View more Gear» Courses» Wilderness Trekking | Other products by Backpacking Light

Backpacking Light Wilderness Trekking II - Expedition Planning (WT2-EXT)

WT2-EXT provides immersion instruction and discussion in intermediate and advanced lightweight expedition skills in the context of PLANNING and EXECUTING an actual expedition.

Join Backpacking Light Founder and CEO Ryan Jordan, minimalist footwear expert and school instructor Damien Tougas, and Ryan Connelly, an expert in facilitating transformational leadership through experiential wilderness expeditions, for this unique opportunity to walk through an entire process of expedition planning.

What Folks are Saying

Course Overview

When Ryan Jordan came to us and asked, "So when do I get to teach a course?" we threw the dog a bone and let him add this course to our Wilderness Trekking School calendar for 2010. After an overwhelming success, it’s back again for 2011.

Ryan has been developing and teaching this course for over ten years to select audiences. He takes only one group through the course per year.

"I really wanted to do a course where we go through a comprehensive expedition planning curriculum from start to finish - including execution of the expedition. I want to focus on expedition skills and enjoy the camaraderie of having the group as engaged as possible in all aspects of planning and decision making, rather than providing a canned experience with a pre-set curriculum where they travel on a pre-set route. This course will be for hikers with intermediate to advanced lightweight skills, who are interested in planning a challenging expedition with a group of like-minded and passionate ultralighters."

"WT2-EXT will be limited to 10 participants, to maximize mentoring and relationship opportunities with each other and their instructors. This will allow our group to gel as a true expedition crew and be fully engaged in the entire process of planning an expedition together. My previous experience in doing course models like this is that they are immensely rewarding and valuable, and perhaps for the participants, the most satisfying of any type of course that I teach."

- Ryan Jordan, Founder and CEO, Backpacking Light

Course Curriculum

Expeditions, as defined in this course, are characterized by the following:

• Expeditions involve a group of people (generally, six to twelve persons).
• Expedition duties and equipment are shared by that group (e.g., sheltering, cooking, firebuilding, water treatment, navigation).
• Expeditions involve uncertainty with respect to route, weather, and other conditions, that do not guarantee that the expedition plan and the expedition itself look the same.
• Expeditions require humility and an open mind from all participants.
• Expeditions require leadership and service to others from all participants.
• Expeditions are hard: they can involve long days, challenging terrain, and an adaptable spirit.
• Expeditions can be exceedingly challenging, fun, and rewarding!

Expedition planning is the process by which:

1. An Expedition Overview is conducted to introduce the planning process.
2. An Expedition Objective is identified.
3. Expedition Outcomes upon which Expedition Success is measured are identified.
4. An Expedition Team is assembled and an Expedition Self-Assessment conducted to identify team member strengths and weaknesses.
5. Expedition planning tasks are identified (called the Expedition Task Plan).
6. Expedition Roles are discussed, and assigned (including tasked roles, management roles, leadership roles, and in-field roles).
7. Expedition tempo, routes, modes of travel, and contingencies are planned. This is called the Expedition Itinerary.
8. Expedition Gear – including hard and soft goods, food, and supplies – both personal and group – are planned.
9. Expedition Skills required to meet the Expedition Objective are identified. Sometimes, these process tasks are not done in exactly this order, but this is the order we'll follow for this particular course.

The purpose of this Expedition Planning Course is to mentor a group of participants through the entire process of planning a real expedition, and then release them to carry out that expedition on their own.

Course Logistics

• Enrollment Opens: TBD
• Enrollment Closes: TBD
• Online Planning Sessions Start: TBD
• Course Duration: 3 weeks online, 1 week in the field
• Trek Dates: TBD
• Trek Location: Beartooth Plateau, Montana (in partnership with the Backpacking Light Wilderness Trekking School under a commercial use permit granted by the Custer National Forest). Nearest city to our trailhead will be Billings, Montana.
• Course Cost: $1,350 (Members) / $1,550 (Nonmembers) includes online course materials, unlimited personal mentoring from instructors before and during the course, expedition group meals (all breakfasts and lunches) during the trek, provision of all shared/group gear (shelters, cook systems, firestarting kits, water treatment systems, group first aid gear, navigation supplies (maps, etc.), bear spray), and transportation to and from trailheads from a single meeting location in Billings, Montana.