Packraft Foundations: A Paddling Skills Course for LGBTQ+ Adventurers ⼮ The Armida Huerta Adventure Fund
NOW ACCEPTING SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS!
Resistance Through Joy in the Outdoors! A packrafting course for queer & trans folks!
Introduction
At Four Corners Guides, we are committed to supporting our fellow queer and trans adventurers and the greater LGBTQ+ community through these tough times in the United States. Our goals with this Armida Huerta Adventure Fund course are to create as safe a space as possible for you with queer instructors and to teach you new skills so you can enjoy the outdoors with like-minded adventurers.
To apply for this course, please visit the Armida’s Fund website, and also email our administrator, Wynn, to let her know you applied (because sometimes the booking system fails and we don’t get messages!) If you’re able to pay full price for this course, you do not need to apply for a scholarship. We trust you’re queer if you’re registering for thi course 🏳️🌈. Please note, if you cannot pay, we can also help you source all the equipment you need.
This is a Level 1 & 2 course. We’ll have two to three instructors and may split the group up based on experience. Basically if you have zero experience in a packraft or whitewater kayak, you’ll be in Level 1. If you have some experience, you’ll be in Level 2. If you have a lot of experience, consider applying for a scholarship to get into a higher-level course. We’ll all start out together each day to review the basics, and we’ll end the day together reviewing what we learned and how the experience was for each individual.
the armida huerta adventure Fund
We are running this course in conjunction with the Armida Huerta Adventure Fund. For more information on this fund and on Armida, please click here.We recognize this is a drop in the bucket when confronting systemic racism, homophobia and entrenched inequality. But we feel the freedom, exhilaration and self-realization discovered on wild rivers and trails should be accessible to everyone.
We also recognize there are many barriers to backcountry adventuring. As such, with this fund we seek to provide instruction, loaner and/or equipment gifts, financial support, food, and other necessities to these communities.
We created this fund in honor of our dear friend, partner, sister, armida huerta, who passed on March 20th, 2024.
Price: $675 or FREE with scholarship
A 50% deposit is required when you sign up. The full balance is due within 90 days of the start date of the course.
Please review our cancellation policy, which you will find on our Terms, Conditions & Cancellation Policy Page.
What's Included
This course includes instruction, an open packraft, PFD, paddle and helmet for the Level 1 participants. Level 2 participants are expected to have their own equipment. You may or may not need a drysuit for this course. Typically it’s still quite hot in Moab in September. At most you’ll probably need a wet suit. We can help you source one. Food and transportation are not included. Please plan accordingly, though we will get a group campsite Friday and Saturday nights to share with everyone.
Instructors
Lizzy Scully (She/Her): Instructor
Lizzy owns Four Corners Guides. She has been packrafting seven years, is certified in Swiftwater Rescue and as a Wilderness First Responder and is a Level 4 American Canoe Association Packraft Instructor.
Tyler Marlow
Born in the lush green forest of the American south, Tyler has never been one to sit still. At 18 they left home to thru hike the Appalachian trail and haven’t stopped walking yet. Educated as an Anthropologist, Tyler seeks to understand the connection between humans and the landscape; where environments meets culture. Called to the desert, Tyler moved to Southeast Utah and began a love affair with the Colorado Plateau; working in youth conservation, trail work, and now as a carpenter and guide. With their dog Mira riding shotgun Tyler migrates seasonally, from the Sonoran desert, to the Four Corners, and McCarthy, Alaska with detours far afield. Tyler is a Level 4 American Canoe Association-certified Packraft Instructor.
