Compare Baja Women's Sea Kayaking - Prime by National Outdoor Leadership School vs Hiking and Camping in Joshua Tree by Intrepid Travel
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| Trip |
5 | Excellent
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4.5 | Great
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| Duration | 7 days | 4 days |
| Price From | $ 1,500 | $ 1,775 |
| Price Per Day | $ 214 | $ 444 |
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| Trip Style | Small group tour | Small group tour |
| Lodging Level | Standard | Basic |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Ground transport included |
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| Meals Included | N/A | N/A |
| Description |
The Baja California Peninsula and the Sea of Cortez are beautiful, dramatic environments. The land is rugged, dry, and mountainous, while the sea teems with marine life. You’ll explore these varied worlds in a sea kayak, with a snorkel, or on foot.
This course emphasizes developing proficiency in outdoor living and traveling techniques. Your days will begin at dawn as you paddle from one campsite to the next. Throughout the day, you can expect classes on paddling and rescue techniques, wind and wave theory, and local weather; the rich natural environment of Baja California’s desert and coast; and plenty of practical experience in Leave No Trace camping techniques, including cooking, sanitation, shelter set-up, and stove use. This course also emphasizes leadership and teamwork development. You may have opportunities to visit with local fishing and ranching communities, and even share a home-cooked meal with them |
Discover one of the most serene and surreal landscapes in the American West on a winter hiking and backcountry camping trip in Joshua Tree National Park where billion-year-old rocks loom above the surrounding desert, and expansive Joshua Tree “forests” blanket broad valleys. In the mornings and evenings, it feels more like a savannah than a desert, with Joshua Trees framing the horizon at the edge of the Mojave desert. Admire Joshua Tree’s must-see features like desert oases and soaring summits and gather around the well-stoked campfires at a basecamp in the heart of Joshua Tree National Park. |
Baja Women's Sea Kayaking - Prime
Explore the beautiful, dramatic environment of the Sea of Cortéz by sea kayak on this unique, all-female course. Over the course of a week, you’ll gain competence in sea kayaking techniques and learn how to camp and live comfortably in the coastal desert. In addition, you will have numerous opportunities to further develop your leadership skills among a group of competent, motivated women.
This course is not just a vacation: it’s designed to give individuals with busy schedules time to focus on themselves and their roles as leaders, learn new outdoor skills, and form new relationships in an environment that will help you realize your potential as a leader.
Learning Goals at NOLS
NOLS courses teach wilderness and leadership skills on expeditions and in classrooms. Our students apply these skills to challenges in a supportive learning environment with high expectations. Students have the opportunity for a positive, transformational experience and leave our courses inspired and empowered to act.
We craft NOLS courses so that graduates will be able to assume leadership roles; live and travel in the outdoors; act with confidence and competence; respect and collaborate with others on expeditions, teams and communities; care for themselves and others; understand their habits, strengths and areas for growth; function under difficult circumstances; make informed and thoughtful decisions; communicate effectively and manage conflict; and appreciate living simply.
Day 1 Joshua Tree National Park
After a morning hotel pickup in Las Vegas, take a scenic drive through sparsely populated desert expanses, picking up additional group members at the Oasis Visitor Center along the way, then drive into the heart of the park to reach Sheep Pass Campground. After lunch, hike to the summit of Ryan Mountain and take in stunning 360-degree summit views of granite rock piles that seem to melt into the surrounding plateau. Returning to camp, enjoy a delicious campfire dinner and admire the sparkling stars of the Milky Way overhead.
Day 2 Joshua Tree National Park
After breakfast, visit the Teddy Bear Cholla Garden then make your way to today’s main hike: The Lost Palms Oasis. Sustained by water seeping up through fault lines, five oases can be found within Joshua Tree National Park, and today you will visit two of them. Meander over arroyos and through sandy smoke tree washes to reach the park’s largest group of California Fan Palms where you will enjoy lunch. From here, hike back to the trailhead, soaking in views of Southern California’s largest lake, the Salton Sea, and perhaps take an additional hike to Arch Rock.
Day 3 Joshua Tree National Park
Soak in the sight of Joshua trees silhouetted against the break of day, or climb to the top of one of the monoliths surrounding camp to greet the morning before our first group hike of the day to Barker Dam. Admire the petroglyphs, learn about the Native American history of the area, and listen to tall tales from the days of gold mining and cattlemen before you head to another part of the Wonderland of Rocks: The Maze. This trail will take you through spires, granite monoliths, and rock formations to a grand finale of breathtaking views of the national park. Returning back to camp, enjoy one last evening of hearty food, good company, and a campfire beneath the desert sky.
Day 4 Joshua Tree National Park
After breakfast, break down camp and head to Hidden Valley, an ecological haven with incredibly diverse flora. Conditions permitting, you will then scramble through one or more of Indian Cove’s finest remote hollows. After soaking in the astounding landscape and enjoying one last lunch together, bid farewell to any group members departing directly from the park then embark on a scenic drive back to Las Vegas where your trip will come to an end.
