A-OK at the KOA

On Sunday, after completing a very successful, 18-day hike expedition in the Gila Wilderness, Sonoran Year students transitioned to climbing camp at Cochise Stronghold.  Spirits are high at Cochise, as well as along the Rio Grande and deep within a remote cave, where Fall Semester students continue to hone their leadership skills.   

Down here at the NOLS Southwest, course transitions are sometimes referred to as a “road show.”  We accomplish the gear swapping, equipment cleaning, laundry washing, and first-showers-in-weeks at a host location.  As you can well imagine, said location will inevitably be graced with the presence of a very special blend of dirt, odor, and, of course, energetic students.

For several years now, we have been grateful guests of the Silver City KOA, where we regularly manage such "road show" transitions.  Jackie Blurton, who owns and runs the campground with her husband, Jim, truly rolls out the red carpet for us.  We consistently arrive to smiles from campground staff and even a signboard that reads “Welcome NOLS.” Jackie has become famous with both instructors and students for her stuffed French toast and her above and beyond hospitality.  Jackie, herself an avid backcountry traveler, has become an important part of a Southwest course. 

On behalf of all of us:  Thank you Jackie (above, left) and everyone at the Silver City KOA! 

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Reflections on the Moon Landing, Spice Kits

There is only one word capable of accurately describing what, exactly, is happening here at the NOLS Southwest:  renaissance. 

The historical significance of this unique period is difficult to grasp; we’ve thus assembled a team (me) to begin documenting everything (pictures, really), which will be analyzed, researched, and sent to institutions adorned with thick ivy walls where scholars, aided with microscopes and full encyclopedia sets, will sift through each written word, each pixel of visual information, and make something really important, like a DVD.

In short, we’ve held long, heated debates in the grand hall (kitchen) regarding the historical integrity of the moon landing (and this was prior to NASA blowing up part of it this week).  We’ve studied ‘noodlin’ – a method of removing catfish from a river with your bare hands – by way of laptop video.  We even welcomed in a new student, Saxon Boswell, who is an actual noodler (an appreciative moment of silence, please).    

Most importantly, we’ve sent off this fall’s Sonoran Year course.  Twelve students entered the Gila Wilderness on October 6^th, along with instructors Nick Storm and Lisa Bauer. 

After a busy day sifting through gear and preparing hundreds of pounds of field rations, the course arrived at two conclusions: 

1.     Every ounce counts.  NOLS Southwest continues teaching students the finer points of lightweight backcountry travel.  Cutting weight while maintaining essentials pays off in the field, as students are by now fully aware.

2.  How do you define a spice?  Solving this riddle, student Claire Kane Boychuk declared:  “it depends on the weight to performance ratio.”  Essentially, if a very small amount of any given food item delivers an impressive punch to the pallet, you’ve got a spice.  Well said.

As Sonoran Year students began their adventure into the Gila last Tuesday, Fall Semester students transitioned to a climb camp at Cochise Stronghold.  Another Fall Semester course continues its caving section, and hot weather has again pressed itself across the arid landscapes here in the southwest.  

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October Rain and Transitions in the Southwest

The first cool rain of the season has fallen across the desert here in Tucson, reminding us of mornings past, waking to our tent homes encased in a symphony of droplets.  Right now, we know our students are enjoying the same as they continue along in their own adventures.

Today, Fall Semester students are either wrapping up a hiking section, and beginning their first day of caving camp, or nearing transition to a climbing section.   We are thrilled for the coming arrival of Sonoran Year students, set to begin their program in a few short days.  Here at the branch, we’re busy preparing rations and re-organizing gear, excited that fall has fully descended across the Southwest.    

In other news, branch staff put some muscle into a few campus improvements last week—adding shaded campsites for instructors in the Governor’s Lot and making window upgrades to our on-site housing. 

This week, instructors gathered for an excellent seminar on diversity, lead by the Southwest's very own Ryan Hutchins-Cabibi and Lander's Kary Sommers, who came down from NOLS headquarters to be with us.  NOLS instructors left thrilled to be working on a school-wide diversity and inclusion initiative, which aims to increase the diversity of staff, faculty, and students.  

Wherever you are, we hope you are enjoying this wonderful fall season!

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NOLS Southwest at Summit Hut Outdoor Expo

NOLS Southwest staff recently spent a sunny Tucson weekend at the Summit Hut spring sale and Outdoor Expo.  Summit Hut is a NOLS Preffered Retailer with friendly, skilled staff who love to help folks get outdoors.

NOLS Southwest has long had a fun and interactive relationship with Summit Hut, often attending the annual used gear swap meet and now the outdoor expo.  Southwest Director Janeen Hutchins, Assistant Director Scott Christy, and Special Projects Manager Ryan Hutchins-Cabibi spent two days sharing information with a broad group of outdoor recreationists and networking with other local non-profits.

