I've been extremely interested in backpacking for the past couple years. I'm not sure how I even got into it, but I've devoured countless online articles, I'm a backpacker magazine subscriber, and I go camping with friends or family as much as I can. Even being the proverbial poor college student, I have a special fund set up and I put away money every pay check for one day accomplishing my goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail. I've also been slowly building up my gear, but I've ran into a problem which I imagine a lot of people might have had.

I have no one to backpack with.

Camping is easy, it's easy to gather friends up for a weekend camping trip, but my friends, nor anyone I know for that matter has any gear whatsoever for backpacking, or even a desire for all I know. It's really hard reading about all these great hikes, and wanting to go out but my gear sitting unused.

What are some ways to meet fellow backpackers? I've searched for hiking clubs and what not in my state, but none fit what I'm looking for. It's just frustrating. Anyways, thank you guys for any advice or stories.