Women's Backpacking 101: Overnight Adventure
About this Event
Event Overview
Join us for a supportive, beginner-friendly experience where you’ll learn the essentials of backpacking while spending a night under the stars in Golden Gate Canyon State Park! No experience is necessary! This event is specifically for women 18 and older.
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT.
Logistics
Date & Time: We’ll meet at the Visitors Center at 9:00 AM on Saturday, August 29th. The morning will include learning how to pack our backpacks and covering key backpacking topics at the Visitors Center. At 1:00 PM, we’ll begin our group hike to our campspot. The next morning, we’ll all return to the parking lot by 12:00 PM on Sunday, August 30th.
Meeting Location: Visitors Center, Golden Gate Canyon State Park (92 Crawford Gulch Rd, Golden, CO 80403)
Campspot: The exact location will be disclosed to registered participants. Expect the hike-in to be around 2 miles with a little less than 1,000 feet of elevation gain.
Meals: All main meals will be provided, but please pack extra snacks to eat between meals. Here is an example list of potential Backpacking Snack Ideas. Lunch will be served at the Visitors Center on Saturday while we cover backpacking topics. Dinner will be provided at camp on Saturday evening, and breakfast on Sunday morning before we hike out.
Gear Information
Gear Checklist: Please use THIS gear list to help pack the essential items necessary for this specific overnight. To attend this trip, you must have the Essential Items.
Rental & Used Gear Resource List: Refer to THIS list of local gear shops to rent items or purchase at an affordable price.
Gear Loans: If you're not able to acquire an essential piece of gear such as a backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, don't worry! Thanks to our local partner Always Choose Adventure, we can provide you with some of this gear. After registration, please indicate in the intake form what gear items you need provided.
Optional Zoom Session
Before our overnight on Saturday, August 29th, we’ll host an optional Zoom session for registered participants. This casual virtual meet-up is a welcoming space to ease nerves, ask questions, chat about gear, and get excited together before our adventure begins!
Backpacking Topics
We’ll cover everything you need to feel confident on the trail:
- Safety Considerations
- Planning and Preparing Trips
- Gear Tips & Packing your Pack
- Food Storage & Nutrition
- Outdoor Hygiene and more!
After registering, all participants will receive an email with a mandatory Google Form to complete and report food allergies and any existing medical conditions. If you have any questions, please email Ella Pader at [email protected]
Instructors
Kayla Beltran - Former Park Interpreter and Current Volunteer
Kayla is the Environmental Education Program Coordinator at Catamount Institute and previously served as a Park Interpreter at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. With a background in environmental and public education, outdoor programming, and trail work, Kayla loves helping people discover, explore, and build meaningful connections with the natural world. She’s been backpacking since 2014, with her first trip in one of Thailand’s National Parks, and has since backpacked in multiple places across the U.S.—from Canyonlands National Park in Utah to the high peaks of the Adirondacks in New York.
One of her favorite adventures was spending a week on the John Muir Trail in California’s eastern Sierras, covering more than 60 miles. She is Wilderness First Aid certified and a Leave No Trace Level 1 Instructor. And when it comes to trail snacks? Nerd Clusters always make it into her pack!
Megan Beltran - Current Volunteer
Megan is a school social worker at an elementary school in Denver and has volunteered at Golden Gate Canyon over the last year supporting various programs. Megan grew up camping with her family and started backpacking with her wife, Kayla, nine years ago! With Megan's understanding of the impact the outdoors has on both mental and physical health, she believes the outdoors is for everyone and anyone. Making the outdoors accessible to all is a key mission for her.
While she has backpacked in Colorado, Utah, Washington, and California, picking a favorite is hard. What she loves most about backpacking aside from the efforts and the views, is truly preparing food with her dehydrator, developing a plan on where to go, and setting off on day one knowing it is truly happening!
Her favorite backpacking meal has to be her homemade sweet potato stew! But a good snack, she won't hesitate to say, dried mangos for that afternoon pick me up!
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
