Welcome to Discover Backpacking Series: Nature Connection, Health & Empowerment.
🪴Welcome to this progressive series of online and in-person opportunities designed to help car campers and day hikers expand their outdoor abilities and experiences by learning to backpack to enjoy some of Washington’s most beautiful places and more deeply connect with the natural world. All gender representations are welcome.
🪴All opportunities are listed below by date, so scan the entire page. You can expect to gain or increase your knowledge of backpacking in supportive spaces with friendly leaders who have a good sense of humor, put safety first, and have a wide array of lived experience.
🪴The purpose of this beginner-friendly series is to elevate your confidence and experiencing in exploring wilderness spaces, forested and coastal. We want to help you reclaim the outdoors through deeper connection with the natural world, unlearning and re-learning, and honing your hiking, camping, and backpacking skills. We’ll be taking you places that you can immediately return to and replicate the experience with your friends or family, or on your own. The series would also be useful for those with intermediate-level skills/experience.
🪴Whether you’re interested in going on your first backpacking trips, online workshops, experiential skill-building weekends, or wanting to be more safe, comfortable, and competent outdoors, this program will surely have something for you.P
🪴You’ll see that some of the opportunities are open to everyone regardless of background and some are open to all BIPOC community. BIPOC residents of King County age 18+ are prioritized.
🪴Email us with scholarship questions and if you’d like to help us sustain and grow this program donate here.
🪴Curated by Denice Rochelle, Director and founder of The Bronze Chapter, and Lindsay Huettman, Wilderness Awareness School staff, ethnobotanist, guide, and renowned outdoor educator. This series offers space to learn, grow, and feel at home in nature—especially for those long excluded from traditional outdoor narratives. And this is a space to begin replacing myth and fear with true narratives through knowledge and understanding.
🪴This program receives funding from King County VSHSL.
Online workshops are open to outdoor enthusiasts of all backgrounds!
You want to learn? We got you!
$10 each | all workshops run 7-8pm Pacific time
Registrants will be emailed a Zoom link before each class.
Classes not recorded. Class PDFs provided.
Facilitators: Denice Rochelle and Lindsay Huettman
Backpacking Logistics 101: How to Prepare for your First Backpacking Trip
Sept. 2 | 7-8pm Pacific time | $10
Learn basic logistics needed to prepare for your first backpacking trip including, but not limited to:
- Where do I go?
- Choosing a first time route, navigation, permits and skill level decisions
- What do I bring?
- How to pack smart not heavy, food and water prep
- Safety and Hazards:
- What do I need to be aware of and bring for my personal safety
- What should I learn before I go?
- Weather patterns, ecology, sensitive species, other users
Physical Health and Wellness while Backpacking
Sept. 23 | 7-8pm Pacific time | $10
Learn how to take care of your personal and specific physical needs during a backpacking trip including, but not limited to:
- Creating a personal physical care plan
- Suggestions for a basic self care kit and wellness kit
- Common physical hazards that show up during a backpacking trip
- How to prepare your body physically or backpacking
Emotional Health and Wellness while Backpacking
Sept. 30 | 7-8pm Pacific time |$10
Learn how to take care of your mental and emotional needs during a backpacking trip. We’ll address what can be done when things get tough mentally and emotionally including, but not limited to:
- Preparing yourself internally for the challenges of backpacking
- Emotional Stress 101 and how to work with it
- How to maintain helpful self talk
- Group communication practices for emotional health and safety
- What to do in a mental health crisis in the wilderness
Mitigating Risk in Wilderness Spaces
Oct. 7 | 7-8pm Pacific time | $10
Learn how to mitigate risk and increase safety and comfort through thoughtful planning. We’ll address how good planning and awareness can allow you to feel more comfortable in wild areas including, but not limited to:
- Where to start?:
- How to assess hazards for any trip
- Common hazards:
- Weather, flora/fauna, topography, “others”, etc.
- What can I bring to support myself with known hazards?
- Safety Plans 101:
- Access and egress, first aid kits, gear and communication
Introduction to the Mighty Map
Nov. 13 | 7-8pm Pacific time | $10
Learn to demystify maps by understanding map anatomy and basic features. We’ll explore way finding including, but not limited to:
- What is a map
- Anatomy of a map
- Legend / key
- Scale
- Terrain features
- Elevation
- Associating terrain
Introduction to the Clever Compass
Nov. 20 | 7-8pm Pacific time | $10
Learn to demystify a compass by understanding compass anatomy and basic features.
