We last ran this feature four years ago and it stands today — except where the nightly fee has gone up, which we’ve updated.

We take a lot of groups on weekend hiking trips to the mountains. As a result, we stay in a lot of group campgrounds. When we book a group campground, we look at a number of factors, including:

1. Proximity to good hiking. Ideally, we look for a campground with immediate access to trails — and not just any old trails, but trails that will yield a full day of memorable hiking. If we can treat people to an entire day of using just their own feet to get around, we we find they enjoy the day that much more..
2. Shaded camping. We hike mostly in summer, so we need to pitch tents where they won’t broil during the day.
3. A commons area. A big fire pit, a picnic table or two, rocks or logs to sit on — we don’t ask much, but these are biggies.
4. Basic amenities. We need water at the campsite, we’d like a privy not too far away. A bathhouse, of course, is nice. And if we can park a reasonable distance away — within 50 yards of the campsite, say — all the better.
5. Privacy. From others in the group, to some degree (hey, we all need a little me time), but mostly from neighboring campers. We escape to the wild for various reasons; it’s those who escape to the wild to be wild that we prefer to avoid.
6. Good vibe. Most importantly, the site must have a good vibe. It needn’t be immaculately groomed; rather, we like a spot that fits in with the natural surroundings. Sometimes you know the second you drive up, sometimes it takes a night or two of camaraderie to summons the vibe.

There are other factors, but these are the basics. Based on these basics, here are our our five favorite group campgrounds in North Carolina.

Standing Indian Recreation Area

Nantahala National Forest, Franklin

No. of group sites: 3

Each site accommodates: 25 people

$75 per night

More info here.

The Standing Indian Recreation Area is a U-shaped bowl rimmed, for the most part, by the Appalachian Trail. From the bottom, several trails snake up and connect to the AT, making for all kinds of loop and near-loop options. The three Standing Indian group sites (pictured at top) are located along  Kimsey Creek; an eponymously named trail parallels the creek to Deep Gap and connects to the AT; from there, it’s about a mile to 5,499-foot Standing Indian Mountain and a grand view of the Georgia mountains beyond, before returning to camp via the Lower Ridge Trail. Boom! An 11-mile loop right out of camp. Then there’s Kimsey Creek itself: On our first visit, after doing the aforementioned 11-mile loop on a steamy August day, we returned mid-afternoon to camp; within 20 minutes, everyone was parked in the creek (with some hoisting adult refreshments). We stayed until the sun slipped beneath the basin’s western rim and the temperature began to quickly drop: by 8 o’clock, we were sporting fleece around the campfire, a campfire in a generous stone firepit. We love this trip so much that rather than our typical 3-day visit we’ve extended this year’s visit in mid-August to 4 days. (See below for details.)

North Mills River Recreation Area

Pisgah National Forest, southwest of Asheville

No. of group sites: 1

Accommodates: 30 people

$40 per night

More info here.

North Mills River was our Plan B the first time we visited. We’d intended to stay at the nearby Davidson River Campground outside Brevard, but the campground was booked when we went to make reservations. We got out a map, started searching nearby … and noticed North Mills River about 20 crow-fly miles to the northeast. We wanted to stay in the region, so we booked.We were rewarded upon arrival with a grass meadow perfect for Frisbee, rimmed by hardwoods ideal for camping beneath or stringing a hammock between. A nice commons area with picnic tables and fire ring, and we couldn’t have been happier. Or so we thought. The next day we set out from camp and hiked up the river to the old Hendersonville Reservoir, then continued up old-growth-rimmed Fletcher Creek, with about a dozen creek crossings. Eventually, we took the Spencer Gap Trail up to the Blue Ridge Parkway on one of those classically challenging-yet-rewarding Pisgah hikes. The following day we did a similar hike, on different trail, up to the parkway. There’s a good week of hiking out of this campground

Briar Bottom Campground

Pisgah National Forest, Burnesville

No. of group sites: 6

Each site accommodates: 50 people

$100 per night

More info here.

