NOLS Blog
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…
Climate Medicine: Where Climate Change and Healthcare Meet
Fires at wildland-urban interfaces—the transition zones where human development, such as houses and infrastructure, meets or intermingles with ...
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. Lila Sternberg There is ...
Staying Power
Shari Kearney didn’t just find a place at NOLS—as our longest serving female instructor, she has worked over 424 weeks in the field and influenced generations of students. Shari Kearney is checking on Three Peaks Ranch’s stable of horses, kept on pastures outside of Lander, Wyoming in the offseason. Each autumn, the horses—dozens of them—are…
Connection, Resilience, and Dal Bhat: Manaslu Circuit Alumni Trip 2025
In November 2025, five gentlemen, one lady, three guides, and three support staff met in Kathmandu in preparation for a two-week NOLS alumni trek on the Manaslu Circuit in Nepal. Although we were all strangers coming from different parts of the world, our shared excitement for setting foot in the Himalayas was palpable. During those…
Best Summer Programs for Teens: Outdoor Adventures That Build Leaders
Most teens will spend this summer doing something fun, but maybe not so meaningful. Not because they lack ambition, but because the summer camps available to them were designed to center around fun, rather than building long-lasting skills. The difference between a summer that fades and one that becomes a reference point — something your…
Case Study: Motion Sickness on a Surf and Dive Trip in Oahu, Hawaii
The Setting You’re leading a small group on a combined surf and introductory scuba trip on Oahu. The group is staying on the North Shore and driving early in the morning to a south shore harbor to meet the dive boat. The coastal road is narrow, hilly, and full of tight curves. Several group members…
Summer Programs for High Schoolers: Choosing an Adventure That Lasts
Every parent of a high schooler feels it: these summers matter. The window is short, and how your teen spends it shapes more than you’d think. The science backs that up. Adolescence, roughly ages 12 to 18, is one of the most significant growth windows a person will ever experience. It’s when teens actively figure…
The Complete Guide to Summer Programs for Teens
Each summer between high school years is about 90 days. For most teens, the time passes quickly — and how it’s spent matters more than it might seem at the moment. For parents thinking about how to help their teen get the most out of these months, a structured summer program is one of the…
Trail Lovin’: NOLS Pacific Northwest Trip Leader Seminar Overview
Reflections on my own personal outdoor adventure: a 9-day backpacking course with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School)
County 10: CWC Students Make Fascinating Discoveries
CWC students, NOLS grads make fascinating discoveries on Dinwoody Glacier
Huffington Post: I Used to Think The Answer Was a Balanced Life
You would just use map and compass and navigate off landmarks. I learned that at National Outdoor Leadership School, which I did when I was 20. And now I'm insanely into saving the planet with maps through my work. My life has been really different in each of those phases.
Charlotte Observer: Mom of the Week
Mom of the week's early camping days with Girls Scouts led to a summer of rock climbing in the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS ) in the summer of 2014.
Eagle Rock School: Scholarships Foster Leadership Skills
Through our growing relationship with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Eagle Rock School is awarded a small number of highly coveted scholarships for our students to attend either a NOLS expedition through its Gateway Partnership Program.
Boise Weekly: Mark Blaiser ‘was a dirtbag once’
The evening was calm and peaceful. Mark Blaiser dipped his paddle through the still water of the Kawishiwi River near the border of Minnesota and Canada. The 25-year-old sat silently in his canoe and watched a moose and her calf splash into the river and swim across. The moment struck Blaiser as profound. Now, at 41, Blaiser is the new executive director of Idaho Rivers United, a nonprofit devoted to protecting, conserving and restoring the state's rivers, streams and riparian areas.
Wave3 News: Three Incredible Women Honored for Athletic Achievements
In 1999, Murden McClure became the first woman and American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She loves to see the changes coming to women’s sports as young women aren't afraid to go after what they want—and it's being recognized
Adirondack Almanack: NOLS Gives Back
This August, NOLS Northeast, in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), hosted a service project trip specifically for NOLS graduates and family members in the Adirondacks.
Paste Magazine: 6 Reasons to Visit Wyoming that Aren’t Yellowstone
Six reasons to visit Wyoming that aren't Yellowstone: Lander and NOLS.
Misadventures: Exploring Women
We live in a time of “Look at me, look at me,” presented to us on a daily basis whenever we have any contact with social media. I am witness to countless situations where people feign interest in news and conversations so that they can turn it around and make it all about themselves.
It’s so refreshing, then, to be able to say, “Look at them,” which is why I am writing about Katie McDonnell, age 19, and Taylor Rabbitt, 22. Although these ladies have never met, they share an exuberance, discipline, and passion to learn about our oceans, mountains, and diverse cultures through adventure, education, and exploration. They both have a great attitude towards life.
Katie McDonnell is a freshman at Elon University and a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) graduate.
Burrisisland: Learning Leadership
Dr. Qubein’s leadership qualities sparked memories for me of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), the premier teacher of outdoor living skills and leadership, offering courses from 10 days to full semesters in some of the world’s most spectacular natural settings. Over my lifetime, I graduated from four NOLS courses
Polymath Mag: My Journey to Becoming Comfortable Being Uncomfortable Through NOLS
Ever since my cousin told me about his NOLS expeditions that he took in high school I had been interested in going on one myself. The fact that I had always had a little bit of wander lust and a major spirit of the wild only helped encourage me to take the plunge and go on this adventure. The summer after my sophomore year of high school I decided that it was the right time for me to take my outdoor Sabbatical.
