Welcome to Aztec Adventures outdoor program; offering the SDSU community leadership development, education, and adventure experiences. Join Aztec Adventures to climb indoors at the ARC Wall, for a weekend outing or a semester of outdoor immersion. Experience the magnificent regional and national parks in and around San Diego while backpacking, hiking, rock climbing or paddling. Learn new skills with credit classes or bond with members of your organization in a customized Team Building event.
EAT GOOD FOOD - all successful expeditions throughout history have depended on good food and ample quantity. Great outdoor leaders take real pride in the meals they prepare and serve to trip members. It is widely agreed upon in our profession that food is one way extraordinary programs distinguish themselves from the ordinary. No matter the weather conditions or physical challenges of any given trip—every trip members’ attitude and enjoyment become more positive when served a delicious meal.
BE KIND - to the natural environment, to each other and the local populace or communities we visit. A commitment to teaching and embracing Leave No Trace principles and practices is vital to protecting our program areas. A perceptive outdoor leader is always kind and understanding, showing genuine concern for trip members’ wellbeing. Kind leaders greet people with a big smile; make a point of immediately learning names, and answer questions cheerfully and thoroughly. They are aware that the outing is the trip member’s big adventure and enters into their excitement—thereby renewing their own. Above all, the perceptive leader knows that sincere kindness is deeply reassuring to our trip members.
TELL THE TRUTH - about our personal limitations and abilities as well as in all of our "programmatic" endeavors. It is very important that leaders possess the integrity to acknowledge what they know and what they don’t know. Only when a leader is aware of their weaknesses can s/he work to improve. It is also vital to the future of our program to act and communicate with the utmost honesty with all of our partners whether they are public land managers, local businesses or our trip members. We strive hard to eliminate all hidden costs from our program fees and promote the facts behind our Aztec Recreation/A.S. budget subsidy.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE - in the lives of our trip members and staff through meaningful and complete outdoor experiences. Every person that makes a commitment to become involved with our program deserves the best effort we can put forth to make their time with us or trip a special experience. Leaders should always expect that the next trip they lead has the potential to make a positive change in their trip members’ lives. Our staff, in turn, should expect that their hard work and dedication will be acknowledged in ways that will continue long after they graduate or move-on from the program.
LEAVE NO TRACE – Aztec Adventure programming is committed to role modeling an environmental ethic and teaching our trip members to minimize their impact. We abide by LEAVE NO TRACE—Center for Outdoor Ethics and regulations of the places our programs visit.
LEAVE NO TRACE is a national and international program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations. For an amazing amount of information visit the Leave No Trace website
