Any suggestions would be welcome.
The following is a proposal for a program of overnight and other hikes for children associated with **** **** in the local mountains of Southern California.
Catalyst
I have been a "hike organizer" with the **** Group for the last two years, specializing in beginning backpacking trips. I would schedule at least a half dozen of these introductory overnights every year. The overnights were characterized by short, relatively undemanding approach hikes, so that novice hikers could get a taste of backpacking without any real risk of substantial discomfort (blisters, cold nights, hunger, leaving presumably essential gear behind, etc). Many participants in these beginning backpacking trips later engaged in much more challenging high country hikes.
During the last season, I increasingly felt that while these introductory hikes are useful for adults, they would be even more valuable for children, who otherwise would have no access to the mountains. Generally, children are only ever introduced to backcountry activities through their own parents or organizations such as the Boy Scouts. In the absence of such hike leaders, the high mountains, clearly visible from the streets of ****, remain mysterious and inaccessible to children. I decided therefore my efforts in introducing people to backpacking would be better targeted at young people.
Objectives
Some of the objectives I hope to accomplish through this project are specific to backcountry experiences and stewardship, but others are more general with regard to helping the young people of my community. They include:
o I hope to make it clear to children who lives are often circumscribed by their narrow urban culture, the attitudes of their parents and peers, and the fantasies shown on television, that there is a much bigger world at their disposal, and that they can be a part of it. Not just mountains and wilderness, but the overlapping experiences of the various people they will meet by participating in the hikes. This is, in my opinion, the most essential objective, and the single most important idea I hope the children take away from the program, even if they never venture into the wilderness again.
o Through regularly scheduled day hikes and overnights (as opposed to occasional "spectacular" trips to the Grand Canyon or Yosemite), I want program participants to feel increasingly comfortable and confident in the alien environment of the wilderness. This, I expect, will increase their self-confidence and willingness to tackle challenges in other areas of their lives.
o I want the children to enjoy the rare feeling of accomplishment and self-sufficiency involved in reaching a mountain summit or preparing a tasty meal in camp. I would like to encourage them to be comfortable with solitude.
o At the same time, I hope to foster a recognition of the importance of teamwork and mutual support in achieving shared goals.
o I want to introduce children to an effective and exciting form of physical exercise that, while it can be grueling at times, is much more pleasant and satisfying than working out in a gym.
o I hope to instill in the hikers a sense of their own responsibility, as adults, in preserving open spaces for themselves, their own families, and the rest of humanity.
o Finally, I hope program participants will be able to experience the sublime sensations of wonder and peace that are so common in the wilderness, yet so rare in urban life. Through their past participation in the program, young adults will understand how to make short, easy escapes when necessary from the daily stresses of modern life; refreshing respites that don't involve the use of drugs or alcohol or other potentially destructive activities.
Program principles
I would like to schedule a complete calendar of backcountry events, from introductory day hikes to multi-day overnights. The hard core of regular participants in these activities will emerge from the program as experienced and knowledgeable backpackers after only a single season.
Age groups
At the moment, I am considering escorting teens, about 14 years old and up.
Destinations
The mountains and deserts of Southern California offer almost limitless potential for safe, enjoyable backcountry activities, year 'round. Here are a few examples of the beginning overnights that can be scheduled:
o John's Meadow. This trail camp nestled between two creeks in the San Gorgonio Wilderness in the San Bernardino Mountains is less than four miles from the trailhead, with very little elevation gain during the hike in. It is a perfect beginning overnight destination, and I have escorted many **** Group participants there during the last two years. It is very popular with Boy Scout troops.
o Fish Creek. This trail camp is located only about two miles from the Aspen Grove trailhead in the San Gorgonio Wilderness, for a short and easy hike in. Water is available a short hike above the trail camp, at Fish Creek.
o Kelly's Camp is 2,900 feet above the Icehouse Canyon trailhead in the San Gabriel Mountains, about four miles in. Because of the elevation gain, it's more challenging than the previous two hikes, but it's a beautiful pine-shrouded camp served by a cool spring. It's also a couple miles below 8,693 foot Ontario Peak, for a nice day-hike after getting into camp.
o Cedar Glen is another trail camp accessible from Icehouse Canyon, popular with groups.
o La Jolla Canyon is one of several destinations in the Santa Monica Mountains separating Los Angeles from the San Fernando Valley. The hike in from the seashore provides views of the Channel Islands, and the trail camp is nestled in a grove of ancient, climbable oaks. The Santa Monica Mountains offer hike destinations suitable for winter and spring, when the higher mountains are covered with snow.
