Noah Symington
Noah Symington
Age: 19
Currently: Taking semester off from Western Washington University to play lacrosse in New York
Trip: Semester in the Rockies, multisport
Duration: 94 days
Cost: $10,700
Students, ages 18-23, gave up life as they knew it from Sept. 6 through Dec. 8 to learn a wide range of skills in the longest of the NOLS semester courses. The seven men and three women paddled Class 3 whitewater on the San Juan River, covered 113 miles on foot in Utah’s desert canyonlands before wrapping up with a two-week backcountry ski in the Southern Absaroka Range. For diversions, they learned to fly fish and studied backcountry first aid in depth.
Why this course? “The previous summer, I did a 30-day NOLS backpacking course in Alaska. It was a really good experience, I made great friendships, but I didn’t get all I should out of it. I wasn’t 100 percent there.
So I picked the longest course and vowed to balance goofing of with being 100 percent invested in learning different skills. I’m afraid of heights and whitewater, so I chose this specifically go outside my comfort zone and conquer my fears.
Group dynamics: “You have to understand and learn about each person to make a group work. We saw teams of mountaineering studs going in, climbing a peak, and coming out in a day. But our group had a range of people, like two students from Iowa and one from Kansas who’d never been above 3,000 feet, except in a plane.
One girl weighed 110 pounds and carried a 65-pound pack. When she needed help, we helped.”
Quick study: “The terrible snowstorm in September, the really long hypothermic days on the river, camping in minus-20-degree temperatures 14 nights straight — that was the easy part, the stuff I could learn to deal with quickly.”
The hard part? “My biggest challenges were learning to be flexible and trying to find a good balance within the group dynamic. I’m pretty outgoing and outspoken, so I tried to adjust, to talk less and listen more. The walls I hit were intrapersonal.
Turning point: “During the canyon section, we all went out solo for a two-day fast. I brought all of my favorite foods just to increase the temptation to break the fast. At one point when the urge to eat was so intense, I grabbed the food bag, opened it and then with all my strength I threw it down and subconsciously walked away. It was a lesson in overcoming temptations and indulgence.”
Gaining ground: “During long, long days, being dehydrated, I found a specific drive that was more than a fleeting moment; something I can consistently count on.”
Highlights: “An incredible stretch of weather in Escalante, where we slept outside without a tent for 30 straight days. … Having a huge wolf run past within 10 feet of me during my solo in southern Utah. climbing a 13,500-foot peak. … Great views of wide-open spaces. … Learning to be so content without music or cars.”
Top of the heap: “I finished as an honor student and was given a recommendation for an instructor course for rafting. I got feedbacks from peers and instructors that I was capable of leading a group above and beyond the general expectations of most NOLS students. That was my goal.”
Epiphany: “Generally we are insignificant to the workings of nature.”