Improve your leadership skills by exploring the Southwest’s Sonoran desert on this seven-day backpacking expedition. On this expedition, you will evolve in a dynamic wilderness setting as you enhance your outdoor and leadership skills, and develop new friendships within your community. In the mountains, you will learn fundamental wilderness travel skills including camping, stove use, map reading, Leave No Trace techniques, and sanitation.
Your instructors will play evolving roles as your knowledge, experience, and abilities increase throughout this self-contained expedition. You will take on increasing levels of personal and team responsibility, putting your leadership practice into application as you lead your peers. Instructors will provide structured briefing, debriefing, feedback, technical expertise, risk management, evaluation, classes, and participant leadership and followership opportunities.
You will learn from your instructors and peers, as well as from the environment you are immersed in. This area is famous for its incredible diversity and wealth of plants and animals. You’ll travel through this desert terrain, from one water source to another, and will develop a new appreciation for the creature comforts of home and a resiliency for situations where resources are limited.
Day 1: Travel to NOLS SW for equipment and ration issue. Course will depart by noon.
Days 2-6: Lead fellow expedition members; help make critical decisions to achieve expedition goals, hike, cook, camp, plan and debrief, and immerse yourself into the natural environment.
Day 7: Hike to trailhead, transport to NOLS SW, de-issue gear. Celebrate with dinner and graduation. Travel home.