Greetings,
I lead a large group of young folks on a 4 day, 3 night backpack trip every February. Typically, we do 30 mile sections of the AT (about 8 miles a day).
We've pretty much done from Springer to Fontana over the past five years. I'd love some loop options to make shuttling easier. The Standing Indian loop was perfect of course, but we've done that twice now. The Duncan Ridge loop is a bit too long.
I need some creative suggestions from you fine folk! Here's my thinking/problems:
1) Cohutta has options, but river crossing in February... yikes.
2) Smokies would be great, but they cap group sizes at 8. We have 12-14. Anyone know if they grant exceptions? Especially in the off season... fingers crossed. Gregory Bald or other loops would be great.
3) Maybe Grayson Highlands, but that could get super cold. Also, I'm hoping to stay within 3-4 hours of Chattanooga.
4) Maybe Bob Bald / Hangover / Citico Creek?
5) What about creative treks that aren't exactly loops. As in, we could do a ten mile loop with a "stem" of the lollipop that we re-trace our steps on for a total of 25-35?
6) Joyce Kilmer? Pisgah? What am I missing?
Thanks for any ideas.