In the backcountry of Alaska in the middle of July, the sun never sets; It just circles the horizon.

During the summer of 2 !!, I "ent on a month long e#$edition to the %alkeetna &ountain 'ange of Alaska "ith the (ational )utdoor *eadershi$ +chool ,()*+-. &y goal "as to build strong bonds "ith the students and instructors, all of "hom I did not even kno" e#isted a month before. I had ho$ed I "ould make some friends going on the tri$, but I did not e#$ect to have a "hole ne" family after I finished this challenging yet re"arding adventure. (ot only did the tri$ allo" me to develo$ strong relationshi$s "ith others, but it hel$ed me develo$ $ersonally as a more confident and res$onsible leader. At the beginning of the second "eek I nominated myself to be the leader of the day for the hiking grou$. .e had made u$ our minds for our travel $lans the night before, and I "as self/assured I "ould be able to lead the grou$ to our ne#t check$oint. As "e a"oke, fog engulfed the "hole valley. I "as still confident "e "ould reach our check$oint "ithout any major dilemmas, des$ite the "eather. 0o"ever, the fog $roved our to$ogra$hical ma$ $ractically useless. A cou$le of hours into the hike I realized I "as not $aying careful attention to the distance "e had covered. I admitted my mistake to my instructor in ho$e that he "ould get us back on track, but he didn1t. It "as a tough choice deciding "hether to move on or to backtrack because the only indicator of our check$oint "ould have been a drainage, and "e "ere not sure if "e had already $assed one or not. %he terminology "as still ne" to us and "e "ere still getting used to the geogra$hical features of Alaska. .e sa" a fe" trickling streams running do"n the side of the mountain, but "e figured they "ere not significant enough to sho" u$ on a ma$. After deciding to move on, ,and after enduring an hour and a half of hiking and uncertainty-, "e sa" the true drainage. 2inding the drainage "as the turning $oint of the e#$edition; I became a"are of the skills I must im$rove to be a leader, and the endurance I must have to reach my goals. At the time of the hike I "as not ha$$y that my Instructor denied giving any hel$, but I understand no" that he "as strengthening my skills as a leader. 0e taught me that I "ill not al"ays have an easy "ay out, and to be a leader I must be able to "ork "ith "hat I have. %hroughout the rest of the tri$, I "as constantly reminded to focus on the re"ards, or else the fatigue and insecurity "ould cree$ over me. Due to this training I am no" a"are of ho" difficult achieving goals can be, and that the every/day little tasks are relentless, but the re"ards make it "orth it.