Recently, our office team was discussing the varying levels of independence we were given as teenagers. During my youth, I was often dropped off in a nearby national forest with a friend and a mountain bike. Long before the days of cell phones and GPS trackers, my parents told us what time and where they’d pick us up, and then my friend and I were given the entire day to roam the trails on two wheels. We had to fend for ourselves: We used a paper map to plan our routes, carried our own food and water, and sometimes learned the hard way about what extra clothing we should bring. It gave me a great sense of responsibility, knowing I had to make decisions that would keep us both safe. It also gave me the perfect amount of freedom, and I quickly grew to know the national forest like the back of my hand.

I recognize that in today’s world, my parents might be reported to child protective services.

The Washington Post recently published an article that explored the link between mental health and independence. Rather than pinpoint one specific cause of declining teenage mental health, it takes on a more holistic view and talks about screen time, more hands-on parenting, changing priorities, and, perhaps most important, the dearth of free play in today’s youth. Put more eloquently, “The landscape of childhood has transformed in ways that are profoundly affecting the way children develop—by limiting their ability to play independently, to roam beyond the supervision of adults, to learn from peers, and to build resilience and confidence.”

Along with the increase in mental health disorders since the 1960s, kids have been afforded less freedom than the generations ahead of them, which has led to a decrease in their confidence in problem-solving and facing challenges with grit and optimism. Essentially, this has restricted adolescent development as parenting gets more and more intensive and involved. This has also led to the never-ending study on screen time: Kids are blamed for being too dependent on their screens, with lowered socialization abilities. However, are kids on their screens because their freedom to play with friends has been dramatically restricted in recent decades?

I also wonder: If kids don’t get the right amount of unstructured play and independence when they’re younger, what happens when they leave home for college or work in their late teens or early 20s? How will they be set up to succeed if they’ve never had to fail, or figure things out on their own?

Teenagers have to be given the opportunity to explore, make decisions, and get themselves through situations. I’m not saying we should throw them in the deep end. However, we should make sure we give them space and time to be able to develop a healthy sense of independence. The Newport Academy has a great read on how to frame these conversations. My biggest takeaway from that article is letting teens know what they CAN do. If you only focus on what they CANNOT do, that is more likely to cause rebellion. Jack Hoiland, a former AT instructor and regional director, called this “getting to yes.” When a student askes us if we can go skydiving, it is easy to say NO—and students think that we don’t value their opinion. Instead, if we work out a plan to “get to yes,” students can see the process about what it would take to get there. For example, we could lay out the process of vetting a new outfitter, costs, liability, incidence of injury and risk management, getting the insurance company to sign off, getting parents on board, etc. They can see the likelihood of skydiving at Adventure Treks dwindle without us ever saying no.

It might seem like a daunting task to give your teenager some independence, but in the long run, it is not only worth it but necessary in helping shape happy, healthy, competent, confident young adults. If you are not sure where to begin with teen independence, check out this CDC article. Also, surprise! Summer camps and outdoor adventure programs are also a great way to help foster independence.

And don’t forget what the doctor in Yellowstone said to Monica and Kayce after he stitched up Tate: “Kids fall, they get back up. They made ’em like rubber for a reason.”

You are all signed up for Adventure Treks this summer—WOOHOO!!!

You picked your destination, you’ve started packing, you’ve booked flights, and you can’t wait for the adventure to begin! Even so, you may be feeling some butterflies in your stomach about arriving to Adventure Treks, especially if this is your first trip. Perhaps you’ve never traveled alone, or maybe this is your first time in the outdoors. Nervousness from not knowing what to expect is completely normal—even our returning students and instructors get a little nervous on opening day. To help make your first day at Adventure Treks more exciting (and less nerve-wracking), we’d like to share what you can expect upon arrival to your big outdoor adventure this summer!

Landing at the airport

We know this is many of our students’ first time flying solo—and that in itself is something to be proud of. Upon landing, an AT instructor will likely be waiting at the gate to say hello and walk you to the group. We have every student’s phone number, so we also call and/or text students when they land so they know how to identify and find us. From there, we’ll help you find your luggage in baggage claim, and then you’ll meet the other students who have already arrived. There will be plenty of snacks waiting for you, and we’ll play games as we wait for everyone.

And remember—this is everyone’s first time in this specific group, so everyone is in the same boat in terms of not knowing everyone else.

