Peak Experiences: Lessons Learned
Peak leaders getting stoked to change some lives.—photo courtesy of the LC
Like many colleges and universities across the nation, Fort Lewis College offers some version of an outdoor orientation program. These programs can be impactful for the participants, the leaders and the institution itself—creating community, fostering personal growth, and ultimately, helping with retention. Recent Fort Lewis graduate, Carl Schnitker, just completed his fifth Peak Experiences program. As you will learn from the following lessons, Carl has some great advice for leaders young and old…
This August, I had the privilege of leading a group of nine students on a five-day backpacking trip through Colorado’s San Juan mountains as a part of Fort Lewis College’s Peak Experiences, a pre-orientation experience for incoming students. Outdoor orientation programs like Peak aim to ease first-year students’ transition to college by facilitating powerful connections between students, enabling them to start their first semester with supportive friendships already established. These programs also provide a connection to the natural world and introduce students to their new “backyard.” Above all, they expose participants to the transformative power of small group experiences in the wilderness.
I’ve now been a part of five Peak trips at Fort Lewis College, and I’ve learned a few things over the years. Every trip has taught me different lessons about myself, leadership, college, backpacking, the natural world, relationships, trust, respect, beauty, and more. Every Peak trip leaves me inspired and energized. Each trip also leaves me with some tangible learnings about what I would do differently next time, and lessons learned about how to improve the experience for myself and my group. Some of this learning can only be gained from experience, but some of it is advice that I wish I had received as a new Peak leader. So here are five lessons learned that I’ve gleaned from my five years of Peak Experiences.
Route planning for the upcoming day.—photo courtesy of the LC
1. Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.
Take your time to study your route plan in detail. Flex your mental muscles, and try to imagine what it will look like from the ground. New digital tools like Google Earth can help with this as I like to tilt the perspective and do a ‘fly-through’ of the terrain in which I’ll be traveling. Locate potential camp spots and make sure you know how to find them on a map and in the field. Identify sections of your route that will be easier and sections that will be more difficult. Assess exposure to weather and the elements.
Think carefully about all aspects of your trip: how you’ll cook each meal; what camps will be best for which activities; and how you’ll facilitate group connectedness and transference back to the real world. But remember that the “best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Your planning process serves to immerse you in the decision-making environment of the trip before you even get out there. Planning helps you understand your options ahead of time. But there will always be variables that you didn’t account for, and stubbornly sticking to a plan amidst constantly changing conditions is foolish. Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.
2. Set expectations early and often. Respect your students. Be transparent about your goals for the trip.
Frontloading, or setting expectations in advance, is a key aspect of successful group leadership in the outdoor orientation setting. When in doubt, spell it out beforehand. Remember that your participants are less experienced than you, but they might be ashamed or embarrassed to admit that they don’t understand something. Try not to talk down to your participants. But rather, err on the side of over-explanation. Remember that if you set appropriate expectations, you can avoid micromanaging your participants and your co-leader, which helps create an atmosphere of trust and collaboration.
I even like to frontload my frontloading. I explain that during the first day or two of the trip that there’s going to be a lot of explanation of how things work on the trail and around camp. I tell them that I know much of the content will be review for experienced hikers, and that some students might be bored by it. But I remind them that a prerequisite for strong teamwork is mutual understanding of our goals and methods, and that we are just trying to get everybody on the same page. By making this clear from the get-go, students feel more respected and a part of the team.
You should also explain the big picture of what you are trying to accomplish for the trip as a whole. For a program like Peak, this means explaining to your participants that you are trying to build a strong and lasting community; introducing them to the phenomenal outdoor recreation available in their new backyard; and providing a chance to reflect and refocus before taking their next steps into college. While some students will always ‘buy-in’ more than others, I have found that by explaining your goals from the outset, your participants will be more likely to engage with reflective activities, be vulnerable with each other, and generally help you accomplish the trip’s goals.
Check the essentials.—photo courtesy of the LC
3. Trust but verify.
This classic Russian proverb was made famous by President Reagan during nuclear talks with the Soviet Union. For trips like Peak, it means to trust your logistics team, your co-leader, and your participants. But always double-check.
Take the time to check all of your stoves. Take the time to check your participants’ tents. Take the time to think critically about all of your food, making sure that you’ve got enough of everything. Be extra thoughtful and deliberate when dealing with multiple dietary restrictions. If you’re leading a group with many overlapping dietary needs, consider bringing extra pots, pans, and serving utensils. Hopefully your logistics team has already dealt with most of this. But remember that you have a lot more riding on the trip preparation than they do. After all, YOU are the one who will be out in the field using the gear, eating the food, hiking the route, while your logistics team hangs out back at home. Double-check everything.
