Tripod Home | New | TriTeca | Work/Money | Politics/Community | Living/Travel | Planet T | Daily Scoop

If you're ready to venture beyond "hiking basics," enter the wilderness classroom. Here you can gain survival skills and intimate knowledge of the backcountry by enrolling in one of many different courses. If you're willing to pay for a hands-on learning adventure, prepare yourself for both challenges and thrills.

The first step is to decide whether or not you want specialized training in wilderness medicine. If not, you can pursue more general knowledge about survival in the wild when you choose from hundreds of outdoor adventure courses designed to teach you backcountry skills. The two biggest schools, NOLS and Outward Bound, offer other activities besides wilderness backpacking; you can try mountaineering, rock climbing, sea kayaking, skiing, or sailing, to name a few. Both schools are renowned internationally, conduct courses all over the country, and teach thousands of people a year. Most former students vouch that they've had incredible experiences. The lesser-known, local programs offer only a few types of courses, but at more comfortable prices. To decide what's best for you, call (or e-mail!) for a detailed course catalog.