Basecamp for our annual Mount Mitchell adventure, this collection of six group sites sits at the base of the highest mountain east of the Black Hills, 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell — and there’s a trail you can catch right outside the campground that takes you 5.5 miles and 3,700 vertical feet to the summit. There are other hikes as well, and it’s only about a 30-minute drive to the top, where you can hike short nature trails or head out the rugged 13-mile Black Mountain Crest Trail, which spends much of its first few miles above 6,000 feet. At an elevation of 3,000 feet, the campground is blessed by cool nights for sleeping. Because of the number of sites and their capacities, large groups tend to flock here and take up multiple sites. Your best bet for a little privacy is the Ash camp site. If you like to fly fish, the South Toe River, known for its trout, is a short walk.

Cataloochee Group Campground

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cataloochee

Accommodates: 25 people

No. of sites: 3

$50 per night

More info here.

You get the distinct impression you’re in remote country on the windy gravel road that descends into the Cataloochee Valley from civilization. And you are, although that wasn’t always the case. Prior to the park’s creation, a town of 1,300 thrived in the valley, a town you can still see remnants of in the handful of preserved buildings you can tour in the south end of the valley. A popular evening activity is to walk from the campground into the valley as evening settles in and watch the elk heard emerge from the forest fringe to feed. Then hang out and watch the shadow rise on the valley’s east wall as the sun sets. Oh, and the hiking! Several shorter (shorter as in under 10 miles) loops can be created via trails on the south side of the valley. If you’re up for an epic, an 18-mile loop heading out on Little Cataloochee and Long Bunk trails takes you up to the boreal zone of Mount Sterling, then returns down Pretty Hollow Creek (trip No. 19, if you have a copy of “Backpacking North Carolina.”). Both options expose you to the restored buildings of Cataloochee.

Curtis Creek Campground*

Pisgah National Forest, Old Fort

No. of sites: 25

Accommodates: 6 per site

$10 per night

More info here.

Let’s start with the asterisk: this isn’t actually a group campground. Rather, it’s 25 separate sites, but because of the low cost and the fact many of the sites are walk-ups (no reservations; first come, first camped), this is a good bet for the group that failed to plan ahead and reserve a bonafide group site. The campground is in a steep, narrow valley that leads from Old Fort up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Trail from the campground climbs into old growth woods. For less challenging hiking drive up to the Parkway and either head south to Mount Mitchell or north to Crabtree Meadows. If you’re into mountain biking and getting a good workout, the campground is on the route of the 60-mile Off-Road Assault on Mountain Mitchell race, which includes some nice gravel road riding and some challenging singletrack.

The post Our 5 Favorite NC Group Campgrounds appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

A simple misconception.

When you think of  backpacking, you likely think of hiking  with 40 pounds on your back all day. In fact, you don’t. If every backpack trip we took involved lugging a full pack for days on end, we wouldn’t backpack, either. 

That’s why we advocate a different approach to backpacking: Basecamp Backpacking. You hike in a short distance — typically under three miles, sometimes not even a mile — in full pack, set up camp, do day hikes — with a lightweight day pack — from there. Here are the two big advantages to basecamp backpacking:

• 

  Backcountry camping solitude at a fraction the cost of traditional backpacking. The physical cost, that is. You’d be surprised at how short a hike it can take to achieve camping solitude. For example, one of our favorite basecamp trips is to Doughton Park along the Blue Ridge Parkway. From the Longbottom Road Access it’s a flat, mile-and-a-half hike in full pack to basecamp, a spacious backcountry site served by two creeks. From here, you have access to about 30 miles of trail for day hikes. It’s an even shorter hike — maybe a quarter mile — to the primitive site at Rock Castle Gorge in Virginia (pictured at top), from which you can day hike the popular — and challenging — 10.8-mile Rock Castle Gorge loop. Short hikes in full pack, access to miles and miles of hiking in a day pack.

• More miles, more scenery (and less aching). Most of us hike a mile and a half, maybe two miles per hour in a full pack in the mountains. After six or seven hours, we’re done. In a day pack — bearing only the 10 essentials and weighing, what, five pounds tops? — you’ll cover closer to three miles in an hour. That’s close to twice the distance based on pace alone. Then factor in the likelihood you’ll be able to hike longer with a lesser load. Who wouldn’t rather hike 15 miles as opposed to 7?

