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into the wild: trip camps By Kristina Tober
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Many summer camps offer a “trip” option. For some, that means one night camping 50 feet away from their cabin. For others, it can mean a two-night canoe trip. Often, the trip is optional and just one of the many electives offered, like riflery and sailing. Only a small number of summer camps center their curriculum around a wilderness trip. “There’s nothing like a wilderness experience to develop a child in body and spirit,” explains JR Verkamp, director of Koochi-Ching, an all-boys camp in Minnesota. “Through a trip’s adventures and challenges, our youth not only gain a respect and reverence for nature, but for themselves as well.”
trip can last from 5 days to a month in the wild. While in camp, participants help with trip planning and preparation. They are taught how to paddle, portage a canoe, carry a wigwam, read a map, pitch a tent, start and build a fire. Older campers finesse climbing, and wilderness survival skills that they will put to use on their wilderness adventure—whether hiking across the peaks of Colorado or paddling the waterways of North America. A reputable trip camp requires its wilderness trip leaders to be certified in wilderness first aid, American Red Cross CPR, whitewater training and leave-no-trace camping. They should have an evacuation plan, and provide satellite phones to trip leaders.
What’s a wilderness trip?
Trip takeaways
Some trips involve backpacking or mountaineering, others canoe or kayak trips. Depending on the age and experience level of each group, a
Every summer camp teaches valuable life lessons, but on a wilderness trip, the gains may be greater.
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