Senior Seminar 2026

What steps are involved in designing and preparing for a successful backpacking trip?

Hello, my name is Aria Teva and I am a high school senior attending Watkinson School. All seniors at Watkinson take Senior Seminar, a course that allows students to independently pursue a topic they are passionate about and spend the year expanding their knowledge to become novice experts. The process is guided by an initial essential question, followed by extensive research, collaboration with experts and community members, creative product development, and a final culminating presentation. In February, students have two release weeks from school to dive deeper into the project and get real-world experience. This class has provided me with a perfect opportunity to further pursue my love for outdoor exploration that will serve me well into the future.

Now, this brings me to my essential question: What steps are involved in designing and preparing for a successful backpacking trip? I formulated this question specifically because, while the guided backpacking trip was the ideal introduction to many aspects of backpacking like food, maps, safety, and community, I was not involved in any of the planning. Through this question, I was interested in learning about the work involved in putting together a backpacking trip since preparation is a critical piece of any travel plan. With this overarching question in mind, I developed other guiding questions that covered my intended topics of finding a route, choosing gear, planning food, following necessary safety protocols, respecting the environment, as well as exploring what motivates people to backpack. Since I intend to do more backpacking, my personal hope for the project was to do research that would be informative and benefit me both now, and in future endeavors.

Product

Artist Statement

For my Senior project, I decided to write a guidebook for beginners that covers the basics of backpacking. While I am not an expert backpacker who has years of experience, I consider myself knowledgeable about this topic through extensive research and familiarity with camping and hiking. I landed on this product because during my research phase there were many sources from very committed backpackers giving advice to those who had less experience. While this can be helpful, I found that these articles didn’t always have all the information that a beginner would need, like detailed steps about the planning process. That is what motivated me, a novice expert who is just beginning to pursue backpacking, to write a comprehensive guide on key aspects of backpacking.

My process of creating this guidebook began with general research in the topics of food, water, safety, gear, and environmental awareness. This research, along with my previous knowledge, built a strong foundation for me to present in the book. From there, I began planning my own backpacking trip, carefully documenting each step to help guide others through the process. This included picking a location and date, making reservations, choosing a route, collecting gear, and planning food. Lastly, I filled in the book with other sections to supplement my research and planning. I began with an introduction that includes my previous experiences that have led me to choose this topic, and a chapter about what motivates different people to backpack with quotes from backpackers I know. I ended with a reflection on my backpacking trip that shows how being intentional and organized in the planning stage will make the final trip much more enjoyable.

My goal through this book is to show how I got into backpacking, what I learned through research, the steps I took when planning my own first short trip, and my honest review of the entire process. It is easy to feel as though you may not be a backpacker, or be overwhelmed by the planning needed, but with this breakdown of the process from someone who still has a lot to learn, I hope to inspire more people to get out on the trail.