Sleeping in the Forest:
A Supported Solo for Women

August 12-14, 2026

Sleeping in the Forest is an opportunity to explore solitude in the wilderness while being supported by a collective. Designed for women feeling a tension between desire and fear, the three day progression transitions from a group experience to an individual one, allowing you to dive into intimate connection with the earth, hear your own breath, feel your own body, sing your own song, while feeling the background presence of a community that protects this sacred space.

This trip is being offered in partnership with Sommerville Johnston of Aspen Roots Collective, an Asheville-based organization offering restorative and relational experiences that help people reconnect with themselves, each other, and the living world in a time of disconnection.

This trip stays over 6,000ft for the majority of the trip. Hikers should expect temperatures to be about 20 degrees cooler than in Asheville. It can get near freezing overnight even in late June!

 

"This was our first time on the trail and we definitely plan on coming back. The perfect balance
between education, fitness and beauty." - L.M., Women's AT Backpacking Trip, August 2022

 

Cost:

$925 per person
Gear rental packages are available for an additional fee
Payment Plans, Scholarships, and discounts for teachers, nurses, veterans, and first responders are available for all Blue Ridge Hiking Co trips. For more information about payment plans and discount programs, please email our office at trips@blueridgehikingco.com. For information and to apply for scholarships, please see our scholarships page.

This trip will run if there are a minimum of 4 participants signed up. If the minimum has not yet been met, we'll contact participants one month before the trip to discuss options. The maximum group size is 8 participants.

In addition to your guides, this price includes food while you're on trail, transportation between the meet-up location and the trailhead, and any necessary backcountry permits and fees. Price also includes two pre-trip zoom calls and one post-trip zoom call with your guest guide, Sommerville Johnston, as well as access to a pre-trip video chat with Blue Ridge Hiking Company, where you can ask questions about your upcoming trip. It does not include backpacking gear, personal items, or gratuity for your guides. Backpacking gear rental packages are available for an additional fee.

 

Sign-Up Details:

In order to sign up for this trip, please go to our trip calendar and select the trip start date. You will find the trip listed there. 

A few weeks before the start of the trip, we will be in contact via email with a pre-trip email that includes all information for you to prepare for your trip, a waiver packet for you to complete (waiver, health form, and gear request form), and a detailed packing list. 

 

Trip Goals:

The goal of this trip is for participants to build confidence in hiking and camping solo. This trip will explore themes including:

• Strength in Self and Community - The community helps to hold the container for your solitude. By witnessing each other step out into the wilderness, we honor that we are on this path together with unique gifts to bring back. We create a courageous space where we check on each other’s safety and have a framework in place that allows for intervention if needed, and peace of mind if not.
• Creating Space for Deeper Listening - How would your body respond to space from technology, screens, to-do lists, clocks, artificial light, and space from the role you hold in your family, your workplace, this society? Out of deeper listening, may come more authentic expression. You are invited to bring your knowing back home with you. 
• Fear and Courage - We explore the edges of darkness, of solitude, of permission to do something that is not productive, and carry our fear with us as we move with courage. We name all of the reasons not to do this, but then listen for how our longing responds?
• Honoring your Why - Each participant will come with a reason, a why, a call to be alone in the wilderness while also supported by others. We will not dictate your process or rituals, your ceremonies or activities. There will not be rules about leaving books or watercolor paints behind, you are not only allowed, but encouraged to determine the limits of your own experience.

 

Itinerary:

This trip meets at 9am in Asheville, NC.

Your guides will hand out your gear and food, go over necessary packing items, and discuss safety, weather, and logistics for the trip. They'll walk you through how to properly pack your backpack, and may look in detail at the items you've packed to make sure you're not carrying too many extra items.

Around 11am, you'll head to the Blue Ridge Parkway, where you will start your hike! You'll follow the MST past Skinny Dip Falls and through Graveyard Fields to your first campsite, where you'll camp as a group. Your guides will introduce some solo time on the first day. The second day, hike over Black Balsam Knob, Tennent Mountain, and Sam's Knob before arriving at the campsite where you'll have meals and where your guides will be based for the night. You'll find a solo campsite and set up camp on your own. On the last day, you'll return to the MST to finish your hike, which will include additional solo activities. You'll see plentiful wildflowers, gain confidence in solo backpacking, and enjoy cool, crisp mountain air!

Participants on this trip should be able to complete a day hike of 10 miles over hilly or mountainous terrain, or a 12-mile walk on flat ground.

Hike generally finishes around lunchtime the last day. Itinerary is subject to change based on a variety of factors, including weather, trail conditions, and participants needs and abilities. Please inform our admin team or your guide ahead of time if you have a time constraint the last day of your trip.

Elevation profile created with Gaia GPS.

