Intro to Backpacking: Mt. Pleasant & Cold Mountain!

OVERVIEW

Pitch: Breathe in the first full day of autumnal glory; climb two mountains; rejoice in a Sound of Music-esque high mountain summit with open meadows and 360-degree views; bask in the warmth of a campfire / joyous song / s’mores / friendship; and make it back in time to see the Concert for Charlottesville the next day.

As Hiking Upward puts it: “Can’t make it to Scotland or Switzerland anytime soon to hike those spectacular high mountain meadows? Well right here in the Old Dominion we have the next best thing! Every hiker in the mid-Atlantic should hike Cold Mountain at least once.”

~~ Wait, slow down a second ~~
We’ll drive 1 hour to the Cold Mountain/Mt. Pleasant parking lot and complete the 5.5-mile Mt. Pleasant loop, chowing down on some lunch at the summit. After our descent, we’ll begin the Cold Mountain loop (a sister circuit) and set up camp a mile or two in. We’ll camp out and enjoy sunset, dinner, hot cocoa, a campfire, and some stargazing and s’mores. After a good night’s sleep, a meadow sunrise, and some brekkie, we’ll do the rest of Cold Mountain and be on our merry way back to C’ville by early afternoon. The trip will be a total of 11.3 miles!

~~ What do I bring to this shindig? ~~
-Backpack*
-Sleeping bag*
-Sleeping pad*
-Flashlight or headlamp*
-Water (3 L)
-Sturdy shoes, hiking socks, athletic clothing
-Toiletries
-Food**, eating supplies
-Hammock?

*You can rent these items from the club at a gear room (or I can pick gear up for you)!
**If there’s interest in a grocery store pit stop on the way there — or in getting some communal food to cook and share — we can do that.

UPDATE: We’ll make mac n cheese for dinner and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Bring your own Saturday lunch 🙂

I’ll bring a camping stove, water filter, and tents for group use, so you need not worry about any of that.

~~ That wasn’t enough info, I need more ~~
The Hiking Upward scoop: https://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/MountPleasant/
https://www.hikingupward.com/gwnf/coldmountain/
Spoilers: https://www.theoutbound.com/virginia/hiking/hike-cole-mountain

If you have any questions, or need help getting gear, shoot me a text at 301-996-6374!

Never peak,
Allie