EXPERIENCE – 33 YEARS IN THIS BUSINESS: And still co-owned by founder Howie Wolke (with Marilyn Olsen), who has personally guided over 500 multi-day treks. This means that we have run this business and its wilderness treks for 33 years. Nobody else can match this level of longevity and experience.
THE BEST GUIDING STAFF ANYWHERE: Click here for guide bios.
KNOWLEDGE: Howie co-authored The Big Outside, America’s definitive inventory of our remaining big roadless wildlands. Howie has also taught “The American Wilderness” in the Montana State University system and has penned many dozens of articles and essays about our nation’s shrinking wildland acreage. Marilyn is a registered nurse with expertise in wilderness medicine. And all of our other guides are also among the most knowledgeable outdoorspersons anywhere!
FAMILY BUSINESS: We’re not big but we are committed to quality. Howie and Marilyn run Big Wild with help from their son, Josh, who both guides and helps to manage the website. Because we are relatively small, each trek is carefully planned with the personal touch of Howie and Marilyn.
EACH TRIP IS UNIQUE, not mass-produced with numerous departure dates. Instead, we schedule each trek for an optimal time slot based upon weather, insects, stream crossings, snowy passes, wildlife viewing opportunities and other factors. Some areas are simply better to visit at particular times during the season. Especially during the brief Rocky Mountain summer, a couple of weeks earlier or later can make a huge difference in the success of a trip. More than anyone, we know when best to schedule each trek, and we schedule them for optimal timing.
WE WILL NOT CANCEL YOUR TRIP: Once we confirm your reservation we will run the trip. Even if you are the only client (which is rare but does occasionally occur) we will still run the trip unless you opt out. Your vacation is safe with us. If we confirm, then you won’t have to squirm!
NO HIDDEN COSTS: Our prices include our complete state of the art gear package, all food and cooking gear, all trip planning/permits/entry fees, applicable sales tax, transportation from our meeting place to and from the trek, and of course, the services of our professional guide staff. There is a $200 discount if you bring your own gear. Click here for backpacking equipment list information.
CONSERVATION: We don’t just support the efforts of others; we are actually in the forefront of work to protect America’s remaining wildlands. Howie and Marilyn are leaders in the western public lands conservation movement, and they utilize our sister organization, Big Wild Advocates, as a non-partisan vehicle for much of their work. Our Escalante Canyons and Beartooth Mountain treks are run by and for Big Wild Advocates. We are a green business in many other ways, too. For more information click here.
YELLOWSTONE: We’ve lived, worked and played in and around Yellowstone since the early 1970’s. Our home is 6 miles from the park. Nobody knows this wondrous wild world-class landscape better than we.
GOOD HEALTHY FOOD: Our menu is partly organic, includes fresh produce, and is tasty and nutritious. We provide 3 meals/day plus snacks, and we include plenty of energy-inducing carbohydrates, which is what the body needs on multi-day treks, especially at altitude. We do utilize some dried foods, in order to keep backpack weights down. And leave the cooking to us!
WILDLIFE: Some of our treks provide some of the best possible opportunities in North America for viewing wildlife in a wilderness environment, if you know how and where to look. Our guides do. Wildlife viewing is important to Big Wild!
SAFETY: Zero emergency client evacuations in 32 years in business. Some of this is good luck, yes, but a big part of it is our unrelenting attention to client/group safety.
CUSTOM AND FAMILY TRIPS: The options are limitless. Click here to view our Custom/Family Trip page.
*CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: Over half of our clients are repeaters from previous Big Wild trips. There is good reason for this! For more information, click here.
