It was the kind of outing we aspire for every time we take our students out. Magic was happening December 6th, 2018 when 19 students from the Montessori Charter School of Flagstaff bundled up in their winter best and made a trip to the Flagstaff Nordic Center.   Our first and most important goals was to teach the students […]

On November 27th, 2018, 18 students from Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy had an introduction to map and compass navigation. In a world of cell phones and GPS devices, it can be easy to dismiss maps and compasses as irrelevant, but without this foundational knowledge it is difficult to impossible to know what one is looking at on a GPS […]

On November 14th, 2018 48 Students from Northland Preparatory Academy traveled to Gooseberry Springs Trail Head on the Arizona Trail Mormon Lake Passage to participate in some trailwork.   Having learned from the day before, we changed the plans altogether. Though the day was slightly warmer and a lot less windy, the temperatures were still on the low side and […]

On November 13, 2018, 50 Students from Northland Preparatory Academy went to Gooseberry Springs on the Arizona Trail Mormon Lake Passage to attempt some trail work and trail design lessons.   It turned out, that though we studied trail design and cross slope a little, our biggest lesson was how to prepare for and manage very cold temperatures, frozen ground […]

On November 8, 2018, 17 students from Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy went to Campbell Mesa to learn about trail design and do maintenance on the 2 mile Campbell Mesa loop.   With plenty of help from our partners at the US Forest Service and Arizona Conservation Corps, the group was able to hike and repair drainage on the entire […]

On November 6, 2018, 40 students from Mount Elden Middle School Alpine Academy joined us for a day of trail work and design.   With large groups we tend to divide the group in half. One group learning about trail design and hydrology, the other group repairing trail. After a hearty lunch and, of course, cookies we trade. Students first […]

On November 1, 2018, 48 students from Kinsey Inquiry and Discovery School visited Aspen Corner and the Arizona Trail to build trail and learn about trail design and construction.   Students dug drains, discussed hydrology, and practiced designing their own trails. Though the day was chilly, they kept warm moving dirt and exploring. Experts from the US Forest Service were […]

On October 30, 2018, 38 students from Mount Elden Middle School Alpine Academy joined us for a day of trail work and design.   With large groups we tend to divide the group in half. One group learning about trail design and hydrology, the other group repairing trail. After a hearty lunch and, of course, cookies we trade. Students first […]

On October 25th, 2018, 19 students From Montessori Charter School of Flagstaff Middle School gave their all to some trail work on Deer Hill Trail from Little Elden Horse Camp.   This group is always keen, enthusiastic and ready to work! Students first had a lesson in trail design, hydrology and the process for getting a new trail approved. Next […]

On October 23, 2018,  19 students from the Peaks School in Flagstaff had an outing to the Elden family homestead site and Elden Spring on Little Elden Trail.   Students had a big day of learning! We learned the history of the Elden family and other homesteaders like them. Why they came to Flagstaff and why, in this case, they […]

One of the most important skills educators, especially outdoor educators, need to have is flexibility and a willingness to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances.  On October 18th, 2018 we had to put this skill into action. Both 5th grade classes from Kinsey Inquiry and Discovery School were scheduled for outings to the Arizona Trail on the San Francisco Peaks this […]

On October 4th, 2018, 19 students from Ms. Lemke’s class at Peaks School visited the Arizona Trail on the San Francisco Peaks to view the changing leaves.   Students started their hike at the Aspen Loop trailhead. We walked through tunnels of beautiful peaking fall leaves to a warm and sunny spot in a meadow. Here we learned some Arizona […]

On September 26, 2018, 38 students from Flagstaff Junior Academy’s 5th grade visited Picture Canyon along the Elden Mountain passage of the Arizona Trail. Students hiked a 3.5 mile round trip removing invasive weeds and learning about the local area as we went.   A few days earlier during a classroom visit, the students had been introduced to the idea […]

On September 25th, 2018, 7 students from Flagstaff High School’s Outdoor Discovery class went for a hike on the Arizona Trail San Francisco Peaks passage. The goal of the day was simple. Students wanted to hike 5 miles total and experience the beauty of the mixed conifer forests at a higher elevation than town.   Prior to setting out on […]

