Essential Eligibility Criteria ("EEC) have been specifically identified to help you understand the skills and abilities necessary to participate on each Horn Island camping trip.  They apply uniformly to all potential trip participants, irrespective of the presence or absence of any disability.

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Once you identify a trip in which you may be interested, please carefully review the EEC and itinerary details.  If after reviewing the EEC that apply to these trips, you determine you need an accommodation in order to participate, please contact us prior to registering to discuss your requested accommodation.

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The EEC exist for your own safety and the safety and enjoyment of all participants. If you are unable to meet the EEC for the trip, with or without an accommodation, you are not eligible for that trip. If you register and arrive for a trip for which you do not meet the EEC, you will be disqualified from participation on the trip and will be dismissed or evacuated from the trip without a refund.

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• Be in reasonably good health and fitness.

• Be able to breathe independently without any assistance from medical devices and/or trained professionals.

• Be able to perceive, understand, and recall the inherent risks and hazards of the activity, including but not limited to those previously identified by the leaders.

• Be able to stay alert and to focus attention for several hours each day for the duration of the trip and during instruction and trip activities.

• Be able to independently perceive, understand, and follow both verbal and non-verbal instructions given by the trip leader(s) in all situations and to effectively communicate with trip leader(s) and other participants. During stressful, dangerous, or emergency situations, participant must be able independently to immediately and quickly perceive, understand, and follow both verbal and non-verbal instructions given by the trip leader(s).

• Be able to effectively communicate with trip leaders and participants including in challenging or high stress situations (such as medical or environmental emergencies) or in challenging environmental conditions which may include conditions of limited visibility, inclement weather, and conditions which require one to overcome loud background noise such as high wind.

• Be able to perform self-care and participate in all activities of daily living such as eating, hydration, personal hygiene, toileting (including bladder and bowel control), and dressing, either independently or with the reasonable assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant.

• Be able to manage all personal medications, including dosing and administration, either independently or with the reasonable assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant.

• Be able to remain adequately fed, hydrated, and properly dressed so as to avoid environmental injuries such as heat-related illness and sunburn and other injuries such as hypothermia and dehydration, either independently or with the reasonable assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant.

• Be able to remain active and manage personal care for extended periods of mobility and exertion of potentially over 10 hours per day, either independently or with the reasonable assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant.

• Be able to enter and exit a large boat and small skiff, either independently or with the reasonable assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant or assistance of a fellow participant or trip leader.

• Be able to stay balanced and seated in a boat, while the vehicle is moving, up to two hours in a single day, either independently or with the reasonable assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant.

• Be mentally and physically able to participate in a group setting without negatively impacting or jeopardizing the health or safety of the other participants or trip leader(s).

• Be able to maintain self-care in an environment where allergen exposure and cross-contamination may occur.

• Be able to effectively notify or communicate with a companion who accompanies the participant, trip leaders, or other participants of personal distress, injury, illness, or the need for assistance, including in adverse or challenging weather or environmental conditions.

• Be able to properly wear and use all required protective gear and clothing.

• Be able to meet the demands of the trip within the time limits set by the trip itinerary and trip leaders.

• Be able and willing to use no toilet at all (which requires the ability to dig a 6 inch hole and squat over it with or without assistance).

• Be able to navigate and travel around a designated camp area which may include physical hazards such as uneven ground, tent stakes and lines, rocks, and other natural and man-made hazards, including in darkness, with a flashlight or headlamp, or with limited light, either independently or with the assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant.

• Be able to enter and exit a tent pitched on the ground, including in darkness, with a flashlight or headlamp, or with limited light, either independently or with the assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant.

• Be able to sleep on the ground (with a pad designed for ground-sleeping).

• Be able to get down to, up from, and sit on the ground, either independently or with the assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant.

• Be able to maintain personal health and hygiene in a backcountry setting which does not include running water or flushing toilets, either independently or with the assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant. Backcountry toileting may include the use of pit-toilets, “wag-bags,” and “cat holes.”