NOLS Blog
Case Study: Bear Spray in the Face
The Setting You are almost done with a 3-day backpacking trip in the Wind River Mountain Range of Wyoming with two of your friends. You only have a couple miles left to get back to the car, and you’re already dreaming of the cheeseburger and milkshake you’re going to have once back in town. Prior…
Case Study: Fishhooks
Photo: Lindsay Nohl The Setting You’re on the first day of a twelve-day whitewater canoeing expedition down the ...
When Everything Came Into Focus — Hiking Patagonia’s Torres del Paine O Circuit Alumni Trip
Photo: Libby Poston I first learned about the O Circuit in 2025, a year before I actually did ...
Case Study: Heat Illness on an Early-Season Wildland Fire Assignment
The Setting You are working on a Type 2 initial attack handcrew in the Deschutes National Forest during the early part of fire season. It’s one of the first assignments of the year, and while conditions aren’t extreme yet, temperatures have climbed into the mid-80s°F with full sun exposure on a south-facing slope. The crew…
Rothberg-Birdwhistel Expedition Fund: Panchachuli III Peak Climb
In May 2025, Bharat Bhushan, Prerna Dangi, and I took on a challenge to climb Panchachuli III (6,349m), believed by local residents to remain unclimbed. We aimed to approach it via the northeast route through the Meola Glacier. Despite occasional visits by military and paramilitary personnel, there was no recorded mountaineering information or documented route…
Case Study: Non-Freezing Cold Injury on a Canoe Trip
The Setting You are leading an early-season canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It’s mid-May, and while the days are mild, the water is still very cold. Travel involves frequent portaging and wading in and out of the canoe to load and unload gear. Despite good effort, everyone’s feet have been wet…
Lou Gordon: Three Decades of Influence
Louise “Lou” Gordon’s office in the Wilderness Medicine wing of NOLS Headquarters is tucked into the perpendicular intersection of two banks of offices, in the center of the activity but quiet and a little reserved. Like Lou herself.
After more than 30 years, the last 6 1/2 as NOLS Wilderness Medicine’s Wilderness EMT Supervisor, Lou is cleaning and packing up her office in preparation for her retirement. Her last day is May 1.
Climate Medicine: Where Climate Change and Healthcare Meet
Springtime has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. Trees and grasses are greening up, flowers are blooming, and birds have returned to greet the morning with song. As many of Earth’s residents head into boreal summer, they know to expect rising temperatures. But what does that heat mean for human health? What happens when infectious diseases…
Summer Travel Programs for Teens: Why Wilderness Expeditions Offer More Than a Passport Stamp
Most summer travel programs for teens promise adventure. A select few actually deliver it. There is a difference between traveling through a place and learning to move through it with skill and intention. That difference is worth understanding before you commit to any program, and before your teen boards a plane. This guide breaks down…
Case Study: Nauseous in the Heat
This case study focuses on how responders must be creative and thoughtful to adapt plans as they care for patients on a wilderness—not city—timeframe.
My Semester in Baja, as Told in Food and Sunsets [Photo Essay]
NOLS grad Claire Burgeson shares her study abroad experience in Baja through stunning photos of beaches and wildlife, local practices and food, and more.
It’s Getting Hot in Here: The Ps and Qs of Heat Illness
It’s important to be aware of the different types of heat illness, and their treatment principles, should an emergency arise—take a look at them in this post.
How to Make Deluxe Mac and Cheese in the Backcountry
Mac and cheese is a backcountry classic - use your favorite cheese and veggies for the perfect dinner
Meeting the Unexpected on a NOLS Gap Year Expedition
NOLS gap year expedition grad Luna Rosal gives insight into both the fun and challenges she experienced on a NOLS gap year.
How One Outdoor Educator Builds Sense of Place (and How You Can, Too)
NOLS Instructor Oscar Manguy shares the way he carefully builds a framework for sense of place in order to connect students to nature while on expeditions.
Climbing and the Four Basic Needs: Tuning Into the “Why” Behind the Activity
The more I understand my reasons for rock climbing, the better I can transfer the lessons to the rest of my life.
Lightning Safety for Anglers
Summer means it’s time to grab your fishing gear and head outside. But have you checked the forecast—and do you know how to manage risk from a lightning strike?
How Risk Management Training Improved Our Programming at Move United
Program Manager at Move United Julianne Mills shares how Risk Management Training creates opportunities to expand programming to people of all abilities
Grad Set to Tackle 58 Peaks as NOLS Fundraiser
An intrepid WFR graduate sets to climb 58 peaks to raise money for NOLS
The Road Less Traveled: How a NOLS Course Changed my life
A snap, hasty decision in college led me to attend NOLS. Usually a calculated person, l changed my life course in about 60 seconds.
An Artist. An Adventurer. A Q&A with NOLS Grad Dori Bergman
National Outdoor Leadership School graduate and artist, Dori Bergman, talks about how her outdoor adventures inspire her artwork.
