| Day Hikes Day hikes are a safe, easy way to gain the skills you will need to stay safe in the wild--all while learning about the natural and social history of the area. You will learn about the 10 Essentials, map and compass, trip planning, risk management, and staying found. Your Guide will lend you a kit with some of the Ten Essentials, and you will hike +/- 7 miles while learning about Olympic National Park. Trips do not leave every day, so Reserve Your Spot Today! |
Backpacking Backpacking sweeps the backpacker into the wild world of wilderness with all its grandeur and intensity. Backpackers can hike for almost as many days and almost as far as they want: for example, from Staircase in the southeast corner of the park to the Grand Valley in the northeast, from the Dosewallips in the east to Quinault in the west, or from Elwah in the north to Sol Duc in the west. Consider these routes for your ultimate wildnerness experience. Then Reserve Your Spot! |
| Leave No Trace (LNT) Trainings Leave No Trace is the national standard for outdoor recreation ethics from a conservation perspective. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics has established two main basic trainings in LNT: Awareness Workshops and Trainer Courses. Awareness Workshops last only a couple hours and offer little or no outdoor training. Trainer Courses are an intensive overnight experience with some backpacking. Reserve Your Spot for the course that's right for you. |
Scouting Guide and owner Jason Bausher is an Eagle Scout, Vigil Honor recipient, and is Wood Badge-trained. He can advise your troop about 50-miler hikes, the Leave No Trace Awareness Award, and merit badges such as Hiking, Backpacking, Camping, and Climbing. Jason can also serve as a liaison with the National Park Service to organize work parties or service projects in Olympic National Park. PLUS: Grays Harbor Boy Scouts receive FREE TRAININGS! Reserve Time for Your Program. |
| Service Tourism on the Olympic Peninsula will only last if we work to conserve the resource by doing trailwork, raising money for political action, and by teaching wildness to the generation to whom we hand over the earth. Sign Up Today to do or give what you can for the preservation of our children's earth. Where are your talents? Clearing trails? Educating National Park visitors about Leave No Trace ethics and practices? Raising money from friends, family, and business associates? Leading Boy or Girl Scouts? YOU CAN HELP!!! |
Mountain Seminars Do the mountains, rivers, and glaciers of Olympic National Park merely form one big playground, or is wilderness essential to our Being as embodied Beings in the world? Jason Bausher works on questions such as this in his environmental philosophy, and he shares his research in mountain seminars. He received his master's degree in theology from Yale University and is finishing an M.A. while in a doctoral program in philosophy. Check out a few of the seminars. Don't see your burning "big questions" being asked on this list? Email Olympic Mountain School for a custom program. |
Required Clothing and Equipment
***Please do not wear cotton clothing into the wilderness. Cotton loses all its insulating properties when wet, and the Olympic rain forests receive up to 225 inches of rain per year. Hypothermia and death are real dangers to wilderness hikers. Even sunny days turn cloudy quickly and dump rain on visitors. Even if you are only planning to visit for a couple of hours, emergencies can trap you in the wilderness in deficient clothing. Plan ahead and prepare: "Cotton Kills!"
DAY HIKES
- Polypropylene (or other synthetic fiber) T-Shirt
- For women: Sports bra (preferably synthetic and not cotton)
- Wool or other insulating fiber long-sleeved shirt
- Light jacket or insulating sweater
- Rain jacket (preferably a rain jacket with ventilation or Gore-Tex)
- Polypropylene liner socks
- Heavier wool socks to fit your shoe (heavier for boots; lighter for tennis shoes)
- Hiking boots are unnecessary for day hiking, but will provide additional support and traction and thus greater safety
- Insulating hat/head covering (a stocking cap, for example, to keep your head warm)
- Trousers or shorts (preferably synthetic materials and not cotton denim)
- Rain pants (preferably with ventilation or Gore-Tex)
- Plastic bowl with lid and spoon
- Baseball cap
- Sunglasses
- Your favorite high-energy snacks to eat on the trail (Snickers bars, for example). One snack should be salty (Chex mix, for example)
- Nalgene Bottle or other bottle/Camelback for carrying water
- Insect Repellent
- Sunscreen
Olympic Mountain School lends each Day Hiker a Ten Essentials Pack: a lighter, compass, local topographic map, small knife, cord, flashlight, and water purification tablets.
BACKPACKING TRIPS
- Polypropylene T-Shirt
- Long-sleeved polypropylene T-Shirt
- Rain Shell raingear jacket (preferably Gore-Tex or other breathable fabric; Olympic wilderness is nowhere to cut corners on inexpensive plastic rainjackets)
- Light Jacket or sweater
- Light parka (for higher elevation/early and late-eason hikes)
- Polypropylene thermal underwear
- Shorts or swimming trunks
- Light trousers or pants (synthetic or wool)
- Insulating hat (e.g., a stocking cap)
- Sun-shielding hat (e.g., a baseball cap)
- Iodine tablets or purification pump
- Plastic bowl with lid and spoon
- Headlamp with extra batteries
- 2 Bandanas
- Lighters (3)
- Sunglasses
- Your favorite high-energy snacks to eat on the trail (Snickers bars, for example). One snack should be salty (Chex mix, for example)
- 2 Nalgene Bottles or other bottle/Camelback for carrying water
- Insect repellent
- Pocket knife
- Sleeping bag rated to 20 degrees Fahrenheit
- Sleeping pad (closed cell foam; MANDATORY)
MOUNTAINEERING
- ALL GEAR LISTED FOR BACKPACKING TRIPS
- Alpine climbing harness (sit harness; chest harness not necessary). Must have adjustable leg loops and fit over all clothing (e.g., Black Diamond Alpine Bod)
- 1 locking carabiner
- 1 standard carabiner
- Ice axe with leash
- Plastic or leather mountaineering boots.
- Climbing helmet
- Crampons
- Belay device
- 1 pair warm gloves (fleece or wool)
- Shell gloves or mitts
- 30 continuous feet of 6-milimeter perlon cord to cut for prussiks
GROUP GEAR
Olympic Mountain School will provide the following items:
- Animal Resistant Food Containers (a.k.a. "bear cans"): Bearvault
- Stoves (MSR Whisperlite)
- Tents (Eureka! Backcountry, Black Diamond Megamid, Trango Assault!)
- Cook Kits (Large Pot, Skillet)
- Spice Kits
- Maps
- Compasses
- Rope
RENTALS
Olympic Mountain School rents a small number of backpacks, sleeping bags, and a few other items. Check for availability.
