Hadley Warner
Get ready for a unique outdoor adventure: traveling across Wyoming’s sweeping sagebrush plains and badlands on horseback. In an LGBTQ2IA+ affinity space, learn the fundamentals of horsepacking and camping in a striking Western landscape. Form new friendships as you ride across unbounded desert expanses. Enjoy dramatic sunrises as you tend to the horses. At the same time, develop your leadership style in a community that celebrates queer identities.
Before heading out into the Red Desert, you’ll spend several days camping at NOLS Three Peaks Ranch and learning the basics. Build community with your coursemates as you get comfortable riding and caring for horses, pitching a tent, and cooking on a camp stove. Then, fill your panniers and set off into the Wyoming backcountry.
In the field, gain leadership experience as well as outdoor skills with the support of your instructors. Stretch your comfort zone as you take on different roles within the group. Develop your problem-solving and decision-making skills while planning the day’s travel route or choosing a campsite. Practice effective communication with both human and equine companions. Find connection, belonging, and self-confidence as you explore a beautiful wilderness environment—and your own identity.
Thanks to a generous donation by our friends at Trailmixer, we have 2 full scholarships available for our 2023 LGBTQ+ affinity courses! Trailmixer is a California based LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization of hikers and climbers with a mission to provide opportunity and access to the outdoors for queer youth. To advance this mission, Trailmixer is partnering with NOLS to provide scholarships for LGBTQ+ students to join Affinity programs, or the program of their choosing.
Please email trish_eubanks@nols.edu for details.