Backcountry Trips with WTA: How to Choose a Trip and Sign Up
While you're planning your perfect hiking year, may we suggest saving room for a backcountry trip with WTA? They're multi-night volunteer trail work parties that run from March to October, offering opportunities to backpack, get trail building skills, and meet new friends! Some of our trips offer a chance to stay and work in places where permits or campsites are hard for the average hiker to snag.
Backcountry trips let you soak in scenery like this while doing trail work for a few days in a row. Photo courtesy James Alexander.
Our trail system wouldn't be what it is without volunteer work, and our backcountry trips improve hundreds of miles of trails each season. What's more, you don't need to be a pro backpacker to join. From boat-in camps to frontcountry car camps, including some with delicious camp meals, we have several types to choose from. So if trail work in an epic location sounds good to you, read up on the details and timeline below, and look into our schedule.
- Backcountry response team (BCRT): You bring your tent, gear and food. We'll bring the tools. These trips are for those with mutli-day backpacking experience who are able to be self-sufficient in the backcountry. You'll need to be able to carry in all your own gear and food, as well as tools. Hiking distance and elevation gain can be moderate to extreme.
- Volunteer vacations: You bring a day pack and the clothes you'll need for 7 days in the backcountry. We'll provide the food and transport of all the communal gear to camp. Occasionally, volunteer vacations stay in accommodations provided by our agency partners, so you may get to stay in a bunkhouse or cabins. On most volunteer vacations, you'll bring your own tent or camp in your vehicle. You also get a free day in the middle of the trip to spend time exploring the area. Note: These trips have a fee associated with them to cover the cost of the food we provide.
- Intro to BCRTs: Perfect if you're new to backpacking but have the gear and a desire to stretch and grow. The trips are shorter in duration and feature shorter hiking distances than other BCRTs. You'll need to bring in your own gear, food, water and tools for trail work.
- Car camp BCRT: No tent needed, because you'll camp (in a tent or your vehicle) at the trailhead. You'll need to supply your own gear, food and water. You'll still get a daily hike to your work site.
- Boat-in BCRTs and volunteer vacations: A boat carries all the gear (including yours!) and you'll take a short hike to a remote campsite. Boat-in access is usually noted in the summary of the work party on our volunteer page.
Work parties on Lake Chelan are historically some of our most popular, and involve a combination of boat access and backpacking a short distance to the worksite. Photo courtesy Bob Zimmerman.
Registration for 2026 backcountry trips opens on Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. Complete these four steps before then so your registration is as smooth as possible.
Create a My Backpack account on wta.org if you don't already have one. (Note: If you write trip reports or have volunteered with us before, you've probably got an account. If you are new to WTA, here's how to create an account.)
Complete both your medical history and backcountry experience forms before Feb. 21. They're in your My Backpack account. They typically take about 20 minutes to fill out, and you'll need access to your current medical record to do it, so allow time for that. Please fill out these forms thoroughly (they help us respond to emergencies in the field and gauge the experience level of crews for specific projects).
Between Feb. 13 and Feb. 21, review the calendar of trips to find a trip or two you're interested in.
Read our frequently asked questions for BCRTs or volunteer vacations, where you'll be able to find a lot of answers. If you're still curious about something, sign up for our 6 p.m. Q&A session on Feb. 12.
Backcountry trips offer worksites and campsites in gorgeous places with a fun crew. Photo courtesy James Alexander.
Pro Tips for registration day
Get online early
Work parties fill fast. If you can, try to be online about 10 minutes before registration starts.
Get on that waitlist ...
If a trip you want to join is full, put yourself on a waitlist. There's a decent chance you'll get on the trip. Crew lists change a lot before we head out. WTA staff looks at registration timestamps when moving people off the waitlist, but here are some other criteria we consider:
- Whether you've done a volunteer vacation before. (We hold two spots on each volunteer vacation for newcomers)
- Whether you've already been on a trip this year. Is there someone else on the list who hasn't had the chance to go out yet?
... but don't save your spot
Please only register for trips you are certain you'll be able to join. We understand that life can throw curveballs and you may need to cancel last minute. But we want anyone who is interested in experiencing a backcountry trip to have a chance to snag a spot, and registering for a lot of trips you're not sure you can make takes that opportunity away from other people and can impact the project.
We can't control fire (or weather)
Ongoing drought conditions and an increasingly unpredictable climate have extended wildfire season across the West. We do our best to plan trips that take these and other environmental factors into account, and we have back-up plans in place in case locations or projects need to change. However, safety is our number one priority, so even with careful planning, cancellations may still be necessary. We'll communicate any changes or cancellations to crews as early as possible.
A happy crew at the end of a BCRT in 2023. Photo courtesy Charlie Lieu.