Here are some other advantages to Basecamp Backpacking:

• One home, not several. Show of hands: whose favorite part of backpacking is setting up and breaking down camp? With Basecamp Backpacking you set up camp once, you break camp once. You get a chance to settle in, to make camp feel more like home.
• It’s cheaper. If your goal is to add up miles getting from point A to point B, then you’re going to quickly become obsessed with weight, and as every backpacker knows, to trim weight you have to spend more, way more. With Basecamp Backpacking, you can get away with, for instance, a $100, 5-pound tent. If you’re doing a section hike or thru hike, you’re looking at at least halving that weight, which means tripling or quadrupling the price. And that goes for every piece of equipment you have.
• Luxuries. Ask a thru-hiker what “luxury” he’s indulging and he’ll sheepishly admit to bringing a stove. This as opposed to saving the 2.6 ounces ounces his stove weights and — yech! — cold soaking. Ask me about my luxury and I’ll reply, without hesitation, it’s my Helinox Chair Zero, a camp chair that weighs in at just 17 ounces — more, likely, than the distance-hiker’s tarp tent. And frankly, I balk at referring to it as a “luxury” — it’s my dadgum right to sit comfortably around camp and I will not be denied!
• Campfire. One of the saddest things about distance hiking, in my book, is that after hiking  15 to 20 miles in one day these bedraggled distance hikers just want to eat their tepid porridge that’s been cold-soaking in a Talenti container since noon and fall asleep. I know, the campfire has been under a lot of criticism of late, but if there’s a better form of therapy out there, I’d love to hear about it. Sitting around a campfire in the evening with your people, talking about anything and everything that doesn’t have to do with work or politics or civilization is my favorite part of the backpacking experience. I love the hiking, I love nature, I’m even pretty good with inclement weather. But it’s those campfire conversations that keep me coming back.
• Don’t fret the wet. I like hiking in a light to moderate rain. What I don’t like is setting up and breaking down camp in the rain. If you’re section hiking for 10 days, that’s 20 times you need to hope it’s not raining. With a basecamp trip, it’s really only once, when you set up your one and only camp, that it needs to be dry. Set up dry and, barring an issue with your tent, you’ll stay dry.  
• In fact, embrace the wet. If it rains when you return from a day hike, you’ve got a dry place to hang out and read, nap, listen to music.
• Quick bug out, if need be. If something goes wrong on a basecamp trip, you’re likely just a short hike from your car.

Backpacking has long been romanticized as the one true way to escape into the wild — but at a price. With Basecamp Backpacking, that price has dropped considerably. 

* * *

Intro to Backpacking

Now that you know what backpacking can be, you’re likely wondering how you can get into it. With our GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking class. And the next class begins March 16. Here’s how it works:

Session 1: Getting to know you, getting to know your gear. In this Zoom session we’ll spend a few minutes getting to know one another and learning why you’re interested in backpacking. Then, we’ll go over the different types of gear, focusing on good options for beginners. 1 hour. Wednesday, March 15, 6 p.m.

Session 2: Training Day. In full gear, we will meet at Morrow Mountain State Park for a 5-hour training session that will go over: Evaluating a campsite, setting up camp, breaking camp, meal preparation (including the various food and cooking options on the trail), and more. Expect to hike about 4 miles in full pack, during which we will work on hiking technique (including the use of trekking poles); ensuring a good pack fit by adjusting your pack during the hike to make sure it continues to fit; and more. Saturday, March 18, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

* Graduation hike. Three-day, two-night trip to South Mountains State Park, a great place for your first trip. Friday, April 14, 2 p.m. thru Sunday, April 16, 1 p.m.

Learn more and register to join us here.

Next week

Next week we share some of our favorite spots to Basecamp Backpack.

The post Basecamp backpacking: The Best of Two Worlds appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Shining Rock Wilderness

Pisgah National Forest

We love it because: Start high (above 5,000 feet), stay high (topping 6,000 feet) through mostly open terrain.

