Youth Trips
You are so young, so before all beginning, and I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
Our youth journeys are designed to offer a fun, thought-provoking, meaningful, and memorable experience to the participant's life. Young people today are faced with a different set of issues, challenges, and struggles than any before them have ever seen. The weight on the shoulders of many youth is nearly too heavy to bear, and the influences that pour onto them are oftentimes numbing at best, and manipulative at worst. It is an age of doubting and questioning for many young people today, as they step into a world of unknown possibilities. Recognizing the importance that todays youth will play in tomorrows world, we seek to use our trips to celebrate the vitality of the young, and to honor the challenges that they face.
Perhaps now more than ever, the youth are in need of time away from the dominant culture, time to breath, to decompress, to think, to reflect, and to touch into something real. Each youth program is designed with this in mind. We have sought to create experiences that are fun and exciting, while continually encouraging the dialogues that are most important to us. For each group, and each individual, these dialogues will touch on different things.
Many youth trips incorporate rites of passage as well as other forms of life-enhancing education and experiences. One aspect of our trips that continually proves to be deeply meaningful to participants is the option to spend time alone in nature. Solo time has been used in many ways by many different cultures and people, and it is often the defining activity of our trips. An initiation such as this can be especially rewarding and important for young people today, who often struggle to find their own voice amidst the many voices of the dominant culture (see Rites of Passage for more information on the solo experience).
Youth trips are designed for beginners, no prior experience is required (however, this does not mean that more experienced hikers will not find an appropriate level of challenge and discovery). Most trips are between 4 and 10 days in length. Each trip is unique. Each destination is beautiful and inspiring in its own way. Each group plays a part in the design of their adventure. If you or your child is interested in applying, you can download all the necessary information from this website (see Apply Now).
—Rainer Maria Rilke
Our youth journeys are designed to offer a fun, thought-provoking, meaningful, and memorable experience to the participant's life. Young people today are faced with a different set of issues, challenges, and struggles than any before them have ever seen. The weight on the shoulders of many youth is nearly too heavy to bear, and the influences that pour onto them are oftentimes numbing at best, and manipulative at worst. It is an age of doubting and questioning for many young people today, as they step into a world of unknown possibilities. Recognizing the importance that todays youth will play in tomorrows world, we seek to use our trips to celebrate the vitality of the young, and to honor the challenges that they face.
Perhaps now more than ever, the youth are in need of time away from the dominant culture, time to breath, to decompress, to think, to reflect, and to touch into something real. Each youth program is designed with this in mind. We have sought to create experiences that are fun and exciting, while continually encouraging the dialogues that are most important to us. For each group, and each individual, these dialogues will touch on different things.
Many youth trips incorporate rites of passage as well as other forms of life-enhancing education and experiences. One aspect of our trips that continually proves to be deeply meaningful to participants is the option to spend time alone in nature. Solo time has been used in many ways by many different cultures and people, and it is often the defining activity of our trips. An initiation such as this can be especially rewarding and important for young people today, who often struggle to find their own voice amidst the many voices of the dominant culture (see Rites of Passage for more information on the solo experience).
Youth trips are designed for beginners, no prior experience is required (however, this does not mean that more experienced hikers will not find an appropriate level of challenge and discovery). Most trips are between 4 and 10 days in length. Each trip is unique. Each destination is beautiful and inspiring in its own way. Each group plays a part in the design of their adventure. If you or your child is interested in applying, you can download all the necessary information from this website (see Apply Now).
Throughout history humans have lived from our knowing of our connection to the earth, using the mirror of nature as a way to gauge the seasons of our lives, know ourselves, mark life transitions, say thank you, and ask for what is needed. In the fast pace of our modern lives many of us have unknowingly lost sight of this connection, contributing to the lack of care we exhibit towards the earth, and a parallel loss of an essential piece of who we are. When we see the place where the small story of our lives meets the larger story of the world in which we live, a valuable new perspective is gained. This journey is an invitation to find that place, to sit in it for a long quiet look at who we’ve been, who we are now, and who we are to become.
Wilderness Skills and Awareness is a backpacking trip with an emphasis on learning, fun, and exploration. The trip is recommended for young people with a desire to get outside and have an adventure. This is our most open-ended trip, meaning that the group will have a great deal of input into the activities we plan and the type of experience we create. Depending on the preferences of the individuals and the group as a whole, we will design the trip as we go along to offer a maximum of fun and opportunity. There is a wide variety of activities and things to learn on a trip of this kind, some examples are: primitive survival skills, solo time, learning the plants and animals of the area, art, writing exercises, council practice, games, and much more. Basic wilderness skills and nature awareness activities will be an integral part of this trip, offering an experiential window into the environment. 
High school students take English class to the wild beaches of The Lost Coast to explore creative writing together.
This backpack into the black sands and driftwood huts of the Lost Coast is designed for those who are just out of high school (though we will consider applications from anyone between the ages of 16-22). The trip is an opportunity for young men and women to participate in a rite of passage and play in nature as they move beyond high school towards a more independent, adult world. Perhaps college is the next step? Perhaps travel or work? Perhaps there is nothing but a blank slate ahead?
