Hammock hanging in WNC or North Georgia

[SHOTGUNWILLIE225]

Anyone know of any good places to hammock camp for noobs in this area? My girlfriend has been begging me to go on trip and this weekend I'm going to take her. As this will be her first true backpacking experience, I don't want to push it too far and make it too difficult for her. Therefore, most places I go are out. I'd like to take her somewhere with moderate to easy trails that still offer excellent views and privacy. Somewhere that I can spend more time with her, teaching her about her gear and such rather than struggling on the trail all day. She's fairly new to the outdoors and I want this to be a good experience for her.

[TallPaul]

Max Patch...unless the weather is bad (windy/cold)

[ChrisP]

A few weeks ago, I went out to the Black Balsam area on the parkway. I did a south loop from the parking lot to Sam's Knob (awesome views to the west) then down along Flat Laurel Creek. There are several loop options there, including hooking up with the MTS trail or head off to Graveyard Fields. Really flat, really scenic, lots of good, established sites and, if you stay out of the wilderness, camp fires are allowed. I was out Sunday to Tuesday and heard another group, but never saw them. The Art Loeb to Shining Rock is more popular, I saw 3 groups headed that way when I took off. The other places I considered were the Standing Indian loop or an out and back around Hot Springs. EDIT: Max Patch is good too. My son's first backpacking trip was Max Patch to Walnut Mtn shelter and back.

[SHOTGUNWILLIE225]

Both of those places are fantastic. I had considered Max Patch, but a friend of mine told me it's over run with idiots and their beer/ATV's now. I love beer and ATV's but neither should be at Max Patch. Thanks for the suggestions. The worst part of backpacking is deciding where to go. Perhaps I will let her choose.

[ChrisP]

Some idiots on ATVs did tear up Max Patch (and were caught). We were there last September and you couldn't tell where the damage was. I spent 2 weeks trying to figure out where to go on my last trip. The weather ended up playing a big role so I went where there were plenty of bail out points.

[SHOTGUNWILLIE225]

Some idiots on ATVs did tear up Max Patch (and were caught). We were there last September and you couldn't tell where the damage was. I spent 2 weeks trying to figure out where to go on my last trip. The weather ended up playing a big role so I went where there were plenty of bail out points.

Glad to hear they were caught. And hopefully fined so much they were forced to sell their ATVs. Looks like weather will be rough this weekend so I'm going to hike what you suggested. Hopefully she will not get discouraged because of the expected rain.

[Wraith6761]

There's a group hang coming up in Hot Springs NC in about a month, as well as one at Mt Rogers in SW VA (about 10-15 miles from the NC border)....threads are in the trip planning>Southeast subforum...might be worth a look

*edit: just reread your post and saw that you were talking about this weekend...whoops. Still, might be worth a look if she enjoys the trip this weekend.