Backpacking guide trips are a kind of travel where you get to enjoy peace and adventure. As you go on a journey deep into the most stunning wild places. It is done with a group of people, sometimes these are mixed strangers, and an authorized guide who knows the place very well.
This is very popular in America where they do trips in their world-renowned wilderness havens such as; the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. Countries such as Russia, the US, Canada, Brazil, and Australia have some of the largest wilderness in the world that you can explore.
For beginners, it is not hard to prepare all the equipment needed to start a guided trip. Before you start your backpacking guide trips, make sure that you have all the essential gears such as; your tent, sleeping bag, backpack, extra clothing, cookware, food, first aid kit, ropes, poncho, and matches.
Guided Backpacking trips are not complete without a guide. So, make sure that you have your authorized guide who knows the place very well. So that you can learn the place’s history as well. As beginners, your guide will teach you; the things that you need to bring, how to organize your things in your backpack, putting up your tent, preparing meals for backpacking, map reading, trail searching, and hacks on how to live in the wilderness.
Just like any other travels, this kind of trip also has advantages and disadvantages for beginners like you. Here are some ideas that you have to consider before you go with a guide service.
Advantages of Guided Backpacking Trips for Beginners
If you are just new into this kind of adventure, then it is better that you have your expert and licensed guide. To lead your destination and what you must do on your backpacking trip. Here are some of the advantages of guided backpacking trips for beginners.
1. Guides will prepare the needed permits
Going on a backpacking trip in the wilderness will not be possible without permits. Because some of these areas are protected by the government. You must have all the needed permits before you can proceed to your trip. Authorized guides will obtain those permits for you. They will organize your tour from your hotel to navigating around rules and regulations and overall tour plan.
2. Guides will keep you safe
An authorized and expert guide to a specific destination will make sure to bring a sense of security. His priority is the safety of the people he is guiding. Because it is his sole responsibility to bring them safely to the destination until they go back to the meet-up place. These wilderness guides are also licensed in backcountry medical protocols in case something unexpected will happen.
3. They know the area very well
As stated above, authorized guides have great knowledge about the place. They know the right direction, aside from teaching you the basics of wilderness living. They also know the history, floras and faunas, and all the cool stuff of the place. What to do when the weather is sunny or cloudy. They also know the local standard. And will teach you things that you should do and not do.
4. You can meet new people and make some friends
When you spend a few days in the wilderness with strangers means that you get to meet new people that might turn as new friends. You will likely meet people who love the same thing as you do. Such as backpacking guide trips in the wilderness, mountain climbing, and other nature adventures. This kind of travel suits for a solo traveler that loves to get into the wilderness but doesn’t want to be alone.
Disadvantages of Guided Backpacking Trips for Beginners
Of course, not all travels be it a guided one or not is not always positive especially if you are still new in this type of adventure. Here are some of the disadvantages of backpacking guide trips for beginners.
1. You have to pay
Like other travels, backpacking trips are not free also. It will cost you a lot of money from buying your gears (which is a huge investment) to paying your guide for his service and the permits that needed to obtain to enter the place you want to explore. Guides are very costly as they are trained, authorized, and experts in their field so make sure you have saved enough money before you start your guided backpacking trips.
2. Time is limited and sometimes no flexibility
When you are in guided backpacking trips, you have to understand that you are traveling with groups of people whom you haven’t met before. The schedule and the itinerary will often change as the guide should accommodate the whole group and not you only.
There are times also when you still want to stay in a specific area just to enjoy it a bit more but you cannot because the time is very limited. Everything is already planned according to the schedule. Which means the group can only stay and explore a specific spot for a couple of minutes or an hour before they go to another area.
3. You cannot choose your food
If you are very picky when it comes to food, then you might as well bring your prepared food because the menus are already set. And, you have to deal with whatever food there is. There are guide services that allow for some dietary limitations. You can’t have fresh food as there is no fridge. So you have to be open on the kind of food that your guide will serve the group.
4. You can’t go on your own
The group must stay together when you are on a guided backpacking trip. So, if you are a fast hiker then you must wait for others who are slow hikers. Your guide will not let any of you go on their own. Everyone must stay together for safety measures.
5. You are traveling with people you don’t know
If you are not comfortable with traveling with strangers then book a guide that will plan the trip. Booking a private guide that will organize a private trip is more expensive so you must save enough money. However, traveling with people you don’t know has advantages and disadvantages. You can meet new people and be friends with them or may not like them because of personality differences. There are times also that you don’t like the guide because you hate being told what to do. These are the risks that you have to take if you want to go on a guided backpacking trip.
