Mission Commander Mars?!?!!

So nearly a year ago now, I found out about an analog Mars mission in Hawaii. On the day of the deadline. And then promptly spent 2.5 hours of my work day creating a research proposal and applying. After an aptitude test, Skype interview, and 6 day backpacking and leadership training course, not only am I going to fake Mars, but I get to command the mission! Woot! Who knew I could lead something like this? Apparently everyone except me. So we'll see how it goes.

The camping trip was most excellent. The weather was great. We never hiked more than 6 miles per day. The route was beautiful, the people were fun, and it was exciting to take people who'd never been backpacking out before and seeing them come into their own.

Some photos from the course:

And then, since I was in Wyoming, I convinced a few friends from California to come out and visit Yellowstone with me for a bit of a long weekend after the course was over. When in Rome. Photos from Yellowstone:

But seriously, thank you to all my camping buddies who, it turns out, were exemplary examples of proper expedition behaviour. I owe my ability in planning adventures in a large part to you. So shout out to Mat, Oleg, and the Girl Scouts - Neil and Jason. Thanks for being awesome guys!