Fitpacking is fat loss through backpacking. Come join us on a one or two-week backpacking
adventure vacation. You burn off excess weight by carrying around all your food and equipment.
Plus, there are no stores, you can only eat what you carry.
Anyone who loves the outdoors, wants to lose weight or hike slowly and has a week or two. You also may be
interested if you are seeking solitude, trying to de-caffeinate, reduce stress, or stop smoking.
On occasion, some participants know each other before their trip, however the vast majority of Fitpacking
participants arrive knowing no one. But by the end of the trip, most people have forged close friendships, especially
on the two week trips.
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TV has conditioned us to believe that all weight loss programs are comprised of and
appropriate for clinically obese individuals like those seen on The Biggest Loser. Fitpacking is
decidedly not for medically obese people and is
targeted for the rest of us who are heavier or less healthy than we'd like to be, but are not in a
range where strenuous exercise would cause injury. Besides, what client wants an unflattering photo of themselves on our
website?
Google will not let us say***. Fitpacking is more about body composition change.
Presumably you are interested in looking and feeling better. While weight is certainly related to how
you look, it is just one of many measurements to examine. Most people rely on it because it's so
easy to measure, but body fat percentage is a better indicator.
There is no satisfactory answer. The first person who considers signing up for a
trip often backs away when they find out they are the first. But somebody has to be the first.
So unless we lie about numbers, there are almost always a pool of several people waiting
for others to sign up before they will.
Whenever there are 3 or fewer spots remaining, the website will
indicate the number of spots left.
Fitpacking trips are bookended by hotel stays. We typically stay in the same lodging at the
beginning and end of a 1-week trip. For 2-week trips, there are usually 3 or 4 hotel stays, but expect to stay in 2 or 3 different
places. In every trip, we endeavor to make our final hotel stay in a place that has a hot tub, internet access
and laundry facilities.
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Yes, it's expected. After a trip, you won't want to shower in the hotel only to put your smelly
trail clothes back on. Your extra bags are either placed in a storage unit, held by the hotel,
or kept by the ground transportation company. However, please limit your extra bags to 2, preferably 1.
Yes, teenagers 13 and older are welcome when accompanied by an adult.
We do not accept unaccompanied teenagers as some parents try to ship
off their surly teens who don't want to be on our trip.
No. Most National Parks and many trails prohibit them from the backcountry, so
we must. Dogs also pose a challenge in transporting a van full of them to and from the trailhead plus there's no guarantee
they'll get along with other dogs or backpackers. And then who carries a week's worth of their food? We are considering a
dog-friendly trip, but have not as yet found an
appropriate venue or worked out all the logistics.
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We all do. Groups of hikers require a fair amount of food and common equipment to independently thrive
a week in the wilderness. At the outset of each trip, food and group equipment such as stoves, fuel, water filters,
pots and trash bags are distributed among all guides and participants. While guides carry more than participants, each
participant should plan to carry their fair share.
There is no pre-determined amount anyone is required to carry, however we don't expect a 60 year old, 145 pound woman
to carry the same amount as a 33 year old, 205 pound man.
It depends. Your pack weight will vary from day to day and
even during the day. If you are carrying say, a 10 pound bag of food at the outset of the trip, by the end of the
trip, the food bag will weigh almost nothing. Fuel also gets lighter as the trip ensues. If you happen to be
carrying trash, it weighs nothing at the start of the trip, but may be a smelly 5 pound albatross by the end.
Your pack weight changes during the day too. On a desert trip, you might start out one day carrying 16 pounds
of water (8 liters / 2 gallons)
to last you 2 days until the next water might be available. By the end of the 2nd day, you are
carrying 16 pounds less than you were. So determining an exact weight is difficult. That said, "empty" pack
weights are around 30-35 pounds.
Every trip can be very difficult at least part of the time, even flat
locations like Florida. On the other hand, the most difficult trips may have days that
most anyone could do successfully and comfortably. It all depends on mileage, terrain, elevation and
even climate.
We rate trips on a perceived overall average. Even our most difficult trips are
attainable by people who are out of shape. In order to insure success for everyone,
we hike as a group, struggle together, and triumph together (don't worry, this is not an Amway meeting).
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Final payment is due 1 month prior to the start of the trip.
If you sign up within one month of a trip, you should pay the entire amount.
Although arrival and departure times can vary from trip to trip,
plan to arrive between around Noon - 3PM. Hotels generally won't let us check in
before Noon, but we have a lot of things to do as participants arrive. We want to make sure
there is enough time to go through your equipment and get to the store to pick up essential items you
may have forgotten. If you can save a substantial amount of money by flying in a few hours earlier
or later, then do so.
Trips are officially over after the dinner / awards ceremony on the last night of hiking.
