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VIDEO: Packing for Appalachian Adventure Check in with head sherpas as they pack for Appalachian Adventure, one of W&L's Leading Edge pre-orientation programs for first-year students.

This week, many members of the Washington and Lee Class of 2021 have set out on pre-orientation adventures that allow them to start making friends and memories before the official start of the school year. At W&L, we call these programs The Leading Edge.

There are three Leading Edge program tracks. Appalachian Adventure takes students on a week-long trek on the beautiful Appalachian Trail. Volunteer Venture provides them with service-learning experiences in Baltimore, Maryland; Charleston, West Virginia; Greensboro, North Carolina; Lexington, Richmond and Roanoke, Virginia; and Washington, D.C. Sustainability Leadership introduces participants to sustainability issues on campus and in the tiny town of Fries, Virginia.

To read more about The Leading Edge, please click here.

Planning and executing these trips requires a lot of late-summer teamwork. We hung out with trip leaders in the Outing Club barn as they packed for Appalachian Adventure.