I will do my best to summarize my NOLS experience for you. There were 15 students, ages ranging from 18 to 35, and 3 instructors. We hiked in the Absaroka Mountains and some in Yellowstone National Park. We had 2 re-rations where a horse-packing team brought us a resupply of food at a designated date and location. The second re-ration point was at the Thoroughfare which is the most remote point in the continental US (furthest distance from a road). We traveled through mud, rock/scree, dead fall log obstacle courses, snow, marsh, rivers, peaks/passes, meadows, dense willows, and much more. Our first night out we encountered a thunder storm where lightning struck a tree a quarter-mile away from us and started a small fire. Praise the Lord the fire went out in the night and did not spread! There were no major injuries on our trip and no one had to be evacuated. My only ailments were sun-bumps and blisters on my hands despite my best efforts to keep them sun screened and covered. I also had about a thousand mosquito bites, but that is to be expected when you are as sweet as I am (just kidding!).
We had 80 hours of WFR training in the field which included medical classes, rescue scenarios, and testing. Each student also taught 2 classes throughout the month (my classes were on the 4 leadership roles and poison ivy/oak/sumac). We practiced outdoor leadership by becoming a Leader of the Day (LOD) which included the responsibilities of mapping our route for the day, organizing self-sufficient hiking groups, making group decisions, keeping track of time, selecting our camp and kitchen sites, and so forth.
In addition to the medical training, some of the practical skills we learned were:
Elegant backpack packing- avoid the void in the pack, go as light as you can (many items you think you can't live without are actually not necessary) ounces translate to pounds. everything should be rain proofed at all times. keep maps, rain-gear, snacks, and water easily accessible. store a pair of sacred socks at the bottom of your sleeping bag
Back country cooking- we never ate freeze-dried food and learned to utilize spices to make delicious meals in a pot and fry-bake. Some of my favorite dishes were calzones, gado-gado, apple cider scones, and cake.
Navigation- using topo maps, compass, and checking our accuracy with a GPS for on-trail and off-trail hikes)
Leave No Trace principles- proper waste disposal, hiking on durable surfaces, fire maintenance, respect wildlife and other humans, etc.
Pooing in the wilderness- digging the dukie dungeon. since we did not bring any TP we had lots of practice with alternatives such as rocks, sticks, leaves, and snow (my personal favorite)
Bear safety- making bear-calls, carrying bear-spray, storing food and scented items in a bear-fence or bear hang
Fly fishing- I never caught any fish, but at least I know how to fish
Gear repair- how to fix a MSR whisper-lite stove, speedy-stitch the pot parka, replace the zipper on a tent, splint my spork, etc.
And so many more lessons that I will discover when I find myself in the wilderness context again.
I posted pictures on my Facebook, but here are a few for those of you without Facebook access (posted in no particular order):
Thanks for reading! Please comment if you have any questions. :)
Joy and blessings!
~Amy
