Fitpacking Frequently Asked Questions

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Upcoming Trips

2013
- Mt. Rushmore / Black Hills, SD
  With Wind Cave Tour
  May 25 - Jun 2, 2013 - $1200, ★★★
- White Mountains Day Hiking / Base Camping, NH
  With Kayaking
  Jun 8-14, 2013 - $1075, ★★
- Grand Randonee Day Hiking / Hosteling, France
  Jun 15-26, 2013 - $2375, ★★
- Isle Royale National Park, MI
  Jul 9-17, 2013 - $1250, ★★
- Redwood National Park, CA
  Jul 14-22, 2013 - $1225, ★★
- Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
  Only 3 Spots Left
  Aug 3-15, 2013 - $1750, ★★★★
- Crater Lake National Park, OR
  Aug 3-10, 2013 - $1225, ★★
- Sequoia / King's Canyon National Park, CA
  Aug 17-25, 2013 - $1200, ★★★★
- Mt. Rainier National Park, WA
  Aug 31 - Sep 7, 2013 - $1250, ★★★★
- White Mountains Day Hiking / Base Camping, NH
  With Kayaking
  Sep 15-21, 2013 - $1100, ★★
- NYC Commuter Appalachian Trail Primer, NY
  Sep 21-28, 2013 - $925, ★★★
- Foothills Trail, SC
  Oct 19-27, 2013 - $1050, ★★
- Hot Springs / Ouachita Trail, AR
  With Hot Springs
  Nov 2-10, 2013 - $1050, ★★
- Jesus Trail / Israel National Trail, Israel
  Dec 29, 2013 - Jan 11, 2014 - $2250, ★★★
- Difficulty Ratings:
  ★ Easier (but not easy)
  ★★ Moderate (difficult at times)
  ★★★ Moderate to Strenuous
  ★★★★ Strenuous (much of the time)
  ★★★★★ Most Difficult Trip Contact Fitpacking before signing up
- Please note that difficulty ratings are deceptive. The easiest day of a 4 star trip may be less strenuous than the hardest day of a 1 star trip. We have little control over how mountains form, where trails and campsites are located, weather variation and terrain, so difficulty varies from day to day. These ratings just reflect overall impressions.
- All Prices include at least 2 nights in a hotel, all food eaten on the trail, ground transportation to/from trailheads, guides, and permits. Prices quoted are Per Person Double Occupancy (Hotel Sharing), but single supplements are available.

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What is Fitpacking?
Fitpacking is weight loss through backpacking. Come join us on a one or two-week backpacking adventure vacation. You burn off excess weight by carrying around all your food and equipment.
Who would go Fitpacking?
Anyone who loves the outdoors, wants to lose weight or hike slowly and has a week or two. You also may be interested if you are seeking solitude, trying to de-caffeinate, reduce stress, or stop smoking.
I don't know anybody, can I sign up alone?
On occasion, some participants know each other before their trip, however the vast majority of Fitpacking participants arrive knowing no one. But by the end of the trip, most people have forged close friendships, especially on the two week trips.
Why don't the people in the website photos look fat?
TV has conditioned us to believe that all weight loss programs are comprised of and appropriate for clinically obese individuals like those seen on The Biggest Loser. Fitpacking is decidedly not for medically obese people and is targeted for the rest of us who are heavier or less healthy than we'd like to be, but are not in a range where our lives are in danger. Besides, what client wants an unflattering photo of themselves on our website?
How much weight can I lose?
Although results vary from person to person, we have found that participants lose approximately 5 pounds of fat per person per week. However, Fitpacking is more about body composition change. You may lose fat, but put on muscle. For example, one participant actually gained about a quarter of a pound overall on a 1-week trip, however her body fat percentage plummeted from 37.7% to 31.8%, losing 6 pounds of fat and putting on about 6 pounds of muscle, thus increasing lean muscle mass and taking inches off her frame.
How fit or fat do I need to be?
There is no exact answer.
Who guides Fitpacking trips?
There will be either one or two trip leaders. All trip leaders are either SOLO, Wilderness Medicine Associates, Wilderness Medicine Institute, or NOLS certified Wilderness First Responders.
How many people are signed up?
This question is asked by almost everyone, but there's almost never a good way to answer it. Frustratingly, the first person who considers signing up for a trip usually backs away when they find out they are the first. But somebody has to be the first. So unless we lie about numbers, there are almost always a pool of a half dozen people waiting for others to sign up before they will.
Where do we stay at the beginning and end of the trips?
Fitpacking trips are bookended by hotel stays. We typically stay in the same lodging at the beginning and end of a 1-week trip. For 2-week trips, there are usually 3 or 4 hotel stays, but expect to stay in 2 or 3 different places. In every trip, we endeavor to make our final hotel stay in a place that has a hot tub, internet access and laundry facilities.
Can I bring an extra bag or two?
Yes, it's expected. After a trip, you won't want to shower in the hotel only to put your smelly trail clothes back on. Your extra bags are either placed in a storage unit, held by the hotel, or kept by the ground transportation company. However, please limit your extra bags to 2, preferably 1.
Can kids or teens participate?
We have traditionally disallowed anyone under the age of 18 from participating, but starting in 2012, teenagers over 13 are welcome when accompanied by an adult.
Can I bring my dog(s)?
No. Most National Parks and many trails prohibit them from the backcountry, so we must. Dogs also pose a challenge in transporting a van full of them to and from the trailhead plus there's no guarantee they'll get along with other dogs or backpackers. And then who carries a week's worth of their food? We are considering a dog-friendly trip, but have not as yet found an appropriate venue or worked out all the logistics.
Who carries all the food, group equipment and tents?
Groups of hikers require a fair amount of food and common equipment to independently thrive a week in the wilderness. At the outset of each trip, food and group equipment such as stoves, fuel, water filters, pots and even trash bags are distributed among all guides and participants. While guides carry more than participants, each participant should plan to carry their fair share. There is no pre-determined amount anyone is required to carry, however we don't expect a 60 year old, 145 pound woman to carry the same amount as a 33 year old, 205 pound man.
How much will my pack weigh?
This is kind of a trick question since your pack weight not only varies from day to day, but even during the day. If you are carrying say, a 10 pound bag of food at the outset of the trip, by the end of the trip, the food bag will weigh almost nothing. Fuel also gets lighter as the trip ensues. If you happen to be carrying trash, it weighs nothing at the start of the trip, but may be 5 pounds by the end.

