Backpackers of the American West

Backpackers of the American West ("BPAWest") is a group of friends seeking to become one of the most active backpacking and backpack-touring social organizations throughout the Great American West.

So why choose to be a Member of BPAWest?

1) We want your backpacking and backpack-touring experience to be extraordinary.

We want to deliver easy-to-join, easy-to-schedule, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

We want to take you to extraordinary places.

And we want you to awaken each morning as you journey with us in a place so site-specific that you can be nowhere else on the planet.

We develop and deliver backpacking and backpack-tours of America's most exquisite natural places with a special focus on our National Parks and National Monuments.

But we understand that there isn’t just one way to experience the beauty of our nation’s most beautiful places.

Yes, we backpack. But we do not want you to miss the Park because you are backpacking. So, with this in mind, with many of our planned journeys, we deliver both: an extraordinary backpacking adventure AND a full tourist-view of our parks.

We effort to create one-of-a-kind experiences that include backpacking, car-camping, day-hiking, and touring- and possibly bus tours and guided tours- so that you may fall away from the urban and enter, if just for a moment, the peace and gentle solace of the “great outdoors.”

2) We want you to backpack to beautiful places.

This is our heart. This was our beginning and, by the name of our group, this remains our continued focus. Therefore, many of our trips will be backpacking ONLY.

Setting out on the trail, we want you to leave the din of urban life behind and spend a day or two (or three or four!) wrapped into the American wilderness.

Our goal is to backpack within America’s most beautiful places and deliver to you an experience full of wonder and grandeur and soul-quieting peace.

We want you to walk along a quiet, life-affirming pathway and awaken each morning in a place so beautiful and so exemplary of place that you are awash with the understanding that you are an essential part of it all.

3) But we want you to experience the park as a tourist, too.

We do not want you to miss a full experience of the “place," whether that be a National Park or National Monument (or simply a state or regional park), just because you are backpacking.

We strive, therefore, to include into our full itinerary time to be simply a tourist, to do those “touristy things," so that you do not miss the park just because you are spending time on the trail in the wilderness.

So, we car-camp (and occasionally schedule time in park hotels and B&Bs and cabins) so that we may put on our day-packs and pack a lunch to visit that visitor center or that granite monolith or that geyser or that cavern (you get the idea). We want your backpack-touring experience to be full and extraordinary and one-of-a-kind.

4) We want you to know where you were going before you are going.

We deliver detailed, day-by-day, moment-by-moment itineraries that seek to include every trail and trailhead, every campsite and campground, every daily activity and event, as well as every alternative and back-up plan, every trip-related website and contact data, and as many maps and brochures as possible so that you (AND your friends and families) will know precisely each day’s progress.

In short, you will know exactly where you are going before you go and as you go.

5) We want you to know how much it will cost before you pay.

We deliver an easy-to-understand statement of anticipated fees and expenses up front so there are no “surprises” after you RSVP.

And we make paying for your experience easy to complete.

AND, importantly, we are NOT a business. We are simply a group of friends with a common passion and a common joy: to experience first hand and with each other the life-changing serenity and magnificence of our extraordinary American West.

6) We want to bring to you one-of-a-kind experiences, regardless of your experience level.

- If you are a beginner or if you are new(er) to backpacking and wish to begin a life pathway of wilderness experiences, we are here to help.

We can help you select the right gear and equipment. We can help you sequence your journeys so you can gain experience and add confidence. Then, on the trail, we can help you develop the right skills so you can add backpacking to your life’s joys.

- If you are experienced, come join us as we do our “thing." Come enjoy the fullness of a several-night or several-park backpacking ONLY trip or be with us as we backpack-tour our parks.

You are our core. You are why we exist.

- If you are very experienced, a seasoned backpacker, we especially want you to head out on a journey with us.

You are the deep heart of our effort and the deep strength of our core.

We not only wish that you participate on our backpack-touring journeys, we encourage you to design and deliver your own trip with us!

Speak with us about becoming an Event Organizer, about how you may earn your Wilderness Backpacking Certification, about how you lead wilderness journeys, about how you can help us grow and grow with us.

We have dreams!

Help us grow.

7) We want everyone who is able to participate to participate.

We want you to feel and to BE fully accepted.

We do not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability (subject to your ability to perform safely and sufficiently on a trip), political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law.

And we affirmatively prohibit any behavior that exhibits discrimination of any kind.

If you are physically and emotionally able to participate, we welcome you to join us.

8) We want to keep you safe.

We are a social media-based, backpacking and backpack-touring Meetup group that will require our Leadership Council and our Event Organizers to carry a Wilderness First Aid certification by the Spring of 2023.

