The National Outdoor Leadership School has acquired a rare 7-day permit, which is being offered to the Latin School, for a unique expedition-style trip down Utah's San Juan River. The San Juan River is born as snow on southern Colorado's Continental Divide. Bending into Utah, it meanders through sculpted, painted canyons, eventually joining the Colorado River. It flows through desert "slickrock" canyon lands. The southern bank borders Navajo land and boasts superb Indian rock art left from the Anasazi civilization. The lower San Juan cuts through a deep set of "goosenecks," offering views of beautiful, deep canyon walls. We will canoe and hike through 320 million years of geologic history, explore the 1,000-year-old artwork and cliff-side homes of the ancient Anasazi Indians, observe desert bighorn sheep and eagles, and camp on beaches each night as we make our way down the river. Students might not see anyone outside their own group for the entire week.

Since the canoe will be our means of transportation down the river, we will get intense instruction in canoeing skills. Navigating whitewater in any boat requires solid technique and a good eye downstream. Canoeing with a partner adds an extra dimension of coordination that calls for patience and balance, not power or brute strength. Starting in gentle currents, we will develop paddling skills and understand how to read and safely navigate the water before moving to more challenging sections of the river. The group will scout upcoming rapids to determine potential routes and discuss strategies for running the whitewater. Additional instruction will stress problem solving, river ecology and hydrology, teamwork, leadership skills, desert camp-craft skills, orienteering, history, and geology.

There will be both a "solo" and a culminating "final expedition" at the conclusion of the project.