Executive director’s Note
What Strategic Direction Shall the Organization Take in this 21st Century?
A Strategy to Blend and Balance the Old and the New
It is tempting for an organization as old as ours to hang our hats on past successes, keep doing what works, and double down on the trek models that have gotten us to where we are today. But there is a risk in that approach: we may become irrelevant. Trekkers and their families do not necessarily want the same expedition experience they did 30 or 50 or 90 years ago… or do they? How do we honor the past and march forward, inspired to walk a new and relevant path?
I am proud to introduce you to a strategic plan that will guide us in answering those questions. This plan blends proven Gulch learning models with an honest assessment of modern challenges like climate change, inclusion, technology, and cultural competence. We created this plan alongside our Board of Directors who, along with key staff and volunteers, collected feedback from hundreds of alumni, teachers, trekkers, and partners. We settled on four strategic directions, listed below, to lead us through our 100th anniversary in 2026. I am eager to guide the organization toward each of these goals, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.
Strategic Direction #1: Our programs, Immersive Learning for a Changing World
Twenty years ago, we had one school partner in Albuquerque. Today, we have a few dozen partners, schools and other organizations that see value in our mission. This is a positive change on many levels, but it also forces us to question our identity—if we no longer exist entirely to provide extended summer expeditions, what are we?
At our best, we provide immersive outdoor experiences where trekkers engage with the natural world and diverse communities of the Four Corners region. In many ways, we resemble an outdoor school, but with no grades, no tests. We immerse ourselves in a place, build a community, navigate challenge, learn about who lives there, who lived there, and discover what we can learn from each other. We challenge ourselves to understand the environment and build bridges between cultures.
On one hand, those ideas are very similar to the very first Prairie Trek expeditions in the 1920s. We foster independence, confidence, curiosity, teamwork, and a home for the zany seeking a community of fellow explorers. Our summer programs consistently accomplish those goals; our school programs are less consistent. Moving forward, I want to place more emphasis on immersive, long-form school programs in addition to our summer programs. That schoolbased experience may occur all at once, or be spread throughout the school year, like our Students in Wilderness Initiative. We are most likely to succeed in our mission when we can get to know students, build safety, and then challenge them to think critically about how they interact with themselves, each other, and the ever-changing world around them.
Jordan Stone
Strategic Direction #2: Our Community, Strengthen
and Diversify the Gulch Community
One front-and-center way the world is changing is how we talk about diversity and inclusion. While some parts of our program were ahead of their time, such as the first all-girls expedition in 1934, the Trek was accessible mostly to families who were white and wealthy. That fact does not negate the positive experience so many of us cherish, but it does beg the question of our future direction. We want the Gulch experience to be accessible and welcoming to anyone who believes in our mission. And not just a “Gulch Lite” version, but the full, life-changing, communitystrengthening expeditions so many of us have had the privilege of experiencing.
To do that, we need to take a hard look at our culture to ensure it is indeed, inclusive. We also need to raise money so our expeditions are accessible to many more people without sacrificing safety or staff pay. Finally, we need to recruit a staff and board team that represents the diversity and firsthand knowledge of the places we explore.
Strategic Direction #3: The Environment, Model Environmental Stewardship
Climate change is a real threat. We can take meaningful steps to reduce our contribution to climate change address, other environmental problems, and lead others to follow in our footsteps. For example: Organizationally, we can commit to reducing our environmental impact. We already practice Leave No Trace, and we do a mighty fine job of it, but the hidden impacts of our treks remain significant. We aim to reduce our carbon footprint and become a carbon-neutral organization.
Collectively, we can be proactive in stewarding the environment. Large swaths of the Four Corners are in need of restoration, including our Basecamp. Active stewardship will become a larger part of our programs.
Individually, it’s easy to feel helpless in the face of environmental challenges. Through environmental stewardship, restoration, and a dose of awe-inducing beauty, we aim to create a sense of agency in our trekkers, so they can return home (and/or return to us) and make a positive impact in their communities. Finally, we can make explicit connections between environmental problems and underserved, exploited communities. New Mexico, unfortunately, is rife with examples, from uranium around Mount Taylor to brownfields in Albuquerque. We cannot fully understand a place until we acknowledge those challenges and determine what we should do about them.
