Inside Catlin Gabel’s Applied Leadership in the Outdoors Immersive, Part 1

For two weeks each spring, Catlin Gabel's Applied Leadership in the Outdoors (ALO) Immersive sends Upper School students into the backcountry to learn what leadership, growth, and community look like outside the classroom.

This is Part 1 of a three-part series.

By the time the group reached Blue Lake, everyone was already tired.

They had spent the day hiking through Mount Jefferson Wilderness outside Detroit Lake—gaining elevation, reading maps, rationing water—and when they finally crested the last stretch and saw the campsite, morale lifted. Then Lindsay Babbitt, Catlin Gabel's Director of Outdoor Education, looked at the site more carefully. It sat on a small peninsula jutting into the lake, exposed on all sides, with barely a tree in sight. An InReach weather report confirmed what the clouds were already suggesting: 26-mile-per-hour gusts and heavy rain were coming.

They couldn't stay.

"We had to keep going," Babbitt said. "But it was in the middle of a burn area, so there were no more campsites for two miles." It was 4:30 in the afternoon. Students who had just completed an optional summit—an extra 500 feet of elevation—were now being asked to hike further. "Morale was pretty low," she acknowledged.

That's when Nolan Swaim (‘26) stepped up. A member of the class of 2026 completing his senior project as the program's student leader, Nolan had spent three weeks before the trip doing work most people never see: checking every tent for holes, building trail maps, identifying water sources, contributing a student voice to faculty planning meetings. 

Out on the Blue Lake trail, his leadership role remained. He went ahead with Babbitt to scout, found a more sheltered campsite, and when the group arrived, everyone kicked into gear without being asked. Tents went up. A tarp shelter went up. Water was fetched and dinner started.

"They all jumped into their chores and tasks," Babbitt said. "And we ended the night hanging out, eating Oreos and laughing, and it was all fine."

What ALO Is

This is what Applied Leadership in the Outdoors (ALO) is built to foster: not just competent hikers, but people who know how to step up when things don't go as planned.

Catlin Gabel's Outdoor Education Program runs year-round, offering students everything from day hikes and climbing weekends to multi-day rafting expeditions. ALO, part of that program, is one of the many "Immersives" students can choose from. 

Upper School Immersives are faculty-designed, hands-on experiences built on a simple premise: some of the most important learning can't happen inside a regular classroom. Each spring, the final two weeks of the academic year are set aside for students to step outside their regular schedule—Shakespeare in the Park, pinball machine design, perfecting pizza from scratch, and more.

The ALO Immersive runs three days of preparation on campus, followed by a five-day, four-night expedition in groups of roughly ten students and two adult leaders. The school provides tents, backpacks, food—the major gear students need to participate, regardless of what they own or their past experience. 

"We're using the outdoors as our classroom," Babbitt said, "and technical skills as a vehicle to teach the core values of the school." 

The program's four pillars are community, reciprocity, outdoor craft, and self-discovery. Students planned their own meals, managed their own gear, and took turns as leader of the day—a rotating role that meant studying the map the night before, identifying water sources, setting the pace, and reading the group's energy. On the trail, adults stayed close—present, but careful not to take over. 

"I try to step in by asking questions," Babbitt said. "Like, 'You want to sleep till 10 a.m., let's talk through what the rest of the day looks like if we make that decision.' Or sometimes just letting them start hiking the wrong way and saying, 'Hmm, I wonder if we should check the map again.'"

Applied Leadership in the Outdoors is a for-credit Upper School Immersive offered through Catlin Gabel's Outdoor Education Program. The program is led by Director of Outdoor Education Lindsay Babbitt. This year's co-teachers were Kathy Sloan, Morgan Kerr-Staudinger, and Marguerite McKean.

Continue reading: Inside Catlin Gabel's Applied Leadership in the Outdoors Immersive, Part 2