On December 7-8, Wilderness Kids high school students went on an overnight trip to Bears Den Cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia! Students hiked along the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (the AT), and carried both their personal and group gear with them through the woods to their rustic overnight refuge.
For many, it was their first overnight trip during this time of year, when the short days and cold air can present new and unique challenges to recreating outside. For others, it was their first overnight trip ever! And for Wilderness Kids, this was our first overnight adventure ever in the month of December! All the students and educators rose to the occasion and supported each other in this winter adventure.
Wilderness Kids Educators Matt and Tori led five students, Ja’Mea, Parvin, Walter, Stacy, and Sean, to the cabin. It was great to get students from all four high school grades hanging out together on this trip, with 12th grader Sean being the student sponsor of our new Wilderness Kids High School Club! Wilderness Kids Board of Directors Vice-Chair Enrique also joined the group for some hiking before sunset, along with his dog, Chesapeake.
Some topics that the students learned about and skills they practiced included:
Gathering firewood, building and maintaining a fire
Layering clothes and sleeping warm
Navigating safely in the dark using a headlamp
Camp cooking and safe food handling practices
Backcountry hygiene and safe hand + dish washing
The BEST way to make s’mores!
Sunsets in the Blue Ridge are often something to behold and December 7th's sunset did not disappoint. The students and educators enjoyed the orange glow from a perfect vantage at Bears Den Rocks, along the Appalachian Trail.
During the trip, students explored the famous AT and learned about its history and tradition of long-distance hiking. Some of our students were especially excited to realize on previous Wilderness Kids overnights, hundreds of miles away or in other states, they had been on a different part of the very same trail that connects all these beautiful areas of the eastern US together.
After trekking in with gear and settling into the cabin, the students were eager to show their culinary craft and cooked up a big pot of chili. In the early evening, the group hiked to a gorgeous cliff overlook at Bears Den Rocks along the AT, where they watched a colorful and breathtaking sunset over the mountains! This was truly an awe-inspiring experience that made the students excited by the prospect of more high school camping trips.
Left: Students Sean, Parvin and Stacey prepare some firewood for an evening fire. Right: Parvin and Ja'Mea wish you peace from the woods of the Blue Ridge.
As the afterglow slowly faded on the horizon, students turned on their headlamps and enjoyed an evening hike back to the cabin, where the fireplace and simmering chili awaited. The group gathered around the table family-style, garnished their personal bowls with delicious toppings, and each had a chance to express gratitude for different people and events that day before.. After dinner, the group spent plenty more quality time together, feeding logs to the fire, making s’mores and hot chocolate, doing each other’s makeup, and playing card games. As we cozied up and got ready for bed, students told stories and shared plenty of laughs. The fire crackled and kept the cabin warm all night long!
Fun & Games! Left: Student Ja'Mea gives Educator Matt a make-up job while Stacey looks on. Right: An evening game of cards inside the cozy Bears Den Cabin made for some more fun!
The following morning, students treated themselves to another classic and delicious camping meal: chocolate chip pancakes! Everyone joined the group effort in cleaning up the cabin to make it extra tidy for its next visitors. One more short hike with all their gear, this time uphill to the van, got the students’ blood flowing again. After loading the van, students took a short side-quest to walk along the nature trails of the Shenandoah River, one of the most beautiful features of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fun fact: the Shenandoah shares a commonality with the Nile river in Africa in that it flows from south to north! Along the river, trees can grow very big with the high water table on the floodplain providing lots of nutrients. Students took time to admire and learn about some big American Sycamore trees. After the group’s closing circle and final reflections on the trip, they drove back to Alexandria to close out a great weekend!
Accessing a great cabin for a large group like ours was made possible by the terrific volunteers at the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), who not only manage the Bears Den Cabin, but also serve as stewards of over 50 other cabins and the land surrounding them in various parks across Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania! The students were excited to learn of all the possibilities for their future adventures via PATC’s work!
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