It was back in the 1990s, I’d been backpacking with friends for about 5 years, and convinced myself I should take a solo backpack trip. I felt good about my basic backpacking skills, I loved hiking alone … still, there was this worrisome doubt. 

I’d selected a spot for that first trip that I was only vaguely familiar with at the time, Panthertown Valley. I’d hiked there, but never done an overnight. It was also a long drive: even ducking out of work early around 2, I still wouldn’t arrive until 7:30, leaving precious little daylight to hike in (on a trail I didn’t know), find a spot (assuming there was one) and set up camp. It was a plan that left no room for the unexpected. Like a visit from a wayward turkey.

Heading into Asheville on I-40 in late afternoon, my road reverie was broken by something dark rising from off the shoulder. Suddenly, the head of a turkey appeared out the front windshield, its vacant look suggesting that it, too, was lost in some far-off world. Just as suddenly, the rear back window exploded, the Trooper bucked, and in the rear-view mirror I could see the lifeless bird butter-balling down the shoulder. When I pulled into an auto glass repair shop 20 minutes later and presented my dilemma to the five workers waiting for the 5 o’clock whistle, no one said a word. Rather, they walked single file out to the car, where one of them plucked a feather from the backseat and declared, “He’s right.”

I wound up getting to the trailhead in the dark. I could see the trailhead kiosk, and I could see a yellow sign just beyond that proclaimed, “Bear Sanctuary.” What exactly does that mean? Long story short, I checked into a motel. It would be another couple of years before I took my first solo backpack trip. 

Good thing, too, because as I later discovered, I was woefully unprepared for my first solo venture. Among my mistakes:

• Picking an area I didn’t know well for my first foray.
• Allowing zero cushion in my schedule to arrive at camp and set up before sunset.  
• Not having a good map of the area (which might have shown campsites closer than the one I was contemplating two miles in).
• Not triple checking my gear before heading out to make sure I wasn’t missing anything important. (Like my water filter.)
• Not making a practice run setting up camp in the dark.
• Not knowing what exactly a bear sanctuary was. (They’re areas where bear hunting is banned to elevate the bear population.)

I wish I could say I vowed then and there to never let another backpacker head into their first solo trip as unprepared as I. That didn’t happen until last year, when I realized that very few of the 200 or so backpackers who had gone through our GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking program had gone on to do solo trips. There was interest — backpacking is, after all, about getting away. But there was also a good deal of trepidation.

So when we launched our Intermediate Skills courses last year, Going Solo was among the first offerings.

For the course, we issue a guide with tips on how to prepare and what to expect on your first solo outing. We then get together and go over the guide, addressing additional issues (mainly involving gear), and answer questions. Then comes our trip to the Wilson Creek area. We spend Friday night together, working out any gear issues in a group setting but mainly having fun. Saturday, we explore Gragg Prong in the morning, head back to the campsite, pack up and head out. We arrive at the Big Lost Cove Trailhead around 2; about half a mile into this 1.7-mile trail, we start dropping campers one by one at their solo site for the night. No two campers are more than a couple hundred yards apart (because of the terrain you have no idea anyone is close), no one is more than a mile from the trip leader. Around 7 that evening, the trip leader walks back down the trail to see if anyone needs assistance. (Display a flashing, LED nightstick near your tent if you do; otherwise, we leave you alone.)

Sunday, we gather for breakfast (on a gorgeous outcrop overlooking Big Lost Cove) and discuss how the night went, possibly do a short day hike to South Harper Falls, then head home. It’s a fear-free way of discovering whether solo backpacking is your thing, and it’s a great weekend of exploring the waterfalls and pools of Wilson Creek. 

We can’t guarantee that you’ll love it, but we’re pretty sure you won’t be derailed by a deranged turkey.

Happy Trails,

Joe

Learn more

To learn more about our GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills: Going Solo class, go here.

To learn more about our GetBackpacking! program in general, go here.

The post Going Solo (with a little help) appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

As a backpacker, you already know the joy of heading into the woods with everything you need strapped snugly to your back. You love setting up your home-away-from-home, unfurling your sleeping bag and snugging in under the stars.

You know also that the journey from the trailhead to the sleeping bag is not without challenges—maybe the trail is a bit more rugged than anticipated or there are water crossing; the forces of nature have a way of altering even well-known paths. Or perhaps you got caught enjoying nature and suddenly find yourself setting up camp in the dark. Or, possibly, you couldn’t find anyone able to take a last-minute weekend trip with you.

We believe that, with the right knowledge and tools, you can overcome these challenges. To this end, we have developed a handful of intermediate backpacking classes designed to help broaden your backpacking skills.

We’ve set up a couple of classes before the end of summer and one in September. All run Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, and they include a planning session the Wednesday before. The three classes are:

• GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills at Wilson Creek
  Skills: water crossings, setting up camp in the dark
  We’ll hike into the Hunt-Fish Falls area Friday evening, then spend Saturday exploring various water crossings in the Gragg Prong Falls area. On Saturday evening, we pack up and hike in on the Big Lost Cove Trail to watch a great sunset over Grandfather Mountain, then set up camp in the dark.
  July 28-30
• GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills at Linville Gorge
  Skills: water crossings, setting up camp in the dark, navigating a rugged wilderness area
  We’ll loop the Linville Gorge, starting at Table Rock on the east rim and hiking to Shortoff Mountain. Saturday, we’ll descend to the gorge and cross a 60-yard-wide swath of the Linville River before heading up the gorge. We’ll camp in the gorge Saturday night, then cross a narrower, deeper run of the Linville River Sunday.
  August 25-27
• GetBackpacking! Going Solo
  Skills: Solo backpacking
  We’ll start as a group Friday evening and finish as a group Sunday: in between, you’ll be on your own (with instructors nearby). Pisgah National Forest, exact location to be determined.
  September 15-17

You can find details about each trip on our GetHiking! Triangle Meetup page, where you can also sign up. Enrollment for each trip is limited; if the class is full, please sign up on the wait list and we will plan to schedule an additional trip. Fee for each course is $75.

Before the weekend, we’ll send you a guide that includes maps and descriptions of the routes, as well as tip sheets pertinent to the skills covered. At the planning meeting the Wednesday before each trip, we will review the route and tip sheets, and discuss appropriate clothing and specific gear. Note that for these trips, you’ll need trekking poles. Why? Find out here.

Prerequisites: If you’ve gone through our Intro to Backpacking course, or have gone on two or three backpacking trips, you should have the basic foundation for this course. If we haven’t backpacked or hiked together, we’ll give you a quick phone call to ensure that the class is a good fit for your experience.

These trips are about expanding your skills and your comfort zone, but as always, we won’t put anyone in a position that makes them unduly uncomfortable.

Questions? Email me at joe@getgoingnc.com or call 919.791.6155.

I look forward to being part of your next adventure.

Joe

* * *

Learn more, sign up

Learn more about each trip and sign up through the following links:

• GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills at Wilson Creek
• GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills in Linville Gorge
• GetBackpacking! Going Solo

The post GetBackpacking! Up your game appeared first on GetGoing NC!.