Rocky Mountain Backpack
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This course was fabulous! Good food, good time, and great companionship. Amy and Sarah were unbelievable leaders- kind, empowering, and informative- an inspiration to us all.
~ Julie, age 35, Rocky Mountain Backpack
~ Julie, age 35, Rocky Mountain Backpack
Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
July 20-24, 2010
$850
The world at your feet.Perfect for hikers who want to take their explorations to the next level. Spend five days traveling “off the beaten path” in Rocky Mountain National Park. Hone your navigation skills, hiking technique and backcountry cooking while developing the tools to lead your own expedition. Our route journeys to the Continental Divide and includes an optional, non-technical climb of one of Colorado’s Thirteeners.
For women with previous backpacking experience and a good level of fitness.
What Should I Expect on a Women’s Wilderness Course?Our courses are real-life adventures, and the excitingly unpredictable nature of a real expedition makes every course different. Unlike a guided, “adventure travel vacation”, this is YOUR adventure, and you’ll be a full participant in the course, including cooking meals, setting up camp, and meeting as a group to plan and organize each day. You can expect some “down-time” for hanging out and talking, or journal writing time, but mostly you will be actively learning, doing, and moving.
What Do I Need to Bring?Not much! After you have enrolled you will be sent a packet that includes a list of things to bring. Women’s Wilderness can supply all backpacking gear, including backpacks, tents, sleeping bags and stoves. In most cases we can loan you outdoor clothing if needed, including raingear and fleece clothes. We suggest that you bring well water-proofed, hiking boots. We do have a selection of leather boots to loan, if needed. If you need to borrow hiking boots, please let us know before your course so you can come in ahead of time to try them on. Thanks to our generous 2010 sponsors, we invite you to demo a Sierra Designs women's specific sleeping bag or Kelty backpack; we also have some GoLite packs to try. Just email us to arrange.
Where Are We Going? Rocky Mountain National Park is a spectacular wilderness area with dozens of majestic peaks over 13,000 feet. Elk, moose, deer and coyotes are abundant, and several glaciers exist in the park. Towering granite walls, snowfields and deep blue lakes make it one of the most beautiful places in the country. Rocky Mountain National Park is located 50 miles northwest of Boulder.
Pre-Trip Meeting The evening before your course, there will be a Pre-Trip Meeting at the Women’s Wilderness office. This meeting will give you a chance to meet the other women on the course and your staff, and prepare for your trip. Bring everything to the meeting that you’re planning on taking, and your field staff will help you make sure you have what you need and don’t have what you don’t need. (Weight is an important factor when you’re carrying a backpack!) You can also borrow any needed clothing, boots or gear at this meeting.
Itinerary The course will take place on the more remote west side of Rocky Mountain Park. After meeting the group at The Women’s Wilderness Institute office in Boulder at 8:00 am, you will caravan up to the trailhead. Over the next five days you will do a loop through the heart of the park, climbing up to the Continental Divide, and visiting two different valleys. One day will be spent climbing a peak to get a view of the entire range. The course will return back to TWWI at 6:00 p.m.
What Will We Eat? We carefully plan the menu to make sure that participants aren’t carrying more weight than necessary, and all meals are included in course cost.. There is always plenty to eat, and we pack snacks for munching throughout the day. However, if you have your favorite snack items, feel free to bring them along as well.
Meals are designed to accommodate a full range of preferences – from vegetarian to full meat protein-loving divas! We can accommodate some common food allergies and dietary needs, so if you have dietary restrictions please let us know at least one week before your course.
How Will I Get to the Course Site?You will meet at 8:00 am at The Women’s Wilderness Institute office at 5723 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 1B, in Boulder. We will carpool from the office to Rocky Mountain National Park. There is ample parking at the Boulder office if you choose to ride with someone else.
