Colorado Field Camp Experience

Trip dates May 11 – 22, 2026.

The trip cost is a maximum of $2,000 and includes flight out of Pittsburgh, vehicle rental, hotel lodging and campground reservations, entrance fees, and some food. We will be working on projects in the Fairplay, Breckenridge, and Salida, Colorado, area, at elevations of approximately 9,000-10,000 feet. We will be working primarily with the USFS Pike and San Isabel National Forest.

The trip will involve camping and cooking outdoors. The team does have tents and other camping gear. You would need to provide a sleep system (sleeping bag, pad, and or air mattress), boots, and there is no backpacking, but there is day hiking. Past students bring gear in a duffel bag.

We will carry out field investigations tied to the forested ecosystem in the area and produce research results and education materials for the USFS. The trip will also involve meeting with numerous state and federal agencies, learning about landscapes, studying the evolution of the ecosystems, and the people living within them.

Students ideally will have had SOILS 101.

To go, you do not have to be a member of the Soil Judging Team now; you need to become one, though (that simply involves expressing an interest in soil judging).

If you wish to go on the trip, please send an email of interest ASAP to Dr. Drohan. pjd7@psu.edu