Strategic Direction
#4: Our Internal Foundations, Invest in Our Operations and Infrastructure
One of the most beautiful things about the Gulch is that we embrace serendipity. When a new opportunity arises, our programs are flexible enough, and our staff curious enough, to innovate and shift directions. I cannot imagine changing that ethos, but the growth we’ve experienced over the last two decades has created a variety of new challenges. One example: on a six-week summer expedition, getting your com truck stuck in the mud for a day is a memorable team-building experience; on a three-day school program, the charm fades quickly. We are now running overnight programs eight months out of the year, not just 10 weeks in the summer, and our operations need to adjust accordingly. We have already taken positive steps—most notably our new buildings at Basecamp—and moving forward we want to ensure our ability to capitalize on important opportunities.
Together, these four strategic directions draw on our greatest strengths. They also prepare us to lead relevant, meaningful, and inspiring expeditions in the 21st century. We will release a longer, attractive summary of our strategic plan later this spring--it constitutes an expedition of its own. We will want your help, and I hope you’ll join us.
Message from the Board
On the Importance of the Endownment
Marjorie Kittle
The Board has the best job at the Gulch - managing the resources and structure that support all the staff and programs. We think about how we can ensure stability and a strong financial base, no matter what happens. The majority of financial support for the organization comes from tuition paid by individual trekkers or school groups. A growing amount of revenue comes from generous individuals. Donations have built an ABQ headquarters, new scholarship funds, a new cabin loop, new places to store and cook our food and load our coms, and an endowment worth over $1.3 million dollars.
The endowment was the brainchild of then board chair, Jamey French, who proposed the fund at the 75th-anniversary celebration in 2001. Since 2008 it has provided over $471,344 in funding for programs.
We manage the endowment funds so that we preserve the amount that was contributed, invest the money so that it earns interest, and spend part of the interest every year. On average, our investments have been earning more than the annual distributions, so we have seen the growth of our capital beyond what is received in donations. Funds are tracked according to donors’ wishes and accounted for in the unrestricted, scholarship, capital improvement, and several “named fund” categories.
Funding from the endowment gives us security and flexibility, and it plays a vital role in the ability of the Gulch to bring the experience of the outdoors in the Southwest to an ever-growing number of trekkers.
Donating to the endowment is easy. If you give through the Gulch website, you can designate the needed to endowment. A link on the Support Us page provides more information about gifts of securities, an estate bequest, or other planned giving arrangements such as a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan. We would love to talk to you about your plans, and how your gift to the Gulch can have an impact far into the future.
Our mission: Cottonwood Gulch creates outdoor learning adventures for youth from all backgrounds that foster personal growth, strengthen community, and inspire stewardship of the natural world.
Board of Trustees
Marjorie Kittle, Board Chair
Scott Pierce III, Vice Chair
Stephen Sedam, Treasurer
Thomas B. Hyde, Secretary
Shawn Morris
Alice Kodama
Dena Leibman
Stephanie Vicenti
Austin Troy
Fred Peter
Laurie Hooper
Jamie Munsey
Carrie House
Year-Round Staff
Jordan Stone, Executive Director
Tim Crofton, Program Director
Juan Muñoz Jiménez, Director of Communications and Marketing
Naina Panthaki, Director of Education
Lezle Williams, Office Manager
Olivia Marîn, SIWI Program Manager
Andrew Pearson, Operations Manager
Habron Botts, Enrollment Coordinator
Brad Jeffrey, Development Coordinator
Iris Flechsenhaar, Bachechi Coordinator
Marissa Bluestein, SIWI Educator
Joules Hoang, SIWI Educator
Tanner Johnson, SIWI Educator
Donna White, Food Coordinator
From June to August: 659 HWY 612 Thoreau, NM 87323
505-862-7503
From August to June: 9223 4th St NW Albuquerque, NM 87114
505-248-0563
Summer Treks 2022 Availability
Outfit Expedition, Session 1
Outfit Expedition, Session 2
Wild Country Trek, Session 1
Wild Country Trek, Session 2
GO Trek, Session 1
GO Trek, Session 2
Turquoise Trail (girls)
Prairie Trek (boys)
Paleontology Trek
Mountain Desert Trek
Family Trek
June 10-July 4, Filling Fast
July 9-July 25, Still Open
June 18-July 9, Waitlist
July 15-August 4, Filling Fast
June 18-June 24, Filling Fast
July 9-July 15, Waitlist
June 20-July 25, Still Open
June 20-July 25, Still Open
June 18-July 4, Filling Fast
June 20-August 4, Filling Fast
July 3-July 10, Filling Fast
A young Outfit Trekker enjoys traditional dances at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center! (We were asked to not depict the traditional ceremony)
Paleo Trek is analyzing their field finds in the laboratory!