9) We want to keep you COVID-safe.

In this “Age of COVID,” we require that every participant fully affirm that they are fully vaccinated and/or they are not currently infected with COVID.

And we will strive to implement the latest science-based BAVSGB and other governmental authority best practices, recommendations, and guidance.

10) We want you to know we have dreams.

My goal as Organizer is to deliver to you an experience full of wonder and grandeur and soul-quieting peace.

I want you to walk along a quiet, life-affirming pathway and awaken each morning in a place so beautiful and so exemplary of place that you are awash with the understanding that you are an essential part of it all.

And I want you to experience the grandeur and beauty and quiet peace that comes from being wrapped within America’s most beautiful places.

Eight years ago, I began a renewed journey to backpack (I spent two summers in Yellowstone in my early twenties, 1978 and ’79, backpacking in the park those summers as often as possible).

My initial goal this time was to simply research and buy the best gear I could so I could backpack once or twice a summer.

However, after two five-nighters in Yosemite in 2016, I had a question: what if I could backpack every National Park in California, nine in all (recognizing, of course, that Pinnacles is “front-country” only)?

(A note about how I add a “front-country only” park to my “tally:” if I car-camp in the park, see the important sights, and, then, hike every primary trail in the park, I include the park in my numbering.)

By the Spring of 2019, I accomplished that goal.

Then, I asked myself: what if I could backpack every National Park in the western US, thirty-six in all (recognizing, once again, that Pinnacles and Mesa Verde are “front-country” only and that White Sands has no camping at all)?

(A note about how I add a "no camping" park to my “tally:” if I see the important sights and hike every primary trail in the park, I include that park in my numbering.)

By the Summer of 2022, I accomplished that goal.

Then (you can see where this is going ☺️), I asked myself: what if I could backpack/kayak/boat-camp every National Park in the “Lower 48,” fifty-two in all (recognizing, once again, that Pinnacles, Mesa Verde, Indiana Dunes, Virgin islands, Acadia, and Hot Springs are “front-country” only; that Biscayne and Dry Tortugas are “boat-in camping” only; and that White Sands, Gateway Arch, and Cuyahoga Valley have no camping at all)?

(A note about how I add a “boat-in only” park to my “tally:” if I arrive at the campsite by boat, camp at that site, see the important sights in the park, and, then, hike every primary trail in the park, I include the park in my numbering.)

By June of 2024, after adding Voyageurs, Isle Royale, and Indiana Dunes to my tally, I accomplished that goal.

And, then, of course, I looked to the Pacific hoping to add the two Hawai'i parks, Haleakalā and Hawai'i Volcanoes, to my tally.

In November of 2024, after adding two nights (and three extraordinary days) inside Maui's Haleakalā Crater and an super-mooned evening in Hawai'i Volcanoes' Kaʻū Desert on the Big Island, I accomplished that goal.

This year, 2025, I planned three trips to Alaska to visit Alaska’s eight National Parks.

In June, I led a seventeen-day trip through Alaska’s Inside Passage by ferry to Juneau and, then, out to Glacier Bay National Park for a three-day kayaking adventure into Glacier Bay’s Beardslee Islands.

Then, in July and August, I led a five-member team into central Alaska from the Pacific Coast to the Arctic Ocean to the two parks north of the Arctic Circle to backpack Denali, Gates of the Arctic, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Parks and to boat to our overnights in Kobuk Valley and Kenai Fjords National Parks thereby completing sixty parks in all by that date.

In September, I traveled to magical and bear-full Katmai and wild and beautiful Lake Clark National Parks to complete the sixty-two parks in North America, Hawai’i, and the Virgin Islands.

Next, in November, I hope to travel to the National Park of American Samoa to camp to finish my sixty-three park quest.

To date:

√ I have backpacked/kayaked/boat-camped and visited all forty-three backpackable/kayakable/boat-campable National Parks in the "Lower 48."
√ I have backpacked/kayaked/boat-camped all eight Alaska National Parks.
√ I have backpacked both National Parks in Hawai'i.
√ I have car-camped and visited all six of the “front-country only" National Parks.
√ I have visited all three National Parks with no available camping.

√ √ Therefore, as of this writing, I now have backpacked/kayaked/boat-camped/car-camped/visited sixty-two of the sixty-three National Parks in the United States.

Watch for my posts, if you have any interest in a visit to the South Pacific this fall.

Or contact me at any time!

To date, I've designed and led twenty-seven trips on Meetup. Many others have designed and led trips here within BPAWest (and formerly, BAVSGB) over the years.

