ST Pats hike & HoPing Dinner & Aug '24 Appalacian Trail Section Planning

Apologies, a family thing has taken over my Fridays!! We WILL get this ball rolling eventually!! So the 3rd DATE & Time HAS to be the CHARM!!

Let's take a nice quick 1 hour evening hike at St Pat's then head over to HoPing for a good Chinese meal and Appalachian Mountains Trail Section Hiking discussion!!

The AT has been on my bucket list since I was 20 or so (more than a few years ago😊🌷🌞). I would like to do TWO 5-9 day section hikes per year....probably for the rest of my 50 years on the planet!!

I am totally cool with a solo experience, but thought there might be a few of you that want to daydream / plan / and possibly HIKE with me!

You can join in just the chat/dinner at HoPing or the St Pats Hike or of course do BOTH!

First section hike MIGHT be End of August starting at the Shenendoah National Park, Virginia AT section or thereabouts, in the cooler Northeast sections. One of the "easier" 100ishy up and down miles, prob 8-9 nites on the trail with a refuel at 3 or 4 days.

Or it might be Thanksgiving week starting at Springer, Georgia for a shorter 4-5 colder nights.... we shall see!

The FYI part=========================================
I am not going to section hike to ONLY burn the calories (that will happen) or to count thousands of steps (they will HAVE TO happen) in fact, we might BAN the counting of steps while on the hike (I know that will give a few of you pause! Hahahah --getting in touch with your body, heart, and mind --NOT your fitbit) -- but we will celebrate the actual TOTAL GPS miles hiked map and cumulative numbers at the END with a bottle of champagne and a big pizza!!🥳🥳💃🎉🍾🥂🍕).

My AT Intention is: I want to see and BE in beautiful areas of the US, in very natural and authentic ways without toooo much hardship - not glamping, but not a salami & velveeta survival course either. IF this is the way you want to go too... BRING your intention to the meetup!!

IF THIS INTERESTS YOU!!! Please join us!!

INFO: A few short AT sections and their descriptions

🚶🥾😎🌞🌲🌳IF you are already a seasoned AT (or other backpacking John Muir or similar long trail) veteran, feel free to join us and share your wisdom!!

As in all meetups, Kindness, Active Listening, a sense of OPTIMISM and inclusivity are the only rules.