Prairie Trek on a majestic backpack in the Gila National Forest
Mountain Desert Trek
Take on new challenges and join a group of peers who enjoy being outdoors to explore the Southwest. Among the backdrop of rugged desert canyons and stunning mountain summits, MDT Trekkers will develop skills through personal projects, planning expeditions, and communal living. Leadership skills like communication and group decision making will be central to this trek and serve as a great foundation for your next challenges at home, school, or work. MDT is the longest expedition we offer and as such, trekkers on this expedition have the opportunity to soak up more of what the Southwest has to offer. If spending six weeks immersed in wilderness adventure, arts, culture, and science in places like the alpine lakes of the San Juan National Forest with a small group of peers sounds like the best summer of your life, this trek is for you! While substantial wilderness experience is not a requirement to join MDT, trekkers who are already comfortable spending time outdoors and those who are excited to contribute to a positive group experience will have the most success.
Turquoise Trail
How do we know that girls on the Turquoise Trail LOVE this group? They keep coming back year after year, and they tell us about the amazing experience they had traveling as a group of emboldened young women into the backcountry of the Southwest. Nearly every girl from this expedition has returned to the Gulch the following summer. Cottonwood Gulch turns into a second home for TT Trekkers, and how could it not? It’s a magical place to spend your summers. The crew will backpack through two of New Mexico’s most beautiful areas: the Gila Wilderness and the Carson National Forest, which includes the highest peaks in New Mexico. TT’ers are sure to find a wilderness hot spring or two while in search of ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and walk through an expansive field of mountain wildflowers on their way to the summit of a mountain peak.
Prairie Trek
Join a group of adventurous young men who enjoy being outdoors to explore the Southwest. This supportive and motivated group of young men will wander desert canyons, summit mountain peaks, learn about local culture and ecology, and work together to overcome challenges. Even for someone who has never been camping before, this trek is a great fit to learn about the outdoors, leadership skills, the Southwest, and oneself. The itinerary varies from year to year but you can rest assured that each year it will be packed with opportunities for hands-on learning in the amazing backdrop of the American Southwest. Some years, the PT has summited Wheeler Peak, the highest mountain in New Mexico, while other years they have hiked 15 miles in a day to get to Keet Seel, a spectacular cliff dwelling in Arizona. They may learn to read a topographic map, cook on a single burner backpacking stove, tie knots, work through conflict, select a campsite, and more.
Featured Treks of 2022
School Programs
Experiential Outdoor Education and Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
School Partner: Albuquerque School of Excellence
by Kim Fike, Field Educator
This spring, the Gulch is working with the 8th grade class at the Albuquerque School of Excellence (ASE), for a three part series focusing on social emotional learning skills (SEL). The intention and purpose of the programming is to help create a stronger sense of community within each class separately and the grade as a whole.
ASE typically works with their 6th and 7th grade students on SEL skills and because of the at-home learning that took place throughout the pandemic, this 8th grade class missed those lessons. Through deep diving into empathy, self awareness, communication, and trust, we are aiming to instill the ideals of being a good teammate.
The students had a classroom introduction presentation with some fun yet challenging activities that allowed the exploration of emotional responses and supporting one another. This is being followed by two full field days per class where we are expanding on how to navigate the challenges of being a human in a complex world. One day trip is to the Elena Gallegos Open Space and the other will be to the Rio Grande Bosque in town. So far, the favorite activities were the blindfold trust walk and the wolf/deer game. Time spent walking in silence was the least favorite to no one’s surprise. Silence is such a challenge for our overstimulated youth. All the more reason to seek it out.
We can all use a reminder that it’s important to take a time out and de-stress when we feel overwhelmed no matter how old or young we are. Taking care of ourselves is the best way for all of us to take care of each other. So take a walk, journal, write a poem, do some yoga, meditate, dance, or do some artwork today if you can. When we fill our own cup with self love and care we have so much more to pour into others.
It takes a lot of trust to blind yourself and let your classmates guide you around tree cholla cacti!
RFK Semester Program by Brad Jeffrey, a.k.a. Rock Doctor
Our program’s focus is to supplement RFK High School’s 9th-grade orientation program, which introduces new students to the school. Like many other Gulch programs, our program’s goal is to provide a connection to place, nature, science, history, and culture through exploration and discovery. Unlike many other Gulch programs, we utilize the vast Amole Arroyo behind RFK High School as our classroom. In this “backyard nature,” we have plenty of space to work with for multiple destinations and projects and incredible views of the Bosque, the Sandias, and the West Mesa. We bring maps, journals, magnifying lenses, other scientific equipment, paint brushes, and other art supplies and explore and create out under the sun. An example of our interdisciplinary approach would be painting the changing seasons one week, investigating plant adaptations the next week, identifying medicinal plants, and discussing their historical use after that. The arroyo itself is a natural water filter, taking stormwater from the West Mesa and filtering through pebbles and rocks, feeding plants, and providing environments suitable for crane migration.
