Entries by Amanda Fox

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21st Century Skills

The partnership for 21st Century Skills has identified the skills necessary for success in our ever-changing global economy and connected world.   While a strong academic framework is always important, the identified 21st century skills are: collaboration creativity communication and critical thinking These are balanced with life skills, which include: adapting to change dealing with ambiguity […]

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Connections

  More than any other word (except for fun), “connection” sums up what the Adventure Treks experience is all about.  Soon you will be forging a connection with the natural world, connecting with a new group of friends from across the country and forming strong relationships with your instructors.  Through immersion in the Adventure Treks […]

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The Buzz About Mosquitos

When I think of Adventure Treks, I think of great friends, hilarious instructors, amazing experiences, and ramen extreme. Last summer, I was on the British Columbia 2 trip, with 23 other kids, and 6 “adults.” I say “adults” because they are basically just older kids. Anyways, one of our adventures was a backpack through Well’s […]

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Open the Heart of an American Teenager

I have at last come full circle, though it has been a process of realization and understanding that has taken most of adolescence and early adulthood. I should start by saying that I am writing from a small hotel perched high on a cliff above the sometimes tranquil, but more oftentimes white-capped waters of Lake […]

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Bridge Jumping

Happy screams filled the air as we rafted over eight-foot waves and six-foot drops. The White Salmon River of Washington flowed clear and blue around us, splashing me with the occasional tidal wave. Even though it was a mid-July afternoon, the water temperature hovered around a refreshing forty degrees. I was at Adventure Treks summer […]

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Be Your Best Self

Be Your Best Self Seventeen guys, four girls and six instructors left on the Western frontier for twenty days… “What goes on?” one might wonder? Well, twenty days packed with adventure, excitement and, most importantly, memories. My story begins under a starry sky in Utah, possibly the most spectacular night sky on the planet. It […]

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Strangers.

There’s a funny thing about strangers: they don’t leave when you want them to, especially when you’re stuck with 23 of them for 16 days, with nothing to look forward to except hiking five miles up a snow-covered volcano. As it turns out, Mount St. Helens doesn’t leave when you want it to, either. “What […]

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Definition of a Friend

I really didn’t think I could make it up Mt. Shasta the 2nd time I tried. On California Challenge 08′ I struggled and struggled… but I was turned around at 12,500ft because of altitude sickness. I knew it would not be my last time on the mountain after I was defeated the first time, and […]