Overnight Wilderness Backpacking Trips |
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Hello Everyone,
Merry Christmas and I hope everyone is enjoying this Holiday Season!
As I write from Grand Lake, Colorado, it is a snowy and cold day. I have been out snowshoeing every day in Rocky Mountain National Park since I get back from my travels nearly 2-weeks ago.
I recently returned from several months of travel. During this time, I traveled to the Mediterranean, El Salvador, Panama, and Taiwan. I will be in Grand Lake through the end of January and then I will be spending the month of February in Panama and March in Taiwan. In April I have two tours, one to Texas for the Solar Eclipse and then in late April, I am heading back to Taiwan. If you are interested in international travel, please check my schedule located above the photo gallery on this newsletter or click here: Kaiyote Tours
Summer will be here soon and here is my backpacking location schedule:
In June I will be at Olympic National Park.
I will be at the Great Sand Dunes National Park for July
And late August and early September, I will be at Rocky Mountain National Park.
Below you will find specific dates that are available for backpacking tours. Many dates are already booked, and so if you are interested in a backpacking trip, now is the time to make a reservation. I also have dates available for day tours.
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Olympic National Park was established in 1938 and the paperwork was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt. Preservation of land on the Olympic Peninsula goes back to President Grover Cleveland, who established the Olympic Forest Reserve in 1887. By the late 1800's, logging the old growth forest was well underway and early explorers and conservationists urged the federal government to slow the logging and protect the forests. With the establishment of the National Forest Service in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt, the Olympic Forest Reserve, previously controlled by the Department of Interior, was transferred to the National Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture. During this time, the movement to establish national parks and preserve the west was in full swing. In 1909, Teddy Roosevelt established the Olympic National Monument to protect the habitat of the huge herds of elk that reside on the Olympic Peninsula. Teddy Roosevelt was a big game hunter and understood that all animals need intact and healthy habitats for survival. For twenty-nine years after that, it was a big political battle to move the designation of Olympic National Monument to Olympic National Park. A president can create a national monument, but only congress can create a national park. The trees of the Olympic Peninsula where so valuable as a timber source, for many it was seen as an economic mistake not to sell the trees to support the economy and create jobs. During WWI and long afterwards, large amounts of Sitka Spruce trees were harvested, both legally and illegally for use in the building of airplanes. Sitka Spruce trees have the best weight to strength ratio and made excellent material for aircraft. It is not a coincidence that Boeing started building planes in Washington state. Olympic National Park currently protects 922,650 acres.
Pacific Coast, June 27 - 29: Cape Alava/Sandpoint, 2 nights/3 days (easy)
Women's Backpacking Seminar, July 2 - 4: Hoh Rainforest, 2 nights/3 days (easy)
There are no high elevation trips in Olympic National Park. These trips are at sea level and up to 900 feet.
Pricing for over-night backpacking trips
$230 per person/per day, (based on a minimum of 2-people and a maximum of 7 people), $380 per day for a private, solo traveler trip. Backpacking fee includes back-country permit, gear, and food.
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First established in 1932 as a national monument by President Herbert Hoover, the monument was small and mostly was intended to protect the sand dunes, which cover 30 sq. miles (19,200 acres), which is not really a small pile of sand, it is 1.2 cubic miles of sand! The monument was also created to protect the area from mining. In 2004 the area became a national park was expanded to include the adjacent mountains. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is now 149,028 acres (233 sq. miles). The dunes are the tallest in North America and rise up to 750 from the valley floor. Hiking on the dunes is an amazing experience.
The park has three main trails for hiking and backpacking. Backcountry sites are limited along the trails, and there are only seven sites. Our favorite is the Indian Grove site, located amongst the cottonwood trees and ponderosa pines at the base of the dunes. We day hike on the dunes, adjacent trails, and along the 4x4 road. The elevation at Indian Grove is about 8,300 feet.
July 26 - 27, 2024: Indian Grove, 1-night/2-days, (easy), 8 - 12 miles, Spots left = 5
July 30 - 31, 2024: Indian Grove 1-night/2-days, (easy), 8 - 12 miles, Spots left = 5
Pricing: $230 per person, per day (based on a minimum of 2-people and a maximum of 5-people), $380 per day for a solo traveler private trip. Backpacking fee includes back-country permit, gear and food.
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Established in 1915, the park covers 267,000 acres (416 square miles), and has 359 miles of hiking trails. The lowest point in the park is about 8,100 feet and most trailheads are located from 8,200 - 10,500. For this reason, we only offer Private Trips, so your entire group will be similarly acclimated to the altitude. Altitude sickness and fatigue will ruin your trip, so please Plan Ahead and Prepare (Leave No Trace principle #1).
