Backpacking Building Blocks (B3) Course

WANT TO JUMP-START YOUR BACKPACKING DREAMS?

THE BACKPACKING BUILDING BLOCKS (B3) COURSE IS A COMPREHENSIVE  SEASON-LONG PROGRAM OF  LECTURES, GEAR DEMONSTRATION AND PRACTICE, AND SEVERAL OPTIONAL IN-DEPTH SEMINARS OFFERED FOR FREE OR AT A DISCOUNT TO B3 STUDENTS TO DIG DEEPER!  IN ADDITION, WE OFFER THE SUPPORT OF EXPERIENCED MENTORS AND PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH THE SEASON TO HELP YOU BUILD A COMMUNITY OF TRUSTED TRAIL COMPANIONS AND GET PREPARED AND CONFIDENT FOR SUCCESSFUL, SAFE, AND ENJOYABLE BACKPACKING TRIPS!

FOCUS AREAS:

• • Strategies and choices to balance comfort on the trail vs. comfort at camp to minimize your ‘happy’ pack weight
  • Getting in shape to enjoy ‘getting there’
  • Essential gear options and how to choose; how to gear up within your budget
  • Core skills for each part of the trip
  • Getting you started building a community of people you trust to backpack with!

PLUS A RANGE OF OPTIONAL SEMINARS AND CLINICS THAT GO BEYOND THE BASICS TO HELP YOU BUILD YOUR SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE - these may include:

• Essential backpack trip planning skills and tools
• Lightweight backpacking food options, planning and prep
• Essential backpacking trip planning tools and tips
• Navigation skills and tools to ‘stay found’ on trails
• Tips and tricks for women backpackers
• Off-trail backpacking
• Shoulder-season backpacking
• Coastal backpacking

PLUS A STRONG FOCUS ON MENTORING, PRACTICE AND COMMUNITY:   

• Mentoring and peer interaction, hands-on and practice time, trying out gear options
• Chance to get comfortable with a small group of people, plus opportunities to expand personal community to other experienced backpackers
• Connect you with a 'trail family' of experienced mentors and compatible companions, through small mentor groups who support and accompany you through the lectures and demo day, student-only group activities, and a wide array of group backpack trips of varying intensity in the fabulous Northwest backcountry.  

NOTE:  Graduation from the B3 course will get you the Basic Backpacking Skills badge which is required to go on some - but not all! - Mountaineers backpacking trips!  Some trips may require advance Leader Permission, and the leader may ask you questions to determine your ability to be safe and successful on their planned route.

 what do I get for my COURSE FEE?

• Mentor groups with a pair of experienced backpacking mentors and other students of similar interests and experience, for personalized help through the season and a community of people you get to know and feel comfortable with.
• Four informative required sessions to acquaint you with essential skills and gear, starting from the beginning and providing lots of hands-on experience:
  • A student orientation session on March 6 where you'll learn about the philosophy and elements of the course and what is expected of you, and where you get to meet your mentors and fellow mentor-group members!
  • Two virtual but interactive evening "Basics" lectures March 12 and 19, on zoom
  • A  small-group,  hands-on  gear-demonstration day with your mentor group on Saturday March 29 at the Mountaineers Seattle Program Center 
  • A fun and informative 'practice camp' at a local park with your mentor group soon after the Demo Day, where you'll pack your packs and go out in small covid-safe groups to set up a camp, treat water, and prepare a backpack meal on a camp stove, all within a short walk of your car.  {You don't need to have all your gear yet.)
• Several beginner  backpacking trips with your mentor group, through the spring and early summer, aimed at building on-trail friendships and giving you  experience with packing and carrying gear and camping overnight in a non-threatening environment with a mentor and fellow participants that you know and trust.   
• Optional  virtual seminars and clinics through the spring and early summer, free or at a significant discount ONLY to B3 students, to give you the option to go beyond the basics in areas like Lightweight Food Planning and Preparation, Trip Planning Skills and Tools, Tips and Tricks for Women Backpackers, Conditioning for Hiking and Backpacking, and On-Trail Navigation....and possibly (new in 2025) Shoulder-Season Backpacking, Off-Trail Backpacking, and more!   
• A really cool B3 long-sleeved hoody, perfect for taking on trips and showing off to your friends! 

PREREQUISITE:  

To register for B3, you must have prior experience day-hiking at least 5-miles and 1000 feet of elevation gain on a typical backcountry trail (uneven surface with roots, rocks, mud, steep gravelly slopes, fallen logs, sometimes water crossings) at a pace of at least 1.5 miles per hour, carrying at least a day-pack. If you aren't already comfortable with this type of hike, so we'd encourage you to start with the Mountaineers GoHike course, focused on helping beginners build hiking and trail experience starting with easy trails and building up. Then you can take your newfound trail skills into B3 in 2026!

