West Hartford Resident Completes 88-day Expedition

LANDER, Wyo. – Devin Sklar, of West Hartford, Conn., recently completed an 88-day Semester in the Southwest, traveling through the canyons of the Rio Grande to the Ponderosa Pine forests of the Gila Wilderness with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

Over the course of their semester, Sklar's group of 15 students were introduced to a variety of adventure-based skills including backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing and a backpacking student-led expedition.

The first three days of their semester were spent learning wilderness medicine in a fast paced, hands-on environment to earn their Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification. The students are now trained to respond to medical emergencies in remote wilderness settings.

Following their WFA course the students spent the next 26 days exploring the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico—a rugged land of deep canyons surrounded by high alpine plateaus. The group traveled over 136 miles while gaining 19,630 feet in elevation as they trekked through a variety of different ecosystems. Curriculum emphases were terrain management, navigation skills and creating an intentional community centered on the NOLS leadership model.

As the second section of their fall semester began, the students traded in backpacks and hiking boots for ropes and rock shoes to embark in the vertical world of rock climbing at Cochise Stronghold, outside of San Willcox, Ariz. A full climbing progression was introduced including belaying, top roping, gear placement, anchor building, sport and traditional lead-climbing, multi-pitch climbing, and rescue skills.

Following their rock climbing section the group spent two weeks in canoes battling class II+ rapids while navigating 115 miles of the Rio Grande River. For the final section of the semester the students split into two groups for a 6-day independent student group expedition. The two groups traveled 40-plus miles, both on trail and through thick brush while climbing through layers of geologic and human history in the Galiuro Mountains. By the end of the course, students had mastered the skills necessary to not only venture safely and with minimum impact into the wilderness on their own, but also to lead others on adventures in the backcountry and front country, alike.

Founded in 1965 by legendary mountaineer Paul Petzoldt, NOLS is the leader in wilderness education and sets the industry standard for responsible, high-quality educational expeditions. NOLS provides an awe-inspiring, transformative experience that develops active, positive leaders with lifelong environmental ethics and outdoor skills to more than 10,000 students each year. A private nonprofit school, NOLS runs 10-day to school-year-length courses on four continents. NOLS students, ages 14 to over 70, explore the most remote wilderness in the Rocky Mountains, Idaho, Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Alaska, Western Canada, Mexico, Patagonia (Chile), India, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Baffin Island have to offer. College credit and scholarships are available. For more information, call NOLS at (800) 710-NOLS (6657) or visit the web site at www.nols.edu. Photo credit  www.nols.edu/.