Winter backpacking is much safer if you are in a group but how do you find other people interested in this activity? If you live in Washington State, join our winter backpacking Meetup. If you live elsewhere, the tips outlined here are for you. This information is intended to help you find other winter enthusiasts and build a winter backpacking group where you live. There are many ways to go about growing a backpacking group. The suggestions offered here are based on the history and experience of our Pacific Northwest group.
1. Use Social Media
Some hikers use Facebook, Meetup, WhatsApp, and WeChat to organize events and share photos. Other platforms may also work. I mainly use Meetup and WhatsApp. The easiest to use are perhaps Facebook and Meetup. You simply search these platforms for hiking groups nearby and/or create your own.
Our group is based in Washington state. The mountains and forest are not far away and people living here want to get out and enjoy abundant natural beauty. Hiking, backpacking, and climbing have a long history in the state. The state has 31 designated Wilderness Areas and is home to Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades national parks. It also has Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, 3 national recreation areas, and 8 national forests. The Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest alone extends 140 miles from Canada to the boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. All of this outdoor wilderness, parkland, and forests, has helped create an outdoor recreation culture in the state.
Be Patient
Even with around 12 million Washington and Oregon residents and the 24 ski areas claiming 4.5 million ski visits in 2022–23, it is still hard to find winter backpackers. It took about 6–8 years to build up the group to a level that can do events nearly every two weeks of the year.