Safety is our first priority and we have an exceptional safety record to prove it. The Road Less Traveled's philosophy is that wilderness medical training is serious business; therefore, ALL leaders are required to have advanced first-aid training in the form of WEMT (Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician), EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), or WFR (Wilderness First Responder) certification. All have CPR training, and many have Red Cross Lifeguard training. Leaders can consult with the directors any time of the day or night through our 24-hour assistance line. We also have a doctor on call at all times and designated medical facilities and evacuation routes in each of the areas we travel. All groups carry ground-to-air radios, phones (either cellular or Satellite phones), and extensive first-aid kits that include epi-pens and antibiotics. Participants wear life jackets, safety harnesses, and helmets during all adventure activities. In vehicles, everyone is required to buckle up.

Trip leaders are in contact with RLT's home base every day they are in the front country and messages can be relayed through our Chicago office.

Any person in average physical condition can succeed on The Road Less Traveled. The only requirements are a genuine desire as well as a willingness and commitment to participate. It is important to prepare for your expedition by getting in good physical shape. Our expeditions are carefully designed to allow everyone to begin on a fairly equal basis regardless of experience or ability. Our leaders will provide and guide you with instruction before and during each activity. (A medical exam by a physician is required upon acceptance.)

RLT participants are a diverse population from across the country and world. They come from different social, financial and ethnic backgrounds. They are intelligent young people who are curious and willing to take risks and share the load. They have an interest in grasping a broader sense of responsibility and a larger understanding of the physical world. They want to meet new people and cultivate a greater appreciation of the outdoors.

A TIP is sent to you upon your acceptance in the program. It describes everything you need to know for your RLT summer program: flight information, health tidbits, medication information, release forms, medical forms, etc.

On our domestic programs, we will stop in a designated town to pick up mail at the post office about once a week. A list of these addresses will be provided to you in your Travelers Information Packet. Due to time constraints, most of our international programs are not able to receive mail.

New airline and airport security measures currently in place forbid anyone other than ticketed passengers or adult escorts of ticketed, unaccompanied minors beyond security checkpoints. Currently, the best place for us to meet you is at the baggage claim area (unless you are an unaccompanied minor, in which case special permission and arrangements may be made for an RLT staff member to greet you at the gate). When you arrive at the airport, our staff will be waiting for you at a pre-determined location - at your baggage claim area or just outside the security check point. We will keep you advised of any changes due to security policies.

Food and nutrition are important to all of us, but they become far more important when we are expending additional energy. We follow daily recommendations for food using the food pyramid as a guide, and purchase food as we travel. Everyone engages in the planning and preparation of a variety of fresh, creative, and nutritional meals three times daily. We have plenty of tasty recipes for our cook crews.

It depends on what "special" means. Our meals always include the four basic food groups. We do require that each participant eat well-balanced meals. If you are a vegetarian, we respect your beliefs and will do our best to prepare any meat dishes separate from the veggies. Allergies and Kosher diets can be accommodated for on most programs.

Our policy is that participants may call home three times: when they arrive safely at the airport, during the middle of the trip, and just before they get on the plane home. During the expedition, we restrict calls to emergencies with the belief that calls home consume valuable time on the road. Imagine fifteen people making ten-minute calls home on one working pay phone. Then imagine one person not able to get through. Calls home also pull us away from our group and the experience. We have weekly mail stops for care packages and letters. Everybody loves to get letters!

We typically discourage anyone from coming with a friend. Sometimes, however, we will allow friends to come together if they both understand that we require each person who joins us to put as much energy into everyone else on the trip as they will into their friend. Pairings or cliques are not allowed (girl-girl, boy-boy, girl-boy). We find it detracts from the group experience. We limit how many people can come from any one area to assure a broad geographic distribution.

We are a co-ed expedition company. You will be hanging out with each other, but when it comes to sleeping arrangements, you are separated: girls with girls, boys with boys. (A participant found in the tent of a member of the opposite sex will be sent home.)

While on the road, we travel in new air-conditioned vans, meticulously maintained to ensure that your trip is comfortable, safe, and trouble-free. The vans are complete with radios, CD players, and iPod connectors when available. To ensure plenty of room inside the vans, there are trailers for our gear.

Whether it be on the water, the rocks, or even cook crew, at The Road Less Traveled, challenge is always by choice. We ask that you try new things and keep an open mind, but we also provide alternatives to meet every skill and comfort level.

It depends on the trip. The maximum student to leader ratio is 7:1, with both male and female staff represented on each expedition. Often times the student to leader ratio is as low as 2:1 while working with expert guides.

There are between ten and twenty-one participants on each program.

