The Johnny Appleseed of Backpacking

I've been backpacking for many years and enjoy just about everything about the activity; from the secnic views, to the physical challange, to the solitude of nature. I also consider myself somewhat of a philanthropist, and enjoy helping others in my community. The combination of these two hobbies led me to teach a backpacking class through my local Parks and Recreation Office, and it became a very satisfying, enjoyable experience.

The nice thing about teaching a class, is about any experienced backpacker with some time, and presentation skills can do it. With the help of some of my trailmates and teaching buddies, I made up a teaching plan, researched a few books, and submitted my proposal to the Parks Department. After an interview, they allowed the class, and 14 people signed up!

The class was a broad group of people who each had a different reason for wanting to learn about backpacking. One elderly lady wanted to get in shape and have fun. Another student was going to backpack Europe over the summer and needed information on gear. Others were couples who liked the outdoors and wanted to "kick it up a notch". Overall, I had a class full of eager participants who were willing to attend 8 classes over the winter.

I focused on several things for every class. I'd discuss backpacking basics, demonstrate gear, allow the students some hands on experience, assign homework and administer a quiz. The person who had the top score on each quiz received a prize.

I also incorporated a theme that linked all the classes. I had the group plan a 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip in our area. Every week, thier homework was geared toward the trip, wether it was making a gear list, or aquiring a map. This allowed the students to plan thier own trip, while learning to do it properly.

After the classes were over, all had learned what they wanted to learn, and all the students were excited about the trip. When the trip arrived, I was very proud of the students. They adhered to LNT principles, were able to navigate effectively, properly utilized thier gear, and enjoyed the experience much more so that if they would have tried backpacking without instruction.

Overall, it was a rewarding and fun experience, and now our hobby has 14 more enthusiasts.

About the Author

Jay Demagall is an avid hiker and backpacker from Cleveland, Ohio.