Category Archives: Backpacking

Happy Labor Day! And Welcome to Fall Hiking 2018

We know: officially, summer has 19 days left. And while it doesn’t officially cede to fall until Sept. 22, in our hearts, today’s the day Summer spiritually hands off its sweaty baton to fall. It’s the traditional transition that we associate with the start of school, with football, and with cooler weather and drier days that lures us back to the trail. read more

With backpacking, there’s no reason to leave the trail

Fall is our favorite time of year to go backpacking: temperatures are cooling, the forest is alit in color, the air is dry, the chance of rain is greatly diminished. It’s a great time to be on the trail — and to stay on the trail.

That’s one of the many joys of backpacking: once you’re on the trail, you don’t have to leave. Stay a night, or two or three. read more

Fall 2018: Hike, Camp, Backpack with us

We’ve got a lot going on this fall, for hikers, campers and backpackers.

Camp/Hike Weekends

You love a mountain hike in the fall. What you don’t love is driving there and back in a day. Or paying leaf season rates for a motel. So don’t.

This fall, we’ve got four weekend camping/hiking trips planned to some of the best hiking in the mountains, and one late fall trip to some pretty cool hiking at the coast. read more

Lessons Learned Navigating Linville Gorge

You learn a lot while backpacking, especially about yourself. I’m pretty sure the nine backpackers I spent this past weekend with in Linville Gorge know a lot more about themselves today than they did before our trip. 

The weekend trip was an Intermediate Skills trip, meaning participants needed some backcountry experience, though not necessarily in a wilderness. It was targeted to people eager to expand their skills and push their comfort level. And that they did.  read more