Even day to day your pack weight changes. On a desert trip, you might start out one day carrying 2 gallons (~8 liters) of water or 16 pounds to last you 2 days until the next water might be available. By the end of the 2nd day, you are carrying 16 pounds less than you were. So determining an exact weight is difficult. That said, "empty" pack weights are around 30-35 pounds.

What difficulty rating is right for me?
Every trip can be very difficult at least part of the time, even flat locations like Florida. On the other hand, the most difficult trips may have days that most anyone could do successfully and comfortably. It all depends on mileage, terrain, and even things like climate.
We rate trips on a perceived overall average. Even our most difficult trips are attainable by people who are out of shape. In order to insure success for everyone, we hike as a group, struggle together, and triumph together (no, this is not like an Amway meeting).
What time should I plan to arrive / leave?
Although arrival and departure times can vary slightly from trip to trip, you should plan to arrive between around Noon - 3PM. Hotels generally won't let us check in before Noon, but we have a lot of things to do as participants arrive. For instance, we want to make sure we have have time to go to the store to pick up essential items you may have forgotten. However, if you can save several hundred dollars on your flight by showing up at 11AM or 4:30PM, then do so.
Trips are officially over after the dinner / awards ceremony on the last night. Most people plan to leave around 9AM the next day, but earlier or later is certainly fine. Sometimes people plan to leave after dinner and forego the final hotel night. This is especially popular on West Coast trips where people take a red-eye back East that departs around midnight. People who drive in also sometimes decide to return home that night. Note: Showers are still available for you if you decide to leave early.
I'm driving in. Where do I put my car while Fitpacking?
This is one of the most difficult issues to handle. Generally, we are able to leave your car in the parking lot of our day 1 hotel, but we cannot guarantee any security for your vehicle while it is parked there. You may also have the option of parking your car at a trailhead or renting a storage facility at your own expense.
I live near the hotel. Can I get a discount for staying at home before and after my trip?
Yes, you can receive $50 off your trip for each night you don't stay at our hotel if you tell us far in advance so we can reserve rooms accordingly. That's $100 off for skipping the first and last nights. However, you must plan to meet us in the hotel on the first day of the trip so that we can shake down your pack, weigh you in, distribute trail mix, and have you meet the other participants at the welcome dinner. Even if you do not stay at the hotel at the end of the trip, you can shower there in one of our rooms.
Do you have any weekend or 3 day trips planned?
Unfortunately, no. While we've found there's demand for such trips, they are subject to some of the following issues:
• Overhead: There is an enormous amount of overhead to fly to say, Canyonlands National Park for just a weekend. Even if participants live locally, there can be a lot of equipment to obtain for just the 2 days
• Fitness: Because the excursion is so short, participants would not be able to expect any significant fitness gains in such a brief time frame
• Cost: It can cost almost as much to run a weekend Fitpacking as a weeklong trip, costs that would be passed onto participants
• Weather: One or two week trips feature a variety of weather. A weekend trip could easily experience heavy rain the entire time causing a less pleasant hike and probably cancellations and demand for refunds.
Why aren't details of all trips listed?
While we need to do a better job of planning for the long term, we like to think that anyone who is interested in losing weight or getting fit now isn't planning to be overweight and out of shape a year from now, whether or not they participate in one of our trips.
Why do the details of the trips change sometimes?
We endeavor to plan our trips a year in advance. However, just because we do, doesn't mean that National Parks, National Forests, and even hotels and campgrounds do. We are often subject to capacity controls in various destinations. That means we are put into a lottery with other people and organizations for a limited amount of wilderness access. Sometimes these lotteries and permits are determined only a month before a trip, so we can't always guarantee that the itinerary will be exactly as proposed 10 months earlier. Rest assured, our 2nd choices are interesting and beautiful as well.

