Bodacious Beach Backpacking

OVERVIEW

*REANNOUNCEMENT OF NOVEMBER TRIP THAT WAS POSTPONED UNTIL APRIL – PLEASE NOTE NEW DATES*

Beginner backpacking trip? The beach?? Bodacious outdoors bros and
babes??? The limit of the number of reasons to go on this trip quite simply does not exist.

Beachy shenanigans will likely include but are not limited to: jamming, swimming (clothing optional), sandcastle/fort building, flinging frisbees and other sporty projectiles, ghost-crab chasing, sunrise embracing, shoreline pacing, Poseidon praising, and star-gazing. Hell, we might even find Nemo.

False Cape is a super 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 one side of the beach for the length of our stay, so this will literally be outdoors club’s very own private beach for the weekend. I would honestly be shocked if we saw more than 10 other people the entire time we’re there, so be ready to get up to a reasonable amount of no good.

LOGISTICS:
It’s a three hour drive and it’ll probably take us around 2 hours to walk through the wildlife refuge to our campsites, so we’ll be setting up camp ~on the beach~ around 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 noon and 4pm on Friday the 13th. The earlier the better, but it’ll probably be dark by the time we’ll be setting up camp regardless so it doesn’t matter much when we get out of town. 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!