What About Fitness?This course is an introduction to backpacking, but it is more strenuous than the other backpacking courses we offer. It is important that you be in good health and reasonably fit. Packs will weigh 35-40 lbs, and hiking will include up to 1500 feet of elevation gain in a day. Daily mileage will range from four to seven miles. The optional peak climb will be non-technical (i.e. a “walk-up”) but will involve some scrambling over boulders and over rough terrain. As a rough guideline, we suggest that you be able to hike uphill at a good pace for an hour at a time, or be able to jog for twenty minutes at a time. Getting regular aerobic activity (running, uphill walking, biking, or swimming) in the several months before the course will be important. If you’d like suggestions for preparing for your course, please give us a call.
If you’re coming from a lower elevation, we strongly recommend you spend two or three days in Denver or Boulder prior to the course start. This course takes place at elevations of 10,000 feet, and gradual acclimatization is very important for your health and safety.
Payment Schedule & Cancellation PolicyA $60 application fee will hold your spot on the course for two weeks while you receive and return your completed enrollment packet. This fee is non-refundable, unless for some reason we cannot accept you on the course. Half of the remaining course fee is due with registration, and the rest of the fee is due two months before the course start. Payment plans may be able to be arranged – please contact us if this would help you pay for the course.
CANCELLATION POLICY – PLEASE READ! Our cancellation/refund policy is based on our investment in staff time, course planning, and food and equipment purchases before your course. Course tuition includes a $60 nonrefundable application fee.
Cancellation refunds will be given according to the following schedule
Days prior to course start:
If we cancel a trip: TWWI reserves the right to cancel a trip if sign-up is inadequate to make the trip economically feasible for us to operate. If this happens, we will fully refund the stated cost including the application fee. However, TWWI is not responsible for additional expenses incurred by you in preparing for the trip, e.g. transportation costs, gear, etc.
Trip InsuranceSafeguard your adventure! Plans can change without warning, which is why we recommend securing your course by investing in trip insurance, for example with:
Travelguard.com 1.800.826.4919 Insuremytrip.com 1.800.487.4722
Dates:
Number of Days: 5
Fitness Level: Very Vigorous
July 20-24, 2010
$850
The world at your feet.Perfect for hikers who want to take their explorations to the next level. Spend five days traveling “off the beaten path” in Rocky Mountain National Park. Hone your navigation skills, hiking technique and backcountry cooking while developing the tools to lead your own expedition. Our route journeys to the Continental Divide and includes an optional, non-technical climb of one of Colorado’s Thirteeners.
For women with previous backpacking experience and a good level of fitness.
What Should I Expect on a Women’s Wilderness Course?Our courses are real-life adventures, and the excitingly unpredictable nature of a real expedition makes every course different. Unlike a guided, “adventure travel vacation”, this is YOUR adventure, and you’ll be a full participant in the course, including cooking meals, setting up camp, and meeting as a group to plan and organize each day. You can expect some “down-time” for hanging out and talking, or journal writing time, but mostly you will be actively learning, doing, and moving.
What Do I Need to Bring?Not much! After you have enrolled you will be sent a packet that includes a list of things to bring. Women’s Wilderness can supply all backpacking gear, including backpacks, tents, sleeping bags and stoves. In most cases we can loan you outdoor clothing if needed, including raingear and fleece clothes. We suggest that you bring well water-proofed, hiking boots. We do have a selection of leather boots to loan, if needed. If you need to borrow hiking boots, please let us know before your course so you can come in ahead of time to try them on. Thanks to our generous 2010 sponsors, we invite you to demo a Sierra Designs women's specific sleeping bag or Kelty backpack; we also have some GoLite packs to try. Just email us to arrange.
Where Are We Going? Rocky Mountain National Park is a spectacular wilderness area with dozens of majestic peaks over 13,000 feet. Elk, moose, deer and coyotes are abundant, and several glaciers exist in the park. Towering granite walls, snowfields and deep blue lakes make it one of the most beautiful places in the country. Rocky Mountain National Park is located 50 miles northwest of Boulder.
