INTENSITY LEVELS
Enjoy the anticipation and preparation for your ESC Outside hikes!
Are you physically ready for one of our trips or are you interested in getting ready? Each of our hikes is assigned a difficulty rating by trip type – Levels 1 thru 5+. See our description of each intensity level. Let ESC Outside know the type of hike you’re interested in, and we can then select the corresponding hike and difficulty rating. Of course, let us know if you have any further questions. Our primary goal is for you to have an enjoyable experience.
The nature of our trips is such that they involve physical exertion and potential exposure to the elements, including cold water, possible freezing temperatures, heat, sun, wind and rain. Individuals who are ill-prepared and lack physical conditioning can endanger themselves, other guests and guides, and compromise the quality of the group-hike experience. Please consult your doctor if you have medical or health conditions that could impact your ability to participate in this outdoor adventure. The bottom line is that our trips are active – some more than others – and having a good base level of physical fitness if critical. The more prepared and physically fit you are for the adventure, the more you’re going to enjoy the overall experience.
Physical conditioning and consistent exercise prior to these trips are mandatory. The absolute best thing you can do to train for one of our hikes is to go hiking, and hiking with weight in your day/backpack helps even more. Hiking with weight helps build strength in your legs and core and helps fortify the connective tissue that keeps your joints strong and healthy. If you have aged knees, hips, or ankles then consider hiking & training with trekking poles.
Enjoy the anticipation and preparation for your ESC Outside hikes!
OUR LEVELS
Level 2:
While physical conditioning and consistent exercise prior to these trips are essential, we have hikes that are suitable for a novice; however, you may possibly be hiking over steep and uneven terrain and be covering more than 6 miles in a day.
Level 3:
These are typically challenging day hikes, over possibly steep, mountainous, and inconsistent terrain. You may hike up to 10 miles in a day with up to 1000'-3000′ of elevation gain/loss. Previous hiking experience is certainly recommended for these hikes.
Level 4:
You may be hiking over steep and uneven terrain, often covering up to 10+ miles or more on a hike with up to 4000' of elevation gain/loss. Level 3 trips (or relevant similar experience) is mandatory.
Level 5+:
This level is limited to our “Grand Canyon and Mt Whitney” trips, which require more physical and psychological commitment than our Level 3 or 4 trips. You will hike 20+ miles for 14+ hrs with more than 5000′+ of elevation gain/loss which include many miles of travel over very rocky terrain.