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.