Wilderness Skills During the Pandemic

We are all spending more time online and at home. We are learning how to hold video meetings instead of in person. We have been organizing online navigation trainings and organizing trainings. We have also been connecting with the outdoors in new ways.

We turned to Facebook to see how our members were doing with coping with the pandemic, and the responses have been delightful. You can join the conversation on Facebook as well, or we'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Like many folks, Julia, a member in the Orange County Group, makes wilderness travel seem quite similar to the safer at home order!

Karen, a member in the Palos Verdes Group, compares us all to horses! Proper horse etiquette is very similar to what it's like to hike around everyone now. Karen is also a service trip leader and cook - check out Karen's planned trip to Valley Forge this fall!

Long backpacking trips mean being far removed from a quick trip to the store for Wilderness Travel Course graduate Cecilia Cruz. That matters both for keeping ourselves fed, but also keeping oursleves healthy. And then there's the question of toilet paper...

Smart meal planning is key! Pamela, a member in the Central Group, has been planning food carefully. Of course, some of us have probably been eating way more than our necessary calorie count, but that's another story.

Sometimes it's the skill of slowing down. John Muir would often describe how the most momentus moments in the wilderness were pausing to watch a bee explore a flower, or the slow turning of the seasons. Monica, a Member of the Central Group and Associate Director, Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, had this bit of wisdom to share:

While we support our healthcare workers and our government officials work to safely chart our coming months, let's be grateful for the skills and resources that have guided us through the pandemic well.