NOLS Blog
Stories from the field
Advice, stories, and inspiration from the wilderness
Backpacking the Vilcabamba Valley to Machu Picchu Alumni Trip: Inaugural Trip Reflection
An Interview with Kellsie Forbes, NOLS Alumni Trips Manager Where did the idea to create an alumni trip to explore the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu come from? Jorge Anhalzer, a NOLS instructor from Ecuador, and his friend Sam Husley, a NOLS instructor who lives in Peru, proposed it last year. It’s such a spectacular place. Most of our alumni…
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Tolerance for Uncertainty: Sea, Mountains, and Culture on a Patagonia Semester
Chilean NOLS grad Ignacio MartÃnez shares stories and advice from his Semester in Patagonia.
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NOLS and the Wilderness Risk Management Conference: 25 Years of Facing Challenges Together
For the last 25 years NOLS has worked with partners across the outdoor industry to improve risk management awareness, standards,…
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7 Fishing First Aid Hazards (and What to Do)
Read our tested strategies for handling the first aid hazards you’re most likely to see when you go fishing in…
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The Top 3 Leadership Lessons You Won’t Learn in an Office or Classroom
NOLS instructor Liz Townsend believes the most important leadership lessons are learned outdoors—not in the business world (although they do…
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Pay It Forward: How My NOLS Semester Helped Me Lead My Own Backcountry Trips
Carolyn Highland reflects on one of her favorite days ever—ascending an unnamed peak with a student-only team on her NOLS…
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Case Study: A Hot Day Becomes a First Aid Situation
Test your wilderness medicine skills to see how you would respond to this first-aid scenario.
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Snow in May: Leadership in the Face of Uncertainty
Sarah Delany reflects on the most impactful—and toughest—day of the customized NOLS course she took with fellow Bates College students…
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Quiz: Treating Heat Illness and Dehydration
How much do you really know about heat illness and dehydration? Test your skills with this first aid quiz from…
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Learning a Non-Linear Leadership Style from Sea Kayaking
Breaking the norms of leadership styles helped this NOLS grad grow on an all-women's sea kayaking leadership course in Baja…
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