Announcement: Grad Fellowship Camping Trip 6.22-6.24

We are putting a camping trip together. It is short notice, but don’t let that stop you. The weekend of June 22 we are going to the Shining Rock Wilderness in North Carolina and hiking to Cold Mountain (yes that Cold Mountain) and back. The Shining Rock Wilderness is so named for the quartz and mica in the rocks and in the soil that make both “glisten” in the sun. The round trip to Cold Mountain by trail is about 16.4 miles (I’ve done this trip a couple of times before). Parts of the trail are strenuous, but the entire time you are above 5,000 ft in a lush, temperate rainforest that’s one of the most diverse in the lower 48, and for an entire weekend you won’t experience temperatures in excess of 80 degrees (temps at night 50-60 degrees).

If you want to see/learn more about the Shining Rock Wilderness and Cold Mountain you can look online here: http://www.turns-all-year.com/gpans3/source/4.html and here: http://www.southeastclimbing.com/climbing_areas/north_carolina/cold_mt.htm#al3.

The road trip to the trailhead is about eight-and-a-half hours from Tallahassee. We’d be leaving first thing on Friday and coming back first thing on Sunday. Jamie Watson and me are organizing this trip and we both have a fair amount of extra camping equipment if you need it. If extra equipment is needed and you are an FSU student you can rent for next to nothing from Student Recreation or rent from Trail & Ski here in town who have very good prices. If you are interested in this trip get in touch with me so we can get a head count as soon as possible and work out transportation and equipment questions.

posted by Jay

jwoodham@gfmse.org