GetHiking! Southeast's Classic Hikes: Mount Rogers, Virginia

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POSTPONED! Because of the gas shortage, this hike will be rescheduled, likely in October. I will have a new date by the end of the week.

Partial as we are to North Carolina's mountains, you can't have a Southeast Classic Hike Series without including the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area of southwest Virginia. Basecamp for the weekend is the Beartree Group Camp on the north flank of the Mount Rogers massif in the George Washington National Forest.

Saturday, we will hike on the Appalachian Trail from Elk Garden north (east) past Mount Rogers to Rhododendron Gap. From there, we head south and pick up equestrian/hiking trail to return to Elk Garden. This hike will be in the 15-mile range; a shorter option of around 10 miles will also be available. The terrain is some of the most exposed in the southeast, with open meadows and rock outcrops dominating. It's a slice of the western U.S. in Appalachia.

Sunday, we will break camp and drive to Scales for about 5 miles of hiking in similar terrain.

Because of the abundance of great hiking in the area, if there is sufficient interest we will do a Friday afternoon hike in the Lewis Fork Wilderness Area of Mount Rogers. If this is of interest, leave a note in the comments area when you sign up.

Our group campsite has room for 24 campers; leave a note if you plan to tent cam with us.

Saturday evening we will have a potluck. More about that as the date nears.

This hike is part of our GetHiking! Southeast's Classic Hikes program, a fee program. Hikes are either $25 for a one-day hike, $35 for a weekend hike, with group camping included for the latter. Membership in the program is $75, which includes your first three hikes (if those hikes are all two-day, weekend hikes, you save $30). The fee also includes a joining gift, a swag bag for each hike, monthly emagazine with details of the upcoming hike and discounts on hiking gear at Great Outdoor Provision Co. You will be sent a PayPal invoice upon signing up for this hike.

Estimated drive time: Charlotte: 2 hours, 45 minutes; Greensboro: 2 hours, 45 minutes; Raleigh: 3 hours, 45 minutes.

For more information on the GetHiking! The Southeast’s Classic Hikes program and to sign up, visit GetGoingNC.com (http://getgoingnc.com/2015/12/in-2016-gethiking-the-southeasts-classic-hikes/). You can also sign up and get more information by contacting Joe Miller at joe@getgoingnc.com.