Picture this: a premier wilderness trek, summertime dips in the lake, and sleeping under the stars—all in the company of fierce women who love wilderness. This is a 4-day Backpacking 101 through Oregon’s share of the Pacific Crest Trail, a footpath along West Coast’s backbone: Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains. The complete trail stretches from Mexico to Canada, amounting to 2,650 miles, but you’ll be doing a 30-mile portion of it. You’ll be going right through the Columbia River Gorge, starting from Rainy Lake Trailhead to Eagle Creek Trailhead. After hiking through lush temperate rainforest with views of the Cascades and scents of wildflowers, you’ll set up your own camp and take a relaxing swim in crystal clear waters. Once you’ve felt the thrill of being off-the-grid, you’ll be planning your next backpacking trip before you know it!
Learn backpacking basics with a great team of outdoorsy women
Experience a portion of West Coast’s greatest footpath
Explore verdant rainforest, colorful meadows and mighty peaks
Backpacking is one of the best ways to unwind and get in sync with nature, but there’s a bit of a learning curve if you want to go out on your own. Join an expert guide and like-minded women on this 4-day tour of the Pacific Crest Trail—or rather, just one spectacular part of it—and learn all there is to know about backpacking. Find out about the preparation process, wilderness survival, Leave No Trace principles, camp setup, nutrition on the trail, and so much more.
Your backpacking adventure begins at your guide’s office, where you’ll meet the rest of your team at 8:00 am. You’ll get dropped off at the trailhead, after which it’s just you, your guide and your group in the woods of the Pacific Northwest! Departing from Rainy Lake Trailhead, get ready for a hike to remember!
Meals: Lunch and dinner
During the course of your 4-day backpacking trip, you’ll traverse 25-30 trail miles (40-48 km) through lush temperate rainforest of the Pacific Crest Trail. You’ll be going through Columbia River Gorge. Enjoy the views of Mt. Hood, stop and smell the wildflowers, and soak in the lake after a long day of hiking. Let your guides teach you the basics of backpacking: preparation and planning, wilderness survival essentials, Leave No Trace principles, campsite selection and setup, backcountry nutrition, bear-safe food storage methods, and more! This being a summer tour only means one thing: mellowing out at the lake under the stars!
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Tread the last few miles of the trail until you reach Eagle Creek Trailhead. After a challenging, but infinitely rewarding few days, say goodbye to your team and your guide around 4:00 pm.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
What you get on this adventure:
What’s not included:
No experience necessary—this is a beginner-friendly backpacking trip through a selected part of the Pacific Crest Trail! Your guides will teach you everything you need to know about backpacking. Still, there are several routes your guides have in mind, some beginner-friendly, some intermediate, so you’re more than welcome to join if you’re looking for a challenge.
Regardless of the specific route, you do need to be in good shape as you’ll be carrying a 40 lb (18 kg) or an even heavier backpack. Make sure you’re physically fit enough to keep up the tempo for four days.
To give you an example, this is what you can expect. Below you’ll find several route options with their total distances and elevation gains over 4 days of backpacking.
Here’s a list of things you need to bring:
Backpacking gear:
Clothing:
Hydration and items for the camp kitchen:
Personal items:
Optional items:
Your guides will provide:
Your guide recommends that you exclusively bring synthetic or wool clothing. You may be asked to help carry some of the group equipment. Dress comfortably and for the weather in clothes you can move in. We suggest bringing clothing appropriate for the season. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.
Of course! You’ll need to bring your own sleeping bag and pad, and if you don’t have your own, there are plenty of rental companies in Portland—the starting point of your tour. You can rent from LowerGear Rentals, Mountain Shop, Portland Paddle, or any other rental company in Portland. Make sure you make arrangements in time. Contact us if you need any help!
You will spend your nights in tents.
Your guides use 1- and 2-person tents. For the 2-person tents, the internal dimensions are just big enough for 2 standard sleeping pads to fit side by side. You are welcome to use your own tent as well.
Whether or not you’ll have to share a tent depends on a variety of factors—the number of people signed up for a trip, how many people are sharing a tent already, and who is bringing their own tent. Your guides would never suggest strangers share a tent, so participants traveling solo get priority for single tents.
Two of their most common models include MSR Elixir 2 and MSR Hubba Hubba 2.
Your guides will provide a combination of meals cooked from scratch and pre-packaged trail meals and snacks. Upon booking, you will be provided with a waiver where you can notify them of your allergies and dietary restrictions. You are welcome to bring as much of your own food for the trip, as well as any other personal gear related to food preparation.
Group sizes and prices:
Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If your group has hikers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
To get to Portland, Oregon, most people fly into Portland International Airport (PDX). From there, you have a 15-minute drive to your guide’s office in Troutdale.
You’ll meet your guide and your fellow backpackers at the guide’s office, 121 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060 at 8:00 am on day 1 of the tour. Their office entrance is located below and behind the storefronts in downtown Troutdale. Turn left off the main street immediately after the “Gateway to the Gorge” arch to access the lower parking lot.
57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, their guides, and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Oregon, please refer to Oregon’s COVID-19 resources and updates.
If you have a fever, sore throat, cough, or any other COVID-19 symptoms (or exposure to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19), your guides ask you to alert them immediately and stay home.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
You can secure one of the 2024 dates with a 30% deposit upon booking. The remaining 70% of the trip price is to be paid 90 days prior to departure, at the latest.
Secure your spot for 2025 with a 10% deposit! This tour gets sold out very quickly, but with early-bird booking, you’ll be the first one to know. Pick the month that suits you best and we’ll let you know once the dates are live—don’t risk missing out on your bucket list adventure!
Cancellations
Booking fees are non-refundable in all cases. During checkout, however, you can choose one of 57hours’ flexibility options:
Basic
Flexible
Super Flexible
Upon booking, your guides will send you an online waiver for yourself and all other members of your party, with a special waiver for participants under the age of 18. Please fill in the waiver at least 1 week in advance of your trip.
