Hey, folks.

After almost 20 years, I finally got my wife to spend a few nights in a tent. It was the epitome of car camping, and we managed to fit an Areobed in the tent, but it's a start. She wants to go look at tents (we were using a borrowed 3-man, and my trail tent is an REI one-man that is just barely big enough for me), and she thinks that should could forgo the air mattress for a pad. Baby steps.

I'd like to get her up onto one of the southeastern trails (the AT is my first thought, but I'm coming here for any and all advice), that would provide a relatively short (three miles or less) and relatively flat hike in and out. She does not do great on hills, and I am still rehabbing my knee after ... well ... after falling down an active volcano last summer (Cotopaxi, in Ecuador. Luckily, falling down is not the same thing as falling into).

We are in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, but would have no problem driving five, six, seven hours to a trailhead. I think she would actually really like shelter camping, but I want to strike the tent-camping iron while it is hot.

So, does anybody have any suggestions for baby-step backpack camping in GA, NC, TN, SC or VA?

-- Philetus
(Only about 200 miles in; more than 2000 to go, but I'll get there)