Fall Semester Grad Savors the Outdoors

Liam Tuveson participated in an adventure of a lifetime as part of a fall semester program in the Rockies with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

After graduating from Groton School, Groton, Massachusetts, in 2015, he embarked on the course from Aug. 28-Nov. 24, 2015. “In the weeks prior to the semester, I prepared by working out at Cook Performance, Batesville, and I spent some time looking at reviews and videos of the course online to prepare for what I might have to deal with,” he said.

After preparing supplies and learning how to properly stuff backpacks, Tuveson and the other nine students left Lander for the Wind River Mountain Range in the western half of Wyoming to begin the first part of the trek, the mountain section. “There we spent 24 days …. backpacking, fishing, backcountry rock climbing and going on day hikes, mostly to nearby mountain peaks. On travel days, our packs were between 55-80 pounds, depending on what supplies each of us carried and how much of our rations were left. We trekked through whatever weather nature threw at us, going up to 12 miles in a day.”

“Trails winded through wooded areas, around lakes and often over mountain passes, some with notorious names like Texas Pass. Wildlife was a constant threat to our safety, and so we would always walk in groups and, at the very least, carry around a can of bear spray with us. We would reach camp some nights soaked from rain, snow and/or hail from the day’s hike, knowing that the next day might be exactly the same. The mountain section was easily the toughest section for me. Prior to NOLS, I had slept in a tent maybe three times in my life, and that on top of long hikes and being with a group of smelly teenagers and adult men who hadn’t showered in three weeks made it even tougher. However, the mountains proved to me that friends can be made during even the most unpleasant of moments.”

Read the full story about Tuveson’s Fall Semester in the Rockies here.