Asbury UMC Men’s Spiritual Pilgrimage - Mar 30 - Apr 3, 2011

4-Day, 4-Night Wilderness Backpacking Expedition

The Briefing

This is a 4-day, 4-night wilderness backpacking adventure.  It will test you physically, emotionally and spiritually.  We will be travelling through the Roan Highlands, a combination of ancient rock, high open meadows, and wild places.  This is where you can breathe deep and know that God is near.

Wednesday, March 30: We will depart from Asbury UMC at 5:00 PM and drive to Buffalo Mtn Camp. We will have bunkhouse lodging for the night.

Day One: 3.3 miles - Thursday morning will start with a great hot breakfast at base camp.  Then we shuttle to Hughes Gap (4,040’).  Today will be a short but steep section of trail.  After a 2,000-foot climb, we will set up camp at the Roan High Knob shelter, the highest on the entire AT (6,285 ft.).

Day Two: 6.5 miles - This will be an awesome day!  The trail starts high and stays high almost all day.  We will cross several wide open balds all above the 5,000-foot mark.  The final 1.5 miles will drop us into Yellow Mountain Gap(4,682’) and our campsite near the Overmountain shelter for the night

Day Three: 5.7 miles - We will start the day with a moderate climb to Little Hump Mountain (5,459’) then Hump Mountain (5,587’) again only briefly dropping below 5,000 feet.  After 3 miles, our descent starts and we begin to leave the highlands.  We will stop at Doll Flats (4.560’) for our last night in the wilderness.  This is a great campsite with open fields and big views.

Day Four: 3.0 miles - Our last day is a 1,600-foot descent starting with a rocky overlook of the Elk river valley.  After passing a 120-year old iron mine and the remains of an old rock quarry, we will meet our shuttle as we exit the woods at US19E near the town of Elk Park, NC

After retrieving the cars, we will load up and head for showers and a big dinner at Cootie Brown’s in Johnson City, TN!

The Cost

$275.00 per person includes:

• Guided 19-mile, 4-day, 3-night backpacking adventure
• Lodging Wednesday night & hot breakfast Thursday AM
• All food and snacks for the trail
• Hot showers post-hike at Uncle Johnny’s Hostel
• All-you-can-eat dinner in Johnson City, Tennessee

Partial Scholarships Available

The Guidelines

• Each man will travel in a 3-person triad determined in advance.
• Each man is responsible for getting his own gear and the equipment for his triad (some loan equipment available).
• You must be 18 or older to participate.

Bruce Martin will be teaching and leading discussions from his upcoming book, Your Perfect Storm.

P. Chris Holden will serve as your expedition leader.  He will brief the team on the day’s route each morning and make logistical arrangements.

For more info or to register, contact your ‘Born Wild’ Coordinator:

Stephen Brooks (256) 603-1273 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sign-up deadline March 20th.  Space is limited-register now!