HOC Training

This weekend, the second half of the new outing club leaders were trained to lead trips. We played games, learned the necessary skills, and got to know the other people that were also being trained. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and I'm glad that I feel confident in my ability to create a positive outdoor experience for whoever should sign up to go on any of my future trips. However, as I reflect on this process and the fairly extensive preparation that it entailed (wilderness first aid training included), I realize how great the distance is between the average person and the wilderness. It takes a entire set of skills outside a person's typical daily routine to just be qualified to take other people into the Adirondacks, even for just a day (at least according to Hamilton's outing club policy). This is the safest way to do things and I wholeheartedly agree that the training is necessary for everyone to benefit from the club's activities. I just couldn't help but think about how removed we are from our natural surroundings.  It just seems so odd now how common it is for someone to say "I'm not outdoorsy" or they don't "do nature." In no way is there any blame in that mentality, I just find it interesting that within a tiny fraction of our planet's lifetime, our species has gone from only interacting with the environment and other humans, to being very capable if not likely to be living our lives as though it is something that doesn't even exist.