In the field, trust your participants. Micromanaging can destroy group trust, create an atmosphere of suspicion, and make it difficult for participants to be themselves. But remember: as a leader you are responsible, to some degree, for everything that happens on your trip. Try not to intervene unless serious or dangerous mistakes are being made. But, you should always be aware of what is going on in your group, especially around camp. This takes significant mental effort. Being on all day, every day, is one of the most difficult aspects of outdoor leadership. It’s okay to take some time for yourself each day. But at least one co-leader should always be tuned in to the pulse of the group, doing their best to be aware of both the big picture and the small things happening.
Similarly, be an advocate and a backup for your co-lead. Without micromanaging, do your best to observe their decision-making and how they are working with the group. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. Without stepping on toes, do your best to help your co-leader work with their strengths, and support them in areas that they struggle. It is a delicate balance, and it takes time to develop this relationship. It all starts with trust. Trust, but verify.
4. Patience. Determination. Courage. Positivity.
These are the qualities that I, as a leader, value most in my participants. The best way to encourage students to be patient, to have determination, to be courageous, and to be positive in their outlook is to model these qualities yourself. You will be more respected as a leader, and find your group easier to work with. Patience, especially, needs to flow in both directions to create a positive and respectful atmosphere within a group. And a positive attitude can carry a group through almost any difficult situation.
Always remember that the needs of the group should come before your personal comforts. You will often need to make sacrifices when in a leadership position. You’re not going to get the best camp spot; your backpack is going to be heavier; and you might be stuck eating leftovers. You don’t have to be superhuman. It’s good to show vulnerability. But you should strive to demonstrate what it looks like to take challenges in stride, to face difficulty with a smile on your face. In other words: don’t complain. Being a good leader means being a good role model, which means being the best that you can be. Everybody faces challenge. What matters is how you respond to the pressure.
A Peak group making their way upwards in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado.—photo courtesy of the LC
5. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
If you aren’t willing to be yourself, to be vulnerable, your students will be hesitant to open up to you and to each other. Vulnerability is a crucial component of relationship building. To run an effective outdoor orientation program in which students bond deeply with each other, they must be willing to take social risks; to be deeply honest; to share hidden parts of themselves. As a leader, you hold immense power to influence this process. The greatest way that you can encourage group bonding and relationship-building is to model openness, humility, and vulnerability. In short: be yourself.
Being genuine is difficult, especially in a situation like group leadership in which leaders often feel pressure to display their competency to their co-leader(s) and the students in their charge. Inexperience can intensify this pressure. The good news is that it gets easier and easier to be genuine with more practice.
This piece of advice is last, because it is something that I have struggled with for my entire (short) career as a guide, outdoor leader, and adventure educator. I have always felt pressure to prove myself, and have consistently sought opportunities to test my abilities. Leading people in wild places is, in some ways, an extension of my desire to see what I can do, to prove that I’m competent, to display my skills and knowledge. Especially in my first few years of working as a guide and educator, I found myself putting on a facade when working with students or clients. I would try to come across as dialed and polished, often at the expense of genuine interactions. I would never let myself be vulnerable. I wouldn’t let my guard down. It took several years, and some help and advice from trusted mentors, for me to realize how foolish I was being. I still value professionalism and being dialed in. This sets an example for your students to strive for. But letting your guard down is also important. Let your students see you make mistakes. Remember that everybody is on a path of growth. Especially for students about to enter college, you can be a role model of humility. Ask for and accept help when you need it. Share your highs and lows. Again: be yourself.
This is my advice for new and seasoned leaders on college outdoor orientation trips. But this advice also applies to leadership in general. Planning, frontloading, trust, role modeling, and vulnerability are critical components of group leadership in nearly any setting. From leading a backpacking trip to leading a team through a project at school or work, these attributes will make your team more efficient, connected, and trusting, and you’ll have more fun. And this will show in the end product, whether it is something tangible like a conference presentation or something harder to quantify like building a strong community that endures long after a group outdoor experience.
And finally, one last piece of advice for leaders on college outdoor orientation programs: don’t forget to have fun! Remember why you started doing this work in the first place. Outdoor adventure should be joyful and exhilarating. Allow your time in wild places to lift your spirit and put a smile on your face, whether you are leading a group or not. If you aren’t having fun, chances are your group won’t either. So enjoy it!
Carl Schnitker
Carl is a guide and educator based in Southwest Colorado. He is happiest when pushing his comfort zone in wild places. More information about Carl is available at www.carlschnitker.com.