SouthEast Trip Planning Help!

[UpstateBackpacker]

I am a senior in High School and have a senior project, a senior project is an all year project that is on what ever you want to do. It counts as all of your final exam grades. I am filming my experience on how to prepare and plan for a lightweight hammock backpacking trip in the winter. The Trips are going to be 3 day trips and around 20 miles. Any suggestions on great loops in SC,NC, or TN.

[Slugger]

I strongly suggest you go to Amazon.com and pick up one of these books:

https://www.amazon.com/Backpacking-N...north+carolina


or

https://www.amazon.com/Trekking-Southern-Appalachians-Carolinas-Backpacker/dp/0898869668/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1474295548 &sr=8-1

[Caminante]

Good suggestions on the books. One trip in your designated area that is popular here is the "Big Creek - Mt Sterling Loop" in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You're sure to get some winter weather there due to the altitude, and the campsites that you'll stay at (CS37 and CS38) are both hammock-friendly. If you park at the Big Creek Ranger Station it's 19 miles total.

Here is some leisure reading:

A trip I did in April:
https://hammockforums.net/forum/show...light=sterling

TallPaul's video report of a winter trip:
https://hammockforums.net/forum/show...light=sterling

Aborted winter trip:
https://hammockforums.net/forum/show...light=sterling

[TallPaul]

Sounds like my kind of homework

Grayson Highlands.. you could string some trails together to make the 20 miles.

Standing Indian loop

Big Creek / Mt Sterling loop as mentioned above

Carvers Gap to 19E.. you would need to pay for the shuttle or do one yourself.

I like views so these are at elevation and may be colder than other spots.

For NC, I like the book Backpacking North Carolina by Joe Miller. Lots of loop choices in that mileage. You could probably read it at a Barnes and Noble.