As I move toward accomplishing my goal, as we as a community endeavor to grow and improve BPAWest, I hope you will choose to walk with us.

So why choose to be a Member of BPAWest?

Because backpacking, car-camping, hiking, kayaking, touring, and simply sleeping beneath the starry canopy has dramatically changed our lives.

Perhaps it's your time for you to fall in love with the outdoors.

We want to help.

Join us.

Let’s grow together.

Happy Trails to you!

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY (Revised 5/19/25)

By joining this Meetup group, you certify that you have read, understand, agree to, and will comply with all Member rules hyperlinked and written below:

Backpackers of the American West Rules and Regulations

DISCLAIMER

Backpackers of the American West ("BPAWest") is not a company, but a co-op of friends who share the same passion of adventure trekking together. BPAWest does not certify the qualifications of the Event Organizers or any of our Members who lead or participate in these events. We may, however, solicit the services of professionals on many of our Events.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Some BPAWest activities ("Events") posted on this website will be more physically demanding than others. Only you, the Participant, know how much you can handle - so make very sure you have read the complete trip description and are fully aware of the the physical requirements before you sign up (or you might be putting yourself and others into a dangerous situation). Should you have questions about the physical requirements of the trip, please contact the Event Organizer. By signing up and participating in any BPAWest Event, you represent that you are qualified, in good health, and in proper physical condition to participate in the Event. If you are at all unsure of your physical abilities for an Event, you agree to not participate. Periodically, we may ask you for a full disclosure, in advance of attending an Event, of any medical condition, physical disability, or physical ailment/injury resulting in limitations of the feet, toes, back, spine, hips, knees, shoulders, neck, joints, etc., that may hinder your ability to complete an Event or that may become inflamed/re-injured during the normal, anticipated physical "wear and tear" of the Event."

ACCEPTANCE OF RISK

As a Participant in any BPAWest Event you, the Participant, acknowledge that the nature of the Event is adventurous and may involve a significant amount of personal risk. By attending any BPAWest Event, you acknowledge the inherent dangers of participating in the Event and hereby voluntarily assume the responsibility of all such risk which may result in personal injury, permanent disability, illness, and death. Therefore, by attending any BPAWest Event, you voluntarily agree to assume all of the foregoing risks and accept sole responsibility for any injury to yourself (including, but not limited to, personal injury, disability, and death), illness, damage, loss, claim, liability, or expense, of any kind, that you may experience or incur in connection with your attendance at any BAVSGB Event. By attending any BPAWest Event, you hereby release, covenant not to sue, discharge, and hold harmless the BPAWest, its Organizers, Members, volunteers, and program participants, of and from all liabilities, claims, actions, damages, costs or expenses of any kind arising out of or relating thereto. You understand and agree that this release includes any claims based on the actions, omissions, or negligence of the Organizers, Members, volunteers, and program participants, and do hereby release BPAWest, its Organizers, Members, volunteers, and program participants, from all claims and causes of action arising from any damages, financial loss or injuries or death resulting from these inherent dangers before, during, or after attending any BPAWest Event.

COVID-19

The novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 is highly contagious, has a high mortality rate when compared to other respiratory illnesses, and is believed to spread primarily from person-to-person contact. As a result, federal, state, and local governments, as well as, federal and state health agencies have strongly recommended that individuals are vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus and that social distancing practices be implemented and enforced. Additionally, many businesses have implemented preventative measures to seek the reduction of the spread of COVID-19; however, no government nor business can guarantee that you will not become infected with COVID-19. Further, attending any Meetup could increase your risk of contracting COVID-19.

THEREFORE, WE REQUIRE EVERYONE ATTENDING A BPAWest EVENT BE FULLY VACCINATED WITH BOOSTER(S) AND PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF THOSE VACCINATIONS BEFORE ATTENDING THE EVENT.

COVID-19 ACCEPTANCE OF RISK

By attending any BPAWest Event, you acknowledge the contagious nature of COVID-19 and voluntarily assume the risk that you may be exposed to or infected by COVID-19 while attending the Event and you acknowledge and assume the responsibility that such exposure or infection by COVID-19 may result in illness, permanent disability, personal injury, and death. You understand that the risk of becoming exposed to or infected by COVID-19 at any Event may result from the actions, omissions, or negligence of yourself and others, including, but not limited to, the Organizers, Members, volunteers, and program participants of such BPAWest Event.