Most people plan to stay in the hotel and leave by 9AM the next day, but it's up to you.
Sometimes people plan to leave after dinner and forego the final hotel night. This is especially popular on West Coast
trips where people take a red-eye back East that departs around midnight. People who drive
in also sometimes decide to return home that night. Note: Showers are still
available for you if you decide to leave early.
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This is one of our most difficult issues to handle. Generally, we
are able to leave your car in the parking lot of our day 1 hotel, but we cannot guarantee any security for your
vehicle while it is parked there. You may also have the option of parking your car at a trailhead or renting
a storage facility at your own expense.
Yes, you can receive $50 off your trip for each night you don't stay at our hotel if you tell
us far in advance so we can reserve rooms accordingly. That's
$100 off for skipping the first and last nights. However, you must plan to meet us in the hotel on the first
day of the trip so that we can shake down your pack, weigh you in, distribute trail mix, and have you meet
the other participants at the welcome dinner. Even if you do not stay at the hotel at the end of the trip,
you can shower there in one of our rooms.
Yes, we are trying out half-week trips in 2015. They may seem pricey,
but it costs us almost exactly the same to run a weeklong trip as a half-week trip.
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We endeavor to plan our trips a year in advance. However, just because we do,
doesn't mean that National Parks, National Forests, campgrounds or even hotels do. We are
often subject to capacity controls in various destinations. That means we are put into a lottery
with other organizations and individuals for a limited amount of wilderness access. Sometimes these
lotteries and permits are determined only a month before a trip, so we can't always guarantee
that the itinerary will be exactly as proposed a year earlier. Rest assured, our 2nd choices
are interesting and beautiful as well.
All sorts of animals live in the wilderness and you may not be completely
comfortable with every one of them. While some participants may consider bears a rare
joy to behold, you might fear them. And although this fear may be completely natural and warranted,
wild animal encounters are rare and attacks are almost unheard of. That's precisely the
reason such incidents make the national news, whereas people who die from say, heart attacks
don't. Although statistics mean very little for deep seated emotional fears,
you are statistically in far more danger anytime you drive a car or enter a bar.
Typically no, sorry. Fitpacking trips are wilderness experiences. Some trips may pass through a
town or cross a road or frontcountry campground where plumbing is available. Showers are even
available once in a while. Some trails and campsites have privies or outhouses
but in other areas, there are only trees (which are far preferable to some public restrooms).
Please note: We practice Leave No Trace which means that there is no bathing in water
sources such as streams and lakes, although you can go in them without soap or other
contaminents.
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I guess that depends on your perspective. Some people find endless miles of trees, rivers,
big skies, and solitude disquieting or dull. Others find that the amazing panoply of nature taps into long neglected facets
of their being. Be honest with yourself. If you're likely to find mountains and lakes unremarkable, these trips
may not be for you.
The Digital Detox is actually one of the best features of a Fitpacking trip. Most of us
experience continual stresses and stimuli from day to day. After a few days of hiking, the tranformation from
daily anxiety to complete relaxation that participants experience is really quite something.
We spend time setting up tents, unpacking, changing clothes, cleaning up and eating. We are
allowed to have campfires in some destinations and in others, there are opportunities to go swimming or on short bonus hikes
without packs. However, many people who ask this overestimate their end-of-day energy level. Most participants (and
guides!) are extremely happy to just sit, rest and talk after carrying 50 pounds for 10 miles. When darkness falls,
your circadian rhythms quickly kick in and you'll find yourself sleeping dusk to dawn. But bring something to read
in case you decide to self-caffeinate or have insomnia.
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Most participants will experience occasional challenging times during a Fitpacking trip. This
may be a result of a blister, insects, rain, snow, brush, blowdowns, mental fatigue, or physical exhaustion.
Pushing yourself through these
infrequent low points (with the support of a guide) may not only help you expand your limits, but will render the
subsequent emotional highs that follow much more exhilirating.
It's whatever you want it to be. Not everyone likes to tell their friends
they're going Fatpacking. Yet people consistently click on Fatpacking twice as often as they click
on Fitpacking. So although we may someday differentiate the two for differently targeted trips,
they are currently one and the same.
Fitpacking was originally conceived towards the end of 2002, but our first trip was in March
2005 on the Arizona Trail through the Superstition Wilderness and Four Peaks Wilderness.
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We do not permit firearms on our trips and National Parks do not
allow firearms to be discharged within the parks. Plus they can be heavy
to carry for 50 miles.
It depends on the location and length of the trip. Currently, 1 week trips are
typically around $1000 - $1250, two week trips as high as $1800 and international trips $2000 or more. You are
responsible for the cost of transportation to the Airport or city closest to the trailhead, personal hiking equipment
(though we can provide some items for a nominal fee), restaurant meals, and incidentals on days off.