 

Trip Difficulty Rating:

This is a Level 2 Trip, a beginner level trip with some elevation change, ideal for building confidence on multi-day trips. This trip is different from our typical Level 2 trips in that the instruction will focus more on gaining confidence solo hiking and camping, and less on backpacking skills. Participants should have some previous backapacking experience.

For more details on our Level 1–5 scale and how to choose the right trip for you, please see our Trip Difficulty Page.

 

Guides:

Your guides for this trip are Sommerville Johnston and Lizzy Markman. 

Sommerville is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, wilderness guide, yoga instructor, and founder of Aspen Roots Collective. She is passionate about facilitating opportunities for individuals and groups to connect with the natural world, to explore their inner-landscapes, and to discover within themselves a strength and beauty more powerful than they previously knew. She has worked in the outdoor field since 2000, holding roles from canoe and backpacking instructor to nature-based therapist and adventure wellness retreat guide. Sommerville incorporates curiosity, humor, deep compassion, and respect into her various roles and has personally benefited from wilderness solo adventures near and far, embracing her wild animal self and returning more physically grounded, mentally clear, and soul nourished.

Lizzy grew up exploring New Hampshire’s White Mountains, where she fell in love with the outdoors. Her passion for adventure led her to backpack through Mexico, join an archaeological dig in New Mexico, and serve as a Park Ranger at Grand Canyon National Park. For the past five years, she has been exploring the trails, history, and plants in the Appalachian mountains she now calls home. Off the trail, you can find her climbing, gardening, or listening to local music. 

 

What we Provide:

Food: BRHC provides all on-trail food. You will have the ability to choose your own food from our wide selection, and you will carry your own food during the trip. We do our best to cater to requests, though it is important to keep to lightweight foods appropriate for backpacking. If you have food allergies or dietary restrictions, please inform our team in your pre-trip paperwork.

Community Gear: BRHC provides all community gear for the trip, including water filters, camping stoves and fuel, bowls, utensils and cups; trowels, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer; first aid kit; and navigational aids.

 

What to Bring:

Backpacking gear is not included in the trip price. All hikers should bring their own backpack, tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and trekking poles. A lightweight gear rental package is available as a trip add-on for an additional fee. Please let our Admin team know if you'd like additional information.
Backpack - We recommend a lightweight 50-65L pack.
Tent - We recommend a one-person tent for this trip. Due to the goals of the trip, you are encouraged not to share with a partner or friend.
Sleeping Bag - We recommend a 20 degree synthetic or down sleeping bag.
Sleeping Pad - All hikers should bring a closed-cell foam or inflatable sleeping pad.
Trekking Poles - These will provide you with some added stability while hiking.

We will send all participants a detailed packing list a few weeks before the trip. You are expected to bring your own clothing/footwear, a headlamp, two 1-L water bottles (Nalgene or disposable Smart Water bottles are good options), personal medications/toiletries, and approved optional items. Generally, comfortable trail shoes are better than heavy hiking boots. Please pack synthetic or wool athletic clothing rather than cotton. Cotton does not dry quickly and will not keep you warm when wet.  For most trips you will need only one outfit to hike in, one outfit to sleep in, a raincoat, and a warm layer.  A beanie and lightweight gloves are appropriate in most seasons as temperatures cool down in the mountains at night. You will not need a new set of clean clothes for each day, make-up, hair products, scented products or deodorant. Just bring a toothbrush and toothpaste and enjoy going all natural for the trip!

 

Cancellation Policy:

Trip cost includes a 15% non-refundable administrative fee. Hikes may be cancelled up to 1 month before the trip for a refund (minus the 15% admin fee). Within 1 month, a 50% refund will be offered. Within 1 week, a refund will only be offered if Blue Ridge Hiking Company cancels the trip due to severe weather. We are unable to offer exceptions to this policy due to extenuating circumstances; we strongly recommend all hikers purchase travel insurance to cover their trip.

Hikers may reschedule their trip once (at least one month before their trip) free of charge. Additional changes to their reservation may result in rescheduling fees.

 

We hike rain or shine!  While it is incredibly rewarding, backpacking is an endurance sport, and it can be challenging and/or uncomfortable at times.  Maintaining a positive mindset, even when you are uncomfortable, is key to enjoying your time in the wilderness.  With our focus on lightweight gear, our goal is for your pack to weigh around 25lbs (or no more than 25% of your body weight).

 

If your guide does an exceptional job, please show your appreciation with a tip. Our team of highly trained professional guides never expects but always appreciates a tip. Industry standard gratuity for a guided backpacking trip is 15-25% of trip price.

If you have any questions regarding this trip, you can reach our office by phone at 828-713-5451 or by email at trips@blueridgehikingco.com.