What do I do about snakes / spiders / scorpions / alligators / bears etc.?
All sorts of animals live in the wilderness and you may not be completely comfortable with every one of them. While other participants may consider bears a joy to behold, you might fear them. And although this fear may be completely natural and warranted, wild animal encounters are rare and attacks are almost unheard of. That's precisely the reason such incidents make the national news, whereas people who die from say, heart attacks don't. Although statistics mean very little for such a deep seated emotional issue, you are statistically in far more danger anytime you drive a car or enter a bar.
Any bathrooms or running water?
Typically no, sorry. Fitpacking trips are wilderness experiences. Some trips may pass through a town or across a road or frontcountry campground where plumbing is available. Showers are even available once in a while. However, swimming opportunities are generally more plentiful. Some trails and campsites have privies or outhouses but in other areas, there are only trees (which are far preferable to some public restrooms I've seen).
There's nothing to see on this hike!
I guess that depends on your perspective. Some people find endless miles of trees, rivers, big skies, and solitude disquieting or dull. Others find that the amazing panoply of nature taps into long neglected facets of their being. Be honest with yourself. If you're likely to find mountains and lakes unremarkable, these trips may not be for you.
There's nothing to do!
That's actually one of the best features of a Fitpacking trip. Most of us experience continual stresses and stimuli from day to day. After a few days of hiking, the tranformation from daily anxiety to complete relaxation that participants experience is really quite something.
What do we do at night when we get to camp?
We spend time setting up tents, unpacking, changing clothes, cleaning up and eating. We are allowed to have campfires in some destinations and in others, there are opportunities to go swimming or on short bonus hikes without packs. However, many people who ask this overestimate their end-of-day energy level. Most participants (and guides!) are extremely happy to just sit, rest and talk after carrying 50 pounds for 10 miles. When darkness falls, your circadian rhythms quickly kick in and you'll find yourself sleeping dusk to dawn. But bring something to read in case you decide to self-caffeinate or have insomnia.
I'm not enjoying myself right now
Most participants will experience an occasional challenging time during a Fitpacking trip. This may be a result of a blister, insects, rain, snow, brush, blowdowns, mental fatigue, or physical exhaustion. Pushing yourself through these infrequent low points (with the support of a guide) may not only help you expand your limits, but will render the subsequent emotional highs that follow much more exhilirating.
Is it Fitpacking or Fatpacking?
It's whatever you want it to be. Not everyone likes to tell their friends they're going Fatpacking. Yet people consistently click on Fatpacking twice as often as they click on Fitpacking. So although we may someday differentiate the two for differently targeted trips, they are currently one and the same.
How long has Fitpacking been around?
Fitpacking was originally conceived towards the end of 2002, but our first trip was in March 2005 on the Arizona Trail through the Superstition Wilderness and Four Peaks Wilderness.
How much do Fitpacking trips cost?
It depends on the location and length of the trip. Currently, 1 week trips are typically around $1000 - $1250 and two week trips run as high as $1800. You are responsible for the cost of transportation to the Airport or city closest to the trailhead, personal hiking equipment (though we can provide some items for a nominal fee), restaurant meals, and incidentals on days off.
Interested?
You should join us!
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Fitpacking

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Upcoming Trips

2013

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