Over the past month I have been taking an online course offered through BackpackingLight  called Wilderness Trekking II - Expedition Planning, instructed by Ryan Jordan. How do you exactly define an expedition? For this course it is being defined as follows:

1. Expeditions involve a group of people (generally, four to eight persons).
2. Expedition duties and equipment are shared by that group (e.g., sheltering, cooking, fire building, water treatment, navigation).
3. Expeditions involve uncertainty with respect to route, weather, and other conditions, that do not guarantee that the expedition plan and the expedition look the same.
4. Expeditions require humility and an open mind from all participants.
5. Expeditions require leadership and service to others from all participants.
6. Expeditions are hard: they can involve long days, challenging terrain, and an adaptable spirit.
7. Expeditions can be exceedingly challenging, fun, and rewarding!

The course is in full swing right now and I am really enjoying it. I already see how what I am learning could be incorporated into our family trips (more on that in some future posts), it has the potential to make the experience richer for everyone. Expedition planning is the next logical step for us as we progress together as a family. What is so cool about this course is that it focuses on group dynamics. It is teaching us how to work together as a team to plan an expedition from start to finish. This involves doing an assessment of everyone's skills, strengths, and weaknesses then working within those parameters to achieve a common goal.

I love group travel. You can gain so much from a shared experience. Of course groups have their difficult sides. Everyone has their weaknesses and it is often easy to get frustrated with the weakness of others, especially in difficult situations. I see group dynamics as part of the challenge of a trip, just as much as the terrain or the weather. If we learn to capitalize on each others strengths it offers us the opportunity achieve more as a group than we would as individuals. Being around people with different strengths and skills also affords us the opportunity to learn new skills. All of the truly groundbreaking treks in history were done expedition-style, as teams. It is in this spirit that the course is being taught, and I am loving it!

This is an online course, there is no field portion. Students are encouraged to plan an expedition that is realistic for their experience levels. Upon completion of the course, students who are interested can then attempt their expedition on an ad-hoc basis. A group of us have decided that when we are done with the course, we will attempt to complete our planned expedition (myself included!). So although the course itself is really good, I am looking forward even more to executing the plan afterward.

Our current (but still incomplete) expedition plan is to do a traverse of the Tetons in Wyoming using unmarked (i.e. no roads or trails marked) topographical maps for navigation. The style of the traverse is still being hashed out, but one idea being kicked around is to complete the traverse by following the hydrological divide. Below is a map of the the area we will be traveling:

Whether we do the traverse by following the crest or decide on another style, the trip is expected to end up being around 60 - 75 miles in length through some incredibly beautiful country. The fact that we don't plan on following a red line on a map, combined with the uncertainty of the weather means we have all the of right ingredients for an epic trip. It has been a LONG time since I have spent quality time in the Rockies. I am really looking forward to this trip!