Holy hell I need a trip.

Trip?  LSD, Shrooms, Peyote, DMT, ……?

Just kidding.  It’s bloody, humidly hot in VA too.  Especially felt that way coming back from CO and the mountains.

p.s., i still like you, even when you’re cranky.

Three words, Jen: Cal-i-fornia.

I haven’t been since you were here. But it’s been 100 degrees as well. Fall is approaching!

Yes it is!

I have to go to north carolina for a teaching gig at the end of October.  I’ll be there for a week – and I’m really tempted to drive out with the Chuckster, then take a week to drive back.

Any good 2-3 day backpacking trips to recommend in TN or NC or thereabouts??

“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball.”

Tn/NC border areas are full of backpacking.  The Roan Highlands is one of my favorite AT hikes with long stretches of hiking on the balds.  There are good loops starting at the Big Creek trailhead along I-40 on the north side of the Smokies; Mt. Sterling, Gunter falls, and Mt. Cammerer are highlights and you can choose from a couple of different length of loops.  Slickrock Wilderness is a nice area southwest of the Smokies with bald camping, old growth forest, and no permit or camp requirements; you can reach it off the beautiful Cherohala Skyway.  Art Loeb/Pisgah is another good option.

Hey Ben, how crowded do you think the Roan Highlands would be on a weekend in late October?

Maybe Slickrock would be a better choice for fewer people??

You are always welcome in Montana and late September / early October is prime time for Yellowstone NP

I did an October trip to Roan in 2009 with my family and it was really a memorable trip.  The balds were beautiful.  We saw hardly a soul.  We slept in the big red barn shelter with just 2 others.  We even got see the horses up there.

I went back 2 years ago October and there were certainly more people.  I think its been discovered a bit.  We didn’t try to stay at the big red barn shelter because we heard it was packed over there.  There are plenty of good camping options but water is not easily found in the high balds.  We still had a great trip.

I suspect late October will probably run most other backpackers off.

If you want to be sure to have fewer fellow backpackers, Slickrock is a good option.  Other backpackers are rare, and its a fun place with rivers, balds, and old growth forest.  The balds are smaller than you see at Roan but there is more solitude.  Either way, have fun.

Oh Richard thanks! I just have to be in NC for work at the end of October and I was going to turn it into a road trip with the Chuckster and take a long time to get home – do some hiking on the way.

But I really, really want to get to yellowstone and MT!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf5TgVRGND4

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is on the southern shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana. It has a string of sandy beaches, and trails through dunes, marshland, and jack pine forests. The Dune Succession Trail at West Beach has views of the Chicago skyline and the lake’s bird-rich wetland. Near the Little Calumet River are the Bailly Homestead, an 1820s fur-trading post, and the restored Chellberg Farm.

Dan, that’s where I grew up!  My parents live 15 minutes from the National Lakeshore ;)

Late October is really a pretty good time in the mountains.  You will probably still see a little color, even if it’s on the forest floor.  The views through the trees is better.  Weather seems to cooperate pretty well then.

Illinois State Beach Park Campground on the lake shore.

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/r2/ILB/ILB_CampMap.pdf

It’s nice having the Dunes in your back yard growing up. Time to move back to the Midwest ;)

Too many fires out West, too much heat and rain in Texas. Just right in the Midwest :-) Most likeley I will see you November-December when I take a trip to Austin.The weather should be “just right” :-)

Feeling ya, being stuck in the midterm vortex and living hundreds of miles from anything above sea level. If you’re going to NC somebody else had mentioned the Art Loeb trail earlier in this thread and I’d second that suggestion, just walked it labor day weekend and it was just what the doctor ordered. Lovely time of year to bang it out, and plenty of very awesome side trails and loops shoot off it around the halfway mark if you wanna make it your own adventure. Just keep in mind there’s a shuttling element though not too crazy if you do it through Pura Vida or just hitchhike from the Davidson river terminus. Happy trails!

Hey Dan – if you make it a January trip we’re going to Big Bend the second week (jan 11 or something like that).

either way, make sure to give me a shout!  I’d love to meet up

I hear ya Jen. It’s been too long since I’ve been out! I think my last trip was …. oh yeah, weekend before last. And there was the 4-day trip in Montana followed by a day break and then an 8-day trip in Idaho a couple of weeks ago. And I’m slated for a week-long traverse of the Bailey Range in the Olympics (if fires don’t get the trip cancelled) weekend after next. Would have been next weekend but I’m going to the PNW GGG next weekend instead.

Hmmm, maybe I don’t really need a trip now that I think about it…. :-)

Tried to reply earlier but didn’t go through…In addition to the suggestions offered by Cody and Ben, consider non-AT Smokies, the Linville Gorge, a loop hike in the Standing Indian area, Joyce Kilmer Slickrock area….lots of opportunities and Fall can be really nice.

Russ