Grafixster
04-02-2012, 22:50
Greets all!
I'm Anthony and recently (about 2 months ago) I was bitten by the hiking/backpacking/camping bug. I'm a city/suburb boy with a strong tech background. That being said, my wife and kids are the same. I was thinking a few months ago about getting out in the wild for some away from the world time and during the search, I got bit by the "want to camp" bug.
At first, my wife was opposed. "no showers..." was the problem. My daughter was a little more interested (she's 12). After I learned about the basic requirements and what to pack I started to look for a place to go solo. Then I found the Appalachian trail. I found the closest point for me to get to the trail was Ashton. I've been researching it like I would a business deal and I've come to a plan. After I started printing maps and buying supplies my wife slowly started to show interest :)
Now, my family is totally on board and they are now as excited as I am. What I did was build my own pack and then they were able to put together theirs. It was a bit costly because I'm an avid fisherman but have absolutely no camping/hiking equipment. Not even shoes. everything purchased pretty much came in 3's. Backpacks, stoves, tents, cooking sets, sleeping bags, .. you name it. We are so into it, we even started dehydrating our own food for fun.
So, here is my plan.
- Drive 3.5 hours from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Ashton Va.
- Park (permission allowed) at the Ashton Inn
- Hike 6ish miles to the Paul C Wolfe Shelter to rest and cook up some lunch
- Hike onwards to our Humpback Mountain destination and take pics, videos of us with the scenery.
- Camp for the night
- Trace steps to head home.
Total trip should be about 22 miles. I have no idea if it's to much to push my family to do or not enough but I figure that's a decent goal. I've seen a lot of pics from people who stopped by Humpback Mountain and I think my family would be blown away to see something other than beach fronts and concrete structures. I'm blown away at just the pictures.
I know I've probably packed more than what we need but I'm also looking forward to experiencing that myself and adjusting my pack when I get back.
My questions are:
1.) Is this section of AT and distance the wisest thing to do for a family first? We aren't the super athlete family but we aren't the couch tater family either :)
2.) I read there was a nice water source close to the Paul C Wolfe shelter. Is this true and are there other sources along the way?
3.) When we get to Humpback Mountain, I know there isn't a shelter but how far east or west off the trail should we set up camp or is there a better option out there?
4.) On this section of the AT, besides the scenes for Humpback Mountain, are there any others I should be looking for along the way?
Any other tid bits would be great!
Thank you and thank you to Whiteblaze - I've learned a LOT here so far.
I'm Anthony and recently (about 2 months ago) I was bitten by the hiking/backpacking/camping bug. I'm a city/suburb boy with a strong tech background. That being said, my wife and kids are the same. I was thinking a few months ago about getting out in the wild for some away from the world time and during the search, I got bit by the "want to camp" bug.
At first, my wife was opposed. "no showers..." was the problem. My daughter was a little more interested (she's 12). After I learned about the basic requirements and what to pack I started to look for a place to go solo. Then I found the Appalachian trail. I found the closest point for me to get to the trail was Ashton. I've been researching it like I would a business deal and I've come to a plan. After I started printing maps and buying supplies my wife slowly started to show interest :)
Now, my family is totally on board and they are now as excited as I am. What I did was build my own pack and then they were able to put together theirs. It was a bit costly because I'm an avid fisherman but have absolutely no camping/hiking equipment. Not even shoes. everything purchased pretty much came in 3's. Backpacks, stoves, tents, cooking sets, sleeping bags, .. you name it. We are so into it, we even started dehydrating our own food for fun.
So, here is my plan.
- Drive 3.5 hours from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Ashton Va.
- Park (permission allowed) at the Ashton Inn
- Hike 6ish miles to the Paul C Wolfe Shelter to rest and cook up some lunch
- Hike onwards to our Humpback Mountain destination and take pics, videos of us with the scenery.
- Camp for the night
- Trace steps to head home.
Total trip should be about 22 miles. I have no idea if it's to much to push my family to do or not enough but I figure that's a decent goal. I've seen a lot of pics from people who stopped by Humpback Mountain and I think my family would be blown away to see something other than beach fronts and concrete structures. I'm blown away at just the pictures.
I know I've probably packed more than what we need but I'm also looking forward to experiencing that myself and adjusting my pack when I get back.
My questions are:
1.) Is this section of AT and distance the wisest thing to do for a family first? We aren't the super athlete family but we aren't the couch tater family either :)
2.) I read there was a nice water source close to the Paul C Wolfe shelter. Is this true and are there other sources along the way?
3.) When we get to Humpback Mountain, I know there isn't a shelter but how far east or west off the trail should we set up camp or is there a better option out there?
4.) On this section of the AT, besides the scenes for Humpback Mountain, are there any others I should be looking for along the way?
Any other tid bits would be great!
Thank you and thank you to Whiteblaze - I've learned a LOT here so far.