"Summit Hut began its entry into the outdoor retail industry modestly in 1967 when two fifteen year-old friends, Jeff Conn and Summit Hut, Ltd. President, David Baker, collaborated to offer a special order service for Tucsonans who desired backpacking and mountaineering equipment. The boys conducted business from their bedrooms and stored the inventory under their beds. In 1968 David, a senior in high school, bought out Jeff's interest in the company and rented a 150 square foot room attached to a small bicycle shop across the street from their high school.

As an independent Tucson, Arizona based business, the Summit Hut actively supports local, state and regional outdoor recreation related causes and events to the best of our ability. We feel it is our obligation, as an outdoor retailer, to do our part in maintaining the very land that allows our business to exist."

We were excited to watch Dave Baker, Summit Hut President present an excellent clinic on lightweight backpacking techniques, and to get upclose and personal with some raptors from the local animal rescue program.

With deals on gear, onsite coffee and tri-tip BBQ, afun and diverse group of local non-profits and of course your friendly Neighborhood NOLS Staff, this event was great fun!

A huge Thanks to all the Summit Hut employees for running a great Expo and inviting us to attend, We look forward to being a part of this great Tucson event in the future!

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The cleaners

The cleaners
Originally uploaded by RyanHC

Looking straight out of the old west NOLS Southwest Sonoran Year students strike a pose in front of the official adopt-a-roadway sign for the NOLS section of North Soldier Trail near the NOLS Southwest base in Tucson, Arizona.

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Thumbs Up

Thumbs Up Originally uploaded by RyanHC Students and NOLS Southwest staff teamed up to apply their Leave No Trace (LNT) Ethics to the front country by participating in a bi-annual clean up of N. Soldier Tr. in Tucson AZ.

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NOLS Adopt-a-roadway

 

NOLS Southwest along with students from the Sonoran Year program took some time this morning to pick up roadside trash along North Soldier Trail in Tucson.  The NOLS Southwest base is located on North Soldier Trail and NOLS Southwest has been adopting this stretch of roadfor many years.  Donning Orange safety vests and gloves, staff and students set out to pick up any trash we could find along the road.  When we were done, we had a vote on the craziest most bizarre item found.

Items nominated for most bizarre item were:

NOLS Adopt-a-roadway
Originally uploaded by RyanHC

Guitar
Toaster oven
Batmobile
Donald Duck head
Fuzzy Duck Sticker
Can on a Stick
Air Filter
Emergency contraceptive & Pregnancy test
Just married sticker
2 Dirty movies
Metal pole with spoon attached
$1 in Monopoly money

Once the votes were tallied, it was clear that Drew Seitz, proctor extrodinaire had found the most bizzare and random item...

The Batmobile!

We congratulate Drew on his thorough collection of roadside debris and his keen eye for the bizarre.

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Cold Rain & Hot Burrito Wraps

The NOLS Southwest Sonoran Year students are about half way through the Wilderness First Responder (WFR) portion of their year program here at NOLS Southwest.  This 80 hour course is focused on wilderness emergency care.  This mornings lesson was on Hypothermia, and two lucky(?) students were able to jump in a cold shower and then get treated for hypothermia by the rest of the course.  WMI of NOLS instructor Brian Barrett upped the ante by simulating a southwestern monsoon with  nearby garden hose!  Despite the deluge, the rescuers were able to get the patients securely wrapped in hypo-wrap "burritos" to aid in the rewarming process. 

Students are in town for about another week as they wrap up the WFR course then they head back into the field for the literature section of the course.

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Fall in the Southwest

The fall season at NOLS Southwest is well underway.  Our students have all begun their semesters with various skills section including Hiking in the Gila Mountains, Caving throughout the Southwest and climbing at Cochise Stronghold in South Eastern Arizona.  Students this fall are motivated and enthusiastic and have been raving about their experience thus far.  All three fall semesters have proctors who will be traveling with students throughout the semester, offering consistent mentorship and supervision for whole semester.

Meanwhile, back at the NOLS Southwest base, there has been a flurry of exciting projects being done between student transitions at the base.  The entire staff pitched in to build platforms for and erect three new 16' yurts for in-town staff housing.

We had the "upstairs" building, which houses our administrative offices and staff commons painted this fall, as well as updating the staff kitchen with a fresh new color.  We have had the pleasure of working with local contractors who have installed some much needed new electrical systems to our boat house, transportation and facilities areas, expanding our ability to work in those areas after dark and to provide for multiple uses including increased course prep areas. 

We can't believe that the fall is going by so fast and we are excited to see our students and staff everytime they come back to the base for a transition.

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A New Perspective in 88 Days

" It is the most life-affirming and confidence-building thing I have ever done."

John Balke of Libertyville, Illinois completed a Spring Semester in the Southwest and gained not only technical and leadership skills, but a whole new perspective. "I loved it," he recently told his local paper. "Besides the actual activities and things we did, NOLS gave me a different perspective on my life."

While backpacking, rock climbing, caving, and canoeing through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, John became a firm believer in the benefits of NOLS, telling people he knows to "do it" because of the payoffs he experienced. Excited by his experiences and the support his coursemates provided for him, John is now striving to become a NOLS instructor and plans to take a NOLS Alumni trip.

To check out the whole story click here: A New Perspective

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