Experience for Outdoor Education

[cmr_hiker]

What requirements are there to lead groups out onto trails? Is an AT thru hike enough experience to start a career in outdoor education? Would an accredited course be a better way to go? ie, NOLS for leadership education. Anyone out there thru hike and land a good job leading others down the trails?

im planning my future,
chris

[jackiebolen]

How I got started in the "leading people on hikes" industry is to work at kids camps and do the outdoor education/wilderness leader aspect of it. I guess I haven't really progressed past this stage...however it's a good way to get some experience and some good references without having that much in the way of qualifications. You learn a lot fast when you're leading others.

If you're a Christian, all the better because many camps require staff to be committed Christians, however you can find some that don't require it.

Can't help you with where to go for formal qualifications.

[NotYet]

There are many ways to get into the outdoor field. Many colleges now offer outdoor leadership degrees. Both NOLS and Outward Bound have excellent courses designed to give you some of the skills you would need. And there are many camps and wilderness programs where you can either work or intern to gain some practical experience leading groups (look for programs that are accredited by a known organization like AEE or ACA, etc.)

In 1996 I decided to change careers; so I took the Instructor Development Practicum from the North Carolina Outward Bound School. From there, I spent 8 years working at a year-round therapeutic wilderness program. While working there I took a leave of absence so I could thru-hike the AT, and then later my husband and I started our own hiking service.

Most people in this field will require that you be certified as a Wilderness First Responder. It's a big plus if you already have this certification under your belt when you go into an interview. If the interviewer doesn't know what WFR is...be suspicious of the quality of the program you are interviewing for!!!

[john wayne's wife]

i'm trying to figure out the same thing, chris. i just returned last thursday morning from an 8 week stint on the AT which has gotten me seriously considering a full thru-hike next season. i also have aspirations of working in the outdoor/adventure education field (right now i work in environmental education, but want to lead backcountry trips one day), and i am trying to decide how to go about that. near me there is a college that offers a great outdoor ed program, but the idea of spending two more years in a classroom is almost unbearable. i looked into the nols and outward bound leadship courses, but they are so expensive.

so i am thinking about just saving up the money to get my wfr, thru-hiking next year, and hoping for the best. does anyone have any other ideas/suggestions? thanks!

[9 Mules]

Chris,
Check this.
As a hiker..."client" to you....I'd like to come up to MA, ....I've never been there before and I'll pay you to show me something other then camp sites. Heck, I can read a map, can find em on my own, but show my some NATIVE type flora and fauna while we hike, make it interesting. Something that I can "write home about". Educate me about the local color/history, the flora/fauna, expound about something while I'm walking behind your butt, something that you are GREAT AT!
You gotta provide somethin other then just hiking/campsite actives.
Oh, throw in a good gourmet meal at night and I'm there!

Reminder: To do this within the National Park and Forest lands you'd need INSURANCE plus what they call a "Special Use" permit.

Have any college level education in flora/fauna/aquaculture in the proposed site you'd like to do this?
Are you an expert in the local history of your "venue"?
Are you trying to do this within your home state?
Another words...are you a Guru when it comes to something other then hiking? Because you can forgo the education and long as you can back up what you're telling me.

The Student Conservation Association (SCAs) and the Youth Conservation Corp (YCC) are great ways to get experience. Check the Internet. The SCA has/had a program were you lead youths into the woods....do trail work and ontop of that get your college education partially paid for along with experience of taking care of people .....check that out.
The YCC is big in the New England states and AGE didn't matter.
The YCC had me doin a Bat survey in Washington State 1 year and then a live ontop of Mt. Ranier job the next.
Both organizations are used by the National Park Service as "temporary help", you can build your resume big time by goin that route.

Lets us know more.
Regards,
9 Mules

[wren]

If youre interested in getting a wilderness leadership degree, check out Prescott College in prescott, arizona. Its an amazing school in a beautiful part of the country..

[Tha Wookie]

If youre interested in getting a wilderness leadership degree, check out Prescott College in prescott, arizona. Its an amazing school in a beautiful part of the country..
I have also heard very good things about this program. It will help you take it to the next level....

[cmr_hiker]

thanks for the great replies. i've spent many years in college already and am going to apply that knowledge into the next step. so im looking at taking the nols outdoor education class. either the month or the semester.

my crazy idea:

to take students backpacking and creating an educational tour focusing on physical theater.

ive studied and worked in physical theater for many years and ive found that some of my most creative moments are when im out hiking. for some reason i can laugh best while hiking and somehow the strangest and funniest ideas occur out there. ive studied in the lecoq world and am drawing correlations between backpacking and creating art (in any form.) the greatest thing about theater is that all it requires is a creator (actor) and an audience. im thinking about the extradinary tour while hiking the AT (sections) Low mileage and time to create ensemble. i know there will be plenty of logistical obstacles and im starting to overcome them. the most important one being, can i actually backpack. ive spent, at longest, a week out on the AT. since then ive done a bunch of overnights, weekends and 4 day trips. so im taking another step and hiking the long trail about mid august. im not too worried. just going for slow steady progress. i think it would be superb to hike for a few days while working on some excercises then stopping at town for a couple of days and working with the local theater and dance groups and then head out again. i think its so absurd that it could work. there is a great quote "Realism is the mud of style."

well thanks, *lunatic off*
chris

[Tha Wookie]

thanks for the great replies. i've spent many years in college already and am going to apply that knowledge into the next step. so im looking at taking the nols outdoor education class. either the month or the semester.

