Saturday Beginner-Friendly Backpacking — Cold Mountain / Mount Pleasant

OVERVIEW

Just took a gander at the weather forecast for the weekend! Let’s go backpacking in George Washington National Forest! Mt. Pleasant and Cold Mountain are adjacent hiking loops that leave from the same parking lot (making a figure-8 shape). We’ll hike Mt. Pleasant with just water and some snacks and then get our stuff from the cars to do Cold Mountain as a backpacking circuit, camping about 1.5 miles into that hike.

We’ll leave Saturday morning around 10:30am, get to the trailhead by noon, hike the 5.5 mile Mt. Pleasant loop, return to the cars to get our overnight packs, hike ~1.5 miles to our campsite on the Cold Mountain loop, spend the night under the stars (and with a fire if all goes according to plan), and then wake up, break camp, and hike the remaining ~4 miles back to the cars! Should be back in Cville by 3pm at the very latest — likely before.

What you bring:
– Backpacking backpack
– Sleeping bag
– Sleeping pad
– Warm clothes (LAYERS)
– Rain gear just in case
– 2+ liters of water
– Food (though I can buy collective dinner/breakfast supplies ahead of time and have y’all pay me back if you want to do that)
– Headlamp
– Tent or backpacking hammock (if you have one)
– Good sturdy shoes for walking

What the club/me provides:
– Backpacking stove(s)
– Hatchet for making fire
– Reimbursement for gas

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY OF THE ABOVE ITEMS THE CLUB CAN PROVIDE THEM!!!!!!! Come to our gear rooms this week (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday). I’ll be leading the Wednesday one and it should be around 6:40pm.

This is meant to be for all-levels. We will hike at a decent pace, but certainly won’t be racing. If you have never been backpacking and don’t feel comfortable doing things like making fire, setting up camp, backcountry cooking, etc…. THAT IS TOTALLY FINE!! It’s truly open for all experience levels.

The campsite is one of my favorites in VA — really spongy, soft grass, well-defined fire rings, and logs to sit on! Let’s have a blast — I may even bring my ukulele!

I can drive myself and 3 others, but beyond that drivers will get wait list priority (in addition to gas reimbursement and a 50% driver tip).

Mt. Pleasant:
http://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/MountPleasant/

Cold Mountain:
http://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/ColdMountain/