Participants' Activities and Responsibilities

We will be walking 3-8 miles each day on mountain trails. We will go as fast as the slowest person in the group can go. The therapist/guides and the lead llama will decide how fast that is. We will stop and rest as often as we need to. Each participant will learn about backpacking, setting up camp, and getting along in the woods. The participant will also learn about teamwork and more about themselves and other people in the group. Most people find out that they can do a lot more than they thought they could.

The participants take turns carrying out five different jobs. These are:

• The Scout: leads the group with compass and map
• The Environmentalist: makes sure that no damage is done to the environment and leads an environmental discussion each day
• The Recorder: keeps track of important events, like seeing an eagle
• The First Aid Assistant: assists if first aid is necessary
• The Safety Person: leads the discussion of what is the safest way to do things when a problem arises

Participants also choose which of the three permanent work crews they want to be on:

• The cooking crew
• The water crew
• The llama picketing crew

Participants are part of a personal crew - their tent mates. Tent mates put up their tent, keep track of group equipment and look out for one another.

Participants are asked to keep a journal of their journey, to remind them of their experience. If time permits, a solo experience, in which participants spend time by themselves for three or four hours, is often carried out during the journey. Photographs are taken during the trip, and a few weeks after the end of the trip, each person receives personal copies. On the last day of the journey, the participants write a letter to themselves, which is mailed to them a month after the journey.

For detailed information, click on one of the links below.

Program philosophy
A Typical Day on the Trail