Published April 1st, 2026
BY DANIELA FOLEY
Since 1985, staff members on the annual CHS desert trip have facilitated the opportunity for up to 55 Carmel High students to spend their spring break experiencing nature and human connection in Joshua Tree, a remote desert near to Palm Springs.
Desert trip staff, starting with trip founder Richard Fletcher, always bring passionate lessons about the environment to educate students. courtesy of NOELLE FLETCHER
“The best challenge is helping students navigate through some of the emotional things that come up in their world during desert trip,” says science teacher Jason Maas-Baldwin, who has been a trip staff member for over 13 years. “It is also one of the most gratifying parts about the trip. It gives me the opportunity to connect with students in ways that I typically can’t in a normal school day.”
The trip to Joshua Tree differs from the average camping trip. Designed for students to connect with the peers they have been studying alongside for years to push them outside their comfort zone, the remote location, complete removal of any cellular devices, total reliance on each other to cook meals and opportunities to learn more about each other all foster a community unlike any other offered through Carmel High, often leading to personal insight and strong connections with others.
Unlike any other opportunity available at CHS, desert trippers spend a week among the valleys and mountains of Joshua Tree. courtesy of NOELLE FLETCHER
“I had spent so much of my life seeing the impact the trip had on students,” says Noelle Fletcher, whose father started the trip and who has been a part of the staff since 2010. “For a lot of people it was life-changing, and the tools they gained on the trip shaped their personal and career journeys positively, so I wanted to help facilitate that journey for those who want to take advantage of it.”
For Kelly Goldberg, another desert trip staffer, his involvement for the past decade is personal. As a student, Goldberg saw first-hand how he and his peers who had gone on the desert trip had benefited, motivating his decision to become a staff member.
“As a student in 2010 on the trip, my life changed,” says Goldberg, who now works as an outdoor education counselor. “My self-esteem, connection to nature and how I wanted to relate to everyone in my life changed in such a positive way.”
The desert trip offers the opportunity for staffers and students to develop connections among nature. courtesy of NOELLE FLETCHER
The trip was initially led by biology teacher Richard Fletcher until his retirement in 2005 and was taken on by then-science teachers Brian Granbery and Joe Mello who started in the late-2000s. As Maas-Baldwin and history teacher Marc Stafford became involved a few years after, the group of Carmel Unified teachers have been running the trip together ever since, until just recently when former desert tripper and current CHS science teacher Victoria Deckelmann joined. For the staff, planning begins months in advance, ensuring a safe trip.
“The desert trip has become more organized,” explains Maas-Baldwin. “I don’t think we’d be able to run the program as it was originally because now there is a lot more risk management protocol and student safety protocol. I am so grateful that this trip is still happening, but I think the strength of the trip and all the positive feedback keeps this trip alive.”
On the desert trip, all meals are prepared by student groups, and the days are filled with hikes and activities, including rock climbing and desert ecology workshops. The evening program, led by Maas-Baldwin, is a time in which the most valuable conversations and connections are built, with a focus on building beneficial habits.
