Welcome. I'm Dale, and High Country Outfitters is my shop, my guide service and, most days, where you'll find me if I'm not on a trail. We're in a converted feed store on the main road through town, on the way up to the high country, and we've been here since 1991. If you've driven past on your way to the park and seen the porch full of packs and the dog asleep in the doorway, that's us. The dog's name is Muir. He does not guide.

What we do is simple: we take people into the mountains who want to go but aren't sure how, and we rent good gear to the people who already know how but don't want to buy a bear canister for one trip a year. Guided day hikes in the fall when the aspens turn. A few backpacking trips a season for folks who've never carried a pack overnight, or haven't in twenty years. Packs, tents, bags, stoves and canisters by the day or the week. And a fair amount of free advice over the counter, which is what the coffee pot is for.

This fall's trips are below. They fill. Write early.

Saturday, October 9 and Saturday, October 16, 1999 — $45 per person

The aspens in the canyons above town go gold for about two weeks every October, and these two Saturdays are our best guess for peak. We meet at the shop at 7:30 a.m., drive up together in the van (about 45 minutes on a good dirt road), and hike a loop of about seven miles with roughly 1,400 feet of climbing, through the aspen groves, along a creek, up to a granite overlook where we eat lunch, and back down by a different trail. We're back at the shop by 4:00.

Included: the van ride, a guide (me, or another experienced guide who works with the shop), trail lunch (sandwich, fruit, cookie, and I'll ask about allergies when you book), hot cider at the overlook, and a set of trekking poles to borrow if you want them. You bring the rest; see What to Bring.

This hike is for anybody in reasonable shape who can walk seven miles in a day with some uphill. We've had people in their seventies do it happily. We've had a few 25-year-olds be surprised by it. The pace is steady and we stop a lot, because the point is the color. Kids 10 and up with a parent. Limit of 12 people per date.

If the color is running early or late I'll say so on this page the week before, and if you'd rather switch dates I'll switch you. If it rains we go anyway unless it's a real storm, in which case I'll call you the night before and we'll reschedule or refund, your choice.

Friday, October 22 through Sunday, October 24, 1999 — $295 per person

This is the trip for people who have wanted to sleep out in the backcountry their whole lives and never had anyone to show them how. Two nights out, about 18 miles total over three days, into a lake basin at around 8,500 feet that most day hikers never reach. It'll be cold at night by late October, which is why we do it then: no crowds, no bugs, the larches and aspens still turning down low, and usually a dusting of early snow on the peaks above us for the view.

Included: a guide for the whole trip, all the group gear (tents, stoves, cook kit, water filter, bear canisters), all meals from Friday lunch through Sunday lunch, the wilderness permit, and the van to and from the trailhead. If you don't own a pack, sleeping bag or pad, rent them from the shop at half the regular rate for this trip. I'll fit your pack to you the day before.

What we teach along the way: how to pack a pack so it doesn't hurt, how to pick a campsite, how to use a stove and a water filter, how to store food where a bear can't get it, how to keep warm in a bag when it's 25 degrees out, how to read a topographic map and a compass well enough to not get lost, and how to leave a campsite looking like nobody was there. By Sunday you'll be able to do this on your own. That's the goal.

Fitness: you should be comfortable hiking six or seven miles in a day with a 30-pound pack. If you did the October 9 or 16 day hike and felt fine, you're fine. Ages 16 and up, under 18 with a parent. Limit of 8. A $100 deposit holds your spot; balance due October 15.

We meet at the shop Thursday evening, October 21, at 6:00 for a gear check and to go over the route. That meeting isn't optional; it's where we make sure nobody's carrying a cast iron skillet.

Everything on the rental wall is gear I'd carry myself, cleaned and checked between every rental. Prices are per day, with a three-day minimum on the bigger items, and a weekly rate that's about four days' worth. A driver's license and a credit card hold the deposit.

Reserve rental gear ahead on holiday weekends; otherwise walk in. If you're renting for a trip into the park, tell me where you're headed and I'll make sure you've got the right canister and that the tent's got all its stakes, which sounds obvious and isn't.

We also sell a modest selection of the things people forget: maps, fuel, freeze-dried dinners, socks, sunscreen, moleskin, headlamp batteries, and the good kind of trail mix. We don't try to be a big outdoor store. The big outdoor store is two hours back down the hill.

Overnight trips into the wilderness around here need a permit, and for the popular trailheads there's a quota, and for the guided trips I take care of all of that. You show up with your boots; the permit is in my pack. On the day hikes there's nothing to get, except that if we go into the park we pay the entrance fee out of your trip cost.

If you're going on your own and renting gear from us, I can't get a permit in your name, but I can tell you which ranger station to call, what to ask for, and which trailheads still have space in October (more than you'd think; the crowds go home after Labor Day). Ask at the counter. I keep the phone numbers taped to the register.

Campfire permits, where fires are allowed at all, are separate and free, and I'll tell you where the fire restrictions stand on the day you leave. This has been a dry year. Please take that seriously.

The full printed list, with weights, is at the shop, and I'll mail one to you when you book.

We're on the main road through town, on the uphill end, in the old feed store with the green tin roof and the porch. You can't miss it, and if you do, you've gone into the park and you'll have to pay to turn around.

To book a trip or reserve gear: e-mail [email protected] with the trip date, how many people, and a phone number where I can reach you, or call the shop at (555) 555-0187 during hours. If you get the machine, I'm on a trail; leave a message and I'll call back that evening. A deposit by check or credit card holds your spot and I'll confirm in writing.

Cancellation: full refund up to 7 days before a trip, half up to 48 hours, and after that I've already bought your lunch, but I'll do my best to move you to another date.

See you on the porch.
— Dale