In the previous blog, I discussed our policy of timing each of our guided Yellowstone backpacking trips by considering the optimal period of the spring, summer and autumn hiking season for a given Yellowstone trip area. That is our responsibility. Your responsibility as a client or potential client, is to choose a guided hiking trip that is within your capabilities. That is why we have our own unique system for rating the difficulty of each trek. Some companies rate their trips’ strenuous level on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being the toughest. That’s a bit too anal for us! Plus we recognize that any rating system is somewhat subjective, because conditions always vary, and some folks, for example, are comfortable with long uphills while others are more at ease with a ten or twelve mile day in more gentle terrain. Nonetheless, we think our rating system is a good one.
In a nutshell, the ratings go: easy, moderately easy, moderate, fairly strenuous and strenuous. Generally speaking, on most routes there is nothing “easy” about backpacking, because the very nature of the activity entails carrying a 30 to 40 pound pack over hill and dale. So a certain level of physical fitness is required. That’s why you’ll not see the “easy” rating on any of our scheduled trips. Yet we can and sometimes do run “easy” Custom and Family Trips. For more information on the specifics of our trip ratings for our guided backpacking trips, visit our trip ratings web page, where you’ll find more information on our rating system with regard to how many vertical feet you might plan to gain in elevation on a given day with a backpack, daily mileages you can expect for a given rating level, likelihood of off trail bushwhacking or scrambling and more. Again, though, keep in mind that conditions vary, sometimes radically, from year to year and even from day to day! So a “moderate” day that includes 1,200 feet of elevation gain on a well-maintained trail with moderate gradients might seem like a breeze on a cool sunny day. But it will seem noticeably tougher in rain and mud trudging uphill through the forest in full rain-gear. That’s why even for the easier trips, we always suggest that folks read our physical fitness web page and get in the best condition possible prior to your Yellowstone hiking adventure! Remember, they are all great trips! But be conservative and at least for your first Yellowstone guided trek, pick one that you know you can do without too much trouble.