On September 21st, 2018, 16 members of the Flagstaff Junior Academy Mountain Biking Club gave back to the Flagstaff community by doing trail maintenance on the Arizona Trail Elden Mountain Passage.   As mountain bikers, and some of them as returning trail builders, they have developed a great sense of how to sculpt a drain for good water flow and […]

On September 20th, 2018, 8 students from the Pre-AP Biology class at Flagstaff High School headed to Little Elden Trail at Elden Spring Road to finish off a section of trail that had recently been rerouted.   Little Elden Trail, which is also the Arizona Trail Flagstaff Equestrian Bypass section, has for years followed unsustainable fall line paths up and […]

On September 11th, 2018, 80 students from Mount Elden Middle School’s Alpine Academy took a short walk from their classrooms to learn about the science of phenology and take a baseline observation.   Phenology is the study of seasonal changes in plant and animal life throughout the year. It is the timing of the budding of flowers and the changing […]

One September 10, 2018, 120 students from The Mount Elden Middle School APEX program visit Picture Canyon in Flagstaff along the Arizona Trail Elden Mountain Passage.   With such a large group we need to divide things up. So one group started the day with a tour of the Wildcat Hill Wastewater Treatment facility where they learned about the process […]

On September 5th, 2018, 25 students from Ms. Esparza’s 5th grade class had an introduction to the Arizona Trail and a short hike from school to the urban trail near their school. We learned about trail courtesy and Leave No Trace practices that are expected on our SOS outings and had a chance to practice on our short hike from […]

On September 4th, 2018, 25 students from Mr. Caslin’s 5th grade class had an introduction to the Arizona Trail and a short hike from school to the urban trail near their school. We learned about trail courtesy and Leave No Trace practices that are expected on our SOS outings and had a chance to practice on our short hike from […]

On August 30, 2018, 27 students from Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy’s Outdoor Explorations classes walked from their school towards the Schultz Pass trailhead to study edible plants local to our area.   We examined sunflowers and learned to tell when the seeds would be ready for harvesting. We looked at lambs quarters and pigweed, both of which have edible […]

On August 29, 2018, 39 students from Mr. Ross and Mrs. Chapman’s 5th grade class at Flagstaff Junior Academy visited Wupatki National Monument near Flagstaff, Arizona.   Students put on their social scientist hats to look for evidence of how the residents of this monument would have met their fundamental human needs like shelter, food, water, defense, community, art and […]

On May 24th, 2018, 16 students from Peaks School visited Ashurt Lake near the Mormon Lake passage of the Arizona Trail. The goal of the day was to conduct a “bioblitz” on the plants and animals we could find in the area and upload our findings to iNaturalist, an app where citizen scientists can add to the database of known […]

On May 22nd, 2018, 38 students from Flagstaff Junior Academy visited Marshall Lake at the intersection of the Walnut Canyon and Anderson Mesa passages on the  Arizona Trail. The goal of the day was to conduct a “bioblitz” on the plants and animals we could find in the area and upload our findings to iNaturalist, an app where citizen scientists […]

On May 18th, 2018, 9 members of the Flagstaff Junior Academy Mountain Biking Club had the chance to participate in a trail work day on the Deer Hill Trail with leadership from American Conservation Experience and Seeds of Stewardship staff.   Whether mountain bikers, trail runners, hikers, equestrians, or motorcyclists, those of us who enjoy and use trails have the […]

On May 8, 2013, 69 students from Kinsey Inquiry and Discovery School 5th grade went out to do trail work on Little Elden Trail from the Elden Lookout parking area.   With our friends from the US Forest service, half the class got to work tread repair and drainage while the other half went for a semester ending hike to […]

On May 3rd, 2018, 19 students from the 7th and 8th grade classes at the Peaks School took a 4 mile hike at Red Mountain near Flagstaff.   The students had a chance to learn about the mystery of Red Mountain geology. How did Red Mountain end up in a Horseshoe shape with fused cinders, plagioclase crystals of olivine, hornblende, […]