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This is an exceptional expedition in so many ways. The scientific staff are great educators as well as being fun and passionate about their work. The other volunteers are fascinating people who know how to have fun while working hard. The Andorran Pyrenees are spectacular and very rugged mountains. We put in long days climbing steep slopes on and off trail to reach the study sites. The vegetation is lush and there are waterfalls everywhere (spring when we were there). Views were spectacular. The lodging was luxurious and the food delicious. The work was very rewarding—we felt like we made a significant contribution to this project.”

I had a pretty good idea what to expect from this expedition thanks to the accurate descriptions on the �������� website and a podcast created by one of the previous volunteers. Those images were worth more than a thousand words. Several former volunteers expressed how challenging the terrain was, and I fully agree. I spent 5 days prior to the expedition hiking in the Pyrenees mountains, and I was very happy I did. Besides getting to know the trails and the study area, it improved my stamina and hiking skills.  I strongly recommend to future volunteers that, if possible, they spend several days prior to the project hiking in the mountains. Being in good physical condition and knowing a bit about the area ahead of time will make participation in the project much more enjoyable. This expedition was the most meaningful one I have participated in because of the data we collected every day. We made a significant contribution to the research and that was the most gratifying part of the expedition. Without our help it would have taken the researchers so much longer to collect that data. For example, we viewed thousands of images from the trail cameras. A huge surprise was seeing a bear in one of the pictures. The staff was thrilled. It confirmed that bears are making a coming back to the Pyrenees. Besides that, the panoramic views of the mountains above tree line were indeed stunning and food for the soul. The research staff was superb and, Hotel Bringue, the place where we stayed, was awesome icing on the cake.

It is SUCH an opportunity, but I feel compelled to add this caveat to anyone considering enrollment: Honestly (but without judgment) assess your physical abilities AND your opportunities to meaningfully prepare before you commit. I live an active lifestyle and consider myself to be very fit, with hiking experience. I, however, live at sea level without access to hills on which to train, and I found the hikes, every day without exception, to be brutal, not just “good exercise” or “challenging” as recorded by earlier participants. 18 hours after arriving, we were heading up a mountain, so there was no time to acclimate to the elevation. We hiked between 4 and 6 hours most days to and from the site, and that does not include the additional hiking between data collection points. I was almost always steeply ascending or descending, sometimes on the trail, sometimes not, and my backpack—to be adequately prepared for the day—was considerably heavier than I anticipated. I went to sleep each night and awoke each morning with that same knot in my stomach, wondering how tough the day’s hikes would be. Had I truly known how strenuous this trip was going to be, I would have considered it beyond my skill set and found another expedition. Ultimately, I met the challenge thanks to the love, patience, and encouragement of my leaders and teammates, and it was a magnificent experience I will forever treasure.