Students will hike and backpack on their own. You can meet people and go as groups. You can hike inside or outside the national park. Participants will plan their own trips within the park but you will likely need a permit, so you might want to check this out in advance. You will have the opportunity to meet people during the first few days of instruction.
Travel
Students are responsible for their own travel and expenses to and from Springdale, Utah.
People would like to carpool down from Salt Lake City or other locations. You might also have questions about who you could hike with, or where you are going to hike, etc. Since we cannot give out email addresses, we will send an email to all students (blinded) and you can respond that way. This will happen the months before the course.
Equipment, Permits and Trails
There are numerous lists of things to bring on backpacking and hiking trips. Remember, hiking is completely on your own. We only have you for instruction for two days and we only have rented the campground for 4 nights. if you are doing a day hike, your gear will be different if you are going backpacking into Zion National Park. There are recommendations on the National Park website. They also tell you how to obtain back country permits.
There are short hikes right at the campsite that you can do in just a few hours. There are also short day hikes if you go eaat through the tunnels that do not require a permit. This are located on trail maps for the park. Finally, there are hikes outside of the park that you can locate on trail maps of the area.
If you are planning on going into any slot canyons, be aware of flash flood danger. Also, if you hike the narrows, you will needs special shoes that you can rent in near the entrance to the park.
When you arrive in Springdale, you will be able to talk to others and see what they are bringing. We will also provide instruction in this area. You can purchase gear in the Springdale area.
