AGE GROUP: 12-13
8 DAYS
$995

SKILLS: Backcountry Basics, Paddle Strokes, Rock Climbing, Map and Compass

Dates:
July 19-26, 2009
Spots Available: 10

IMPORTANT: All camps need a minimum enrolment of 6 to run. Each expedition has a maximum of 10 participants.

A WYLD EXPEDITION demands a lot from its participants. It asks you to lead your group and to follow, to be resourceful and creative and to explore and discover. It requires you to learn and master new skills, to build your level of fitness and confidence, and to work together with your team. In return, it gives you the opportunity to see and do things that you once could only dream of. It offers you the chance to push your self to the limit, and bring home more than you left with.

CANOE UPPER CAMPBELL LAKE – HIKING ELK RIVER TRAIL

The 8-day Discovery Camp takes you through the awesome landscape of Strathcona Park and teaches you to enjoy and appreciate the wilderness. This course is based out of our Upper Campbell Base Camp. From here, you plan, prepare for, and embark on a number of adventures. You learn the art of canoeing as you paddle down the lake to overnight destinations, and you also learn to navigate and travel as a group on a three-day hike up the Elk River Trail. These two trips are separated by a fun-filled day of rock climbing and a high Ropes challenge course at Strathcona Park Lodge.

ITINERARY

DAY 1
On your arrival in Campbell River your instructors and your fellow students meet you. From here the team drives to our Base Camp where you begin to know your group and your equipment. Your first night is spent camping on the shores of Upper Campbell Lake on the border of Strathcona Park.

DAY 2-4
The first adventure is a canoe trip into Strathcona Park. The first days are spent learning the Backcountry Basics. These include outdoor cooking, campsite selection, shelter building, paddle techniques, and minimum impact camping. Your comfort and confidence begins to build as you and your team tackle these daily challenges with increasing ease. On a typical day, your group explores the lake and shoreline as you make your way to the next night’s campsite. You might take side trips up the river mouths, looking for waterfalls or for the perfect cliff jumping spot, or you may just lay back and float, enjoying the peaceful solitude of the wilderness. Once you have found a place to camp, you begin to prepare for the night. A campsite must be selected and tarps set up, dinner must be organized and prepared and a fire lit for warmth. On the last day of your canoe trip, you return to base camp to prepare for tomorrows adventures.

DAY 5
For this awesome day we travel to Strathcona Park Lodge & Outdoor Education Centre to use their onsite climbing facilities. Here, you learn the basics of climbing; including knot tying, rope systems, belaying and rappelling. Most of all, you learn to trust yourself and your teammates as you help each other to succeed. Rock climbing is a unique experience that is intensely rewarding and absolutely unforgettable.

Strathcona Park Lodge is also home to a famous High Ropes Challenge Course that is nestled forty feet off the forest floor. You also have the opportunity to face these obstacles, and with encouragement from your newfound friends, you can build confidence in yourself.

DAY 6-8
The final trip takes you on a three-day hike up the Elk River Trail to Landslide Lake. This journey travels through some of the most incredible old growth forest on Vancouver Island. By now you have honed many of your camping skills, allowing you and your group to take over more of the responsibility from your instructors. You have become a self-sufficient expedition group now, and this final leg is your chance to fully manage the navigation, campsite selection/set-up, and meal planning/preparation. It is your opportunity to use everything you have learned to finish your journey, as a team. At the end of your hike you return to Strathcona Park Lodge for a final celebration dinner and the chance to sleep in a bed before you head home.