Your Group
Co-ed and grouped according to age, your group will consist of 10 to 15 students with 2 to 3 adult
male and female leaders respectively. This allows us to maintain our low student-to-staff ratio at
all times.
 Your
First Day
You will be met at the airport by your Wilderness Ventures leaders, where your gear will be checked
to be sure you have all the essentials you will need for your expedition. As soon as all group members
have arrived, we will proceed to our nearby campsite where we will begin getting acquainted with
each other. After sharing our first evening meal together, your leaders will introduce you to various
outdoor skills you'll need for your first trip, including how to put up your tent, how to pack your
backpack, and how to operate our lightweight, backcountry stoves.
Your Backcountry Experience
The following morning, you'll depart on your first wilderness experience. Since most of your
trip mates will be inexperienced, we'll start with low daily mileage and gradually pick up the
pace to longer daily mileage as we become stronger and more accustomed to backpacking.
We will generally hike between 4 and 10 miles per day (depending upon the expedition and
terrain). Your summer experience will likely involve 2 to 4 different backpacking trips ranging from
4 to 12 days depending upon your expedition. It will likely include other multi-day wilderness
activities such as whitewater rafting, sea kayaking, rock climbing, canoeing, mountaineering, or
mountain biking.
What You’ll Eat
One of your favorite parts of the summer will be purchasing, preparing, and eating our group
meals together as a community. Our meals are always plentiful and nutritious, but reflect the
limitations of outdoor cooking and our trip mates' preparation skills. Preparing group meals makes
it impossible to provide separate meals for vegetarians, students with food allergies, vegans, or students with other eating restrictions. Vegetarians can expect to eat the same
group meals, but can have the meat portion withheld. Students with food
allergies should assess how their particular allergies might limit their meals. It is
impossible for us to accommodate a vegan or kosher diet.
Your Gear
We will provide all group equipment necessary for your expedition including
tents, stoves, cooking gear, and first aid equipment. We also furnish all specialized
gear for activities such as bicycling, rafting, canoeing, kayaking, and climbing.
We'll send you a clothing and equipment list after you've been accepted, which
will describe types of sleeping bags, backpacks, hiking boots, raingear, and
other personal clothing items that you will need to bring. An exciting part of
a Wilderness Ventures experience is the fun you will have putting the personal
gear together prior to your trip. We also offer a gear rental program for most of
our domestic programs.
How You'll Travel
Most of our adventures will utilize comfortable 15-passenger vans to transport
you between activity destinations. All of our leaders are trained to safely drive
these vehicles before your summer begins. Because we hold so many different
and wonderful wilderness permits, we have the luxury of being able to cluster
our activities and minimize travel time between these areas. We know of no
other programs which can offer such diversity of activities with so little travel time. Sometimes we'll use ferry
boats to quickly move our
group to remote islands, and if
distances are a bit far, we'll travel
by bush planes or sometimes by
jet aircraft. Regardless of how
we travel, only 5 percent of your
time will be spent moving from
one area to another; 95 percent
of your time will be spent
involved in our activities.
When we do travel, we'll take
advantage of worthwhile scenic,
cultural, or historical sites, and
we always take advantage of
spontaneous and unplanned
opportunities as they arise. This could mean time out for a swim in a roadside
lake or stream, a plunge in an inviting hot spring, or a stop for an hour or so in
a tourist town to buy souvenirs or ice cream. Stops are also planned for showers,
laundry, and sending trip updates to your family.
Our leaders are all knowledgeable of the areas we travel through and there
are frequent informal discussions dealing with each area's particular history,
economy, and geography. Each expedition also carries a mobile library. Our
evening programs are always fun and informative as we share Indian legends,
sing, and play the instruments we have brought with us.
How You'll Communicate
Between activity destinations, your trip
leaders will send trip updates to your family.
How Your Safety Will Be Managed
Safety is a central focus of every expedition,
and we are proud that our impeccable safety record is unmatched. After 37 years,
with over 19,500 students, we have never experienced a serious injury. This
record is the result of our strict staff selection process, our thorough pre-summer
training, our highly detailed procedures for conducting safe activities as well as
our very low student-to-staff ratios.
In the unlikely event that a student becomes sick or injured while in the
backcountry, we can usually treat the majority of ailments. In addition to their
many other qualifications, all our staff members are fully trained in first aid and
emergency evacuation procedures. Most of our staff have over 120 hours of
wilderness first aid training, and many are emergency medical technicians. While
extensive formal first aid training is helpful, it can never take the place of highly
experienced and trained leaders who make appropriate and safe decisions. Our
carefully selected staff members, and our high standards are responsible for our
enviable safety record which exceeds that of all other adventure travel programs
and outdoor leadership schools. No one has had more experience conducting
safe outdoor expeditions than Wilderness Ventures.
How You'll Sleep
Every night of your Domestic Adventure will be spent sleeping outside along
a mountain stream or lake, on a coastal beach, or by a whitewater river. We
provide lightweight tents for all our students. We assign tents by gender and
you will always have the opportunity to sleep out under the stars. International
Adventures are a combination of camping and small hostels.
What We Expect From You
We expect you to carefully read this catalog so you understand Wilderness
Ventures fully. Our adventures are of varying lengths and challenges, so you
will need to select the expedition most appropriate for you. If you can't make
up your mind, we'll be happy to help you make your decision for that perfect
summer experience.
We expect you to come on your trip both mentally and physically prepared. For
preparation, we strongly suggest you schedule an exercise program of jogging,
bicycling, or swimming. How much you enjoy your experience will be directly
related to how well-conditioned you are.
Lastly, we expect you to arrive with an enthusiastic and positive attitude. You
must be prepared to share and contribute to your fellow trip mates unselfishly, be
excited about participating in all your group activities, and be ready to make great
new friends. The most important aspect of a Wilderness Ventures expedition is
the group experience. We have wonderful group experiences because we have
students who come prepared to put their own personal needs behind those of
their group. If you come with this same attitude, you will likely have the finest
summer of your life.
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