• What to Expect

What life is like at Adventure Treks

Everyone knows what what to expect at traditional summer camp. Kids eat meals in the dining hall, they’re led from activity to activity by young camp counselors, they sometimes leave the property for outdoor or other adventures, and they sleep in cabins at night.

But a traveling adventure summer camp for teens operates differently and—we think—more excitingly! How do we get from place to place? Where do students sleep each night? Where is everyone’s gear stored? How do we cook without a kitchen?

We are here to paint a picture of a day in the life at Adventure Treks!

A typical day at camp

MorningAfternoonEvening

Each day is a little different depending on the itinerary. Sometimes we stay at the same frontcountry campground a few days in a row, and on backcountry trips, we generally move camp every night. Students usually wake up between 6:30–7 am and start to prepare for the day. If the previous day was extra challenging or had an extra-early wake-up, students can sleep a little later. Three to four students (of the same gender) sleep in a four-person tent, and we switch up these tent groups throughout the trip.

Some students will make breakfast, while others will pack up tents and group gear. Another group will pack up food and clean dishes after breakfast. Instructors will be on hand to help out, though students will largely take over these responsibilities by the end. Instructors will share what gear we’ll need for the day, and students will organize their personal belongings.

When our campsite has been packed up and swept for trash, groups will depart for their next destination, whether that’s the next campsite on trail, a rafting day on the river, or a logistics day!

Again, our afternoons will flow a little differently depending on where we are. In the late afternoon, we’ll generally arrive at our next campsite, whether in the front country or backcountry. Students will be assigned different responsibilities, from setting up tents to prepping ingredients for that night’s dinner to organizing and cleaning up gear from that day.

Before arriving to camp, however, our day will have been filled with hiking to beautiful places, zooming down trails on bikes, soaring to new heights at the crag, bouncing down rapids on the river, or one of our other incredibly exciting activities.

When we have extra time, afternoons are often filled with structured downtime and games like card or chess tournaments, pirate waiter, or preparing for a big activity that night (like our traditional Olympics, silly prom, or cooking competition).

Students may also opt for some quieter, more reflective downtime, like writing letters to ourselves (Adventure Treks will re-collect these and send them to students in winter), journaling, or reading.

Evenings are usually filled with good food and lots of fun. Students will rotate through food prep, cooking, and clean-up; some nights are “student dinners,” where they will be given a budget to plan, purchase, and execute meals on their own. Other nights will be pre-planned by instructors but made by students, or we may have a big food celebration where everyone pitches in, like our Iron Chef Cook-off.

After dinner is cleaned up, we’ll gather for evening meeting. Every night, whether we’re in the frontcountry as one big group, or in the backcountry in smaller groups, we sit in a circle to talk about our day. It’s a time for publicly praising each other for the kind, helpful, and thoughtful acts or words we noticed. It’s also a time for collaborating as a group on what we can do better the following day.

We don’t want to give everything away here, but we will say that evening meetings also contain some of the most fun, important, and meaningful traditions of Adventure Treks—these traditions become core memories for our students and are some of the moments they’ll never forget.

Delicious, filling food!

Even though we camp in tents every night and cook over backcountry stoves, we still maintain good hygiene and eat INCREDIBLE food throughout the entire trip—no matter where we are!

We include protein in every meal, we have fresh fruits and vegetables as often as possible, and we always have “seconds” (and often thirds) for our hungriest students. Meals are served buffet-style, with everything prepared separately and condiments served on the side. Students can “choose their meal adventure” as they go through the buffet line, and we all sit in a circle as we eat. In addition to three meals a day, we always have a wide variety of snacks available throughout the day.

We can accommodate vegetarians and many food allergies and dietary restrictions, including peanuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy, sesame, and gluten. Throughout the trip, our staff will work hard to prevent cross-contamination for those with food allergies (though in our basic outdoor kitchens, this can never be 100% guaranteed). It is also important that students take responsibility and an active role in managing their allergies and dietary restrictions along with our instructors, including reading ingredients labels, avoiding foods with a known allergen, and seeking help from an instructor if needed. Our instructors carry EpiPens and are trained to respond to allergic reactions.

While we ask that the students not bring food, candy, or gum to Adventure Treks, students with celiac disease or other highly restricted diets may bring packaged food or snacks from home. This is in case we can’t find a particular brand in the smaller, more remote grocery stores with limited selections.

Adventure Treks may choose to operate a trip free of a particular food (peanuts, tree nuts, etc.) due to student allergies.

BreakfastLunchDinner

Example breakfasts:

• Cereal, milk (including dairy-free alternatives), yogurt, and fresh fruit

• French toast

• Breakfast sandwiches (English muffins, eggs, bacon or sausage and veggie 
   patties, cheese, and spinach)

• Breakfast burritos (tortillas, eggs, salsa, veggies, beans, cheese) and hash
   browns

• Bagels and cream cheese

• Oatmeal and granola, dried fruit, nuts, and brown sugar

• Muffins and fresh fruit

• Breakfast couscous

Example lunches:

  • Cold-cut and PB&J sandwiches (turkey and ham, hummus, cheese, veggies, and alternative nut butters)
  • Chicken caesar wraps
  • Summer and veggie sausage pitas with cheese and veggies
  • Chicken salad sandwiches
  • Turkey wraps
  • Pasta salad
  • Chicken and tofu wraps
  • Taco salad

Example dinners:

  • Every trip has our traditional “Yahoo!” dinner on night one, which includes spaghetti, meatballs, veggie meatballs, and salad (so named because we are SO EXCITED that our students have arrived!)
  • Pizza
  • Veggie and chicken/tofu stir fry
  • Jambalaya
  • Mac and cheese with veggies
  • Pesto pasta
  • Burritos, tacos, or quesadillas
  • Orzo with chicken and veggies
  • Thai curry
  • Hamburgers and hot dogs (with vegetarian dogs and patties)
  • Gado gado

Trip communication and photos

Instructors will take photos and videos throughout the trip, which the office will provide to families. Because of the wilderness nature of our trips, there are limitations regarding the frequency of updates while students and staff are in the field. During multi-day activities like backpacking or rafting or sea kayaking, trip updates will not be available until the group comes back into cell service.

Written updates will be emailed to families. Photos and videos will be uploaded directly to an online album, whose link we’ll send about a week before your child’s trip starts. These photos are provided at no additional charge. You can also expect one or two phone calls from your child during the trip.

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