Wilderness

Editor’s Note: This post begins our Outdoor Skills Essentials series, created for anyone who wants to become more capable and prepared in backcountry environments. Each post introduces practical concepts and skills that contribute to thoughtful preparation, responsible participation, and greater confidence while living and traveling outdoors.

Long before a group reaches the trailhead for a challenging day hike that concludes at the peak of one of Colorado’s 58 Fourteeners, there’s a ton of work to do. That also goes for a multi-day backcountry expedition such as the ones we offer here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). 

Gear needs to be sorted, the route studied, weather checked, meals planned, and group equipment divided among packs. Participants also need to consider water sources, potential campsites, clothing, travel time, and what conditions or wildlife they may encounter along the way.

All of this happens before anyone takes the first step on the trail, yet each decision from that point onward contributes to what happens once the group starts moving.

At NCOAE, outdoor skills begin with this type of preparation. Participants learn skills and put them to use in environments where their decisions affect how they live and travel in wilderness. Before those decisions involve navigation, campcraft, climbing technique, or other skills in the field, participants need to think through where they’re going and what they’ll need, as well as how they’ll contribute to the group.

Outdoor Skills Begin With an Expedition Mentality

Our Outdoor Skills Essentials curriculum introduces Expedition Mentality as a “mindset of planning, preparing, and acting in order to sustain the emotional and physical safety and comfort of self and community.”

A backcountry experience (even one lasting less than 24 hours) puts people in an (more…)

Flash floods. Drought. Heat domes. Triple-digit heat indexes. Fire clouds. Those aren’t predictions from some distant climate scenario, they’re terms pulled from today’s headlines, actively transforming how we approach wilderness adventures and outdoor expeditions.

Some of these news stories hit close to home for anyone embarking on outdoor adventure programs or remote excursions. In late August of this year, a catastrophic flash flood triggered by a glacial collapse swept through a mountainous region of Nepal popular with trekkers, killing hundreds and leaving thousands missing.

Days later, a violent thunderstorm sent floodwaters roaring through Bright Angel Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, killing two hikers, destroying footbridges, and forcing evacuations, underscoring why backcountry safety and wilderness medicine are more critical than ever.

Nature has always challenged, and sometimes punished, those daring enough to explore remote backcountry destinations. But rapidly changing atmospheric conditions have raised the stakes, even in more (more…)

Years ago, I was working in wilderness-based setting with a group of gang members who were attempting to break away from the often-violent lifestyle in which they found themselves. During a break our programming, I asked a loaded question.

“Anybody want to tell me about their tattoos and what they mean?”

The 30 or so gang members, hailing from a variety of organizations — MS-13, Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings — stared up at me. Hard. One participant in the back shouted, “Nobody gives a shit about our tattoos!”

When I burst out laughing, I was met with even harder stares, I realized an explanation was in order. I told the participants that everyone wants to know about their tattoos. They’re just too afraid to broach the subject.

I said that if we were to put a person covered in tattoos from head to toe on a scale, and then somehow remove all that ink on their skin and weighed them again, the weight change would probably be undeterminable.

If, however, that same tattooed gang member walked into a job interview, the weight of those tattoos — what they represented — would be a thousand pounds. So again, I asked them to tell me the stories and histories behind their tattoos. What followed was an enlightening experience. The curtain was pulled back and these folks opened up and shared the significance behind their body art. 

My point is this: Words and images have weight. 

Words and Images Have Weight

I tell you this because a leading outdoor industry retailer — REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) — recently announced an adjustment to their marketing, based on patterns they say are cropping up in our culture today. REI’s announcement that the company is rebranding its tour business from REI Adventures to REI Experiences caught many people I know off guard, myself included. 

It’s an effort, they say, to increase their participant base to three million clients a year. The company’s officers and administrators fear the word “Adventure” is getting in the way of its effort to grow the business.

So, what is it we think when a brand that builds a $3.7-billion-a-year business around catering to adventurers decides to change the word to experiences instead? Is adventure too heavy of a word? Is the term adventure dangerous? Are we — both consumers and outdoor community members — becoming soft?

What comes next? Will the (more…)

Zac Adair, our co-founder and executive director, recently asked one of our course
participants why they signed up for a particular outdoor adventure. “It was a photo that
appeared on your website of a guy on top of a mountaintop with the blue skies above the
glaciers in the background.”

Picture yourself here. It’s a common tactic in all great marketing campaigns. If after
seeing an advertisement, you can picture yourself wearing a specific shirt, driving a
particular truck, or vacationing on a cruise ship that’s making its way to the Bahamas,
then the team of marketers responsible for those ads has done their job.

Here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education — where we’re focused
on designing and guiding outdoor and adventure education experiences that promote
personal growth, professional development, and stewardship in our community and the
natural environment — we employ the same tactics. Take one look at our website and
you’ll see photographs and videos featuring real NCOAE students participating in the
very courses and trainings that we offer around the globe.

So, it’s little wonder that these videos and photos prompt our website visitors to picture
themselves on one of our backcountry adventures. But here’s the thing that may escape
such a casual or initial thought. That picture of a (more…)

Happiness is an inside job. And on the flip side of that coin, depression — a mood disorder — is a condition that also primarily originates from inside our minds. Happiness is an action word. It requires a decision. And happiness does not have to wait.

Take the winter months, for example. If you are an outdoor enthusiast — and we assume you are if you’re perusing our NCOAE website — you know the true meaning of “winter blues.” Often, we find ourselves cooped up inside, postponing our happiness until the spring.

When it’s unbearably cold, windy, and wet outside, many of us feel out of sorts. We’re moody, have no energy, and we’re eager to get outside. Unfavorable weather conditions often put a halt to those plans, or seriously limit our participation.

Doctors have a name for this mental anguish, and it’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). We’re not trying to be cute or funny here, because it really is SAD. It’s a form of depression that is directly related to changes in season, usually beginning in the late fall and continuing throughout the winter months.

Doctors put part of the blame on the decrease in sunlight in fall and winter that can disrupt your internal clock. That same lack of sun beams can prompt a drop in serotonin — a chemical in the brain that affects mood. Finally, the seasonal change can increase the production of melatonin  — a hormone that regulates the sleep–wake cycle in the body and plays a big role in sleep patterns.

Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder

According to the Mayo Clinic, signs and symptoms of SAD may include: (more…)