Miles of trail: 50+

From late spring through mid-fall, it’s not unusual to find the Black Balsam Access over-run with cars, especially on the weekends. Most of those folks won’t get more than a couple miles from their car, meaning once you eclipse this invisible barrier the wide vistas and mountaintop views are yours. If you do the basecamp option and camp at Shining Rock, be sure to catch sunset from atop the rock: it’s about a 10-minute climb from camp, and it can take an extra minute or two to find the easiest route. Also be advised that bear canisters are required for food storage in much of the area.

Best basecamp option: Hike in 4.5 miles in full pack to the base of Shining Rock and set up basecamp. Multiple day-hike options from here, including: 1) Shining Rock Ledge to Cold Mountain (11.4 miles); 2) Art Loeb Trail to Black Balsam and Graveyard Fields (14 miles); 3) Investor Gap Trail to Sam Knob and Little Sam Knob (15.6 miles); 4) Shining Rock down Shining Creek Trail, back up Big East Fork and Greasy Cove trails to the Art Loeb and back (15 miles)

Best day-hike option: Sam Knob/Little Sam Knob loop from Black Balsam Access (8.2 miles)

Best backpacking option:  Big East Fork loop, from US 276 trailhead hike up Big East Fork to Shining Rock for Night 1, across the Art Loeb Trail to Yellowstone Prong for Night 2, Yellowstone Prong back to trailhead. 19 miles

More info here.

Standing Indian / Appalachian Trail

Nantahala National Forest

We love it because: A 30-mile loop hike on a linear trail, about two-thirds of which is along ridge

Miles of trail: 50+

The geology of this horseshoe-shaped bowl makes Standing Indian a hiker’s paradise. The Appalachian Trail follows the majority of the rim, for about 18 miles. With at least 7 names trails heading up from the bottom and connecting with the AT, there are numerous loop options (some requiring a short hike on Forest Service road). There’s two notable peaks to summit — 5,499-foot Standing Indian Mountain and 5,250-foot Albert Mountain, with notable views along the ridge. Good camping abounds along the way.

Best basecamp option: Car camp in the Standing Indian Campground. Multiple day-hike options, including: 1. Kimsey Creek to the Appalachian Trail to Standing Indian Mountain returning via the Chestnut Ridge Trail (11 miles); 2. Longbranch Trail to the AT, then south to Albert Mountain and returning down the Hurricane Creek Horse Trail with a short road walk (10 miles); 3. From Mooney Gap, hike south on the AT to Standing Indian Mountain, then down the mountain on Chestnut Ridge Trail to camp (shuttle required; 14 miles).

Best day-hike option: Kimsey Creek Trail to the AT, go north to Standing Indian Mountain, then return via Chestnut Ridge Trail trail (11 miles).

Best backpacking option: 30-mile loop starting from backcountry trailhead and up Longbranch Trail to AT, then south over Albert and Standing Indian mountains, returning via Kimsey Creek Trail.

More info here.

Black Mountains

Mount Mitchell State Park/Pisgah National Forest

We love it because: Topping out just under 6,700 feet, these are the highest mountains east of South Dakota’s Black Hills.

Miles of trail: 30+

Southern Appalachian hardwood forests are great, and in the Black Mountains you’ll hike through plenty. You’ll also hike, starting around 5,500 feet, through spruce and fir forests more commonly found much farther north. That “hiking elsewhere” feel is part of the allure of the Black Mountains. The rugged Black Mountain Crest, which spends much of its time above 6,000 feet, offers great outcrop exploring and great views.

Best basecamp option: Two options. 1. For the full Mount Mitchell experience, camp at the Black Mountain campground and take the Mount Mitchell Trail for 5.5 miles and 3,700 feet of vertical gain to the top of 6,684-foot Mitchell (11 miles roundtrip); or, 2. Camp in the Mount Mitchell State Park campground and spend one day exploring the roughly 8 miles of trail exploring the park, then a second day hiking north on the Black Mountain Crest trail to Mount Craig (1 mile), Big Tom, Balsam Cone, Cattail Peak and Potato Hill before dropping down to Deep Gap after 3.8 miles — a very challenging 3.8 miles.

