Staffing Teachers and assistants (naturalists on site)
Length of trip 5 days, 4 nights
Travel time 6 hours each way
Food Lunch and snack to be brought by students for day one; all other meals
will be provided
Transportation Passenger vans (carrying 8-10) driven by teachers and assistants
Objectives
To learn and practice the fundamentals of backpacking, minimum impact
camping, and wilderness survival skills.
To further study the ecology of the Sierras.
To study the flora, fauna, and ecology of selected areas of Sequoia
Kings Canyon.
To learn and practice basic map and compass orienteering skills.
To work with peers and adults in a physically challenging non-school
setting.
Sequoia Kings Canyon ranges from 1500' to 14,494' in elevation.
These adjoining parks protect immense mountains, deep canyons, huge trees,
and stunningly diverse habitats. The General's Highway climbs over 5,000
feet from chaparral and oak-studded foothills to the awe-inspiring sequoia
groves. From there, trails lead to the high-alpine wilderness which makes
up most of these parks. Although they were created by separate acts of
Congress, Sequoia and Kings Canyon share miles of boundary and are managed
as one park. Sequoia was the second national park designated in this country.
In May, the seventh grade will begin its annual five-day outdoor education
program in Sequoia Kings Canyon. As is often the case, we must wait for
winter to end before we can determine the precise location of this year's
trip; we will provide you with this information as soon as we can. Over
the past years, the seventh-grade trip to the Sierras has been a successful
tradition that is one of the high points of the School's outdoor education
program.
Our trip has a number of major objectives. It is an opportunity for your
child to gain experience in wilderness travel and living, learning the
essential skills of low-impact or "leave no trace" backpacking.
Students will also learn about the Sierra mountain environment by examining
the flora, fauna, and the unique land features we encounter. While aspects
of the trip will be physically demanding, we intend to make its challenges
reasonable for everyone; we are not driven to break any mileage or elevation
or machismo world records. Some of the most important goals are to develop
the students' ability to work together as a team and to deepen their understanding
of their classmates. The many tasks necessary for traveling and living
safely in the wilderness will be performed by all of the students as a
group, including caring for others, purifying water, securing food from
animals, helping to cook the meals, and cleaning the dishes. Students
will also assist with some of the pre-trip preparations. Finally, we are
determined to have a lot of fun. The students can look forward to having
plenty of opportunity to enjoy being with their classmates and teachers
and to relish the unique experience of living in the spectacular Sierra
Mountains.
