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!.

4-day trips

Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock/Citico Creek Wilderness

• Sept. 16-19
• $145

Basecamp Backpack trip. On this four-day, three-night trip we hike in 1.5 miles, set up basecamp, then spend three days day hiking these adjoining wilderness areas. A wilderness that epitomizes the concept. $195. Learn more and sign up here.

Appalachian Trail at Standing Indian

• Oct. 28-31
• $195

We spend Night 1 at the Standing Indian group campground, then head out Friday morning for three days on the trail, mostly the AT as it follows a horseshoe-shaped ridge over Albert Mountain and Standing Indian Mountain. Great views along the way, great end-of-season color as well. $195. Learn more and sign up here.

Weekend Quick Escapes

Fall rolls around, you’re out of vacation time. With our Weekend Quick Escapes, you don’t need any PTO; these trips are designed to let you work a full day, then, when the whistle blows at 5, hop into your loaded car and drive to a trailhead requiring a short hike in to basecamp and two days of hiking in daypacks. 

GetBackpacking! Weekend Quick Escape: Doughton Park

• Oct. 22-24
• $105

It’s a flat, 1.5-mile hike to basecamp along Basin Creek. Saturday, it’s a long hike up Cedar Ridge Trail to the Bluff Mountain Trail and back down; Sunday, we hike 3.3-miles up Basin Creek to the Caudil Cabin at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment.  Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Weekend Quick Escape: Rock Castle Gorge

• Nov. 19-21
• $105

The shortest hike in to basecamp, at just under a quarter mile, followed by a 10.8-mile loop Saturday on one of the iconic trails in the Southeast. Sunday on the drive out we stop at Fairy Stone State Park for a 4.5-mile hike.   Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Weekend Quick Escape: Birkhead Mountain Wilderness in the Uwharrie National Forest

• Dec. 10-12
• $105

A great end of year trip, taking advantage of warmer Piedmont temperatures and a shorter drive to the trailhead. Basecamp is a 3-mile hike, followed Saturday by a 9-mile loop day hike. Sunday, we take a short hike to the best mountain view in the Uwharries. . Learn more and sign up here.

Backpacking for Non Backpackers

You’re an avid hiker but have yet, for whatever reason, tried backpacking. With our Basecamp Backpack option you can enjoy the best of both worlds — the solitude of a backcountry campsite and the ability to hike miles on end without 40 pounds on your back. We supply the basic backpacking gear — backpack, tent, sleeping pad, cook stove and coolest, plus guidance on how to use it all and be a backpacker. This option is available on our Basecamp Backpack trips that require on a short hike — between a quarter mile and 3 miles — to camp in full pack. We provide a list of everything you’ll need to bring.

• Backpacking for Non Backpackers: Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock/Citico Creek Wilderness, Sept. 16-19. $295. Learn more and sign up here
• Backpacking for Non Backpackers: Weekend Quick Escape: Doughton Park, Oct. 22-24. $195. Learn more and sign up here
• Backpacking for Non Backpackers: Weekend Quick Escape: Rock Castle Gorge, Nov. 19-21. $195. Learn more and sign up here.
• Backpacking for Non Backpackers: Weekend Quick Escape: Birkhead Mountain Wilderness in the Uwharrie National Forest, Dec. 10-12. $195. Learn more and sign up here.

Intro to Backpacking

Not a backpacker — yet? In just three sessions you can become a bonafide backpacker in time for the prime fall hiking season. We start with a gear session via Zoom, then meet for a 5-hour in-field training session before our weekend graduation trip to South Mountains State Park. Some loaner gear is available on a first-requested basis. We have four sessions scheduled for the fall. Click the appropriate link for details and to sign up. $225.

• Intro to Backpacking: Charlotte. Sept. 8, 11, 24-26
• Intro to Backpacking: Triangle. Sept. 8, 11, 24-26
• Intro to Backpacking: Triad. Sept. 8, 11; Oct. 1-3
• Intro to Backpacking: Greenville. Sept. 23; Oct. 9, 22-24

The post GetBackpacking! Fall 2021 appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I drifted off to sleep realizing that the weekend of cavorting in the pools and cascades of Wilson Creek that we had planned might not come to pass. We’d been waiting weeks, in 90-degree-plus weather, for the chance to jump into these chill mountain pools, then sun off on the adjoining granite slabs, and repeat. Oh well, I thought, good thing we have a Plan B.