We’ll explore way finding including, but not limited to:
- What is a compass
- Parts of a compass and their functions
- Finding NSEW
- Using the needle
- Orientation
- Bearings
- Magnetic declination
- Route planning
- Magnetic interference
Backpack Trip to Cape Alava
(Olympic Peninsula)
August 29-31 | $75 for 1 person, $100 for 2 people registering at the same time
Email us with scholarship requests
(registration closes August 20)
Facilitators: Lindsay Huettman and Denice Rochelle
Denice Rochelle and Lindsay Huettman are inviting 10 backpackers to join this low-barrier, supportive, beginner-friendly, 3-day 2-night trip to experience the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula. If you’ve never been to this part of Washington State, don’t worry – it’s easy and we’ll be going over logistics! This trip is BIPOC-centered and all gender representations are welcome.
GOAL
The purpose of this beginner-friendly backpack trip is to elevate your love of the outdoors, connect more deeply with the natural world, unlearn, re-learn, hone your hiking, camping, and backpacking skills while reclaiming the outdoors. We hope by the end of this trip that you’ll feel confident in the skills learned to return and share this beautiful space with your family and friends.
WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE
Lush coastal forests, Ahlstrom’s Prairie, dramatic coastline, Tskawahyah Island, tide pools and marine life, wedding rocks and petroglyphs, and sunset views.
LOGISTICS OVERVIEW
Day 1: Meet at 2pm our overnight at base camp location in Clallam Bay: The Lost Resort at Lake Ozette. Set up camp, get to know each other, prep for the backpack, relax.
Day 2: Drive to trailhead in the morning. Hike ~3-miles along the coast to Cape Alava where we’ll set up camp and spend the night. Cape Alava is a prominent point on the Olympic Peninsula within Olympic National Park and the Makah Indian Reservation.
Day 3: Break camp, hike ~ 3 miles back to our cars at the trailhead, and close the backpack at 2pm.
PARTICIPANTS NEED TO:
- be able to attend the August 20 7-8pm Pacific time Zoom (required for resource preparation)
- be over age 18
- have reliable transportation
- have experience car camping
- be able to day hike 4 miles each way on a relatively flat trail
- have or be able to borrow all or most of the basic day hiking and backpacking supplies and equipment (10 Essentials, headlamp, backpacking tent, sleep pad, 40° sleeping bag, backpacking stove and fuel, mess kit and utensils, food, basic first aid kit, and water treatment system (if you have one). If there’s some equipment you aren’t able to acquire for this weekend, please contact us before registering.
A carpool link will be provided to participants wishing to self organize ride shares.
Look forward to learning:
- how to prepare for an overnight backpacking experience
- group and self care on the trail
- setting up camp
- hazards on the trail
- naturalist studies of local ecology
Backpack Trip to Pete Lake
(Alpine Lakes Wilderness)
October 10-12 | $75 for 1 person, $100 for 2 people registering at the same time
Email us with scholarship requests
(registration closes at noon on October 1)
Facilitators: Denice Rochelle and Stacy Sarver
Denice Rochelle and Stacy Sarver are inviting 6 backpackers to join this low-barrier, supportive, beginner-friendly, 3-day 2-night trip. This trip is BIPOC-centered and all gender representations are welcome.
GOAL
The purpose of this beginner-friendly backpack trip is to elevate your love of the outdoors, connect more deeply with the natural world, unlearn, re-learn, hone your hiking, camping, and backpacking skills while reclaiming the outdoors. We hope by the end of this trip that you’ll feel confident in the skills learned to return and share this beautiful space with your family and friends.
WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE
A gentle scenic trail through mature Douglas Fir, Engelmann Spruce, and Western Hemlock, with some minor water crossings. Skies permitting, we’ll enjoy views of Big Summit Chief and Chimney Rock as we arrive at the alpine shore.
