December 1, 2023

Cold Mountain & Mt. Pleasant (Backpacking, 12 Miles, Challenging)

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Date(s)
Saturday, 11/04/2017 - Sunday, 11/05/2017

Time(s)
9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Calendar Exports
iCal, Google Calendar

Location
Hog Gap Camp

Every time we hike Cold Mountain, we admire the beautiful backcountry campsite and talk about how nice it would be to camp there. Well, there’s no better time then in the gorgeous Virginia fall weather. This will be a one night backpacking trip and is very beginner friendly!

Day 1 we will travel from Richmond and arrive at Mt. Pleasant. Once we arrive we will leave our backpacking gear in the vehicles and we will then day hike Mt. Pleasant, the 5.5 mile sister loop to Cold Mountain. Afterward, we will get our backpacking gear and hit the Cold Mountain trail. The campsite is only about 1.5 miles into the trail. There we will set up camp and enjoy the evening–it will be a FULL MOON!!! There is a large campfire ring so we can make a nice fire. Total mileage for day 1 = 7 miles (but only 1.5 with full packs on). Elevation +- 1500′.

If the beauty of sleeping under the full moon with great people isn’t enough to entice you, it is also the night we fall back with our clocks, so we get an extra hour of sleep 🙂

Day 2 we will pack up camp and hike the rest of the Cold Mountain loop to include the meadow at the summit before heading back to Richmond. Total mileage day 2 = +- 4.3 miles. Elevation around 1300′.  On day 2 we will pass Cow Gap Camp which has a water source**

You can find a good checklist of backpacking supplies on REI’s website.

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