Trip Report - Newbie Backpacking Weekend

“The time had finally arrived for my backpacking classes' Zaleski Hike this past weekend. The class was instructed to get a map and directions to the trail, and arrive at campsite C on Friday.

Friday: It was raining, so I decided to buy a huge tarp (Armadillo) so the group could have a central cooking area. I arrived at the trailhead at 3:30, and began the 1.8 mile hike to campsite C. I met a nice couple, Ace and Becca, and hiked in with them.

Some of the group was supposed to be arriving around 5:00, while others would be arriving as late as midnight. I set up camp, and watched a parade of boyscouts roll into the campground. I always get a kick out of seeing all the crap those boyscouts lug around! At around 6:00, nobody had arrived, so I hiked back to the parking lot to see if anyone had arrived yet. It was raining pretty hard, and I was hoping folks wouldn't chicken out.

After waiting in the lot for an hour, i decided that maybe folks were scared off by the waether, and hiked back to camp. The trail to C is pretty moderate, especially for a beginner with a heavy pack, and I assumed that if people from the class did show, the dark and rain would turn them back.

At 10:00 pm two of my students arrived, wet, but with big smiles on thier faces! We chatted, and pitched their new tent. Around midnight, we all decided to head to bed, when 4 more folks from the class showed up! I was impressed that they'd hike in under complete darkness, on wet muddy trails! We all kicked back, and enjoyed a glass of wine and some snacks. Everybody was seriously pumped about being there, despite the weather. Now we were awaiting 3 more people, including my brother, so I stayed up til' 1:30, and then crashed, thinking they would sleep in the car, and head out in the morning.

Saturday: At 7:30 my brother and the two other class members rolled in. It turned out, they were woken up by the cops (they parked and crashed in a school parking lot) at 4:30! I had to laugh, thinking how this happens to experienced hikers once in a while, yet they got to experience it on their first trip.

Because of the muddy trail conditions, lack of sleep, a dog new to hiking and plenty of new semi-broken in boots, we decided to hike 5 miles into campsite D, instead of the 12 mile hike to H. It was a gorgeous day, and everybody was seroiusly pumped about the hike.

The leaves were just budding, the sun was shining and the temp was about 60 degrees with no bugs..... perfect hiking conditions! All members of the class had thier packs packed properly, and surprisingly had packs that weghed less than 40 pounds! We climbed some nice hills, and I was able to watch them use some of the techniques I taught them (lock step, bend over on elevation gains, etc....) When we arrived at the campsite, it was about 3:00, and some of the group napped while others asked questiuons baout gear, trails, etc.

At this point, my class had thoroughly impressed me, handling camp chores and tasks like a bunch of old pros. That night, under a starry sky with a nice fire raging, we decided on all of their trail names (except one):

Jonboy (my brother) - Goochie Bear
John - Tucan
Johna - Sleepy
Sue - Frodo
Steve - Jeeves
Jen - Ace
Scott - Chowda
Tim - Sick Day
Dawn - (we stilll need a name!)

Sunday: Another beautiful day! We hiked out via a two track, passing several hunters and millions of boy scouts. We the proceeded to the Coffee Cup and ate large amounts of breakfast!

Overall, the trip was a huge success. A good time was had by all, and I do believe that we will see all of these folks on the trail again soon!”

“Awesome BB! You've done such a great job! You must be as proud of yourself as you are of your students.

I think that would be so much fun. I'll have to start looking at doing a class in my area. Teaching is sorta a passion for me. And, teaching something I'm passionate about would be absolutely incredible!!

Thanks for the inspiration.”

“BB, I was so afraid they wouldn't show. What a bunch of troopers!

I'm glad everything went well and tyhe weather turned for ya. Congratulations on a mission accomplished!”

“Nice job teech!”

“Good job and it sounds like everyone had fun.”

“It's good to see that everything went well. You did a great job with them. I bet you can't wait until the next class!”

“Way to go, BB!”

“well, i guess you're not as bad as everyone says. :-D

kidding!! that's awesome...congratulations on such a good job.”

“Woken up by the cops in a parking lot? Ahh, a successful trip!”

“You taught them young grasshoppers well, BB!”

“Goochie Bear? WTF???”

“Buddha, sounds like you guys & gals had a great weekend. You must have been a great teacher for them to want to come out on a rainy day and go on their first bping trip.”

“Buddhy, that is so cool! You must feel pretty good about how things turned out. For newbies to hike in on their own in those conditions, you must have really inspired them and given them the "real" run down on what it takes to be a backpacker.
You're gonna get wet, you're gonna get dirty, you may even get in trouble with the law. Welcome to Professor Buddha Bear's hiking 101 class!


Way to go!!!
>:D”

“Bad boys, bad boys ,Watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do when it rains on you.......

Sounds like ya got a few solid backpackers in your group...any trip now that doesn't start off with rain and cops will be a piece of cake.

You taught them well.”

“Way to go, BB!! What topics did you end up teaching? My backpacking class is in the Fall, and in Idaho, that means the weather is likely to be dry. Rain would be scary with new hikers.

I find in my classes that among a class of 16 college students, 90% of them have backpacked before. Usually 10% have backpacked a lot, and some have worked summers building trail or fighting fires. The total newbie is likely to be the student from Japan, or from some Eastern or Southern US city.

Anyway, congrats.”

“Congratulations!

I have found that some of the most memorable (and often fun) backpacking and camping trips involved poor weather.”

“That was tremendous, Buddha Bear! You are an inspiration. I am glad that your teaching is going so well. Now tell us the real story about the whining and getting lost, people giving you the finger, etc. You can't have told us the real story right off the bat, that just isn't the Buddha Bear we all have come to know. . ;-)”

“actually I am surprised he didn't embelish a bit more...you know like: I taught my students well, how to be resourceful. No better demonstration could be had than when Jen and Dawn decided to incorporate the rainy weather with the evening entertainment and mud wrassle. I was so proud.
;p”

“Hey Budha! Great job with the newbies! You must have taught them well and inspired them on how much fun it is for them to still go out in the pooring rain. Yep, they were broken into bp'g really well on their first time out!”

“Jeesh, thanks for the accilades (sp), but it wasn't me. Idaho Bob, Phil HPM and several others emailed me a bunch of stuff to help with the class. The Michigan Mountaineers pitched in by editing the course material, and half the crap I taught i learned from other TT'rs.

In addition...... the folks are friggin' troopers, and would fit right in on any TT trip.

BTW - Goochie Bear is my lil' brother, and this was his first hiking trip. If you want to know what a gooch is, rent the movie "jackass". If you want to know what a bear is, look up a dude named Jerry from Dayton, Ohio.”

“I figured the name had something to do with Jackass, which, by the way, is the greatest movie of all time. ;-)”