Best day-hike option: Black Mountain Crest Trail. 6,648-foot Mount Craig is “just” a mile, with four more 6,000-foot peeks before reaching Deep Gap at mile 3.8 (and remember, you’ll need to hike back the same way).

Best backpacking option:  Colbert Ridge loop from the book

More info here.

Neusiok Trail  (late fall)

Croatan National Forest

We love it because:: Where else can you hike 21 miles through swamp, coastal forest and pine savannah?

Miles of trail: 21

The last place you’d pick to hike — a coastal forest — is the first place we think to go in winter. One, because you can only hike it in late fall and winter (the rest of the year its consumed by flying and slithering things). But mainly because it’s cool, but typically not cold, and exceptionally peaceful, muffled in large part by a dense forest that’s mostly pine on the south end, hardwood on the north.

Best basecamp option: Camp at the Oyster Point Campground and day-hike the various sections of the trail (providing about 3 days of day-hike options).

Best day-hike option: From the Pine Cliff Recreation Area, pick up the Neusiok Trail as it runs along the south bank of the Neuse River before heading inland through rolling coastal forest. After 7 miles, at NC 306, it’s about a 2-mile hike back to the car (briefly on NC 306, then on the gravel road back to Pine Cliff.

Best backpacking option: Meet at the Pine Cliff equestrian lot, then shuttle to the trailhead at Oyster point, staying Night 1 at the Blackjack Lodge Shelter and Night 2 at the Dogwood Shelter. Days of 2, 9 and 10 miles.

More info here.

Mount Rogers / Grayson Highlands

Jefferson National Forest / Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia

We love it because: High, open terrain with sweeping rock outcrops; reminiscent of exploring out West

Miles of trail: 100+

Anyone who owns a backpack in the Southeast knows Mount Rogers. The National Recreation Area bearing its name covers more than 200,000 acres, with another 4,500 acres in adjoining Grayson Highlands State Park

Best basecamp option: From the Grayson Highlands backcountry lot, hike in full pack 4.5 miles to Rhododendron Gap and set up basecamp. Day hikes include: 1. Lewis Fork Wilderness (various options, starting at around 7 miles); 2. Appalachian Trail to Scales and back via the Crest Trail (12 miles); 3. To Mount Rogers and Whitetop mountains and back (10 miles).

Best day-hike option: From Grayson Highlands to Rhododendron Gap up to Mount Rogers (14 miles).

Best backpacking option:  Mount Rogers Loop Trail, starting from Grayson Highlands and including the AT and Crest Trails.

More info here and here and here.

The post 5 Special Spots for hiking and backpacking appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Because you think you have to hike with 40 pounds on your back with every footstep you take.

Well, you don’t. If every backpack trip we took involved lugging a full pack for days on end, we wouldn’t backpack, either. 

That’s why we promote a different approach to backpacking: hike in a short distance in full pack, set up camp, do day hikes — with a day pack — from there. Basecamp Backpacking, we call it. Here are its two big advantages:

• 

  Back country camping solitude at a fraction the cost. The physical cost, that is. You’d be surprised at how short a hike it can take to achieve camping solitude. For example, one of our favorite basecamp trips is to Doughton Park along the Blue Ridge Parkway. From the Longbottom Road Access it’s a flat, mile-and-a-half hike in full pack to basecamp, a spacious backcountry site served by two creeks. From here, you have access to about 30 miles of trail for day hikes. It’s an even shorter hike — maybe a quarter mile — to the primitive site at Rock Castle Gorge in Virginia (pictured at top), from which you can day hike the popular — and challenging — 10.8-mile Rock Castle Gorge loop. Short hikes in full pack, access to miles and miles of hiking in a day pack.

• More miles, more scenery (and less aching). Most of us hike a mile and a half, maybe two miles per hour in a full pack in the mountains. After six or seven hours, we’re done. In a day pack — bearing only the 10 essentials and weighing, what, five pounds tops? — you’ll cover closer to three miles in an hour. So that’s close to twice the distance based on pace alone, let alone the fact you’ll likely be able to hike longer with a lesser load. Who wouldn’t rather hike 15 miles as opposed to 7?

