Backpacking Building Blocks (B3) Course

Backpacking Building Blocks (B3) is a comprehensive season-long course with the objectives to:

• Two required “Building Blocks Basics” evening lectures:  one on March 20 at the King County Library Service Center in Issaquah, and the second on March 30 at the Montlake Community Center in Seattle.

• A required full-day hands-on  demonstration day on Saturday April 1st at Eastgate Elementary School, with all the basics plus ideas to go beyond.  

• Four or five  optional mentored beginner overnight field trips for B3 students only, on weekends through the spring and early summer, aimed at helping beginners plan a backpack, try out different gear and get comfortable with carrying a pack, setting up camp, preparing trail meals and practicing 'Leave No Trace' for the first time, in a safe environment with the support of an experienced leader. MANY BACKPACK TRIPS WILL BE OFFERED BEGINNING LATER IN THE SPRING to complete the requirements for the course - these optional field trips are just for beginner backpackers who would like a bit of extra confidence-building before they sign up for a club backpack.  Please sign up for only one of these field trips, and only if you really want this extra help at the start.  Sign up on the waitlist if the field trip you want is full, and we will assess the level of interest and open more.

• Optional in-depth seminars offered through the spring and early summer for free or at a significant discount to B3 students.  These include Lightweight Gear, Lightweight Food Planning and Preparation and Trail Emergency Preparedness/First Aid.    If you wish to attend one of these seminars for free or discounted as part of the course, you need to register from the B3 course page.  {If you are not a B3 student, sessions will be opened on the main course page for a modest fee after the B3 course has filled and students have their choice of space.}  

• B3 students may also receive a 50% discount for the "Staying Found" full day on-trail navigation workshop ($25 instead of $50).  This workshop will be listed separately and you will need to register for it separately from B3.  Contact the course administrator Dave Coate at coateds@outlook.com to get the discount code.  Find out more and register for one of the Staying Found sessions at the link below:
•  **  March 18:  https://www.mountaineers.org/about/branches-committees/foothills-branch/committees/foothills-navigation-committee/seminars-clinics/staying-found-basic-navigation-for-hikers-and-backpackers-tradition-lake-interpretive-shelter
• **  May 20:  https://www.mountaineers.org/about/branches-committees/foothills-branch/committees/foothills-navigation-committee/seminars-clinics/staying-found-basic-navigation-for-hikers-and-backpackers-tradition-lake-interpretive-shelter-1

IF POSSIBLE, WHEN YOU REGISTER FOR THE B3 COURSE, PLEASE ALSO REGISTER FOR ONE SESSION OF EACH OF THE REQUIRED AND OPTIONAL SEMINARS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ATTEND.   If you can't attend one of the required sessions, email Cheryl Talbert at cascadehiker@earthlink.net to work out how to make up the class.  If your schedule is uncertain and you can't commit to a session at the time you register, you may come back and register later if space is available by clicking on Manage My Registration from the course page.  Space is limited so reserve your spot as soon as you can.   If the seminar or field trip you want is full, put your name on the waitlist and that will help us determine the need to add more sessions.

The field trips are optional and intended for beginner backpackers in the class who would like extra experience and help with skills and gear in a setting with only other students and an experienced mentor.  Field trip space is limited, so please sign up for a field trip only if you want this extra help, and sign up for ONLY ONE of the field trips.

 Beginning in the early spring, a series of backpacking trips from overnights to 5 days or more will be offered through the summer on the backpacking activity page of the Mountaineers website, progressing in length and strenuousness, to help you get in shape, to expand your multi-day backpacking skills, and to introduce you to amazing remote backcountry with experienced Mountaineers leaders and trail companions you will come to know and trust.  These backpack trips are open to all qualified Mountaineers members, but B3 students will get advance notice to allow you to get first-in-line access!

To graduate, students must complete the Basics classes, 3 backpack trips of which at least one is two nights or more, and at least one trail maintenance trip of at least a day.  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.  Trail maintenance trip options will be made available early in the season and signups coordinated to make it easy for students to get involved. 

The course fee gets you the required Building Blocks Basics classes, free or heavily discounted entry into the optional seminars, a space in the mentored overnight field trips, and advance notice of all the B3 backpack trips through the summer.  Backpack trips sponsored through the B3 course include extra emphasis on coaching and demonstration of gear and trail/camp skills.

You need to be a Mountaineers member to register for Backpacking Building Blocks.  To become a member, go to https://www.mountaineers.org/membership/join-the-mountaineers 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.   FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE to significantly reduce the cost of your membership!  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: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/698195/Application-for-Financial-Assistance-For-Individuals.  You can still hold your spot in this course while you wait for your assistance application to be processed - to do so, 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, and they will save you a spot in the order that requests are received.

We hope you will join us!!  If you love to backpack and have a passion for teaching, consider joining us as a backpack leader or instructor.  Contact cascadehiker@earthlink.net if you think you might be interested!