We suggest bringing approximately $30-40 per week for personal items, magazines, stamps, postcards, etc.  Amounts will vary with international trips and will be covered in the international Travelers' Information Packets that is mailed to enrolled participants.

We provide all the necessary gear such as tents, ropes, cooking equipment, maps and books, with the exception of some occasional modest gear rental. The type of trip that you will be on dictates what you need to bring. On our language programs, you only need to bring personal clothes and belongings.  For our adventure expeditions, in addition to clothing and belongings you must bring a good pair of broken-in hiking boots, a backpack, and a sleeping bag and pad.  Our community service program participants need to provide their personal clothes and belongings, a sleeping bag and sleeping pad, and on most trips sturdy work boots. A general clothing and equipment list will be sent in your Travelers Information Packet.

Amazing experiences, beautiful terrain, wonderful people, hearty meals, and equipment. We supply all necessary gear, such as tents, ropes, technical and cooking equipment, helmets, maps and compasses, even a traveling library.

Program cost does not include: domestic, international, in-country or inter-island airfare; personal spending money; excess baggage fees, passports, visas, airport departure fees, incidental meals on arrival and departure days; personal items; medical, hospital, and evacuation expenses; expenses resulting from delays due to bad weather, trail, river and road conditions, sickness, government action, and flight delays. The Road Less Traveled requires that you purchase travelers' insurance.

We have reference lists for each of our programs. If you would like to speak to former Road Less Traveled participants, or to their parents, give us a call at 1-800-939-9839, or send us an e-mail at info@theroadlesstraveled.com , and we will provide a list of alumni in your area, or alumni that have participated on the program you are applying for.

We are very proud to say we are accredited by the American Camping Association. Our ACA accreditation indicates we have voluntarily allowed our practices to be compared with over 300 standards established by professionals in the camp industry, and we have met or exceeded those standards. The ACA standards, which often go beyond the requirements of state and federal laws, are recognized by courts of law and government regulators as the standards of the camp industry. Through the accreditation process, outside teams of trained camp professionals observe the camp in session to verify compliance with standards in the areas of health, safety, and program quality, including emergency procedures, program practices and design, health care, personnel policies, vehicle safety, goals, and administration. The Road Less Traveled has been accredited since our first year of operation, and continues to be committed to measuring the standard of our professionalism through the process of accreditation. We are also a licensed childcare facility in Colorado.

We offer programs that are rigorous and challenging, but not competitive. Participants move at their own pace, as we progress from the simple to the complex. It is our mission to offer each participant a rich and full measure of adventure and challenge, and an experience that melds independence and teamwork in some of the world's most breathtaking country. Our unique expeditions are designed to mix the benefits of fun and pure adventure with the life-enhancing virtues of knowledge.

RLT's roots are strong. Jim headed up the country's premier and original adventure travel program for youth under his friend and mentor, Nelson Weiters, in the mid-seventies. These early experiences served as catalysts for the RLT expeditions that Jim has developed over the past twenty years.

Our leaders come from all across the country and from many varied backgrounds, including medical students, teachers, EMTs and environmental educators. They are 21-35 years of age, and have a minimum of a bachelor's degree and WFR certification. They are bright, energetic, interesting people, and are excellent role models. Leaders are selected by Directors Jim and Donna Stein, based on each individual's experience and commitment to work with young people in the outdoors. We meet each candidate, and interview him or her in person. (For more information, see our Leaders section in "About".)

Since our founding, RLT has endeavored to make our programs available to all, no matter their financial situation. If you have a passion to participate, we are happy to work with you to help make an RLT summer a real possiblity. Please contact Jill Meade via email, including your home city and state as well as the name of your school, to find out more and to determine if you qualify to apply.

RLT is an equal opportunity service provider and employer. RLT programs are conducted through special use permits granted by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. We would like to acknowledge the following areas for welcoming RLT: Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Wyoming, Carson National Forest, New Mexico, Clearwater National Forest, Idaho, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, Manti-La Sal National Forest, Utah, Moab District BLM, Utah, North Cascades National Park, Washington, Olympic National Park, Washington, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, San Isabel National Forest, Colorado, San Juan Resource Area, Utah, San Juan-Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, and Denali State Park, Alaska.

The Road Less Traveled and Man and His Land are deeply connected. When RLT Director Jim Stein was 15 years old, he traveled for nine weeks on a backpacking trip through the American West. This was one of Jim's defining moments and it lay the seeds for his budding passion for adventure, challenge and community service. Jim led summer programs for Man and His Land founder Nelson Weiters throughout his twenties. We like to believe that The Road Less Traveled has continued the stellar tradition of challenge and environmental stewardship initiated by Nelson Weithers and Man and His Land.