LOGISTICS OVERVIEW
Located just off of I-90 at approximately 2,986 feet above sea level, Pete Lake forms the headwater of the Cooper River and sits within the stunning Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
Tent camping areas dot the east, north, and west shores, each offering different perks like beach access, creekside water from Lemah Creek, and breezes on rocky overlooks.
THE BACKPACK
Expect a hike less than 4.5‑miles (one‑way) with about 400 feet elevation gain. This trail is framed by old-growth conifers, river views, and peaceful forest ambiance – ideal for beginner backpackers.
Day 1: Meet in Roslyn at 11am for equipment check and caravanning. Park at the Pete Lake Trailhead at noon. Hike along Pete Lake trail to campsites along Pete Lake. Set up camp, get to know each other, relax, explore the lakeshore, etc.
Day 2: Enjoy and explore alpine scenery, stunning views, and glacier‑fed tranquility.
Day 3: After breakfast, we’ll break camp and retrace our steps on Pete Lake trail back to our cars and end the backpack around noon.
HIKING PERMIT
To enter this wilderness, visitors need to fill out a free permit at the trailhead.
PARKING PERMIT
Northwest Forest or America The Beautiful pass is required to park. For those without one of these passes, day parking passes can be purchased online and we’ll show you how.
PARTICIPANTS NEED TO:
- be able to attend the required October 1st prep Zoom from 7-8pm Pacific time
- be over age 18
- have reliable transportation
- have experience car camping
- be able to day hike 5 miles each way on an undulating trail
- have or be able to borrow all or most of the basic backpacking supplies and equipment (10 Essentials, headlamp, backpacking tent, sleep pad, 40° sleeping bag, backpacking stove and fuel, mess kit and utensils, food, basic first aid kit, trekking poles, and water treatment system (if you have one). If there’s some equipment you aren’t able to acquire for this weekend, please contact us before registering.
A carpool link will be provided to participants wishing to self organize ride shares.
Wild Plant First Aid for Hikers and Backpackers
October 18 | Tolt-MacDonald Park & Campground | $20 per person
(registration closes October 11)
Facilitators: Lindsay Huettman and Denice Rochelle
Workshop is full – join the waitlist
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Join us for a day learning about Pacific Northwest common plants, trees, and lichens that you can ethically use for first aid. Learn the basics of identification, toxic look-a-likes, how to harvest ethnically, and prepare easily for common hiking and backpacking ailments. No experience with plants or first aid is necessary, just bring a sack lunch, snacks, hydration, and a curious mindset.
🎁Participants will receive a Morakniv Companion SRT (S) knife, 100% cotton bandana, and water bottle for use during the workshop and to keep.
Open to all BIPOC over 18 years of age while prioritizing BIPOC residing in King County.
We’ll cover:
- How to make wild poultices for infections, sprains, and bruises
- Creating antibacterial wound wash
- Herbal sprain remedies
- How to find plants to deter insects
- Natural plant treatments for sunburn and dry skin
- How to treat fungal issues on your feet
- Plants for pain and inflammation 101
- Knife safety
Location: Tolt-MacDonald Park & Campground (Carnation, WA)
Max capacity: 15 people
Arrive: Saturday, October 18 at 10am Pacific time
Depart: Saturday October 18 4 pm Pacific time
Aidless Navigation: Wayfinding for Hikers and Backpackers
October 19 | Wilderness Awareness School | $20 per person
(registration closes October 17)
Facilitators: Lindsay Huettman and Denice Rochelle
Are you interested in ways to find your way or feeling a bit directionally challenged? At this workshop you’ll explore honing navigation skills without using a map or compass. We’ll be practicing ways to enhance your navigation skill set by deepening your connection with nature and letting the Earth and senses be your guide. We all have ancestral memories of being able to read the signs of the wild to show us the way. Come check out some practical ways to enhance your knowledge and increase your confidence moving through the landscape.
No experience with navigation is necessary, just bring a sack lunch, snacks, hydration, and a curious mindset.
🎁Participants will receive a notebook and pen for use during the workshop and to keep.
Open to all BIPOC over 18 years of age while prioritizing BIPOC residing in King County.
