An Incredible Semester!

I came into HMI Gap without any backpacking experience at all and came out at the end with unforgettable memories, lifelong friends, and a whole set of backcountry skills with which I feel competent spending weeks in the field. It was a super supportive atmosphere of learning by experience. The community we built was so much fun and we became incredibly close, and the instructors were amazing mentors. The places we were able to see are so beautiful, and I was also really happy to have service work and environmental studies curriculum incorporated into the program. Some highlights for me were rappelling through canyons in Southern Utah, cowboy camping in the desert almost every night, and seeing the glacial valleys in Patagonia. I had a great experience!