Basic Backpacking Course

April 15 - June 3, 2008

Interested in learning how to backpack, but don't know how to get started? Done some backpacking but want to learn the principles - what to buy, where to go, what to bring? The Backpack Section's "Basic Backpacking Course" is for you.

The course includes eight two-hour evening classes and three backpack trips. The classroom sessions will be held in the Los Altos/Mountain View area on eight Tuesdays, April 15 through June 3. The evening sessions will cover:

Class members on a trip to Craig Lake
Desolation Wilderness, Eldorado National Forest

Here is a partial list of the topics covered in the evening sessions:

• What to bring on your first backpack trip
• Choosing and fitting a backpack
• Clothing and boots
• Tents and other shelters
• Food and cooking
• Map and compass navigation
• Outdoor hazards and first aid
• Emergency survival and group dynamics
• Minimum impact/Leave No Trace
• Trip planning and permits

The first and second backpack trips will be over the weekends of May 3-4 and May 17-18 and will be to Bay Area parks or open spaces. The graduation trip is scheduled for three days, May 30-June 1 (Friday - Sunday), and will be to the Sierra as the snowmelt allows. The graduation trip will require driving to the trailhead on Thursday night. To go on the graduation trip, you must have participated on one of the first two trips.

The class is limited to 40 people on a first-come basis. Anyone under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. Trips are limited to class members only.

The course fee of $80 includes a text book and class materials but does not include trip costs (parking and permits). The class proceeds, after expenses, are donated to conservation and trail maintenance groups. Instructors are volunteers from the Backpack Section and receive no compensation.

To sign up for the course, send name, address, home and work telephone numbers, email address or a stamped self-addressed legal-size (long) envelope, and a check for $80 made out to "Backpack Section" to Backpacking Course, P.O. Box 404, Belmont, CA 94002.

For more information contact Steve Stearns at stearns @ ieee . org.

GET OUT ON THE TRAIL! SIGN UP TODAY!