NOLS Blog
How to Make Hash Browns with Cheese
Hash browns have a well-deserved reputation as a delicious breakfast treat, but this cheesy version is great for lunch or dinner too—and that’s before you add nuggets of ham or bacon and a few shakes of hot sauce into the mix! This recipe requires a little forethought—both the hash browns and dried onions benefit from…
NOLS Picante Sauce
Picante perks up almost any savory recipe—try it on eggs, beans, in soups and coupled with anything on ...
Backpacking Among Giants: A Trip Report from Norway’s Jotunheimen Mountains
Photo by Amanda Klein In August of 2025, the inaugural NOLS Alumni Norway Backpacking Trip ventured into the Jotunheimen Mountains ...
Case Study: Altitude Illness While Trekking
The Setting You are on the trip of a lifetime hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal with one of your best friends. This trip has been in the works for over a year. You’ve spent countless hours training, reviewing maps, and daydreaming about being in the mountains. You can’t believe you’re finally here! You flew…
What a NOLS Risk Review Really Looks Like: A Case Study with NatureBridge
In the same year as NOLS’ 60th anniversary, we are celebrating 20 years since the formation of NOLS Risk Services. For 60 years, NOLS has operated in remote locations all over the world, and in 2005, NOLS Risk Services was formed to share what NOLS has learned about operational risk management in the process. NOLS…
Case Study: Dental Emergency while RaftingÂ
A member of your rafting party loses a tooth partway through a 4-day trip. How do you respond?
Where Play Meets Purpose: A Journey Through the Canyons
Since 2022, NOLS and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business have collaborated on a yearly weeklong expedition to the canyons in southeastern Utah. This expedition is the culmination of a semester-long leadership course for Ross undergraduate students. It combines concepts and learnings from the classroom course with the NOLS leadership curriculum in a…
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Expedition to the Peruvian Andes
In the spring of 2025, we set out on an Alpine and ski mountaineering expedition to Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. As outdoor educators with experience leading students on NOLS courses, our team shares a deep commitment to learning through challenge and a connection to wild places. Our goals: explore new terrain, attempt several high peaks, and…
How to Make Oat Scones in the Backcountry
Oat scones taste delicious plain or with honey, peanut butter, wild berry jam, or cheese. They are also excellent with soups or casseroles and make good trail food. Oat Scones ½ cup butter 2 cups oatmeal 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder Pinch of salt (allows recipe to use less sweetener) ¼ cup honey or brown sugar…
Make Trails Safe Again
Fortunately, we have Liza on our team, an instructor for the Wilderness Medicine Institute and the National Outdoor Leadership School, to help us out here!
Case Study: Scenario Near Yellowstone Park
A bear encounter leaves you with some first aid to perform, including confirming scene safety and caring for your patient.
An Alaska Adventure, and Learning Experience, For Teens
This was the challenge Heather Boucher of Stonington faced a few weeks ago when taking a course run by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
What Items Belong in My Backpacking First Aid Kit?
Gareth Tate has been a NOLS Wilderness Medicine instructor for more than a decade, I called him up to find out how to pack a proper first-aid kit.
Educator Expedition: Assistant Overnight Guide Course – Learning the Ways of the Ocean
Educator Expedition: Assistant Overnight Guide Course - Learning the Ways of the Ocean
11 Essentials to Complete Your Backcountry Kitchen
11 Essentials to Complete Your Backcountry Kitchen
Educator Expedition: Paddling at the South Pacific Sea Kayak Symposium
Educator Expedition: Paddling at the South Pacific Sea Kayak Symposium
7 Materials That Can Be Used To Improvise a Splint
An important part of managing emergencies in the backcountry is coming up with first aid solutions using the supplies you have on hand, and this includes improvising splints
WY Not: Students of the Wilderness – Problem
Where the wilderness becomes a classroom and students become leaders. Relying heavily on experiential education, NOLS works with over 24,000 students a year.
