Backpacking

Backpacking is the activity at Cheerio Adventures that allows participants to access areas of beautiful wilderness, wild ponies, deer and other animals. It is also the avenue to one of our best climbing and rappelling sites.

The length of backpacking in programs varies from 2 days on Sampler and Supreme Sampler programs to 4 days on Standard and Seekers programs. The distance each day also varies for each program such as 3-mile days for Samplers to 8-10 mile days for Seekers and Mountains to Sea.

Backpacks are fitted for each participant, although they are welcome to bring their own. Staff will explain how everyone should pack their backpacks as well as what to bring and not to bring.

The participants help carry group gear such as stoves, water purifiers, food and tents. Participants are divided up into tent groups of either 2 or 4, as all tents are 2 or 4 person tents. The females have their tents, as do the males.

The areas that backpacking takes place are the Mount Rodgers National Recreation Area and the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia as well as the Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest and Linville Gorge Wilderness Area in North Carolina.

The following is a list of all Cheerio Adventures programs that include backpacking:

Summer Schedule | Activity Descriptions