This Summer was our second running Summer Camp trips up in Olympic National Park in Washington and it was stellar! We changed things up a bit and split trips to be either Mountain or Coastal, and also offered our first 13-day backpacking trip where they did both! The young ones didn’t miss out either as we had three Young Adventurer trips go out on the coast. Whether walking along the beach or descending a steep ladder to get to a glacier at the base of Mt. Olympus, these kids went out and saw the many splendors that make Olympic National Park so amazing.
Seven trips got to explore the coast, sometimes navigating on overland routes, other times navigating an early rise out of their sleeping bags to hike stretches of land before the tides came and swallowed them up. Some groups got some rain, but all groups got stunning sunsets and certainly enjoyed the swings at multiple campsites!
The mountain trips had some challenges of their own, sometimes navigating through snow, definitely hoofing it up some steep uphills, but the enchanted forests gushing with waterfalls and views of snow-capped peaks for miles made it all worth it!
Whether mountains, coast, or both, all these kids went out there and learned about overcoming challenges, the importance of Leave No Trace, the Native history, the geology of the area, and how tight a bond can get when a group of people spends a week in the woods together.
We can’t wait until next Summer to share these special places with even more kids (could it be you?), but for now, we’re enjoying sitting back and reminiscing.