Here are some other advantages to Basecamp Backpacking:

• One home, not several. Show of hands: whose favorite part of backpacking is setting up camp and breaking camp? With Basecamp Backpacking you set up camp once, you break camp once. You get a chance to settle in, to make camp feel more like home.
• It’s cheaper. If your goal is to add up miles getting from point A to point B, then you’re going to quickly become obsessed with weight, and as every backpacker knows, to trim weight you have to spend more, way more. With Basecamp Backpacking, you can get away with a $100, 5-pound tent. If you’re doing a section hike or thru hike, you’re looking at at least halving that weight, which means tripling or quadrupling the price. And that goes for every piece of equipment you have.
• Luxuries. Ask a thru-hiker what “luxury” he’s indulging and he’ll sheepishly admit to bringing a stove. This as opposed to saving the 2.6 ounces ounces his stove weights and — yech! — cold soaking. Ask me about my luxury and I’ll reply, without hesitation, it’s my Helinox Chair Zero, a camp chair that weighs in at 1 entire pound — more, likely, than the distance-hiker’s tarp tent. And frankly, I balk at referring to it a “luxury” — it’s my dadgum right to sit comfortably around camp and I will not be denied!
• Campfire. One of the saddest things about distance hiking, in my book, is that after hiking  15 to 20 miles in one day these bedraggled distance hikers just want to eat their porridge that’s been cold-soaking in a Talenti container since noon and fall asleep. I know, the campfire has been under a lot of criticism of late, but if there’s a better form of therapy out there, I’d love to hear about it. Sitting around a campfire in the evening with your people, talking about anything and everything that doesn’t have to do with work or politics or civilization is my favorite part of the backpacking experience. I love the hiking, I love nature, I’m even pretty good with inclement weather. But it’s those campfire conversations that keep me coming back.
• Don’t fret the wet. I like hiking in a light to moderate rain. What I don’t like is setting up and breaking down camp in the rain. If you’re section hiking for 10 days, that’s 20 times you need to hope it’s not raining. With a basecamp trip, it’s really only once, when you set up your one and only camp, that it needs to be dry. Set up dry and, barring an issue with your tent, you’ll stay dry.  
• In fact, embrace the wet. If it rains when you return from a day hike, you’ve got a dry place to hang out and read, nap, listen to music.
• Quick bug out, if need be. If something goes wrong on a basecamp trip, you’re likely just a short hike from your car.

Backpacking has long been romanticized as the one true way to escape into the wild — but at a price. With Basecamp Backpacking, that price has dropped considerably. 

* * *

Basecamp Backpack with us

The price of basecamp backpacking drops even more if you sign up for one of our Basecamp Backpack trips. If you’re an avid hiker, you likely have all the key hiking gear you need: clothes, boots/shoes, daypack. What you likely don’t have is backpacking gear, and that can be pricey, especially if there’s no guarantee you’re going to like primitive camping.

That’s where we come in. For all of our GetBackpacking! basecamp trips, we’re now offering our Basecamp Back package. In addition to hikes, we’ll provide the following key gear:

• Osprey backpack. We have high-quality packs that will fit most hikers comfortably and will hold all the gear you’ll need for the weekend.
• Backpacking tent. If you’ve got a tent, great. But if you need one that’s a little lighter, more compact and will leave room in your pack for more gear (including a “luxury” or two), we can help you out.
• Sleeping pad. A sleeping pad insulates you from the ground (providing a little more heat) and gives you a soft, more cush night of sleep.
• Sleep sack. Again, if you have a sleeping bag, great. 
• Stove and cooking kit. We provide a lightweight, classic gas canister stove, the gas canister, a pot and cup, and an all-purpose eating utensil.

Our next Basecamp Backpack trip is to the Wilson Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest the weekend of Aug. 6-8. We hike in Friday afternoon a little more than a mile, set up camp, then do two days of hiking in day packs. Learn more about this trip and sign up here.