We’ll cover:
- The Mind: Practical orientation skills in wild places and mental hazards that get us lost
- The Senses: Using our senses wisely to navigate a landscape
- The Body: Natural Paths of Travel and Trusting Our Bodies
- The Heart: Learning to read the language of the landscape, animal sign and bird language for navigation
New Location: Wilderness Awareness School (Duvall, WA)
Max capacity: 15 people
Arrive: Saturday, October 19 at 10am Pacific time
Depart: Saturday October 19 4 pm Pacific time
LEADERSHIP & INSTRUCTORS
Denice Rochelle
Denice holds a lifelong reverence for wild places—oceans, rivers, towering trees, mountain air, and the quiet power of a good sunset. As a biracial woman navigating outdoor spaces historically dominated by whiteness, Denice brings lived experience, deep curiosity, and a passion for rewriting the story of who belongs outside.
Her love for land and sea is matched by a drive to help others unlearn fear and reclaim confidence in the natural world. What began as guiding friends of color on their first camping trips grew into a powerful movement—The Bronze Chapter—a nonprofit she founded to create joyful, skill-building, and liberating outdoor experiences for BIPOC youth, adults, and families across Washington State. Through this work, she invites others to explore healing, health, and connection as they create new legacies in the outdoors.
Denice sees learning and unlearning as lifelong practices, and she’s pursued knowledge across many landscapes—forests, shorelines, classrooms, and underwater worlds. She holds certifications in Wilderness EMT, Wilderness First Aid Instruction, CPR, AIARE 1 Avalanche Safety, Leave No Trace Level 2 Instruction, Advanced Open Water Diving, and multiple sailing levels with ASA and US Sailing. Whether guiding someone through their first backpacking trip or navigating coastal waters, Denice centers joy, safety, cultural relevance, and belonging.
Lindsay Huettman
Lindsay loves plants of the Pacific Northwest. A long-time staff member at Wilderness Awareness School, Lindsay help design their Wild Plant Intensive and other programs. She carries a deep respect and love for the natural world and brings over 25 years of experience with native plants, organic gardening/farming, plant fibers/dyes, ethnobotany, permaculture, arboriculture, plant science and emotional/physical survival skills. Her primary passion is connecting humans to wild places through plants as a vehicle to inner awareness, deep connection to the earth and confidence with plants as allies.
Her deep love of plants, learning about and from Native American Peoples, inspired her to complete a bachelor’s degree at Western Washington University in Ethnobotany Stewardship Education in 2006.
Lindsay’s other passions include leading mindfulness and intuitive tracking expeditions, PNW Geology, birdwatching, playing music, wilderness medicine, homesteading skills and rites of passage/initiation work. She also has a background in native plant landscaping, horse packing/trail guiding, teaching mindfulness meditation and whitewater rafting.
After working in transformational outdoor programs for many years, Lindsay decided to complete a Masters in Counseling Psychology and is an LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) with a specialization in ecological grief, trauma and anxiety/panic disorders. She combines this therapeutic expertise with her many years as a wilderness guide to provide transformational experiences to support self-realization, community connection and relationship with the earth.
Stacy Sarver
Stacy has a passion for learning about others’ love of the outdoors. Born and raised in the Greater Seattle area, she is a biracial woman and “third culture kid” who spends her weekends chasing the best places to watch the sunrise.
Her outdoor journey is rooted in both adventure and a deep connection to the natural world—floating in warm oceans, climbing sandstone in Nevada, snowboarding the Cascade Concrete of Stevens Pass, backpacking to alpine lakes like Gothic Basin and Colchuck Lake, and kayaking through the quiet waterways of the San Juan Islands. Each pursuit has taught her something different: the connection, movement, and resilience of the ocean; patience from long ascents; adaptability in shifting weather; and the joy of sharing these moments with others.
A lifelong learner, Stacy often reminds newcomers to the outdoors that her own journey began simply—riding her bike around the neighborhood and walking to the corner store, wind in her hair and a Snickers melting in her pocket. These days, the wind is still in her hair and the Snickers have migrated to her backpack. Since taking off her training wheels, she has also earned certifications in Wilderness First Aid, CPR, and AIARE 1 Avalanche Safety, and completed the Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) course.
Whether she’s sharing a trail snack, coaxing a first-time backpacker up the last switchback, or pointing out the best sunrise spots, Stacy hopes every trip leaves people a little more confident, a little more curious, and a lot more in love with the outdoors—and maybe with a Snickers or two in their own pack.