Hello aspiring Backpacking Building Blocks (B3) students! Thank you in advance for completing this survey! It serves two vital purposes.
First, it helps us get a sense of your readiness to be successful in the activities required to graduate from the course. We do adjust the challenge level of the backpacking trips that are put before you based on your current conditioning and your experience on backcountry trails, but everyone must have prior experience day-hiking at least 5-miles and 1000 feet of elevation gain on a typical backcountry trail (uneven surface with roots, rocks, mud, steep gravelly slopes, fallen logs, sometimes water crossings) at a pace of at least 1.5 miles per hour, carrying at least a day-pack.
If you haven't had prior experience on this type of trail, B3 may really not be fun for you and could impact the success of the others on your trips with you as well, so we'd encourage you to start instead with
the Mountaineers GoHike course which is focused on helping beginners build hiking and trail experience starting with easy trails and building up. Then you can take your newfound trail skills into B3 in 2026!
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Second, all Backpacking Building Blocks (B3) students are placed in a mentor group containing two mentors and about 8 students, and you will go through the lectures and many activities together during the season. This is your Trail Family! Mentor groups work best when the members have similar current fitness levels and trail experience. We will use your answers to the questionnaire below to determine which of the 8 mentor groups will be most comfortable and supportive for you.
Please think carefully about each answer and mark the boxes that best describe you . If you aren't sure of how best to answer, feel free to contact our Mentor Group Coordinator Sarah Hess at hess@whidbey.com.