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…
Case Study: Sea Kayaking SlipÂ
A fall partway through a sea kayak trip deep in the wilderness poses unique issues. How do you apply your wilderness medicine skills to this incident?
Ready for the Challenge: How I Became a Wilderness EMT
Ready for the Challenge: How I Became a Wilderness EMT
Backcountry Chilling Over Oil Drilling [Book Review]
Backcountry Chilling Over Oil Drilling [Book Review]
How I Became a NOLS Nerd
Swedish master mariner and ships’ pilot Jonas Alexanderson tells stories from his 50th birthday present, a NOLS sea kayaking course in Prince William Sound
Bruce Palmer On the Value of a Gap Year
I caught up with Bruce Palmer. We talked about the importance of outdoor education, Gap Years and the value of this experience in the life of a young person.
Beyond Limits and Proud: LGBT & NOLS Wilderness Medicine Experience
River guide Emily Ambrose shares lessons learned about building confidence as a leader and in her identity during a WFR course
Thanking the Wilderness for Letting Me In
NOLS grad Maya Johnston shares the lessons she learned on a life-changing semester in the wilderness.
10 Classic Health and Safety Risks Among First-Time Campers
Read ten health and safety tips for first time campers. Marco Johnson, a senior field instructor at NOLS offers his tips for beginners.
27 Considerations for a Wilderness First Aid Kit
There’s no such thing as the perfect first aid kit, so you should consider your needs and build a kit that meets them.
DIY Composting
Instead of contributing organic matter to a landfill, try composting with a few simple steps. It’s easier than you’d think!
Gap Years: Why Most Adults Say, ‘I Wish I’d Done That’
A gap year with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), has a focus on leadership and outdoors skills in the most awe-inspiring locations in the world.
Kayakers Finish Expedition Down Elk River
Kearns went on a trip with the National Outdoor Leadership School down Utah’s Green River. There, he met Swisher and the two hit it off.
