that encompasses a wildlife refuge, which means it is totally undeveloped and accessible only by bike, water, or foot travel. We’ll be hiking the 6 miles in to simplify logistics, but the land is completely flat and incredibly scenic the entire way so it’ll be as easy and enjoyable as backpacking gets! Perfect for beginners.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/false-cape#general_information

I’ve booked all three of the available campsites on the bay side of the park for the length of our stay, so we’ll be catching the sunsets over the bay in the evenings, then walking over to the beach in the mornings to spend the day playin in the sand. I’d be pretty shocked if we saw more than 10 other people the entire time we’re there, so come prepared to get up to a reasonable amount of no good.

LOGISTICS:
It’s a three hour drive and it’ll probably take us just north of 2 hours to walk through the wildlife refuge to our campsites, so we’ll be shooting to set up camp somewhere on the order of 5 hours after departure from Cville. The departure time is somewhat flexible right now depending on the schedules of the people who sign up, but we’ll definitely be leaving at some point between 11am and 1pm on Friday the 5th. The earlier the better, but we got in a little bit of trouble with a ranger last year for hiking through a part of the refuge at dark, so at the very least we will need to make sure that we leave with enough time to get into the park by sun down this year. Saturday will be a full beach day spent doing whatever beachy things our hearts desire, then we’ll get up, catch a sunrise on the beach, hike out and drive home Sunday morning. The departure time is also flexible depending on what time people will want/need to be back in town.

WHO CAN GO ON THIS TRIP:
Anyone and everyone who can take off a full weekend to make this trip a banger is more than welcome to join, but please please please do not join this trip if you even think there is a chance you’ll have something come up that weekend! I am posting this trip far in advance to give people time to figure out their schedules and make sure they can free themselves from any other obligations, so you can throw yourself on the waitlist no matter what, but you MUST drop the trip immediately if any conflicts should arise. This trip only reaches it’s full potential if people can do this so I can take the max number of people!

To bring:
-backpacking backpack
-sleeping bag and sleeping pad
-tents! (we will coordinate these)
-good walking shoes (sneaks are fine for this trip)
-clothes to walk in
-clothes to swim in (optional)
-clothes to stay warm in in case of cold weather
-towel
-rain jacket/ poncho in case of rain
-headlamp
-water bottles (2+ liters for hike, water source at campsites)
-food and snacks (will coordinate closer to the trip date)
-toothbrush and toothpaste/ toiletries (no shower)
-trashbag/s to rainproof clothes and gear
-musical instruments + sports equipment?
-bucket and shovel?
-piña coladas?

If you need a backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, headlamp, or tent, you can check out all of these things totally free from the gear room! Everybody will be responsible for getting their own gear but I can assist in gear wrangling if necessary.

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!