Morehead-Cain Scholars and their NOLS instructors, with the Alaska Range in the background.
For her Outdoor Leadership summer, Maria Tan ’30 spent three weeks backpacking Alaska’s Talkeetna Mountains with fellow Morehead-Cain Scholars, and learned how a team can adjust to “new normals” and thrive.
“The sun in Alaska in summer does not set,” Maria Tan ’30 said.
She remembers crawling into a tent at midnight, the sun still blinding after a long day of walking through Alaska’s Talkeetna Mountains. Her legs hurt. But she had just seen a porcupine, and she was content.
Maria was on a three-week National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course with fellow Morehead-Cain Scholars, part of her International Gap Year before starting at Carolina this fall.
Earning independence
The group traveled through part of the Talkeetna Mountains, a range near Denali National Park. They learned orienteering, risk management, wilderness first aid, and leadership, and each day their instructors gave them more independence.
Once they had demonstrated their competence, the scholars traveled on their own for three days to finish the course.
Each day, they backpacked anywhere from 1.5 to 8 miles, carrying the food, tents, sleeping bags, and other equipment they needed to sustain themselves in the mountains. They worked together to navigate, make camp, and leave no trace.
“Our NOLS instructors taught us to take care of the environment; take care of one another, physically and mentally; and to appreciate the beauty of the tundra,” Maria said.
Everyone carried a significant share of the supplies. Just as important, she said, each member of the team brought a unique personality that made the group smooth, efficient, and fun.
Scholars cook under a tarp during their NOLS course.
Rain, snow, and hail
Maria learned from the wilderness experience just what a group can endure together.
“Our instructors taught us the power of spoken word, and although it rained, snowed, and hailed, our group kept a positive attitude that allowed us to persist,” she said.
Over time, the group adjusted. Blisters faded, legs grew muscle, and hands learned to tie the knots that had plagued them at the start.
“I learned that over time, we can adjust to ‘new normals’ and thrive,” Maria said.
The view from the Talkeetna Mountains.
New material for Liminal
The trip also gave Maria new material for Liminal, the zine she wrote throughout her gap year.
“During this trip and more broadly, during my gap year, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to communicate and work with a wide variety of people,” she said. “These experiences have taught the value in approaching others with humility, acceptance, and curiosity.”
“Although hardship is inevitable,” Maria said, “it is a burden made lighter with a joyful team that communicates well.”
