Have a week to backpack next year. Where to go?

[cloudedice]

it may be a long drive, but dolly sods WV gets my vote. Ecological diversity alone makes it worth it. the views are just the icing on the cake.
Or bag the presidential peaks!

WV is a bit far for me. I was hoping for 3-4 hours drive time max, to maximize my outdoor time. Meeting the Presidents is on my short list though.

Planning them out is half the fun.

Absolutely!

My first long hike was Foothills Trail in SC. Stunning.

Getting set to leave for Grayson Highlands - one and a wake-up...

Hope you had fun in the Highlands. I'll make it down south one day, but probably not till the kids are older.

If you want to stay up north, sections of the AT or the LT are great!

I've done about half of the CT AT, but our usual hiking buddies weren't able to do it this year and I don't want to complete CT without them. Next year they probably won't be able to take as much time off as I can get. I hiked an overnight on the AT/LT in VT this year and I loved it. It's definitely on my short list for the week-long hike.

What I wouldn't give to be doing the 100 Mile Wilderness. 100 Mile Wilderness might be a tad much for a week though. The Whites would be my choice in your area.

Me too. If I had 10 days, I'd probably do it, but I'm pretty certain I wouldn't be able to pull off 100 miles in less than 7 days. The Whites are on my list though.

In the Adirondacks:
120 miles Northville Placid Trail. Or a section of it, or a section of it looped in with a different trail.

Hadn't considered the Adirondacks. I will now.

How many miles were you planning on doing? What type of terrain, water features, mountains, etc... do you desire?

I'm up for almost any terrain and knowing my speed/strength I'm thinking 60-70 miles over 5 days. I usually plan two sets of stops and attempt the longer one knowing I can do shorter days if I need to. It's worked well so far, but I've only done weekend trips. We'll see how it works on a longer trip.


Thanks for the suggestions everyone! (and sorry for not responding sooner)

[desmobob]

Just be sure to plan two or three trips, all in different areas. That way, the weather has less of a chance to foil your plans.

I'm sitting at home now, on vacation, waiting for a nasty storm front and wind to pass by so I can embark on my planned solo Adirondack canoe camping trip (two days late).

Take it easy,
desmobob