October 2024 Women's Beginner Backpacking Trip
Therapeutic Backpacking Overview
Therapeutic backpacking is a group experience facilitated by a trained professional who intentionally uses the natural world to promote reflection and insight about the problems and questions important to trip participants. Trip experiences are designed to support growth in the areas of mindfulness, deep reciprocal relationships with nature, technical wilderness skills, and holistic human wellness. We journey to the forest because the restorative effects of nature are well-documented and include improvements in bone and muscle health, nervous system regulation, mental clarity and focus, mood, cognitive abilities, and stress-reduction. The value of outdoor group experiences means other participants can offer emotional support, alternative perspectives, and the shared experience of a wilderness adventure that adds to a sense of community and belonging.
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Trip Schedule and Locations
* Sep 28, 2023 - Mandatory Pre-Trip Meeting (10:00-4:00pm, 1707 Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD)
* Oct 04-06, 2023 - Backpacking Trip (10:00 departure from Little Orleans, MD. Location details provided to fully registered participants.
Pre-Trip Meeting:
Attendance at the 6-hour pre-trip meeting on Sep 28 is required to participate in the 3-day backpacking trip on Oct 04-06, 2024. Trip meeting content includes education on risks and liabilities, trip logistics, gear fitting, principles of nature-informed therapy, setting intentions for the therapeutic journey and getting to know our fellow adventurers before we embark on the trail.
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Your Guide
Krista Bajgier, LCSW-C, is a certified nature-informed trauma therapist, a member of the Wilderness Guides Council. She has certification in Wilderness First Aid and a love for hiking and the woods. She will provide gentle guidance and prompting throughout the journey to support participants in exploring themselves and their relationship to nature through mindfulness, contemplative practices, and campfire discussions with group members.
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Hiking Terrain / Difficulty Level
This 3.7-mile hike in the Little Orleans, MD area is categorized as “easy” and suitable for leisure walking on flat gravel and dirt terrain. The group will stay for two nights at a campground equipped with a portable toilet, picnic table, grill and water source. The group will return on foot the following day for another 3.7 miles.
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Trip Costs
Program registration is $389 for participants who are bringing their own backpacking gear. Participants needing gear can rent a backpacking kit for an additional $50. Gear kits include: backpack, tent, sleeping bag, pad, stove and fuel.
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Registration
Reserving your space on the trip and purchasing gear can happen by selecting the button below. Within 24 hours of purchase, you will be contacted by an Outdoor Therapeutics representative to complete the registration process and answer any additional questions you may have. Registration is complete when all necessary informed consents and waivers have been completed.
Nature-Informed Therapy Informed Consent (sample)
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Questions before registering?
Please contact info@outdoortherapeutics.com if you have questions before making payments.
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