Pizza lunch and games

Once everyone has arrived, your group will depart the airport for a nearby park for a pizza lunch! We’ll play some games to learn everyone’s names and get to know each other a little better. While eating together in a circle, a director will give a quick orientation, including introducing everyone and what to expect in the next few days. We want everyone to feel comfortable in the group and excited for our jam-packed itinerary. After lunch, we’ll pack up and head toward our first campsite, where dinner will be waiting. Some students will have been up since 2 or 3 a.m., so a quick nap on the ride is not out of the question; however, you also might find yourself in the middle of a singalong, as your instructors will have made fantastic playlists for the drive.

Arrive at camp

Before you know it, you’ll be pulling in to our first campsite for the night. One of your instructors will have stayed back from the airport to get everything set up: tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, even dinner! We’ll do our first “duffel shuffle” (an “assembly line” of transporting duffels from the U-Haul to a covered tarp area—we’ll do this a lot), and you’ll be shown to your tent with your tentmates for that evening. When everyone gets settled in, we’ll sit down for our traditional Yahoo! feast (named so because we are that excited that everyone has finally arrived). We like to welcome students with Yahoo dinner, as it’s a fantastic way to show everyone that not only will we eat real, high-quality food (not just granola bars or freeze-dried packaged meals), but we will always have enough food to keep everyone well-fed.

Tonight, we’ll make sure everyone knows where the bathrooms and hand-washing stations are, and we’ll talk through how to stay hygienic while in the outdoors.

First evening meeting

Evening meeting is one of the most fun, meaningful, and special traditions at Adventure Treks. It’s a fundamental component of an AT trip—something we do every night as a group that brings us closer together as a community. We sit in a circle and share the highlights of our day, give shout-outs to people for the kind and helpful things they did that day, and offer suggestions for ways the community can become even better. There are a ton of laughs as well. By the end of the first week, students have often begun taking over leading evening meeting. We won’t give everything away here, but during evening meeting, we’ll also go over the plan for the rest of the night and the plan for tomorrow so everyone knows what’s on the schedule and what to expect. For most trips, we go for a fun hike on the second day to continue getting to know each other and to jump right into the beautiful outdoors.

Bed time

Because most students woke up early to travel (many cross-country) and many are adjusting to a new time zone, we’ll head to bed a little early tonight. After evening meeting, we’ll usually “wind down” with a toothbrush dance party and contact lens clinic. Then it’s off to our cozy sleeping bags for a restful night!

We know the first day can be a little overwhelming with meeting so many people and taking in so much new information, but it’s also a ton of fun as we embark on this great new adventure together. After the first few days, you’ll begin to form strong bonds with your peers, which often leads to lifelong friendships. And after the first week, everyone will be grooving in the same new routine.

We hope you’re as excited for this summer as we are!

Every year, the Adventure Treks team takes time out of the office to volunteer for local organizations. Most recently, we spent time with MANNA FoodBank in Asheville, NC! We have volunteered with MANNA before, but this time was even more special: Their new volunteer coordinator is none other than alumni instructor Nic Ames! Nic worked our Leadership Adventure Semester in spring 2022 and Colorado Explorer trips in summer 2022. Now, he’s in charge of coordinating nearly 3,000 volunteers who last year provided more than 50,000 hours of support for MANNA.

We got a full tour of MANNA’s warehouses in Asheville, getting to see how this organization distributed more than 18 million tons of food last year; in other words, 42,669 meals each day served nearly 110,000 people every month. MANNA partners with local grocery stores, farmers, retail businesses, individual donors, and public programs to source fresh and non-perishable food for distribution. Sourced food passes through these warehouses for sorting, quality control, and packaging to prepare it for distribution. MANNA then distributes food to their network of partnering agencies and MANNA Community Market partners to any member of the community who needs food and can attend these free distributions.

We spent the day in the sorting and quality control center with crates upon crates of bread and baked goods. Rose, one of MANNA’s employees, walked us through the process of ensuring that the expiration date allowed enough time for distribution and checking for damages in the packaging. We put our AT experience to good use as we sorted, re-packaged, and stacked food into pallets for distribution that week. The bread that was expired or otherwise unfit to distribute went to local pig farms—rather than into a landfill!

All of this food sorting got us excited for the summer, as we are now about two months away for the start of our instructor orientation! Adventure Treks prioritizes high-quality food—with fruits and vegetables, proteins, and grains at every meal—for our students and instructors throughout the summer. Last year, we built connections with local pig farmers near our west coast base in Washington to help convert our food waste into food for happy pigs! At the end of every season, the unopened and unexpired food from our programming gets donated to foodbanks like MANNA.

