This summer brings back an engaging educational experience for teens that’s been sidelined since COVID-19 hit.
Go Wild! Is a six-day adventure and outdoor leadership program for youth. With loaded backpacks and two experienced, certified wilderness guides, 14 teens will have the opportunity this July to experience the great outdoors as they may never have before.
Go Wild! isn’t just a backpacking trip: it’s an education in backcountry camping and hiking that will open the door to a lifetime of adventure. Participants learn and practice no-trace travel techniques, backcountry meal planning and cooking, route planning, map reading, navigation, wildlife safety, wilderness survival, mountain botany, basic wildlife ecology, and how to thrive in the wilderness in all conditions. They also learn about the extraordinary diversity and abundance of Kootenay wildlife, and how critical wilderness areas are both for sensitive wildlife but also for humans to connect with the natural world.
This summer’s destination will be determined closer to the trip dates, but will be based in the East Kootenay’s Upper Columbia area, in either the Rockies or Purcell mountain ranges. Past Go Wild! programs have explored the Purcell Wilderness, Height of the Rockies, the Hornaday Wilderness, and Top of the World Provincial Parks.
Go Wild! last ran in the summer of 2019, when an adventurous group of teens explored some of the most rugged and remote wilderness in the Height of the Rockies Provincial Park, including participant Ben Gadd from Golden, who took part in five consecutive Go Wild! trips.
“Go Wild! trips have been a significant part of my summers during my high school years. They have inspired me to continue to learn about the area that I live in, to explore the backcountry, and to appreciate where I live,” shared Ben Gadd following the 2019 trip.
“GoWild! backcountry trips are an example of experiential learning at its finest, providing lifelong memories as well as positively influencing youth to care more about the wilderness and the environment.” – Ben Gadd
This program is led by ACMG Hiking Guide and Professional Skier Leah Evans, and ACMG Hiking Guide and wildlife biologist Dave Quinn.
Registration is open now! For more information, visit Go WIld!
Any questions, email Go Wild! co-ordinator Dave Quinn.
Details
Trip dates: July 20-25
Participants are required to provide their own personal hiking boots, outdoor clothing, and gear, but we have access to loaner gear if participants require anything. Tents, tarps, stoves, pots etc are provided.
Open to teens aged 14-18.
The cost is $750, which includes all meals, shelter, and backcountry safety and cooking gear along with the services of 2 qualified wilderness instructors. Transportation is with volunteer parent drivers.
Bursaries and registration support is available upon request.
COVID-19 note: All trip leaders will be fully vaccinated. It is strongly recommended that participants are fully vaccinated. When you apply, we will ask for your vaccination status. You may be required to take a COVID-19 test before or during the trip. We are continually monitoring COVID-19 related public health guidance and will base other risk management practices on the most current standards.