my crazy idea:

to take students backpacking and creating an educational tour focusing on physical theater.

ive studied and worked in physical theater for many years and ive found that some of my most creative moments are when im out hiking. for some reason i can laugh best while hiking and somehow the strangest and funniest ideas occur out there. ive studied in the lecoq world and am drawing correlations between backpacking and creating art (in any form.) the greatest thing about theater is that all it requires is a creator (actor) and an audience. im thinking about the extradinary tour while hiking the AT (sections) Low mileage and time to create ensemble. i know there will be plenty of logistical obstacles and im starting to overcome them. the most important one being, can i actually backpack. ive spent, at longest, a week out on the AT. since then ive done a bunch of overnights, weekends and 4 day trips. so im taking another step and hiking the long trail about mid august. im not too worried. just going for slow steady progress. i think it would be superb to hike for a few days while working on some excercises then stopping at town for a couple of days and working with the local theater and dance groups and then head out again. i think its so absurd that it could work. there is a great quote "Realism is the mud of style."

well thanks, *lunatic off*
chrisGood luck.

I know this will sound "cheesy" to some but it is true:

Just follow your heart for each step. Throw logic in the can. You will get exactly where you need to be. Just follow that need out of unbridled love, and you will get there, my friend.


and then....

"When you reach the top of the mountain, keep climbing."
-Zen Proverb

:D

[wren]

thanks for the great replies. i've spent many years in college already and am going to apply that knowledge into the next step. so im looking at taking the nols outdoor education class. either the month or the semester.

my crazy idea:

to take students backpacking and creating an educational tour focusing on physical theater.

ive studied and worked in physical theater for many years and ive found that some of my most creative moments are when im out hiking. for some reason i can laugh best while hiking and somehow the strangest and funniest ideas occur out there. ive studied in the lecoq world and am drawing correlations between backpacking and creating art (in any form.) the greatest thing about theater is that all it requires is a creator (actor) and an audience. im thinking about the extradinary tour while hiking the AT (sections) Low mileage and time to create ensemble. i know there will be plenty of logistical obstacles and im starting to overcome them. the most important one being, can i actually backpack. ive spent, at longest, a week out on the AT. since then ive done a bunch of overnights, weekends and 4 day trips. so im taking another step and hiking the long trail about mid august. im not too worried. just going for slow steady progress. i think it would be superb to hike for a few days while working on some excercises then stopping at town for a couple of days and working with the local theater and dance groups and then head out again. i think its so absurd that it could work. there is a great quote "Realism is the mud of style."

well thanks, *lunatic off*
chris


Prescott College would be the perfect place to take your 'crazy idea'. While I was there, I had friends that majored in various forms of dance and and minored in wilderness classes. You can create your own independent studies, and pretty much tailor your program to what you are interested in. Definitely worth checking the place out..

[weary]

What requirements are there to lead groups out onto trails? Is an AT thru hike enough experience to start a career in outdoor education? Would an accredited course be a better way to go? ie, NOLS for leadership education. Anyone out there thru hike and land a good job leading others down the trails? im planning my future, chris
It won't earn you living, but every AMC Chapter offers hikes lead by trained leaders -- though standards for leaders vary widely. I would start with one of the Massachusett's chapters as a way of discovering whether this is the kind of life you would really enjoy.

Simply doing a thru hike is not adequate training. The skill you need is not caring for yourself. You need to develop the skills for interacting with others, of keeping others over whom you have little if any legal control, safe and reasonably comfortable in the outdoors.

Weary

[soulrebel]

http://www.amga.com/index.html


and canadian (which is considered one of the tougher, longer running systems in the world)

http://www.acmg.ca/public/html/courses/mg/mountainguide.asp

are legitimate certs. If you are looking for adventure and want to do something that people pay $$$$ to do daily, check it out. All the guides up in the b.c. area have incredible stories of glacial treks and backcountry adventures...

Go cat-boarding/skiing in canada some operations are cheaper than going to utah/colorado.

[The Will]

What requirements are there to lead groups out onto trails? Is an AT thru hike enough experience to start a career in outdoor education? Would an accredited course be a better way to go? ie, NOLS for leadership education. Anyone out there thru hike and land a good job leading others down the trails?
cmr,

In the not so distant passed and before a pretty radical change of direction, I had intentions of working in the outdoor industry...working with troubled youth in theraputic bording academies or similiar wilderness programs. My summer employment and my university curriculum were aimed at reaching that end. I graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Behavioral Science, Adventure-based Counseling and Outward Pursuits. The educational background was a tremendous benefit in getting my "foot in the door" of some of these facilities. NOLS courses, as you have already suggested, would also be of benefit.

But something that you might be able to work on more immediately is your hours/days of leadership logged. A thur-hike is a great experience from several standpoints but it is not going to be as distinguishing as expected, especially once you get around so many others who live/work/play in the outdoor arena. There is a large difference between maintaining yourself in the wilderness and being responsible for a group. So while a thru-hike and like activities are wonderful for elevating your compitence and your hard skills it would be a boon to your application to provide some indication of the soft skills necessary for working with groups in a wilderness setting.

If you have a local Sierra Club chapter, many of these have an Inner City Outings (ICO) program that takes inner city students (approx. 5th grade) on a wilderness outing once a month during the school year.,,,,just a suggestion. Anything to get those hours up will be a beautifier on your application.



As one post already mention, obtaining your Wildernss First Responder or atleast a wildernss first-aid certification from NOLS-WMI (Wilderness Medical Institute) looks wonderful on your resume and in fact is mandatory for many positions.



All the best.