GetHiking! Southeast Podcast

This week on the GetHiking! Southeast Podcast we distinguish between a National Park and a National Forest, and look at two efforts to get a wider array of people into the woods. Give a listen here.

The post Backpacking for the non-backpacker appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

OK, technically summer doesn’t begin until the summer solstice on June 20. But culturally in the U.S. summer always commences Memorial Day weekend and ends Labor Day weekend. (And yes, technically summer doesn’t officially end until the summer equinox, this year on September 22).

Traditionally, summer has been in the season of play in this country. It’s when we take our vacations, it’s when we’re least surprised to find people we need out of the office, it’s when we leave early on Friday — often with the boss’s permission — to jump-start the weekend. There are so many ways to play over the summer. And our goal is to provide you with a variety of options. Among them:

Become a backpacker. Why wait when you can start today! Well, next Wednesday actually, when our summer GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking session kicks off. We begin with a virtual gear session on June 9, we proceed to a 5-hour, in-field training session at Morrow Mountain State Park on Saturday, June 12; we conclude with a weekend graduation trip to South Mountains State Park the weekend of June 18-20. Everything you need to know to become a bonafide backpacker by month’s end. Learn more and sign up here.

Go backpacking. If you’re already a backpacker (or once you become one with our Intro class!), we take regular backpack trips, at least once a month, throughout the year. Our next trips include:

• Virginia Triple Crown: a 4-day, 3-night, 35-mile exploration of Virginia’s Triple Crown, taking in Dragon’s Tooth, Tinker Cliffs and McAfee Knob. For experienced backpackers. That trip is June 24-27; learn more and sign up here.
• Appalachian Trail: Carvers Gap to US 19E, July 16-19. 3-day, 2-nights, 14 miles. Beginner/intermediate. We take time to savor this iconic stretch of the AT along the North Carolina/Tennessee line. Three balds at the start, more fabulous views from Little Hump and Hump mountains near the end, great Southern Appalachian forest along the way. Learn more and sign up here.
• Wilson Creek. There is no better place in the summer than Wilson Creek and its preponderance of pools collecting cold runoff from Grandfather Mountain above. We hike 7 miles in day packs both days, allowing plenty of time for water play along the way. Learn more and sign up here.

Learn to navigate the wild. Our GetOriented! Finding your Way in the Woods classes are back after a pandemic-induced hiatus. We spend the first 20 minutes or so of this 3-hour class getting familiar with basic map and compass skills, then head down the trail — and off — to put this skills to use and to become comfortable navigating the woods. We have two classes in June, at Eno River State Park and at Umstead State Park. Click the links for more info and to sign up.

Mountain hiking/camping weekends.  Also back this year are our basecamp hiking weekends! We set up camp Friday afternoon/evening, then do day hikes Saturday and Sunday. Our first trip of the year is to the oldest tract of land in the Pisgah National Forest, the Curtis Creek area outside of Old Fort. Both hikes take in old-growth forest, both originate from the campground: park your car Friday, forget about it until Sunday afternoon. Learn more and sign up here.

Weekly summer hikes. Interested in keeping up your hiking over the summer, but need a little incentive to do so? We have two weekly hike programs that are just the thing!

• Tuesday Evening Hike Series. Every Tuesday evening at 6:30 we hike 3-4 miles on a different local trail. We take advantage of the late-day light and retreating temperatures for a mid-week after-work escape. Learn more and sign up here.
• Sunday Summer Hike Series. Every Sunday morning at 9 a.m. we meet at a different trail in the Triangle to hike 3-5 miles before the heat sets in. This hike series runs through August 22. Learn more and sign up here for single hikers, here for couples and families.

Discover camping. You’ve been telling yourself for a while that you’d like to give camping a try. The only thing keeping you? No gear. Our Let’s GetCamping! program takes care of that, providing key camping gear — including a spacious tent, rockin’ camp chairs, a hammock, camp stove and more — and providing direction on what you need to bring for a great introduction to camping. Learn more and sign up here.

It’s summer, it’s time to play! Let’s play together.

The post Kick off a summer of fun appeared first on GetGoing NC!.