Spring Break Backpacking at St. Mary’s (Not Mt. Rogers) (Not Dolly Sods) (3/4-3/8)

OVERVIEW

(2/25/05) – I have decided to abadon the idea of Dolly Sods due to the harsh weather. We will be doing St. Mary’s instead.

Come spend the first half of your spring break backpacking through St. Mary’s!

The plan is to leave either Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning. The drive is a little over 3 hours. We’ll get at least 3 and a half days of hiking in, and leave around sundown Tuesday.

I haven’t decide exactly what trails we’ll be hiking, so if you have any recommendations, let me know. I’d like to be able to plan for at least 10 miles/day so make sure you are comfortable hiking about 40 miles over 4 days.

I don’t know what the weather will be like, but you should be prepared to hike in the snow, just in case. I will check on the conditions several days before we go. If the weather is really bad and nobody objects to hiking elsewhere, I’d like to propose Mt. Rogers as an alternative.

I’d like to take two cars. I have a 4 seater, and we’ll need one more. If half of the group wants to leave a day early or a day late, we’ll discuss those possibilities.

The club will cover the cost of our gas and I’d like to spend our food money on backpacking food (which I’ll probably buy for the group). You probably want to bring some of your own money in case the club
doesn’t cover it all or we eat out on the way back.

What you should bring:
warm clothes, suitable for backpacking (no cotton!)
hiking boots (already broken in)
rain gear
toiletries
money
your own snacks for the car trip

The club will provide:
sleeping pads/bags
tents
backpacks
headlamps
cooking stuff

Here are a couple of sites to whet your appetite:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/sp/dolly_sods_wilderness.htm

http://www.patc.net/hiking/destinations/dolysods.html