Last weekend I got to meet a fellow ultralighter and really enjoyed looking over each others gear selections and techniques.

I imagined a whole group of ultralighters getting together in the woods and talking over gear, techniques, trips and just meeting new hiking partners.

Here's my idea: a weekend backpacking trip where only the campsites for Friday and Saturday night are announced. Come when you can, leave when you have to, hike as much or as little as you want. Pick your own trailhead and route to the campgrounds. Just plan to meet in the evening/morning at the designated spots on the map.

Since so many people have different hiking speeds, min/max distances they'd like to cover, etc, everyone can plan their own days, but meet together to share a campsite.

For example, I hike a lot in the Deam Wilderness outside of Bloomington, IN. I could setup a weekend with some nice campsites off the beaten path (you'll need some familiarity with a map to find them), but you would build your own weekend hiking goals around the campsites. Minumum hiking distance would probably be 4-6 miles between Fri and Saturday night locations, but you could certainly hike much, much more than that.

Any interest from backpackers in this region?

-adam

I hike in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky almost exclusively. A couple of other possible meeting places would be the Red River Gorge (Lexington, KY) and Mammoth Cave NP (the backcountry is pretty and not heavily traveled - everybody's in the cave.)

For the type of thing you're suggesting, Shades State Park, with it's backpack campground, might be a very civilized kind of gathering place.

Or, in Ohio, there are several good spots in south-central: Old Man's Cave (Hocking Hills) isn't backcountry camping, but it's very pretty hiking and using a public campground would let you bring all the back-up gear that would normally stay in the closet. (I feel a swap meet coming on.)

Sounds like a lot of fun to me.

Sounds good to me ... I am open to any suggestions. I do not have much experience with hiking in the midwest, so I will leave it up to you. Knobstone trail sounds like fun but one would need a shuttle.
Best,
Sven

(svenklingemann@gmail.com)

I would be interested depending on when it's planned. I am from central OH, but do most of my bp in wilderness areas in NC, WV, VA, GA, TN and KY. I'm still rehabbing from ACL surgery, so I'm about 8 weeks from being able to get out.

i am an ultralighter in ohio as well. cincinnati to be exact, and i would be interested in meeting a group. please keep me informed.
will
okuncool@hotmail.com

I'm new to this forum and found this old thread and was wondering if anything ever came of it. I'm a UL backpacker in Central Indiana.

I ran past this thread as well and would like to get a group together or at least a list to send out trip ideas and invitations. ULers seem few and far between in all the gear shops and circles I've encountered in the area. I'm in Central, Ohio. In particular, I'd like to add a few high mileage UL hikers to my contact list. Currently I have only one hiking partner that fits the bill.

I'm new to lightweight hiking, and would love to get out on the trail with some other light weighters. My backpacking buddy is a traditional hiker who carries about 40 lbs, and insists that "every ounce carried is an ounce of comfort at camp." I'd like to get out with some other guys or gals who won't shudder at the thought of a 10 mile day, or snicker at my beer can pot and brag about how they can boil their water in 3 minutes (which is questionable), while mine take a whole 5.

Parts of the Sheltowee Trace would be good. So would the Big South Fork.

Hi Folks,

Looking to do a chunk of Knobstone Oct. 25-27 if there is interest.

Details are here:
http://www.thebackpacker.com/trips/trip/1595.php

Chris