“Call me Ishmael.” — Herman Melville, Moby-Dick *********** One month Prior: Bryan (Wolverine) texted me to request that I post a backpacking trip during Presidents’ Day Weekend. “It doesn’t have to be epic,” he wrote. (Ha! He should know me better . . .) ***********One month later: Friday night, February 17, 2023, 11:00 p.m. Afton Mountain,... Continue Reading →

As we start 2023, we are 1,645 members strong! We took 61 trips in 2022, along with a number of social events throughout the year. Backpackers joined us on the trails 432 times for fellowship, gear talk, and hiking. Our members hail from all over, not just DC. Here's where Meetup tells us you are... Continue Reading →

Cover photo credit: Trisha Most of the group (Adrian, Mark R., Trisha, Emily, David, Karan & I) met at Vienna on Saturday morning. We picked up Alexander on the way and made it to the trailhead a little after 10am. There was a dusting of snow up at the trailhead, but little enough that most... Continue Reading →

The final Corbin Cabin journal entry read: 1.8.23 — This cabin exceeded our expectations! From the Michelin star dining, to the butler turn-down service, to the surprise music appearance of the Eagles, we had no complaints! This was a true luxury camping experience compared to our usual ones—sleeping on the ground outside. —DCUL: Washington, D.C.’s... Continue Reading →

“Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them.” Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes) Hiner Spring, a delightful mountain spring in a grove of pine trees, sits on top of the Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness, west of Staunton, Virginia. It is a terrific place... Continue Reading →