It’s not so much the unexpected that torpedoes an outing, it’s the lack of a backup plan. As Yvon Chouinard put it, “For me, when everything goes wrong — that’s when adventure starts.”

We may take issue with the word “wrong” (“askew”?) but I’m onboard with the overall sentiment. When things don’t go according to plan, go to Plan B.

Every morning I like to hike 3 miles before heading into the office. I have several standard routes that fit the bill, and I use this 45 minutes of meandering to mull as well: to think about the day ahead, to plan, to get organized. Every hike is different — cloudy one day, sunny the next, 71 degrees one morning 61 the next — but I like these hikes because they are predictable and don’t require much attention. While they are outdoors and generally in scenic settings, they do not constitute adventure. They are outings.

True adventure

True adventure, by Patagonia founder Chouinard’s definition, is hard to come by. Take a hike at your local State Park, for instance. North Carolina is blessed with 41 pretty darn special state parks, recreation areas and natural areas. But with few exceptions, it is hard to have a Chouinardian adventure in one of these playgrounds. The trails are well maintained, you’re rarely beyond sight of a blaze, there are restrooms. Sure, you might get caught in a freak snowstorm atop Grandfather Mountain, or momentarily misdirected in the rainforest of Gorges State Park. But by and large, these are safe, chaperoned excursions into the woods. The basic trail map available at most trailhead kiosks is all you need to safely navigate. Adventure? Mmm, no.

When Plan A goes askew

So what does constitute true adventure, when Plan A goes askew?

Let’s say you’re leading a backpack trip into the Linville Gorge Wilderness and a storm rolls in. It’s raining pretty good, causing everyone to look down, to keep their eyes on the rivery trail. The lead hiker misses a fork and takes the wrong tine, a tine that leads into oblivion. You eventually catch that mistake, rejoin the main trail, then encounter an area where the trail is indistinct (this is a Designated Wilderness, remember, where signs and blazes are frowned upon).

As an electrical storm joins the rain, you find the trail but somehow end up taking it the wrong way — in the direction you came from. But because it’s 10:30 at night, dark and raining, you don’t realize that. That is, until you realize you’re back to where your initial fork-inspired adventure began. It’s 11:30 by now, you say to heck with it and advise everyone to find a spot to pitch camp. You do likewise, then set out to find water, because everyone now, ironically, is low on water. Your adventure continues for several more hours as you become even more disoriented and end up sleeping under a rock (a rock that you discover in dawn’s early light is maybe a half mile from the parking lot you started from 18 hours earlier).

Enter Plan B

Our resulting Plan B? The next day we hiked to our intended destination for the day before and pitched camp. Our plan to do a loop of the gorge was scuttled, but likely would have been anyway: the heavy rains made a necessary river crossing too dangerous to try. We eventually dried out and spent the rest of the day sunning on an outcrop overlooking the gorge. Not the trip we envisioned, but pretty darn swell all the same. And an adventure we’ll be sharing for years.

Friday night at Wilson Creek I had little trouble sleeping because I already had a good Plan B in mind. While 49,000-acre Wilson Creek is best known in summer for its refreshing pools, it also has some mature forest that makes for great rainy day hiking. We ended up doing the mellow North Harper Creek Trail under thick, rain-absorbing canopy, then the Lost Cove Cliffs Trail, which lead to an eerily cloud-shrouded overlook. We didn’t get the spectacular view we sought, but it was pretty cool being in the clouds as they formed and parted. (We would get our view the next day, when Part II of Plan B, took us, under clearing skies, to Big Lost Cove Cliffs, pictured above.)

We always hope that our trips go as planned. As a result we generally don’t form a Plan B before heading out. Which is why Plan Bs typically are formed on the fly. Which shouldn’t be a problem if you’ve done your homework during your original trip planning. In determining the route you’ll take, you should also be evaluating nearby options. Take a map — yes, it’s old school, but it helps you see the bigger geographic picture — and see what’s around you. If you’ve chosen a particularly challenging route, then get injured or discover you aren’t in shape, are there less challenging options nearby? Check for trails where the topo lines aren’t as tight, then look for trail reviews on alltrails.com, hikingproject.com, or your favorite trail app. Or maybe you come down with the sniffles and would rather bask in the sun than labor up a mountain. See if there are campsites near (but not too near) trailheads that are also near a nice feature. (At Wilson Creek, there are several good — and little used — campsites adjoining Big Lost Cove Cliffs, just a 1.7-mile hike in.) 

