Trip Difficulties

Skill Levels For Hiking & Backpacking

Trip difficulties are largely subjective and depend on your previous hiking/backpacking experience and physical condition. Difficulty is judged based on daily hiking mileages, elevation gain/loss, trail conditions and expected backpack weight. Another factor that can affect difficulty is weather conditions (heat, rain, snow, ice), but this is not included in our rating determination. Some tours can be customized to accommodate your group’s desire for either a more strenuous experience or something less demanding. Regardless of stated difficulty rating, all of our tours are active, outdoor pursuits requiring at least some degree of physical fitness and the desire to spend most of your time hiking.

In the sections below, we've tried to outline the level of difficulty for each type of trip. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to ask.

• Beginner – Daily hiking mileages of 3 to 7 miles, well-maintained trails with 1500 feet or less of elevation change, pack weight is 25 to 35 pounds. Participants should be in good health, regularly active and exercise 2 to 3 days per week.
  
• Intermediate – Daily hiking mileages of 5 to 9 miles, generally well-maintained trails with up to 4800 feet of elevation change, pack weight is 30 to 35 pounds. Participants should be in good health, regularly active and exercise several times per week.
  
• Advanced – Daily hiking mileages of 5 to 10 miles, generally unmaintained trails with up to 4800 feet of elevation change, pack weight is 35 to 40 pounds. Trails are often steep with loose footing and there may be considerable exposure to heights. Expect periods of rugged and physically demanding hiking. Participants should be in excellent health, regularly active and exercise 4 to 5 days per week.
  
• Expert – Daily hiking mileages of 7 to 10 miles, unmaintained trails with up to 5000 feet of elevation change. Pack weight is 35 to 45 pounds. Trails are often steep with loose footing and there may be considerable exposure to heights. Expect long periods of rugged and physically demanding hiking. Participants should be in excellent health, regularly active and exercise 4 to 5 days per week.
  
• + Rating – Some trips fit quite well into one of the above Difficulty Ratings except for one or two aspects of the hike. The ‘+’ symbol next to a difficulty rating signifies an added degree of difficulty. The factors that necessitate this additional rating vary from trip to trip but generally include: a day or two with slightly longer hiking distances, greater elevation change, short sections of trail that present more challenging conditions than the majority of the rest of the trip.

• Beginner – Daily hiking mileages of 3 to 6 miles, well-maintained trails with 500 feet or less of elevation change, pack weight is less than 10 pounds. Participants should be in good health, regularly active and exercise 2 to 3 days per week.
  
• Intermediate – Daily hiking mileages of 5 to 10 miles, generally well-maintained trails with up to 3000 feet of elevation change, pack weight is less than 15 pounds. Participants should be in good health, regularly active and exercise several times per week.
  
• + Rating – Some trips fit quite well into one of the above Difficulty Ratings except for one or two aspects of the hike. The ‘+’ symbol next to a difficulty rating signifies an added degree of difficulty. The factors that necessitate this additional rating vary from trip to trip but generally include: a day or two with slightly longer hiking distances, greater elevation change, short sections of trail that present more challenging conditions than the majority of the rest of the trip.

• Beginner – Hiking mileages of 3 to 7 miles, well-maintained trails with 1500 feet or less of elevation change. Pack weight is 6 to 8 pounds. Participants should be in good health and generally active.
  
• Intermediate – Hiking mileages of 5 to 9 miles, generally well-maintained trails with up to 3000 feet of elevation change. Pack weight is 6 to 8 pounds. Participants should be in good health and regularly active.
  
• Advanced – Hiking mileages of 6 to 10 miles, generally unmaintained trails with up to 3000 feet of elevation change, pack weight is 8 to 10 pounds. Trails are often steep with loose footing and there may be some exposure to heights. Participants should be in excellent health, regularly active and exercise 4 to 5 days per week.
  
• + Rating – The ‘+’ symbol next to a difficulty rating signifies an added degree of difficulty. The factors that necessitate this additional rating vary from hike to hike but generally include: slightly longer hiking distances, greater elevation change, short sections of trail that present more challenging conditions than the majority of the rest of the trip.