Big Trips Mean Big Growth

For most of us, we know that a canoe trip is one of the quintessential ways for kids to connect with nature, challenge themselves and build a special kind of camaraderie with their trip-mates. That being said, when most of us think about canoe trips, we`re thinking 5 days, maybe 7 or even 14.

What happens when you up the stakes and "turn the dial to 11" and start talking about the long-haul trips? 20 days, 40 days, entire summer trips with air-drops, train rides and crossing national borders!

Oh yeah.

This episode of the CampHacker podcast is dedicated to these kinds of big trips and the camps that have them down to a science. Travis is joined by 3 Directors whose camps specialize in these epic excursions. These 4 Camp Pros put their heads together to discuss not just the logistics of these trips (which are super interesting!), but the transformative power that comes from campers and staff immersing themselves into nature for weeks at a time. What emerges from these conversations is that the long trips may be logistically tricky and definitely more expensive when you factor in flying in food and long distance pick-ups, but the pay off in the experience and growth is more than worth it.

For the campers, they get a genuine experience of autonomy as they gain confidence and move from a passive participant to an active player in their, and their peer's experience. For staff, it`s a chance to role model and build relationships in a way that simply isn`t possible on site or on a week on the river.

These things take time - and there`s no better place to take that time than on the water and the trails.

We hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast. If you have any thoughts on, or questions about these types of trips, let us know in the comments below. We'd love to hear them.