Goat Watching and Beginner Backpacking at House Mountain!!

OVERVIEW

Howdy again Folks,

Yes I’m aware I announced this trip yesterday. I’m also aware that only like 5 people and no drivers signed up and I’m here to reel more of you in. I’ve resorted to exploiting that fact that there is allegedly a goat on house mountain to impel you to perhaps give my trip the time of day. In all honesty House Mountain is a stunning place that all you beautiful(and dues-paying) outdoors club members deserve to experience. Without further ado, here’s the same stuff I said before!

After not spending a night in a tent for almost two weeks I’m aching to go make nature my home for the night this coming weekend. What better place than House Mountain?!? In addition to sleeping out in the wild, we can potentially catch the sunset on one mountain and then the sunrise the next day on another without doing too much work.

The plan is to meet at echols on Saturday around 1:30 and depart soon thereafter. We should arrive at the trail head at at about 3:00. Then we’ll walk about 1.5 miles up to the saddle between Big and Little House Mountain arriving there at about 4:00. We’ll take some time to set up camp and hang out for a bit taking in the fall beauty. Once we’ve all had enough of watching the leaves fall, we’ll take off up Big House Mountain – leaving our heavy packs back at camp :)) – to catch the sunset. That hike is no peace of cake because it’s pretty steep but it’s very short(~1 mile) so it’ll be over fast. After a spectacular sunset we’ll stroll back down to camp and have dinner and chill out for the night.

**note**: apparently there’s a goat at the top of Big House Mountain, I’ve never seen it before, but something tells me we might get lucky!!

The next day we’ll rise bright and early and head out of camp up Little House Mountain for one of the best sunrises you’ll ever lay your outdoorsy eyes on. This hike is a little more gradual and a tad longer(~1.7 miles) than Big House Mountain. After sun rise we’ll stroll back to camp once again, pack our stuff up and then head out.

When we get back to cville will depend on how fast we wanna pack up camp, but we shouldn’t get back much later than 1pm.

More info on the Hike:
https://www.wlu.edu/outing-club/outdoor-activities/hiking/house-mountain
https://www.hikingupward.com/OVH/HouseMountain/

**keep in mind that the hike is rated as “strenuous” by most websites. I for one don’t think it’s all that bad but just be cognizant of the fact that some people do find this hike pretty difficult before signing up.

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!

What to bring:
-backpacking backpack
-sleeping bag and sleeping pad
-sturdy shoes to hike in
-clothes to stay warm in (will likely be very chilly)
-rain jacket/ poncho in case of rain
-headlamp(this will be really important for sunset and sunrise)
-water (2+ liters for hike, water source at saddle)
-food and snacks

**You can get most of this stuff from the gear room if you need it! Hmu if you’d like me to grab stuff for you!(please don’t do this last minute, I’ll still do it but I might forget a thing or two)

What I’ll bring:
-I’ll grab us a couple of tents from the gear room
…that’s about it