Women's 60+ Wildflowers & Waterfalls Backpacking Trip
June 2-3, 2025
Enjoy fall foliage and waterfalls on this 1-night backpacking trip. You'll hike approximately 10 miles over 2 days in the Deep Creek area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This area is the home to Horace Kephart's last permanent camp, where he spent several summers. The group will hike a short distance to their campsite, set up camp, then enjoy a 2-3 mile ramble along the scenic trail. The next day, hike out past Deep Creek's beautiful waterfalls! This is an awesome trip for hikers interested in flora and history. The trip is designed exclusively for women over the age of 60.
Weather in the mountains can be unpredictable. Hikers should be prepared for cool temperatures overnight, especially at higher elevations. Temperatures on trail can be 10-15 degrees cooler than in Asheville, NC.
"She was a wonderful guide - very experienced hiker and had amazing knowledge of
the GSMNP ecosystem." - V.C., Smokies Fall Foliage Backpacking Trip, October 2022
Cost:
$595 per person
Payment Plans, Scholarships, and Sliding Scale Fees are available for this trip. Please email our office at trips@blueridgehikingco.com for more information.
This trip will run if there are a minimum of 2 participants signed up. If the minimum has not yet been met, we'll contact participants two weeks before the trip to discuss options. The maximum group size is 6 participants. If you are traveling in a party of 4 or more hikers, we encourage you to consider a private backpacking trip. You can find more information about our private trip offerings by sending us an email.
In addition to your guide, this price includes backpacking gear, 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 access to a pre-trip Zoom call, where you can ask questions about your upcoming trip. It does not include personal items or gratuity for your guide.
Sign-Up Details:
In order to sign up for this trip, please go to our Trip Calendar and select the trip start date (May 5, 2025). You will find the trip listed there.
A few weeks before the start of the trip, we will be in contact via email with an information packet for you to fill out. This includes a waiver, health form, and gear request form. At that time we will also send a detailed packing list and any trip-specific information.
Itinerary:
This trip meets at 8am on Monday May 5 in Asheville, NC.
You will meet your guide at our downtown Asheville retail location (70 College Street, Asheville, NC 28801). Your guide will hand out your gear and food, go over necessary packing items, and discuss safety, weather, and logistics for the trip. They will walk you through how to properly pack your pack, and may look in detail at the items you've packed to make sure you're not carrying too many extra items.
Around 10am, you'll head to the Deep Creek trailhead near Bryson City, NC (just over an hour drive) and start your hike. The first day, you'll hike past Tom Branch Falls to the campsite. After setting up camp, you'll enjoy a 2-3 mile ramble along the scenic trail. The next day, you'll return to the trailhead, hiking past Indian Creek Falls and Juney Whank Falls before returning to Asheville. Total mileage is about 10 miles over 2 days.
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.
Trip Difficulty Rating:
Participants on this trip should have a minimum fitness level of 3 out of 10, and this trip is ideally suited for hikers with a fitness level of 4-5 out of 10. This is a Novice trip, meaning hikers should have some previous hiking experience, but may or may not have backpacked or camped before. All participants in our group backpacking trips should be comfortable by themselves on trail for at least 30 minutes. For more information about our difficulty and experience level ratings, please see our Trip Difficulty Page.
Travel:
If you plan to fly, we recommend flying into the Asheville, NC airport. It is about a 20 minute drive or cab ride south of downtown Asheville where this trip meets. Other nearby airports are Charlotte, NC (about an hour and a half drive) and Greenville, SC (about an hour drive). If you plan to drive or rent a car, free parking is provided near downtown for the duration of the trip.
There are many hotels to choose from in Asheville. Most downtown area hotels are walking distance from our meetup location. Tunnel Road hotels are about a 10 minute drive and Airport hotels are about a 20 minute drive. If you prefer a hostel stay, Sweet Peas hostel is just around the corner from our location.
Guide:
Your guide for this trip will be Bev MacDowell. Backpack with a contemporary! Bev has been a hiking and backpacking leader for adults and youth for more than 10 years. She is an AT Trail Maintainer for the Max Patch section, she has completed Educator Outward Bound, and recently hiked 200 miles of the Spanish Camino del Santiago. She feels most alive when she is active in the forest; it is so empowering! It brings her great joy to introduce others to the wonder of outdoor life in Western NC.
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.
Individual Use Gear: BRHC provides high quality, ultralight, cottage industry backpacking gear to make your experience as comfortable as possible. We offer the following five pieces of gear at no additional cost:
Backpacks - We use a lightweight 60L pack. We will ask for your height and weight in order to fit the pack appropriately to you.
Tents - We provide a one-person tent, or and two-person tent if you are sharing with a partner or friend.
Sleeping Bags - We use a 20 degree synthetic sleeping bag with sleeping bag liners.
Sleeping Pads - We provide hikers with a closed-cell foam pad, for its excellent combination of weight and durability. Inflatable sleeping pads are available for an additional rental fee.
Trekking Poles - These will provide you with some added stability while hiking, and may be used to set up your tent.
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:
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 1L 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, no refunds will be offered. If Blue Ridge Hiking Company cancels the trip due to severe weather, we'll offer a refund less the 15% admin fee. We are unable to offer exceptions to this policy; we strongly recommend all hikers purchase travel insurance to cover their trip.
Hikers may reschedule their trip once (at least 1 month before their trip) free of charge. Additional changes to their reservation date may result in a rescheduling fee.
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 it is 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 20-25% 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.
