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 Browse all upcoming backpack activities.

Every month: Enjoy a great slideshow and learn about trips others have done at the Hikers Potluck.


Recent Trips 
Facebook and other social networking WWW sites are making it easy for people to post pictures of their backpacking adventures.  I would like to add this to the present WWW page as a blog.  If you could do this for the committee or have photographs of a recent Mountaineers backpack that you would like to share, please send me an email at toddbackpack@gmail.com .  Thank you!

Examples: 

    

Classes

You do not need to take classes to participate in Mountaineers backpacking trips, but a main tenet of the Mountaineers is that its members are self-sufficient and well prepared for anything they might encounter while enjoying the outdoors.  

   Backpacking:

  • The Seattle branch Backpacking Committee beginning backpacking class was held in early June.  Our next class will be in May 2010.  
  • The Trailhead program offers single-evening backpacking classes.
  • The Tacoma branch offers backpacking classes throughout the Summer.

   Navigation: 
  • August 12, 19, and 22, the Tacoma branch: two Wednesday nights at the Tacoma clubhouse and a Saturday near Mt. Rainier National Park (more information and signup).
  • The Trailhead program offers navigation classes.
  • Fall, Winter, and Spring, several of the branches.
  • Already taken a navigation class?  Then refresh and improve your skills by volunteering to teach the class.
   First Aid: 
  • Mountaineering-oriented First Aid (MOFA) is taught by several of the branches.  Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and "basic first aid" classes are very good in situations where emergency help will arrive in less than an hour, but they alone are not sufficient training for situations where emergency aid might be hours or days away.   The MOFA class teaches you what to do when help will not arrive within a day.  
  • Already MOFA-certified?  Then refresh and improve your skills by volunteering to teach the class.
  • The American Red Cross also teaches a Wilderness First Aid class.
  • The National Outdoor Leadership School Wilderness First Aid and more advanced courses.

 Outdoor Leadership:

  • Several branches offer classes to help improve your leadership skills and to learn how to create a better environment for trip participants.  



Want more backpacking trips?  

  1. Become a trip leader --- go where you want when you want!  
  2. Don't want to lead trips?  You can still help bring about more trips by getting involved with the committee.  People who lead trips for us only have a finite amount of time that they can spend on club activities, and the more time they spend organizing classes, maintaining WWW pages, going to New Member Nights, etc., the less time they have for planning and leading trips.  Ways that you can help:
  • Help run the Spring beginning backpacking class.  Share your knowledge with beginners (if you've done any backpacking you know far more than you think you know) and help organize and administer the class.
  • Represent the committee at the New Member Night night at the Seattle clubhouse the first Wednesday of each month.
  • Take the navigation and MOFA classes.  Trip leaders are more enthusiastic about leading trips when the participants know navigation and MOFA.
  • Administer this WWW page.


Todd Mitchell( toddbackpack@gmail.com ) June 2009


Subpages (6): Backpacking Class Committee Easy Backpacks Leading backpack trips Links Webpage How-to-dos