It may take some extra digging to spot these options, but isn’t planning a trip part of the fun? Besides, if Plan A falls through, your outing isn’t over. In fact, there’s a good chance you’re in for a true adventure.

* * *

Adventures in backpacking

One of the many things we love about backpacking — of strapping everything you need to your back and heading into the backcountry — is that while you always want to have a Plan A, there’s a good likelihood you’ll have to resort to Plan B. Because of the planning and forethought required to backpack, you’ll likely be better prepared to conjure up a Plan B. Provided, that is, you learn the ins and outs of backpacking before hitting the trail.

That’s the goal of our GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking program, designed to make you a competent, confident backpacker in three sessions. 

• Session 1: Getting to know you, getting to know your gear. In a Zoom intro meeting we learn about each other, about backpacking and how the class will unfold, and about gear.
• Session 2: In full pack, we hike hike a couple miles to a campsite, set up camp, cook a meal. You get a sense of how to properly pack a pack, how to carry weight, how to assess a campsite, how to pitch camp, how to eat on the trail (well, by the way).
• Session 3: A three-day, two-night graduation trip to South Mountains State Park. 

We have two sessions scheduled for the fall. Click the appropriate link for more information and to sign up:

• Triangle area, with in-field training at Eno River State Park on Oct. 3 and the graduation trip Oct. 23-25. Details here.
• Charlotte area, with in-field training at Morrow Mountain State Park on Oct. 3 and the graduation trip Oct. 16-18. Details here.

The post Have a Plan B, and you have an adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

• Temperatures are moving up — no worrying about whether your 20-degree bag will cut it on a 19-degree night
• Daylight is increasing — no 14-hour nights in your sleeping bag
• The world is coming to life — no explanation needed

Thus, it’s no surprise that spring is one of our busiest times on the trail. Here’s what we’ve got going on into June. For more information and to sign up, see the links below.

Learn to backpack

We have two options for folks who aren’t backpackers — but want to be.

GetBackpacking! Overnight Sampler

Saturday-Sunday, March 9-10

Saturday-Sunday, May 4-5

You like the idea of backpacking, but aren’t sure it’s for you, so you’d like to take a test drive before committing the time and resources. With our Overnight Sampler, we provide the backpacking-specific gear (including food), and you provide yourself. This will be a one-night trip with a two-mile hike in and out. You’ll get a feel for carrying a pack, for cooking in the wild, and for sleeping in a tent in a primitive setting. 

GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking

April 13, 26-28

You know you want to backpack, and you know you want to do it right. In this course, we start with a two-hour gear session. We progress to a five-hour, in-field training session, including hiking about 4 miles in full pack, scouting and setting up camp, and cooking. Then we have a three-day, two-night “graduation” weekend at South Mountains State Park.

Trips

March

GetBackpacking! Women Only Backpacking Trip to the Uwharrie Mountains (I & II)

Saturday-Sunday, March 23-24

Saturday-Sunday, March 30-31

Our first planned trip filled so quickly that we decided to offer a second. This is a great first-trip-of-the-year opportunity: two days and one night, with 12 miles of hiking on the Dutchman Creek loop on the southern end of the Uwharrie National Forest west of Troy. The 5.5-mile hike in will leave plenty of time to set up camp, enjoy a campfire and catch up with folks you haven’t seen since last backpacking season. 

April

GetBackpacking! on the AT: Carvers Gap to US 19E

Friday-Sunday, April 5-7

Welcome to the most scenic stretch of trail in North Carolina (and Tennessee). From Carver’s Gap, the Appalachian Trail passes over Round and Jane balds (with a possible side trip to a third, Grassy Ridge), offering sweeping views of the mountains in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. There’s some intimate high-ridge hiking (the mountain ash should be coming into bloom), then more balds: Little Hump and Hump mountains. We should also be on the cusp of the spring wildflower season at this elevation. This trip covers 14 miles, and while it trends downhill, there are some good, though generally short climbs. Ah, but the views.