Pre-Trip Meeting The evening before your course, there will be a Pre-Trip Meeting at the Women’s Wilderness office. This meeting will give you a chance to meet the other women on the course and your staff, and prepare for your trip. Bring everything to the meeting that you’re planning on taking, and your field staff will help you make sure you have what you need and don’t have what you don’t need. (Weight is an important factor when you’re carrying a backpack!) You can also borrow any needed clothing, boots or gear at this meeting.
Itinerary The course will take place on the more remote west side of Rocky Mountain Park. After meeting the group at The Women’s Wilderness Institute office in Boulder at 8:00 am, you will caravan up to the trailhead. Over the next five days you will do a loop through the heart of the park, climbing up to the Continental Divide, and visiting two different valleys. One day will be spent climbing a peak to get a view of the entire range. The course will return back to TWWI at 6:00 p.m.
What Will We Eat? We carefully plan the menu to make sure that participants aren’t carrying more weight than necessary, and all meals are included in course cost.. There is always plenty to eat, and we pack snacks for munching throughout the day. However, if you have your favorite snack items, feel free to bring them along as well.
Meals are designed to accommodate a full range of preferences – from vegetarian to full meat protein-loving divas! We can accommodate some common food allergies and dietary needs, so if you have dietary restrictions please let us know at least one week before your course.
How Will I Get to the Course Site?You will meet at 8:00 am at The Women’s Wilderness Institute office at 5723 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 1B, in Boulder. We will carpool from the office to Rocky Mountain National Park. There is ample parking at the Boulder office if you choose to ride with someone else.
What About Fitness?This course is an introduction to backpacking, but it is more strenuous than the other backpacking courses we offer. It is important that you be in good health and reasonably fit. Packs will weigh 35-40 lbs, and hiking will include up to 1500 feet of elevation gain in a day. Daily mileage will range from four to seven miles. The optional peak climb will be non-technical (i.e. a “walk-up”) but will involve some scrambling over boulders and over rough terrain. As a rough guideline, we suggest that you be able to hike uphill at a good pace for an hour at a time, or be able to jog for twenty minutes at a time. Getting regular aerobic activity (running, uphill walking, biking, or swimming) in the several months before the course will be important. If you’d like suggestions for preparing for your course, please give us a call.
If you’re coming from a lower elevation, we strongly recommend you spend two or three days in Denver or Boulder prior to the course start. This course takes place at elevations of 10,000 feet, and gradual acclimatization is very important for your health and safety.
Payment Schedule & Cancellation PolicyA $60 application fee will hold your spot on the course for two weeks while you receive and return your completed enrollment packet. This fee is non-refundable, unless for some reason we cannot accept you on the course. Half of the remaining course fee is due with registration, and the rest of the fee is due two months before the course start. Payment plans may be able to be arranged – please contact us if this would help you pay for the course.
CANCELLATION POLICY – PLEASE READ! Our cancellation/refund policy is based on our investment in staff time, course planning, and food and equipment purchases before your course. Course tuition includes a $60 nonrefundable application fee.
Cancellation refunds will be given according to the following schedule
Days prior to course start:
- More than 60 days: 100% of full tuition minus $60 application fee.
- 21-59 days: 50% minus $60 application fee.
- 8-20 days: No refunds, however 50% minus the $60 application fee may be transferred to another course in 2010.
- Less than 7 days: No refunds or transfers.
If we cancel a trip: TWWI reserves the right to cancel a trip if sign-up is inadequate to make the trip economically feasible for us to operate. If this happens, we will fully refund the stated cost including the application fee. However, TWWI is not responsible for additional expenses incurred by you in preparing for the trip, e.g. transportation costs, gear, etc.
Trip InsuranceSafeguard your adventure! Plans can change without warning, which is why we recommend securing your course by investing in trip insurance, for example with:
Travelguard.com 1.800.826.4919 Insuremytrip.com 1.800.487.4722
Dates:
Tue, 07/20/2010 - Sat, 07/24/2010
Price: $850.00Number of Days: 5
Fitness Level: Very Vigorous