Backpacking 101: Lake Somerville State Park - adults only

More details are to come, but I wanted to get this up as soon as possible so you can start planning. Also, be sure to come to our Camping and Backpacking Gear 101 session at Academy and REI on July 12th.

The RSVP fee includes your campsite. You will need to pay your entrance fee at the park.

Some NEO members are doing a Havasupai backpacking trip in September. This is a practice backpacking trip that will allow attendees to test their gear in a safe environment before taking it on the big Havasupai trip. All NEO members are welcome to join us on this Backpacking 101 adventure! No experience is necessary, but this is an adults-only event.

Again, more details are to come, but we will simulate our Havasupai conditions as closely as possible. This includes coming in on Friday, getting to be relatively early with all of our gear ready to go, and setting off on a 13-mile hike with our backpacking gear starting at about 5:00 AM as we will do at Havasupai. The terrain is not terribly difficult... it's really more about the length of the hike and the weight on your back. There will be some bugout points for you to lighten your gear or stop backpacking along the way.

We will start off at Lake Somerville State Park Nails Creek where we will camp Friday night. Starting at about 4:00 AM Saturday morning, we will hike the Lake Somerville Trailway to Birch Creek where we will camp Saturday night. Once in camp Saturday afternoon, we will be able to enjoy whatever activities we like at the lake.

While our campsites will have water, electric, bathrooms, and showers, I encourage everyone to test themselves as if they are primitive camping. I'll leave it to you to decide on your comfort level.

Come to test yourself and your gear in a safe space with backpackers of all experience levels.

More details soon.
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