This Fall's Foundations of Outdoor Leadership course spent four days exploring the Swift Creek area of the Trinity Alps while practicing outdoor leadership skills, learning Adventure Outings policies, and becoming a family.
With the threat of El Nino lurking we knew it was a risky move to plan a late November trip into the Trinity Alps but the possibility of seeing this amazing area in Fall colors was too much to resist. Fortunately, we had a perfect weather window to sneak in a late-season trip to the "Trinities." For the first few days, we were able to hike in light layers, and some brave souls even wore t-shirts. The nights were certainly cold but nothing we couldn't handle with our zero-degree sleeping bags and hot water bottles. The last morning things got much more exciting in the weather realm with a mix of rain and snow escorting us back to our van.
Our route took us up Swift Creek through Parker and Mumford Meadows all the way to Horseshoe Lake. Even though this is a popular destination in the warmer months we were lucky enough to only see one other person the entire trip.
AO is very excited to welcome our newest cohort of Assistant Leaders and can't wait to see them on trips beginning in Spring 2016. To see more photos from this trip connect with us on social media.