National Outdoor Leadership School - Index

National Outdoor Leadership School - brochure - Index

20
THE
Leader
BELAY OFF
Connecting
Past and Present
Former Coursemates Unexpectedly Reunite After 31 Years
NOLS alumni family hikes are a great way for
grads to introduce their family members to
the beauty of the backcountry. It’s a chance to share,
bond and explore together. Past grads Anne Minor
and Cindy Lefton decided to do just that this summer,
nurturing a love for the outdoors with children
in their lives. Little did they know their own outdoor
experiences from so many years ago would become
so apparent.
In 1976, when Anne and Cindy were just
teenagers, they had set off together into the Utah backcountry
on the same NOLS Uinta Wilderness course.
Now, 31 years later, they were quite surprised to have
run into each other again. “It was around the second
day that we started to realize that we had known each
other before,” said Anne. “After that we started conversing
and it was really fun to make the connection.”
The reunion was a delight for both women, and
caused them to compare their reasons for connecting,
and then re-connecting, with NOLS.
“When I first did a NOLS course, I was looking
to learn some outdoor skills,” said Cindy. “This time,
I was hoping to just get back in the groove.”
“I had never really been away from home,” said
Anne. “Now I’m almost fifty years old, but my reasons
for coming are still the same and I still have a love of
the outdoors.”
For both Cindy and Anne, it was hard to compare
their 1976 course with the alumni trip because
they were quite different in nature. They did agree that
they really enjoyed the llamas and the more laid-back
format of the alumni family trip. They also agreed little
had changed as far as how NOLS operations work.
“NOLS still has its integrity,” said Cindy. When it
comes to conservation, Anne says she still abides by
the Leave No Trace policies. “They have really become
ingrained, which helps me to think more environmentally-minded,”
she said.
Not surprisingly, Anne and Cindy had similar
objectives for the alumni trip for their younger rela-
Anne Minor (below) and Cindy Lefton (left)
pose at the beginning of their NOLS Uinta
Wilderness course in 1976. Little did they
know, the values and skills learned then
would inspire a lifetime love of the
outdoors that would bring them back
together again 31 years later.
BY NICOLE CHILTON, NOLS PUBLICATIONS INTERN AND
COLLIN MCRANN, NOLS ALUMNI INTERN
tives, to get them outdoors and enjoy the NOLS experience.
“I hope the most important skill my fourteen-year-old
niece, Katie, learned was that if you try,
you can do anything you want,” said Cindy. As with
any NOLS course, the basis is on being in the outdoors
and away from civilization for an extended period
of time. So likewise, Anne brought her
ten-year-old son, Chris, in hopes of “getting him
away from all the technology to show him that he can
have fun in much simpler situations.”
Most people don’t think of life in 30-year increments,
but Cindy and Anne’s surprise NOLS reunion
shows that no matter how much things around you
change, the wilderness and its magic remain to form
the next generation’s link to the land. “Good for the
soul” is how Cindy summed up this summer’s trip that
brought surprised old friends and a new crop of young
outdoor adventurers together with NOLS.
Left: The 2007 NOLS
Alumni Family Camping
group living and learning
in the Wind River
Mountains. Right: Chris
Naktenis was treated to
the NOLS trip by his
mom, NOLS grad Anne
Minor. Below: Cindy and
Katie Lefton enjoy
some quality backcountry
cooking time.
Photos: Rich Brame