During and after the hikes, they share what they learn and improve to work together as a team. Over the semester, we have seen progress in participation, reduced fear of the outdoors, and a positive attitude toward the program. Future programs include service projects such as graffiti and trash removal. We also seek new ways of bridging Gulch programs between RFK High School and RFK Middle School, such as connecting students through mentorship.
This open field is a multidisciplinary classroom for the RFK High School Trekkers!
Welcome to our New Board members
Hi, my name is Stephanie Vicenti, and I am from the Pueblo of Zuni. I am from the corn clan and the child of the deer clan. I am an educator of 23 years; 13 of those years were spent in the classroom teaching Kindergarten through 5th grade. I then entered the world of Educational Leadership, where I have mentored teachers, assisted in the development of curriculum and established new programs for schools, and brought programs to schools such as the Cottonwood Gulch. Among my busy schedule, I am also a Board Member for Zuni Public School District and serve as the Vice-President for the NM School Board Association Region 1. Among the many hats I wear, I believe the most important job I have is being a mother of three children.
Through the work I have done with the youth of our communities, I feel it is important to establish strong foundations of their self-identity and expose them to other cultures and experiences. It is through their experience they gain a better understanding of self and unlimited possibilities of adventures. These adventures, such as the visit the Gulch took to Zuni during their summer solstice, allowed our Cottonwood Gulch trackers to experience the deep-rooted culture of the Zuni people and their individual uniqueness. Embracing others’ uniqueness assists in the rooted foundations of raising strong, worldly individuals. It is with hope that my experience in education will for the continued success of the Gulch.
Hello, my name is Shawn Morris, and I’m ecstatic about the opportunity to join the Cottonwood Gulch board. I’m originally from Lawai, Hawaii, and have been living in Albuquerque since 1995 when I came back to Albuquerque to attend the University of New Mexico. I currently serve as the principal of Robert F. Kennedy Charter High School in Albuquerque, NM, and have worked with Cottonwood Gulch directly and indirectly for the past four years. Prior to joining RFK, I served as the principal at Van Buren Middle School and the principal and vice-principal at Jefferson Middle School in the Albuquerque Public Schools system. My professional career spans 23 years in the K-12 education field. I have served as a teacher, coach, and community school Principal for eight years. I have also served in the United States Navy Reserve as an Intelligence Officer and Yeoman 3rd Class. I have earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Health and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of New Mexico. In 2013, I received my Administration Certification from the State of New Mexico.
As a new board member, I am looking forward to collaborating with other board members, current and past staff, and meeting new trekkers. I also look forward to working with schools and districts on new opportunities for educational programming. I would like to thank the board for this opportunity, and I look forward to serving on the Cottonwood Gulch board.
Alumni corner
Deb and Bill with their children Elsa and Wilson on Family Trek, 1991.
Deb Korol
Turquoise Trail Expedition, 1962. Family Trek, 1991.
Scholarship donor, 2014-present.
Hi Deborah! How are you?
I’ve been reminiscing on the Gulch. I was so excited about my own camp experiences. Still, the school programs, firewood collecting, and the food drive for the Navajo Nation all sounded so exciting and an excellent use for the Basecamp facilities during the Covid pandemic.
How did you find out about Cottonwood Gulch?
I grew up in Baltimore, and I had a friend with an older brother who came to the Gulch and liked it a lot, and we had a lot of shared passion for the outdoors.
What are some of your favorite memories with the Gulch?
First, I never imagined we’d be riding in the back of pickup trucks with seats, and we had water bags that went on the mirror and evaporated, and during the day, that’s how we got drinking water. Another was we were invited to a Navajo coming-of-age ceremony at Basecamp. Later on, my husband and I, and our two kids, attended a family trek with Lucy Kluckhohn-Jones. We were near Telluride and had a square dance with someone who had a guitar. Just one guitar and we were out dancing under the stars. We picked a summer project for the Turquoise Trail, and mine was studying the wildflowers. We picked them, pressed them, identified them, and still have a lifelong passion for wildflowers.
How did your time with the Gulch impact your life today?
