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Absaroka Backpacking
 

Yellowstone National Park’s wild eastern neighbor is Wyoming’s Absaroka (Ab-sor-ka) Range, a vast wilderness region with some of the most remote territory in the Lower 48.

You’ll travel through broad river valleys surrounded by sheer glacier-carved cliffs, camp under towering conifers, and hike across alpine plateaus where the tallest plants are only a few inches high. You’ll fly-fish for large cutthroat trout, effectively ford high mountain rivers, practice GPS and compass navigation, and learn how to camp and travel in bear country. Along with grizzlies, other fauna you’re likely to see are eagles, bighorn sheep, elk, moose, black bears, coyote, and recently re-introduced gray wolves.

For students craving remote, rugged land filled with wildlife, this is your course. In the Absarokas, you will live the lessons you need to skillfully travel in the mountains long after your course ends.

Absaroka Backpacking
Features world-famous Orvis™ fly fishing curriculum and gear.
Duration: 30 days
Age: 16 and over (Average age 19)
Tuition: $3,765
Dates:

June 1-June 30, 2009
June 8-July 7, 2009
July 13-August 11, 2009

College Credit:
(Optional)

6 Semester Credit Hours
2 Hours Environmental Ethics
2 Hours Leadership Techniques
2 Hours Skills Practicum

Course start/end: Lander, Wyoming
Equipment Deposit: $350
Fly in/out: Riverton, Wyoming
Downloads:
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Course Description (pdf)
Equipment List (pdf)

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Related Courses
Wind River Wilderness
Alaska Backpacking
Pacific Northwest Backpacking

 

Moving along the trail in Wyoming's stunning Absaroka Range.
Photo: Scott Pankratz

 

"I remember the grey rocks I let my eyes slide over and the dull green lichen growing on their dewy surfaces. My pulse was a slow pound inside my chest and head, my heels and hands, letting me know that I was gaining considerable altitude. Like a thin second skin, the sweat running down my neck and forehead rippled and cooled when the slight breeze slid down upon us from the summit."

Stephanie Stucker
Absaroka Backpacking Course, 2002

 

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