Inside Catlin Gabel’s Applied Leadership in the Outdoors Immersive, Part 2

This is Part 2 of a three-part series about Catlin Gabel's Applied Leadership in the Outdoors (ALO) Immersive, a two-week program that culminates in a five-day backpacking expedition in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Part 1 introduced the program and followed senior Nolan Swaim ('26) as he stepped up when the group's campsite plan fell through mid-trip. Here, we look at what happened in the days before the expedition—and on the mountain itself.

Before the Trail

Marguerite McKean, one of ALO’s co-teachers and an Upper School Science Teacher, watched the leadership principles take shape even before anyone set foot on a trail. During a campus challenge course in the days before departure, she ran an exercise called “The Bridge is Out”—a series of platforms connected by boards. Groups have to problem-solve their way across, using boards too short to close the gap without collaboration and creativity.

The first time through, students focused almost entirely on their own assigned cluster. It didn't take long before that changed.

"They quickly learned that by helping each other, making sure everyone had a clear passage, not just their own group, the entire group got faster and better and stronger," she said. One group's time dropped from 13 and a half minutes on the first attempt to seven minutes, then to three.

These lessons translate well to the backcountry. "We walk as a group," McKean said. "We only succeed when the entire group gets from point A to point B safely, securely, with food and shelter and water."

By the third day on the trail, students were living that out themselves. Hridhaan Garg ('29) and Terra Bailey ('29), that day's designated leaders, wanted to scout the final campsite themselves. Morgan Kerr-Staudinger, one of the co-teachers, and Babbitt handed them a radio and stepped back for half an hour.

"I felt they had earned my trust," Babbitt said. They came back having found a great campsite, excited to have found it themselves. Everyone put their packs on and went.

On the Mountain

For many students, this was their first time backpacking. Five days in the Willamette National Forest meant mornings spent studying maps and counting topographical lines, afternoons on the trail, and evenings making dinner and checking for ticks. 

For some students, like Addy Blee ('29), it was totally new. "My family aren’t outdoors people and I never go camping or hiking or anything like that, so it felt kind of intimidating going backpacking for five days with people I don't really know," she said. She came back surprised. "I just built so many connections I didn't think I would."

Hridhaan Garg ('29) had a different concern. He described himself as "a very clean person." Yet after five days without a shower, eating dirt with every meal, he came back wanting more. "It changed how I look at the outdoors," he said.

One freshman had never thought of herself as a leader. On her designated day, she led a group of juniors. She hadn't known she could do that, Babbitt said, and she ended up really liking it.

That was common. Students described leadership as something that emerged naturally rather than something taught. The cross-grade bonds did too. Without phones, students sat and talked at night around camp. "It really did feel like a family," said Eva Moore ('28).

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 3