REGISTERING FOR B3:

AT THE TIME YOU REGISTER FOR THE B3 COURSE, PLEASE ALSO REGISTER FOR THE REQUIRED "BASICS" LECTURES AND DEMO DAY.  WE ALSO ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU TO REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR  ANY OF THE OPTIONAL  SEMINARS OR CLINICS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN.  

• At your earliest convenience after registering for the course, please complete and submit the required mentor group information form to help us tailor the course to our students' needs and inform your mentors of your interests, priorities and background.  
  • This form MUST be completed by no later than Feb 28 or you will lose your spot in the course, even if you don't care about being in a mentor group.  The form will be easiest to complete on a tablet or computer, more clunky on a smartphone, though certainly can complete either way.
• If you absolutely can't attend one of the four required components, email Cheryl Talbert at cascadehiker12@gmail.com  and we'll discuss your options to get that information or experience another way - we're here for you and know that schedules can be crazy!
• If  you can't commit to one of the seminars or clinics shown within the course listing at the time you register for the B3 course, you may come back and register later if space is available by opening the B3 course listing, scrolling down, and clicking on Manage My Registration.  Space is limited so reserve your spot as soon as you can.  Students will also have access to recordings of the lectures and seminars after they are held - but you'll want to attend in person if you can so that you can get involved in Q&A and breakout discussions.

B3 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:

To graduate, students must complete all of the four required components plus 3 backpack trips {of which at least one is two nights or more}.   

• Any Mountaineers backpack trip including B3 student-only backpacks and mentor group backpacks count, as do Mountaineers overnights for the scramble course! 
• One of the three backpack trips can be a private trip as long as the student does the primary planning, supplies and carries their own gear, sets up their own camp and plans-carries-prepares their own trail food; the other two can be any Mountaineers-led backpack. 

To graduate we also ask that you complete the free online Low Impact Recreation course offered by the Mountaineers, and at least one stewardship activity.

• Stewardship trips are available in quantity on the Washington Trails Association and Mountaineers websites and are easy to get onto but you must register!  You may complete your stewardship even before the first course lecture if you'd like, and stewardship activities completed in the past 6 months for other courses can count.

YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR TRIPS, GET YOUR LOW-IMPACT RECREATION BADGE AND COMPLETE A STEWARDSHIP ACTIVITY TO GRADUATE FROM THE COURSE! 

• You have as many years as you need to complete the requirements without having to retake the course.

GROUP BACKPACK TRIPS!

Beginning in the early spring, a range of exciting backpacking trips from overnights to 5 days or more led by our amazing volunteer leaders will be offered  on the backpacking activity page  of the Mountaineers website.  You'll find trips ranging from easy to challenging, and these trips will help you expand your backpacking skills and confidence, and introduce you to our favorite places in the amazing PNW backcountry with experienced Mountaineers leaders and trail companions you will come to know and trust.  

• These trips are open to all qualified Mountaineers members, but we'll show you how to get on an email list so that you find out about new and interesting trips as soon as they are listed!  

NOT A MOUNTAINEERS MEMBER YET?  

You must be a Mountaineers member to take this course.   Guest members are not eligible.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE to significantly reduce the cost of your membership and registration!  It takes a week or so to be approved, but most applications are granted.  However, you must apply for financial assistance BEFORE you pay for your membership or register for the course - refunds are not available.  

• To apply for financial assistance for your membership fee, complete and submit the form at this link. 
• To hold a spot in B3 while you wait for your application to be granted, call Mountaineers Member Services at 206-521-6001, explain that you have applied for financial assistance but want to hold a spot in the Backpacking Building Blocks course. 
• They will save you a spot in the order that requests are received.

If you are not planning to seek financial assistance, to become a member go to this link and scroll down to select the membership type that fits for you.  (If you are signing up with your spouse, you can save some money by creating a Family membership.)   Then you will be taken to a screen  to pay for the membership, and you'll be prompted to fill out information to set up an account.  Once your account is set up you'll be able to register for the course.

WANT TO TAKE YOUR KIDS BACKPACKING?    WANT TO MEET OTHER FAMILIES TO BACKPACK WITH?  

We're offering a fourth year of our very well received Backpacking with Kids course, for parents with some backpacking experience who want to take their children (little ones to teenagers) backpacking. Learn more about planning, on the trail, gear, tips and tricks, etc.  Check it out here!

INTERESTED IN HELPING WITH  B3? 

 If you love to backpack and have a passion for getting people outdoors safely and/or teaching people new skills, we'll help you train up, get experience and certify as a Mountaineers backpack leader, instructor or session helper.  Contact  cascadehiker12@gmail.com  if you think you might be interested!