GetBackpacking! South Mountains Base Camp with Day Hikes

Friday-Sunday, April 12-14

You love the idea of backpacking, of escaping deep into the woods and not having to call it a day when day turns to night. What you aren’t crazy about is carrying 30 pounds on your back the whole time. That won’t happen with this trip to South Mountains State Park. Our plan is to backpack 3.8 miles to the Jacob’s Branch backcountry site, put up our tents for the weekend, then explore the park Saturday with daypacks. Linking together several trails, we’ll hike about 10 miles on a tour exposing us to South Mountains’ varied terrain. On Sunday, we pack up and hike out, with an optional 2-mile out-and-back to the 80-foot High Shoals Falls.

May

GetBackpacking! Intro to Linville Gorge

Friday-Sunday, May 17-19

Linville Gorge is a destination near the top of every Southeast backpacker’s list. This trip offers an introduction to the gorge that lets you savor its awesome beauty and sample the ruggedness for which it’s known. Friday, we hike in to Camp Shortoff from the Wolf Pit Trailhead, about 1.7 miles. We set up basecamp, then, with daypacks to keep us nimble, we’ll day hike into the gorge and all its wild, rugged beauty. It’s a good opportunity to scout the gorge before committing to it in full pack.

GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills: Going Solo (at Wilson Creek)

Friday-Sunday, May 31-June 2 

You’ve been backpacking for a while and you love the group experience, but part of the reason you got into backpacking was for the solitude. Yet you wonder: Do I have what it takes to be out alone, overnight? This class lets you find out in a safe setting with a leader nearby. Plus, it’s a great chance to discover the Wilson Creek area at the base of Grandfather Mountain.

Happy trails,

Joe

Learn to backpack

Learn more, sign up

Instruction

GetBackpacking! Overnight Sampler

March 9-10 session: Learn more and sign up here.

May  4-5 session: Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking!

Learn more and sign up here.

Trips

March

South Mountains Graduation

Slots go to the first three people to email me, at joe@getgoingnc.com.

GetBackpacking! Women Only Backpacking Trip to the Uwharrie Mountains (I & II)

Learn more and sign up here.

April

GetBackpacking! on the AT: Carvers Gap to US 19E

Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! South Mountains Base Camp with Day Hikes

Learn more and sign up here.

May

GetBackpacking! Intro to Linville Gorge

Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills: Going Solo (at Wilson Creek)

Learn more and sign up here.

The post Spring opens a world of backpack opportunities appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Over the past year and a half, I’ve watched a remarkable thing happen to about 80 people.
They’ve became backpackers.
On the way to their initial goal of extending their day on the trail into night, they found much more. They dispelled irrational fears. They learned to be be self-reliant. They escaped the electronic world and they discovered that carrying your world on your back is not a burden but a blessing.
In 2013, we launched the GetHiking! program, initially in the Triangle, later in Charlotte and the Triad. The goal: to introduce more people hiking by: a) assuring newcomers they wouldn’t get left behind; and, b) showing folks great trails locally and throughout North Carolina.
I had a hunch there were a lot of hikers-in-waiting out there and I was correct: today, the three hiking groups and a corporate wellness affiliate have about 3,000 members.

Backpacking: A hunch
As our hikes progressed, I developed another hunch: that more than a handful of those hikers weren’t content to leave the trail at day’s end and drive home. Frequently on hikes, I’d sidle up to someone and ask if they’d done any backpacking. The typical response: a look of bemusement followed by wonderment over why on earth anyone would willingly venture into the woods carrying 80 pounds of gear, including a leaky tent, cans of beans, hefty cast-iron skillets and who only knows what other Medieval tools of survival.
Then I would explain how backcountry travel has evolved since the days of King Arthur. I’d talk about fast-drying ripstop nylon tents, ultra lightweight titanium cooking gear, sleeping bags and pads on par with any feather bed, and nightly meals of pasta primavera and turkey tetrazzini. I’d also mention that the typical load weighed closer to 30 pounds than 80.
Their interest was piqued.