My husband’s first time in the Southwest was on Family Trek. We decided to retire to Nevada, and we still hike and bike a few times each month at Red Rocks Park in Las Vegas. But I’ve always wanted a New Mexico license plate!
Why do you support the Gulch, and particularly the scholarship fund?
I think it’s so important to support places where kids can have unbelievable experiences because you just don’t know what will resonate there and change the course of their lives. We didn’t have
diversity on the TT trek when we were there, and I think it would be even richer of an experience to have participants who were from there join us.
Do you have any plans for any upcoming visits to Basecamp?
We visited last summer, and we were taken all around and saw the new TT loop and looked at the kitchen, and we always drive in if the gate’s open and check it out if anyone’s around. The work with the Conservation Corps, thinning and cutting the forest, is significant. It’s protecting the land.
Do you have any advice for future trekkers?
Be present in the experience. Just be present. And the silence – you can’t get silence anywhere. Appreciate the silence. It’s the one thing that you can’t control anywhere else.
If you could summarize your experience with the Gulch in just one sentence, what would it be?
It was a life-enriching experience. We’re happy to support it.
Joe Herrera Jr.
Outfit Expedition, 1981-82, Prairie Trek Group I, 1983-84 Gulch resident artist, 2021-present.
Hey Joe, how’s it going?
Hangin’ in there, how about you?
Pretty good, hangin’ in there as well. I’ve been gathering firewood, trying to get ahead of this storm.
How did you find out about Cottonwood Gulch?
Well, I was born into Cottonwood Gulch. My grandfather is Tom Henio, so through my mother, through my family – my cousins. As soon as I was old enough, I went to the Outfit.
What are some of your favorite memories with the Gulch?
There was a lot! Of course, the backpacking in the beautiful country. I had some great counselors – Monty Billings, Mr. Van, Scott, Doug, Richard. We went out there and learned about a different country. I was born here in the red rocks and didn’t really get out much, and it was the time to travel and see something new. Some great moments were sleeping on the edge of Canyon de Chelly in our sleeping bags, and there was a meteor shower that night. That was pretty beautiful, watching meteors almost constantly all night.
How did your time with the Gulch impact your life today?
Growing up Navajo, the Gulch introduced me to different cultures, including people from back east and around the world. There were a lot of similarities among us, we all liked the outdoors, we all went camping with our families. We all worked together; everybody brought their own thing to the table. I loved campfires at night and singing DSB. I still sing that to myself sometimes when I’m out in the woods!
You’ve been making some sweet knives out at Basecamp with trekkers. Tell us a little about how that came to be. I loved it, my Dad and I started doing it as a hobby, and we got into it. To me, it was kind of like a tradition. My grandfather Tom Henio was out at the Gulch teaching silversmithing, and my mother and aunties are teaching weaving. So, it meant a lot to me to be able to go out there and teach something also. Help the kids look at an old railroad spike in the field and see your knife right now. I enjoyed seeing the final products. They were beautiful, I was amazed, and I enjoyed seeing the kids’ happy faces when they built something with their own two hands. There’s a lot of history with the narrow gauge railroad out at Basecamp, and that knife is Gulch all the way.
Why is supporting the Gulch important, particularly for scholarship donations?
As a child from the Res, that wasn’t really allowed in that outside world. It gives someone less fortunate an experience they’d never have where they grew up. And nature is so unbelievable; it’s great to share that with kids. And it’s great to share that with kids, maybe from the city, and let them know that there is more than their world. There’s this whole wide world, and thank God a lot of it is nature. It got me to want to go travel and see the world. I joined the military and brought a lot from the Gulch to communicate with people from
different places. The Gulch gave me the urge to travel, see the world, try new things, eat other food, and experience different cultures.
Do you have any advice for future trekkers?
Enjoy the moment. When you get there, enjoy the moment. Feel the Earth talking to you, feel the trees, feel the spirit around you. Walk out in the meadow with flowers, find somewhere quiet, and sit by yourself. Feel what you’re doing, feel the Earth, and feel the spirit of the forest, of the rocks, of the river. And the food always tastes better out there!
If you could summarize your experience with the Gulch in just one sentence, what would it be?
I can’t do it, not in one sentence! Breathtaking, knowledge-gaining, soul-cleansing … the wind through the trees. Learning about the outdoors, learning about different cultures and traditions. The Gulch means a lot to me. It’s like home. I walk the cabin loop, and it brings back many memories.
Knives forged by MDT 2021, from railroad steel found at Basecamp.
