I am currently half way through my ARO (Adventure Rec Orientation) semester for my new job as a guide at Penn State Adventure Rec. Weekly classroom sessions have been the bulk of this training, but this past weekend we had our second field training experience. For this training, we went backpacking in Loyalsock State Forest on the Old Logger's Path. My ARO group consists of 6 AROs and our two leaders, so 8 in total. We drove up to Loyalsock on Friday evening and camped pretty close to our vehicles. On Saturday we started our hiking, and did around 6 miles that day. On Sunday our hike out to our cars was somewhere around 5 miles. When I did The Long Trail in 2016 typical mileage for a day would be between 15-20, so this backpacking trip was definitely not challenging as far as actual hiking went. Additionally, elevation change on the trail was never very large or steep so the hiking was very pleasant. The goal of this trip was not to get in as many miles or mountain peaks as possible, but rather to get hands on practical experience being with a group in the backcountry, as well as to learn how to teach. Throughout the weekend we (the AROs) took turns teaching the rest of the group lessons we had prepared. After each lesson we would have in depth feedback sessions in an effort to make us effective outdoor educators. There is no powerpoint to read off, no book to follow along with, and typically participants will need to be really engaged in order to get anything out of a lesson in the backcountry. This creates a nice challenge for us as budding outdoor educators. The first lesson taught by two members of the group was on Friday night. It was about Leave No Trace's principle #3 "Dispose of Waste Properly" aka how to go to the bathroom in the woods. Next, on Saturday evening I, along with my partner, taught the group how to hang a bear bag, which is a rope system for making your food unreachable by a bear during the nighttime. Following that, the final partnership taught the group how to use our MSR Dragonfly stoves. All three subjects were topics that the whole group already knew how to do, but again the point of teaching the lesson was not to teach us but rather to learn how to teach. Saturday night was a good time. For dinner we made a build your own burrito buffet and we ate by the campfire. Later on in the evening we made s'mores and read Paul Petzoldt's Teton Tales. The trip was overall very enjoyable and pleasant, although it was hard to miss a Penn State Football game. One thing that did damper the weekend just a little bit though was a small fever I developed some time Saturday afternoon. Being that body-uncomfortable in the backcountry is never nice, and while the worst of the fever did not hit until after I was back at Penn State, it's not fun to be sweaty at night when its 38 degrees outside. Fever aside, it was super fun to be backpacking, its been a little while since I last went. I am learning a ton from being in ARO and am really looking forward to leading trips next semester.
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