These backcountry sites are located on the west side of RMNP, the Grand Lake side. You will need to arrive at least one day prior to the trip and stay in Grand Lake, because we have a short meeting the night before. If you live at sea level, we recommend arriving a few days before your trip to help you better acclimated to the elevation.
August 21 - 23, 2024: East Inlet Cat’s Lair, located at 9,200 feet, 2-nights/3 days, moderate challenge level; 4-miles each way with 810 feet elevation gain. Day one: hike to campsite and set up base camp for 2-nights. Day two: Hike (with only day packs) 3-miles each way to Lake Verna, or 4-miles each to Spirit Lake. Day Three: Hike out. This is a private trip and up to 6 spots are available.
August 28 - 30, 2024: Timber Creek, 2-night/3-days, moderate - difficult challenge due to site location and elevation gain. This site is a 3-mile hike in and is located at 10,400 feet. It is a 1,400 foot elevation gain to the site. From the Timber Creek site, we can day hike 2 miles to Timber Lake (11,060 feet). The hike to Timber Lake and the surrounding area is as beautiful as the mountains get. The Timber Creek campsite is located in the pine forest along Timber Creek. This is a private trip for your group and up to 6 spots are available.
September 3 - 6, 2024: Tonahutu Meadows, 3-nights/4-days, moderate challenge level; 6.2 mile each way and located at 10,050 feet. It is a 1,256 foot elevation gain to the site. Day one: Hike to site and set up base camp for 3-nights. Day two: Hike (with only day packs), 2.5 miles each way to Haynach Lakes (11,060 feet). Day 3: It is possible to hike further up the Tonahutu trail as far as you like. The trail goes up to the continental divide and to the top of Sprague Pass at 11,709 feet. This is a good area to see moose. Day four: break camp and hike out. The Tonahutu Meadows site is located along the Tonahutu Creek in the pine forest. This is a private trip for your group and up to 6 spots are available.
Private Tours: $230 per person/per day, (based on a minimum of 2-people and a maximum of 6-people), $380 per day for a private, solo traveler trip. Backpacking fee includes back-country permit, gear and food.
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Stargazing and Night Sounds: We don’t have a telescope, but we love to look for shooting stars, falling meteorites, the Milky-way and orbiting satellites. We will teach you about the constellations of the sky. The night sky is truly beautiful on a clear and on a moonless night, you will be amazed about the number of stars in the sky. Nighttime is also a great time for night sounds from owls and coyotes.
Concerned about carrying a heavy pack at high altitude?
If you want to go backpacking and are concerned about carrying the weight, you can have your gear carried by a porter. Our porters can carry up to 50 pounds. One porter can carry the gear for almost two people, or one porter can lighten the load for a group. It is best to figure on having one porter per two people. The cost is $175 per day. You can hire a porter for only the hike-in, if you want to carry your gear out (after we have eaten all the food).
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Travel Schedule 2024
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Panama Gamboa Rainforest (10 days) February 4 - 13th spots left = 0
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Panama Darien Raptors (9 days) February 14 - 22nd spots left = 0
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Panama Chiriquí Cloudforest (9 days) February 23 - March 2nd spots left = 2
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Taiwan and Taroko Gorge (15-days) March 14 - 28th spots left = 4
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Texas Solar Eclipse Tour (8 days) April 6 - 13th spots left = 1
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Argentina Iguazu and Buenos Aires (10 days) May 19 - 28th spots left = 4
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Santa Fe Opera & Birding (8 days) August 4 - 10th spots left = 3
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Mongolia Birding Tour (12 days) August 19 - 30th spots left = 5
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Mongolia Fishing Tour (12 days) September 1 - 12th spots left = 5
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El Salvador Birding (8 days) October 9 - 16th spots left = 6
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Taiwan and Taroko Gorge (16-days) November 7 - 22nd spots left = 10
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Argentina Iguazu (10 days) November 30 - December 9th spots left = 4
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Stockholm Christmas (8 days) December 20 - 27th spots left = 4 - 6
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Iceland/Estonia New Years (7 days) December 30 - January 5th spots left = 4 - 6
2025 dates are already posted on our website for many of these detinations
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I am busy traveling, but I always have time to talk and answer your questions about birds, nature, and travel. You should join one of my tours, we always see and do amazing things. And we always have a lot of fun and see a lot of birds!
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