For day hikes, I always prefer a destination, such as a summit, and I believe most kids feel the same way. There are a number of exhilarating summits to be tackled in Southern California, from Mt San Jacinto (at 10,804 feet, the second tallest mountain in Southern California, but relatively accessible from the Palm Springs Tram) to Mt Baden-Powell (9,399 feet), to the more challenging Santiago (Saddleback) Peak (5,687 feet), and finally the highest point in Southern California, Mt San Gorgonio (11,500 feet), which requires a very steep18-mile round trip climb.
Beyond the beginning backpack trips, experienced program participants can also experience multi-day hikes in the San Gorgonio Wilderness or the Southern Sierra Nevada, or especially challenging local overnights such as (one of my favorites) the Sleep on the Summit of San Gorgonio climb I led twice in 2009.
Note that none of the proposed outings are car-camping. While car-camping can be fun, backpacking offers so much more regarding the objectives I delineated above. And, personally, I am not very interested in car-camping.
Frequency
It is my intention to schedule a full calendar of these events throughout the year, perhaps two a month. Participants can review the calendar and schedule themselves for the various hikes well in advance. Wilderness permits for some of the hikes limit the number of hikers to twelve or fifteen, but a more arbitrary limit of, say, eight people would ensure a better experience, and help with logistics. I'd be surprised if we experienced even that level of participation, at least in the early days of the program.
Leadership
As a general rule, I'd recommend at least two adult leaders, a man and a woman, for every six or eight children. If **** has not already published guidelines along these lines they should consider doing so. It is my plan to lead hikes in partnership with ****, an experienced and enthusiastic backpacker and mother.
One of the advantages of working with the **** Group is it provides a pool of experienced hike organizers, including several school teachers, who can be recruited to lead backpacking trips. This is important in the current conversation because I can't promise **** and I will always be available for the complete calendar. If we experience conflicts, we will find good substitute leadership to fill in for us.
In my experiences with the Boy Scouts, as a Scout, as an adult leader and as a Forest Service volunteer ranger in 1989-90 (where I encountered many troops during my patrols), I learned the biggest challenge for that organization is the dearth of experienced, knowledgeable and enthusiastic adult leadership. Boy Scout leaders are typically recruited from among the parents of the Scouts themselves, and in many cases adult leaders serve reluctantly. Until recently there were no qualifications for leadership, besides willingness (however grudging). I have, over the years, shared trails and trail camps with some pretty miserable Boy Scouts, due to lack of skilled leadership.
Volunteers like myself and other **** Group organizers aren't offering anything in terms of formal qualifications, but we are experienced and enthusiastic and want to help kids.
Training
Prior to the actual hikes, it would be useful to perform introductory classes or workshops to prepare the children for the outings. We produce similar seminars now for the **** Group.
Equipment and logistics
By keeping group sizes down, we can ensure transportation to and from the trailheads is not a problem.
A bigger challenge is specialized gear; where to get it and where to store it.
Virtually all backpacking gear including the packs, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, tents and other shelters can be shared. In most cases, it should not be much of a problem collecting contributed gear through Craigslist ads, garage sales or as part of corporate programs from firms such as REI Co-op. Ideally, **** could store contributed gear and set up some kind of system for managing inventory and checking it out, as needed, to hike participants.
However, it is my view the following personal specialized gear and clothing is required for each participant, and I am not sure what mechanisms could be put into place to ensure the children can get what they need:
o Good footwear.
o Specialized clothing including polypropylene undershirts and pile jackets.
o Sleeping bag liners (assuming the use of communal sleeping bags).
o Food for each event.
Food for an overnight should never present a problem, and sleeping bag liners and some clothing can be shared. But for the moment I can't determine how to ensure children from low-income families have appropriate footwear. Maybe it's because I have sensitive feet myself, but I tend to emphasize the importance of proper protection for the feet.
Frills
As a young Boy Scout, I always enjoyed receiving some recognition for my backcountry accomplishments beyond the personal feeling of achievement. The Boy Scouts commemorate quite a number of hikes and summits with embroidered patches that are awarded to Scouts after they complete the hikes. I propose, as part of this program, producing similar patches that participants can earn. Such patches don't cost very much and can be easily financed through personal contributions by hike leaders, the patch vendors and others.
