Yep, that’s right. I will do my best to help you win. 🙂

Here’s the deal. The famous non-profit National Outdoor Leadership School is hosting a contest in partnership with the apparel and gear brand Patagonia. They are offering 6 prizes, with the Grand Prize being a 30 day all expenses paid trip to the gorgeous Wind River Mountains in Wyoming as a student in their classic NOLS Wind River Wilderness Course. This is a $4,000 trip!!

My friend over at NOLS let me know that they’ve only received a handful of entries so far (5 to be exact)! And 3 of them are from NOLS staff, who aren’t allowed to win anyway. So the 2 people who have submitted videos are automatically going to win one of the 5 tremendous prizes below if no one else enters. The contest ends 10/31/10, but the sooner you get your video submitted, people will have a chance to view it and vote.

Hiking Lady readers can do better! The way to win is to submit a very short video about “What is your dream expedition?” Pretty easy! And it doesn’t even have to be fancy, cause their are several categories of winners: most viewed, most creative, most inspirational, most low-tech, and funniest!

I WANT A HIKING LADY READER TO WIN! Why? Because this trip would be a fantastic experience for anyone who wants to hike in one of the most picturesque landscapes in America. And the runner up prizes are very impressive too.

How to participate:

• Film a short video of yourself. If you don’t have a video camera, remember that most digital cameras have a video mode. Your smartphone may be able to record the video… even iPods now have video recording features! So lack of video equipment is NO excuse.
• Create a YouTube account. Believe me it is quick and easy. I’ve done it (check out TheHikingLady on YouTube)



• As an extra incentive, for the first 2 Hiking Lady readers that submit a video for the NOLS contest, I will send you a copy of the bestselling NOLS paperback, “Bear Essentials: Hiking and Camping in Bear Country”
• Submit your video here.
• And as soon as you’ve posted your video, post a link to it in the comments section below. That way I will be able to send the first 2 Hiking Lady readers who enter copies of the Bear Essentials book, and Hiking Lady readers who are too chicken to film themselves will vote for you and help you win!

So dear friends, good luck!

And if I haven’t convinced you, check out this page for runner up prize details, all of the details, rules, regulations, red tape, fine print, etc. Bottom line – NOLS is giving out a great trip but no one seems to know about it!