Programs like MANNA depend heavily on volunteers, and it was wonderful to play a small part in their operation! We are firm believers in service on a local level so that we can see how government, non-profit, and even for-profit organizations can build effective, supportive, and functional communities to care for its citizens. We hope our students can also learn to be engaged citizens in their hometowns to build empathy, discover new passions, and make new connections with people they otherwise may not have met!

Adventure Treks’ top goals for students include the building a supportive and inclusive community, experiencing personal growth, and—of course—having a TON of FUN!

For a moment, close your eyes and pretend you’re on an Adventure Treks trip in California. It’s a typical summer day… meaning it’s hot. After an adventurous day of rock climbing with your friends, you feel tired yet empowered and proud. It’s time to head back to camp, which means loading into the vans. To your pleasant surprise, the van is already cool, with the A/C running on full blast. Everyone’s energy surges with cold air drying sweaty heads. A Spotify playlist begins, and everyone starts singing along.

This is “wow” #1. 

You pull into the grocery store, and an instructor runs inside. The group hops out to play hacky sack while you wait. A few minutes later, the instructor returns with fresh food, and gloriously frozen treats—a perfect afternoon treat after a hot day of climbing.

This is “wow” #2. 

We all get back to camp, where the climbers will begin making student dinners for the entire group (the bikers are still out pedaling around Mt. Shasta). Your group brainstormed the menu, bought the ingredients, divvied out responsibilities, and are responsible for executing the entire meal from start to finish. Everyone gets dressed up and dances and sings while dinner is cooking.

This is “wow” #3. 

Most AT students know about the “WOW” factor that accompanies each trip. What we call “wow” are moments of fun and excitement and humor (planned or spontaneous) that accompany everything we do. The “wow” sometimes defines each trip, its community, and the memories students take home. This is largely a reflection of the unique individuals on each trip, and our instructors put a lot of thought into planning special events in between our outdoor pursuits.

Sometimes, “wow” moments are small gestures, like surprise popsicles on a hot day, a van that’s already been cooled off, an unplanned game in moments of downtime, a splash in a creek, a trail treat left for another group. At other times, they’re painstakingly extravagant events, like AT Olympics on the beach of a beautiful lake with Mt. Shasta in the background during sunset.

“Wow” is also what makes group chores and difficult challenges more fun. Because Adventure Treks is an expedition, we have quite a few logistics to manage, like packing and unpacking the U-Haul, setting up and taking down camp, and cooking three meals a day on backcountry stoves. Although these may seem like simple tasks on a checklist, they’re always accompanied by something to get people more excited and bought in, like our favorite Spotify playlist blasting on a Bluetooth speaker, dance parties as we “duffel shuffle,” riddles and trail games as we hike uphill, and fashioning “prom outfits” out of trash bags in the rain during a backcountry sea kayaking trip.

We have countless examples of how to make being outdoors and in an intentional community FUN, every single day. And instructors aren’t the only ones incorporating the “wow” into their trips—students often get involved as well! One of my all-time favorite events involves a student who led a Zumba class at camp. Not only did we have an absolute blast as a group, but leading a silly dance class outside helped that more reserved student come out of their shell. From then on, they displayed much more confidence in the group and fully embraced being their true self.

Many more “WOW!” moments come from our group journal. Every night during evening meeting, a student offers an account of the day from their perspective. There are infinite bounds to the creativity displayed here—students have written songs with original lyrics, performed skits with friends, played charades to act out the day, told the story from the perspective of a fictional (or non-human) being… It’s often a big source of hilarity and endless, uncontrollable giggles .

It’s safe to say that an unspoken goal of Adventure Treks is to have every student arrive home with fond memories of “WOW!” whether that’s nailing an Owen Wilson impersonation, winning the shaving cream Cheeto toss, experiencing a luxurious mud mask in Alaska, celebrating Canada Day or the 4th of July with sparklers, or making a Taylor Swift music video on a mountaintop!

Updated March 2023

Imagine you are on top of a snow-covered mountain pass in the Goat Rocks Wilderness in Washington. (If you haven’t been to the Goat Rocks, picture soaring, jagged peaks contrasted with vibrant meadows of wildflowers, alpine lakes, and never-ending vistas of surrounding mountains like the 14,411-foot Rainier and 12,280-foot Adams.) You feel a mix of giddiness, friendship, fear, and maybe slight nausea. Looking back across the pass, you see a snaking line of footprints covering the snow leading to where you now stand. You’re tired and sweaty, but the world feels right. That crossing was stressful, but you worked together with your group to get yourself and your pack across a steep snow field, and it may have been one of the most challenging things you have ever done.