GetBackpacking! Dispelling myths and fears
So last year we launched GetBackpacking!, a four-week program intended to turn the curious into the capable. Three weeks of training hikes, each focusing on a particular skill (gear selection and packing, setting up and breaking camp, cooking and endurance) followed by a graduation trip of three days and two nights at South Mountains State Park.
Nearly everyone who began the program entered with a significant … concern.
Elizabeth Lulich of Raleigh had never slept in a tent before, let alone in a tent in the backcountry. The notion was unnerving.
Her first night she quickly embraced one of the joys of backpacking: drifting to sleep serenaded by the sounds of the forest.
“I had all kinds of irrational fears going in and none of them came to fruition,” says Lulich, who completed her first Ironman this summer. “I learned that … stepping outside my comfort zone will open up many doors to me.”
Susan Levy of Cary had a similar concern — and also emerged with a different perspective.
“The best part was sleeping in the woods,”  says Levy, who is semiretired. “I liked sleeping in the fresh air, feeling the darkness falling around me slowly instead of the instant darkness made by flipping the light switch. I liked the sounds of the night and the sounds of the morning.”
Life on the trail is a life of simplicity, of focus. Food, water and shelter are your basic concerns — your only concerns — yet the essence of survival.

Explore yourself

“Backpacking is a great skill to learn in order to enhance self-sufficiency under less than ideal conditions,” says Robert Armbruster of Raleigh, “which can help us all to be more helpful in the ‘real world,’ when these skills might be called upon to help or save others.”
Being immersed in nature can connect you with the world in ways unexpected.
“It was odd to see how quickly the sun went down,” says Julie Shirah. “I now know what it meant in books like ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ when they couldn’t wait for the sun to come up.”
There were pleasant surprises.
“I was very surprised at the water,” says Levy. “I had it pictured as dirty, brown and smelly, with icky floaty things in it and there was no way I wanted to drink stream water or cook with it. But it was clear!”
Clear, maybe, but not drinkable directly from the stream, right Susan? (Think back to training hike No. 3, on cooking.)
“I was very skeptical of all filtering systems, but I drank the filtered water and cooked with it and didn’t die.” Levy, by the way, went on to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, completing the odyssey this fall.

All for one
Some discovered that it wasn’t all that hard to spend 60 hours straight with relative strangers. Besides, on a backpacking trip you don’t stay strangers for long.
“I was really impressed that a bunch of strangers wanted to make sure I had an easy, successful trip,” says Lulich. “I’m pretty sure I’ve made some good friends from our group.”
Indeed, the disappearing American tradition of borrowing a cup of sugar is alive and well on the trail — sugar in this case being everything from filtered water to extra GORP to a place to stay should your tent not work out.
Becoming self-sufficient is one of the big payouts of backpacking. Another: reaching places you can’t on a day hike. Technically, you could hike the entire 13-mile Black Mountain Crest Trail in one day, but it would be a very long day — and not nearly as much fun minus a night or two atop the Eastern Seaboard above 6,000 feet. Remote stretches of the Slickrock Wilderness, or Shining Rock, or portions of the Nantahala National Forest are likewise best enjoyed where they are least accessible in a day.
“I like being able to visit areas that are too far on a day hike,” says longtime car camper and hiker Eileen Francis. “I’m excited about visiting places previously not “available.” (A week after her graduation hike, Francis backpacked on Bear Island, a remote destination when the ferry cuts back its runs from the mainland.)

A tent door opens
To most of these newly minted backpackers, their South Mountains State Park trip was a revelation. Yet in the North Carolina and Southeast scheme of backcountry adventure, from the Dolly Sods Wilderness in West Virginia, to Mount Rogers and Grayson Highlands in Virginia, to our own vast Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, to the Great Smoky Mountains and the Appalachian Trail, South Mountains is a baby step into the woods.
“I like hiking and this allows me to extend my time outdoors,” says Susan Levy. “I may get to hike to places I wouldn’t see if I didn’t have a tent on my back.”

* * *

GetBackpacking!
Take the first step toward becoming a backpacker — or at least learning more about it — by attending our GetBackpacking! information session in January. The details:
What: GetBackpacking! information session, covering what backpacking is about, how our program works, our four sessions scheduled for winter/spring, and wealth of backpacking opportunities in North Carolina.
When: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Great Outdoor Provision Co. in Cameron Village, Raleigh.
To sign up: Visit our GetHiking! Triangle Meetup site, here.

If you’re already convinced you’d like to take the class, go ahead and sign up for the session you prefer:

Session 1: January/February; Session 2: March; Session 3: April; Session 4: May/June.

* * *
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