Course Description
Our goal is to give you a solid foundation for safely accomplishing multi-day backpacking trips with your family and friends.
The best way to learn is to immerse yourself right into the experience and environment that requires exactly such skills.
Except one 3h classroom session, you will be accompanied by a professional guide on a real 3-day overnight wilderness backpacking trip that will combine short instructional sessions with hands-on experiences.
Small group setting (max. 6 people) ensures you will get the most out of this course and that you will have constant access to your guide for insights.
Why we believe our course is better?
It’s quite simple – we won’t put you in a group of 20 and pretend that a local city park is the wilderness.
Skills You Will Learn and Practice
- Planning your trip and food
- Appropriate wilderness campsite selection and arrangements
- Foundation for backcountry navigation and route selection in diverse terrain
- Pace setting and estimating hiking time
- Cooking in the wilderness
- Overnight food storage techniques
- Choosing proper gear and clothing
- Efficient gear and clothing management and packing
- Safety lessons – wildlife, mountain hazards, overall
- Dealing with emergency situation
- Water treatment
- Waste management
Fitness & Experience Requirements
If you are not sure whether this course is for you then you can always contact us to discuss.
This course is not an introduction into hiking but into wilderness overnight backpacking. Therefore, we expect you to:
- Have previous day hiking experience – at least 10 day hikes (4-7h) in the last 2 years
- Be proficient with your day hiking gear
- Have good level of physical fitness – ability to hike 10km of rolling trails on consecutive days
- Ability to repeatedly lift 4o-45 pound backpack (20 kg) and carry it for up to 3h a day
- Have good health – no recent injuries or mobility restricting injuries/conditions
Itinerary & Curriculum
This is an approximate itinerary and might be adjusted based on mountain conditions and weather forecast.
Day 0 – Instructional Session:
We will meet at 7pm for a 3h session a couple of days before our wilderness trip.
You will learn to plan your food, gear and travelling arrangements. We will also discuss different types of gear, cooking stoves and water treatment options.
After this session, you will have a good idea of what kind of food you should buy and how to divide it up in your backpack.
Day 1 – Saturday, Sep 2:
This will be a long day that will include travelling, hiking, campsite setup as well as a couple of learning sessions on best wilderness overnight backpacking practices.
Approximate schedule with short learning sessions:
- 7.30am: our group meets and starts travelling
- 10.30am: starting to hike after discussing safety and planning for an emergency
- 12.30pm: lunch break
- 1pm: wildlife safety session
- 2.30pm: finish hiking for the day
- 3pm: session on campsite selection and arrangements (tents, kitchen, toilet)
- 4pm: session on food storage + water treatment
- 5pm: wilderness cooking session
- 6pm: dinner time 🙂
- 7pm: cleaning and waste management session
- 8pm: planning next day + socializing
- 9.30pm: bed time
Day 2 – Sunday, Sep 3:
Today, you will enjoy views on a half-day hike and learn solid basics of backcountry navigation and proper route selection in different terrain. Furthermore, we will discuss emergency shelter setup and few other useful things.
Approximate schedule with short learning sessions:
- 7.30 – 8.30am: breakfast preparation + clean-up
- 8.30am: session on packing for a day trip and leaving camp for the day
- 9am: backcountry navigation basics
- 10am – 12pm: hiking + proper route selection
- 12pm: lunch break
- 12 – 2pm: hiking + practicing navigation
- 2.30pm: rest and snacks
- 3-5pm: emergency shelter setup + Q & A + food storage
- 4pm: water treatment session
- 4.30pm: wilderness cooking session
- 5pm: cooking dinner
- 6pm: dinner time 🙂
- 7pm: cleaning and waste management
- 8pm: planning next day + socializing
- 9.30pm: bed time
Day 3 – Monday, Sep 4:
Knowing how to quickly break camp is an important skill on trips where you need to cover lots of ground daily, so we will focus on that in the morning. Then we will enjoy a nice hike back to the car while answering more of your questions.
Approximate schedule:
- 7.30 – 8.30am: breakfast + clean-up
- 8.30 – 10am: session on time-efficient camp breaking and packing
- 10am – 2pm: hiking back to car
- 3-5pm: course debrief + stopping for late lunch
- 7pm: home at last 🙂
Included in Course Price
You are welcome to bring any of this gear if you own it, but make sure it’s in good working conditions:
- Backcountry tent
- Multi-day backpack
- Sleeping pad
- Headlamp
- Water treatment devices
- Hiking poles
- Food storage bag and rope
- Camping cookware (pots, plates, cups, kitchen utensils)
We Provide for the Whole Group
- Professional guide with wilderness first aid certification
- First-aid kit
- Satellite communication emergency device
Not Included in the Price
– Food and snacks
– Transportation costs
– 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST)
– Your personal insurance
We Can Rent for You
– Sleeping bag ($30 for 3 days)
– Backcountry cooking stove & fuel ($45 for 3 days)
Food Allergies or Dietary Preferences?
Please advise us of any food allegories or dietary preferences you might have at least one week before the trip so we can make appropriate arrangements with everyone in the group.
Your Gear Packing List:
If you need to rent or buy some of the required gear let us know and we can help you.
Clothing (avoid cotton items):
- Hiking boots – waterproof, above the ankle, ideally well broken in
If buying: buy your boots 1/2 to 1 size larger than your street shoes, to allow for thicker socks and feet swelling and - Lightweight sandals or shoes for camp use
- Hiking socks – 2-3 pairs, padded
- Gaiters (bring if you have them)
- Sunhat or baseball cap and bandana
- Warm hat and light gloves
- Underwear – 3-4 pairs, moisture wicking, Merino wool or synthetic (light to mid-weight)
- Long underwear – 1 pair, moisture wicking
- T-shirt – bring 2, moisture wicking, Merino wool or synthetic
- Top long sleeve layer – bring 1, wicking material, mid-weight
- Fleece or insulated jacket – warm, lightweight and packable, preferably synthetic over down-filling
- Hiking pants or zip-offs – 1 pair, soft-shell or other light weight breathable moisture wicking material
- Shorts (optional) – 1 pair, light weight
- Rainproof jacket and pants – waterproof but breathable such as Gore-Tex® or coated nylon
If buying: look for side leg zippered pants or a style that lets you to put them on and remove them without removing your boots
Gear & Personal Items:
- Bear spray
- Headlamp
- Mosquito head net
- Sleeping bag and pad (for rent see above)
- Cooking stove & fuel (for rent see above)
- Prescription and personal medications
- Knee braces (if needed)
- Water bottles – 2-3 liters total capacity
- Contact lenses and glasses – your contacts might become difficult to clean
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen and lip balm
- Bug repellent
- Toiletries and a small camping towel
- Camera and spare batteries
Emergency Insurance, Cancellations, Refunds…
Please visit this page for more details on what kind of emergency medical insurance we recommend you have for your trip and all other important information.