Moments after gazing at your surroundings in reverence, you’re laughing uncontrollably because you and your friends are pretending to be penguins sliding around on a tiny rise in the snow. You’re enveloped in euphoria, and it hits you how much you care about the people around you—and how beautiful, powerful, and quiet the landscape around you is.

Congratulations—you just had a brief moment as a student on an Adventure Treks backpack. This activity is, hands-down, the best activity we do during the summer.

That scene is one of many wonderful moments I have experienced while backpacking as an Adventure Treks instructor. I was 28 years old at the time of that particular memory, and I was acting every bit of 7 at the top of that hill. Everything felt so fun. We had done it. We had covered challenging terrain, and we were steps away from having solid ground back under our feet. It was a real turning point for our group, and I felt an unbreakable bond with those students for the rest of the trip. There is something about backpacking that brings people together. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly why, but I think I can boil it down to three things: shared challenge, lack of electronic distractions, and what I am going to call “shared humanity.”

Shared challenge

Backpacking by nature is not always easy. In fact, backpacking sometimes can be the perfect recipe for a serving of humble pie. Take a few parts weather (rain, cold, or heat), mix in a cup of insects (the dreaded mosquito), separate the river crossings from the elevation gain, and don’t forget that special dash of getting slightly lost at the end. Bake that for five days, and you have yourself some shared challenge. Taken at face value, this does not sound like tons of fun. However, there is magic in overcoming challenge, and even more so when you do it with your friends. It creates opportunities for group members to take on many roles they may not normally fall into. You may get to step up and lead, or maybe you’re the person that cracks a joke at just the right time to lighten the mood. Maybe you get to experience the feeling of being genuinely supported by your friends. At the end of it all, you did it. In a world of instant gratification, backpacking always delivers. There are few feelings like coming out of the woods after a trip. You smell bad, and you’re tired, but you feel like you’re part of something. Sharing that challenge with your team builds a bond that is hard to break.

Things are simple while backpacking. You only need to focus on a few questions: Where am I going? Do we have food? Where is the water? Other than that, you just take it all in and talk with your group. There are no bright lights, loud noises, ringers, vibrations, email alerts, television premiers, or sometimes even books to read. This lack of distractions allows you to focus on what is around you. At Adventure Treks, that equates to nine other people and nature. I’ll admit that I love the views, and the feeling of being alone in the woods, but what really makes backpacking fun at AT is the creativity. When you have that much time on your hands, all kinds of wonderful things can happen. I’ve played countless games, searched for wildlife, written group poems, taught constellations, had long, deep conversations, made nature art, and I even once spent an afternoon acting out a beloved book series (for several hours… it was Harry Potter). I’ve watched one-person plays, and I’ve created a different persona that I kept for days. You have time to talk about everything while on trail. What food do you love, tell me about your family, do you have pets, what would you do with a million dollars, if you could freeze time for four hours how would you spend it, if you could ride any creature to battle, what would it be?

Lack of electronic distractions

I often leave the woods knowing the people around me on a deep level, and it only took four or five days. I’ve had students tell me they are closer with their AT friends that they have known for 21 days than friends at home they’ve know for six years. With no distractions, you focus on what is important: your friends and creating memories of laughter and fun.

Shared humanity

The final piece of magic that comes with backpacking is what I’m calling “shared humanity.” What does that mean? I believe being on a backpack at Adventure Treks breaks down barriers that separate people into groups. Do you go to private or public school? Do you love sports? Are you really into video games? What state are you from, or even what country are you from? Sometimes questions like this can make us gravitate toward different people or groups. Living in the woods out of your pack has a way of making all of that go away. Those differences just don’t matter. Again, the simplicity reminds us all of the things that we share, not the things that make us different.

Backpacking reminds me that we are all the same. We all get hungry, we all get sore, we all love snuggling into a sleeping bag when it’s cold. These things subtly break down differences between us and help the group come together. At the end of the day we are all people, and once you have one thing in common, you can find more. Once you find more, you find a friend. We are all human, and that shared fact brings the group together in a powerful way.
Our trips are filled with amazing activities. I will admit that mountain biking, climbing Mt. Shasta, or rock climbing sound more appealing and exciting on paper than backpacking. But time and time again, I most look forward to going into the backcountry with students every year. I would argue that the first backpack of an Adventure Treks trip is the very best part of the summer. I get to watch a group of strangers become a group of friends who will overcome challenges, create their own fun, and realize that their differences don’t really matter. Watching that process is truly one of the most rewarding pieces of being an AT instructor, and the only thing that tops it is being a part of that process and a member of the group. Some of my closest friends in the world have been forged while backpacking, and that is why I believe backpacking is the best activity we run at Adventure Treks.