Sierra Club Beginning Backpacking Course

BEGINNING BACKPACKING (BP) COURSE
KC Sierra Club Outings ('The Club')

How Do I Get to Go? RSVPs are closed. Anyone on the waitlist needs to complete sign up by 5 p.m. Sunday Sept. 5, 2021.

1. Read all of this announcement.

2. Send an email to "kcbackpack@yahoo.com" with "Let's Learn" in the subject line after you RSVP here on Meetup.

3. In reply we'll send you a link to fill out your contact info. & provide PayPal details for your use.

4. Once the preliminaries are done, you'll be moved to "Going" here on Meetup. We are aiming NTE 10 students.

An introduction to three-season recreational backpacking for adults combining practical instruction w/ a guided backpacking experience, where we supportively put it together outdoors.

Previous sessions have introduced many to BP & have been a catalyst for networking w/ members of KC's hiking & backpacking community. After the course, The Club can help you take it to the next level with addt'l KC-area BP trips & options for a wide variety of big league adventures w/ the Nat'l Sierra Club.

YOU HAVE NO EQUIPMENT? We have a Gear Lending Library for Sierra Club members. Supplies are limited, so make arrangements early by emailing us about this. Also, here's how to join the Sierra Club: https://tinyurl.com/jointtheclub (membership as low as $15).

COURSE PRICE: $65, exclusively contactless via PayPal. Payment instructions to be provided for those confirmed to participate. This pays it forward, helping to finance the Gear Lending Library, local leadership training & trail maintenance in KS & MO. Instructors are volunteers & not compensated.

ACTIVITIES:

1. 9/11/21 - Class #1, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Ernie Miller Park Shelter #1. Can bring lunch or grab it nearby. BYO folding chair, if picnic table benches aren't your thing.

2. 9/12/21 - Exclusive visit to REI 9:00 a.m. B4 regular hours. Face masks required.

3. 9/25/21 - Class #2, 9:30 a.m. to Noon, Kill Creek Park Shelter #2. Can break for lunch or bring lunch & visit. BYO folding chair if you like.

4. 9/25/21-9/26/21 - 5-mile Shakedown Hike & Campout (a dry run with full kit (see syllabus) before we actually go backpacking in Oct.) 1:30 p.m. 9/25 - 8:30 a.m. 9/26, Timber Ridge Adventure Center adjacent to Kill Creek Park. And we'll be inviting some prior backpacking class grads to camp with us.*

5. 10/22/21-10/24/21 - TWO-NIGHT BP TRIP to Devil's Backbone Wilderness, approx. 4.5 hrs. from KC, leave KC approx. 7:30 a.m. on 10/22 & return p.m. 10/24*

Bring a personal 1st aid kit to the * activities: https://tinyurl.com/P1stAid

A mix of vaccinated & unvaccinated individuals is possible on all activities.

Course syllabus:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1io6RP3-T0PCyvoanPxSTbmcB8iyTA9rTBl1ZWK9E5XQ/edit?usp=sharing

During sign-in for the course, approved participants are required to sign this standard Participant Agreement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aeCU0qBkNbFAoU2X-eUKeg6_YxoVcSNk/view?usp=sharing

Each activity is an Outing; they start & end on dates, locations & times designated by Sierra Club. Outings do not include carpooling, transportation or transit to & from them; each participant is personally responsible for ALL travel-associated risks.

ABOUT THE SIERRA CLUB
The Sierra Club is America’s largest & most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors & access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, & preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, & legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.