Team and Trail Foundation · teamandtrail.com
A corridor of public land stretches between Las Vegas and Estes Park, often experienced only fleetingly by travelers moving at high speeds.
Zion National Park is accessible by taking the appropriate exit. Bryce Canyon is reached by remaining on Highway 12. Capitol Reef awaits those who avoid the interstate for longer. Arches and Island in the Sky can be visited with a morning in Moab. Glenwood Canyon reveals itself when you treat I-70 as a scenic route rather than a means to an end. Rocky Mountain National Park, approached from the east in November, remains authentic even when Trail Ridge Road is closed.
The Team and Trail Foundation exists because of this corridor’s significance.
The focus is not on picturesque imagery, but rather on the essential work: maintaining walkable trails, ensuring program integrity, and preparing the next generation to operate effectively in challenging conditions.
What we are doing in November
In mid-November, our founder will travel this corridor en route to the Association for Experiential Education’s international conference at the YMCA of the Rockies: ASCEND, Growing Community, Elevating Practice, November 12–14, Estes Park.
The Association for Experiential Education (AEE) serves as the professional community for individuals who transform natural environments into educational experiences, including outdoor educators, guides, therapists, teachers, and researchers. The YMCA campus spans 860 acres adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park and features hiking trails, a challenge course, fire pits, and a dining hall that accommodates all conference attendees. This setting functions as an active landscape rather than a conventional event venue.
We encourage our community to recognize the underlying connection among these experiences.
Team and Trail’s mission is to empower adventurers through leadership development, fund organizations that promote sustainable outdoor leadership, and support initiatives at the intersection of environmental and social justice. The Association for Experiential Education is a key partner in advancing this mission. The parks along the corridor serve as the practical setting for these objectives.
Why the drive is the story
Anyone can fly into Denver and Uber to Estes, but the ride would be through the roof!
Taking the longer route underscores that outdoor leadership requires logistical planning before inspiration. November days are brief, and Bryce Canyon is cold at 8,000 feet. Interstate 70 over the tunnel may require traction laws early in the day. Elk inhabit the same valleys as conference participants. Food left unattended in cabins attracts bears. These are not merely metaphors; they represent real operational challenges.
If funds are raised for ‘adventure’ but the land is regarded only as a backdrop, the effort becomes marketing. However, supporting programs that teach individuals to navigate these environments responsibly constitutes meaningful work.
This is the standard we aim to highlight on teamandtrail.com this fall. Artificial experiences can be postponed, but authentic engagement with places like Bryce Canyon cannot be replicated. The conference is valuable only if participants apply what they learn to improve real-world programs.
What we need from you
If you participate in mushing, guiding, outdoor education, trail maintenance, youth program management, or serve on a board that preserves public land, you are part of our core constituency.
Three practical asks:
- Join us in following the November corridor. We will share observations from the parks and from the Association for Experiential Education, not as travel narratives, but as field notes illustrating leadership under challenging conditions.
- Please direct us to organizations practicing sustainable outdoor leadership with limited resources. The Foundation’s purpose is to allocate support, rather than to accumulate followers.
- Approach your next outdoor activity as an opportunity to assess leadership transferability. Consider who on your team could manage operations in your absence. This question is essential for the sustainability of trails, kennels, and nonprofit organizations.
The lights of Las Vegas are a fine place to start a week. The pines above Estes Park are a better place to remember why the work is public.
See you on the trail.
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The Team and Trail Foundation is a 501(c)(3) supporting outdoor leadership and the communities that practice it. Learn more at teamandtrail.com. AEE 2026: aee.org.