You voluntarily agree to assume all of the foregoing risks and accept sole responsibility for any injury to yourself (including, but not limited to, personal injury, disability, and death), illness, damage, loss, claim, liability, or expense, of any kind, that you may experience or incur in connection with your attendance at any Event. Therefore, by attending any Event, you hereby release, covenant not to sue, discharge, and hold harmless the BPAWest, its Organizers, Members, volunteers, and program participants, of and from all liabilities, claims, actions, damages, costs or expenses of any kind arising out of or relating thereto. You understand and agree that this release includes any claims based on the actions, omissions, or negligence of the Organizers, Members, volunteers, and program participants, whether a COVID-19 infection occurs before, during, or after attending any BPAWest Event.

Additionally, to protect others, you attest that:

- You have not been diagnosed with COVID-19.
- You are not experiencing any symptom of COVID-19 illness, such as cough, fever, chills, shortness of breath, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, or a loss of smell or taste.
- To the best of your knowledge, you have not been exposed to or been in contact with someone afflicted with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.
- You have not traveled internationally or to a highly impacted area within the United States within the last 14 days.
- You shall follow any and all governmental Orders, laws, ordinances, and guidelines pertaining directly to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19, as well as any and all individual COVID-19-related preventative practices set by any Meetup.

As a promise kept, below is the original message from our group's founder.

Within you can find his "heart" and the reason we exist.

"For years I was a solo backpacker who frequently ventured solo into less frequented areas. A scare while doing so made me realize how vulnerable a solo hiker off trail is. I concluded that for safety and companionship particularly where any portion of the route is off established trails, I would prefer to hike with other backpackers. So I started this meetup, the Bay Area Very Small Group Backpackers ("BAVSGB"), in order to meet like-minded backpacking partners. Hiking with others also provides the environment to share about equipment and the hike location/route/geology/wildlife etc., preferably at breaks and in camp in order to maintain silence on the trail.

For this meetup group's purpose, the ideal backpacking group is up to four backpackers. Some destinations of interest are the High Sierra, Lost Coast, Henry Coe SP, Ventana/Los Padres, and Australia/New Zealand.
Group members are encouraged to organize their own trips. If wanted, the group organizers will provide suggestions for trips, including repeats of previous trips.

During the trip to Half Dome, Anna made the observation that  hiking with experienced independent backpackers is very simple and is a lot of fun: travel and camp are simplified and the process of navigation decision making was simple because we all thought alike. This is not to say that we can't have fun with novice backpackers in the group - things will just work a little differently, and the novices will have learning opportunities.

Why small groups on trips? Since part of enjoying where I am hiking is hearing the sounds (or lack of them) where I am, small groups are quiet, hopefully saving extraneous chit chat for breaks and camp. Also small groups have a lower environmental impact and are self-organizing on the trail.

Trips that I organize will usually start Thursday and be two nights long. Leaving Thursday gets us out to the trailhead before the Friday crowds, and coming back Saturday avoids the Sunday traffic heading back home.

Those who organize their own trips of course can define a schedule that works for them. If I announce a trip starting Thursday and you would go if it started Friday/Saturday let me know - a shift to accommodate you may be workable.

While most of our trips will be backpacking trips, from time to time we may have a non-backpacking trip that includes some car camping and some significant hiking/exploring in a location of interest.

In addition to experienced backpackers, some group members are novice backpackers, who are welcome! However, some novices may require assistance on a trip. Since such assistance may impact the overall group's experience of the trip, at the trip leader's discretion, the number of novice backpackers on a trip may be limited.

I am allergic to cigarette smoke, so if I drive no smoking in the vehicle is permitted. If you are a smoker please let the other BAVSBGers know at the time they RSVP.

A note about liability. I have seen complex disclaimers on some meetup groups. Instead of a complex disclaimer, let's just understand that you are responsible for you - no other member of the group including myself and the trip leader is responsible for you and your actions. If you aren't comfortable with anything associated with the meetup it is up to you to take action to remove that discomfort and to let the group know you are taking that action - don't be shy about doing so. Further, backpacking entails risk - stuff happens and even on trips on well-traveled trails in easy terrain, injuries can occur. If you aren't sure about a trip's risks, discuss it with its organizer before RSVP'ing; it is understood that if you RSVP to a trip that you understand what is involved in the trip, that you agree to be responsible for yourself while on the trip, and that you absolve this meetup group's organizers and all trip organizers of any liability for any injury of any sort that you incur while participating in the trip (such participation begins when you meet another member of this group is who going on the trip, and ends when you are alone after the trip).”

Happy Trails to you!

This document may not be copied or duplicated in whole or part by any means without express prior agreement in writing from Michelle Renée Mozell. Any disclosure, copying, distribution, reproduction, transmission, or use of the contents without authorization is strictly prohibited.

Copyright 2025  Michelle Renée Mozell  All Rights Reserved.