Greetings from 30,000 ft. Another red eye… This one from Portland heading home to NC to see my own kids, go rafting with the Blue Ridge Experience students and check in with our office. It’s been an exciting two weeks on the road meeting our incredible Adventure Treks students and helping our instructors open trips and set students up for success. I have visited the Cal Adventure, British Columbia 1, British Columbia 2, Cascades Challenge, Pacific Northwest Experience 1, Leadership Summit and both Alaska trips. Meanwhile our regional directors Ben Mirkin, Niki Gaeta and Stephen Gardiner are supporting trips and getting to know students in their regions.
Summer has come to the West at long last. It seems like high pressure has finally set up and every trip has enjoyed a beautiful last couple of days. Many groups caught some rain (British Columbia 1 and Leadership Summit even got snowed on) in the first few days of their trips but everyone has dried out. Several students have some great “war stories” of the rain and snow they “survived.” It’s experiences like these that build the resilience that kids need. 35 years later, my best memories from camp are of the challenges I faced and pushed through, not the easy times. Challenges successfully overcome, breeds more success.
The snowpack is ridiculous this year. In some places it is 650% of normal for this time of year. We have been busy modifying backpacking routes. Even the back ups to our backup plans didn’t consider 150 year record snow depths. While some of the backpacks may not have been as rigorous as we would have liked, first backpacks are all about building a community and fostering a sense of belonging to something bigger than one’s self. We have a great group of students and they genuinely like and respect each other. The students and instructors have set up a great rapport on every single trip.
Today, I just finished staff orientation with the Alaska 2 and California Challenge 2 instructor teams. Both are very strong teams and they are now scouting their trips and preparing to meet their students next week.
Adventure treks is off to a great start. Thanks for your support! We are doing all in our power to create incredible and indelible experiences for your child. I hope you are enjoying the updates / treks checks. we are enjoying getting to know your child!
Have a great Fourth of July
Best, Dock