| 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. |
Finding Outdoor Supplies
Outdoor supplies on the Olympic Peninsula are limited, so find your gear before you come. Online suppliers are good, but you should pick up, hold, try on, and experiment with gear in a store before you buy. Boots must be compared to find the right size to match your sock system and the intended use of the boots. Raingear should be big enough to fit over your other layers. Your pack should be big enough for all your gear and yet small enough to weigh as little as possible. In short, many decisions must be made about gear--decisions to be made before you go. Visit one of the following outdoor gear suppliers to talk about your clothing and transportation decisions:
Seattle
Nine times out of ten, your guide shops and buys his gear at REI--just like much of the rest of the outdoors community in Washington State. Buy online by clicking the link below:
- REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) www.rei.com
- 222 Yale Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 (Seattle Flagship)
- 3825 S. Steele St., Tacoma, WA 984090
- Marmot Mountain Works, Inc. (425) 453-1515 www.marmotmountain.com
- 827 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
- Feathered Friends (206) 292-2210 www.featheredfriends.com
- 119 Yale Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98109
- Pro Mountain Sports (206) 522-1627 www.promountainsports.com
- 5625 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Outside Seattle
- Eastern Mountain Sports www.ems.com
Olympic Peninsula
- Swain's General Store (360) 452-2357 www.swainsinc.com
- 602 East First Street, Port Angeles, WA 98362
- Peak 6 (360) 374-5254
- 4883 Upper Hoh Road, Forks, WA 98331
- Failor's Sporting Goods (360) 533-3762 www.failors.com
- 208 West Market Street, Aberdeen, WA 98520
- Big 5 Sporting Goods (360) 532-2497
- 1116 East Wishkah Street, Aberdeen, WA 98520
- Wildernest Outdoor Store
(360) 379-9013 www.wildernestoutdoorstore.com
Military Surplus in South Puget Sound (a great way to get cheap, functional gear)
- Military Surplus
(360) 456-8507
- 4519 John Lohr Road NE, Olympia, WA 98516
- The Duffle Bag (253) 588-4433
- 8207 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98499
- A & S Surplus (253) 584-5051
- 15008 Union Avenue SW, Tacoma, WA 98498
