Navigation Summer Camp
By: Lindsay & Ally
What a week full of adventure was had by an energetic and ambitious group of students! Lindsay and Ally are here to recap the fast-paced days of Realms’ first summer camp of the year.
Each day we explored a different natural feature around the Salt Lake Valley. Due to the extreme heat, our itinerary was changed to include more water-based activities. We had a ton of fun in the sun exploring watersheds, reservoirs, and mountain lakes!
We kicked off the week learning how to navigate in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Campers used a compass to orient themselves towards true north, taking into account the declination of magnetic north! We then used a map to help us hike to Donut Falls. Once we found the falls everyone had a chance to cool off in the super cold snowmelt runoff.
On day two we cued up a collaborative karaoke playlist and headed out for some tubing adventures on a larger snowmelt watershed, the Provo River! Birds, fish, and even a moose and calf were spotted by the group!
Our third day consisted of a hike up Ferguson Canyon to climb the eroded granite and reach new heights in terms of our mental and physical limits. Students explored the small canyon looking for geocaches. One student even found a rope swing while geocaching (who knew there were so many hidden gems up there!!).
On day four we put our navigation skills to the test and successfully navigated using only a map and compass (no trails!) from Mirror Lake to Bonnie Lake. We learned about a few edible plants and tasted some glacier lily and spring beauty along the way (trail snacks). Keeping up with our water theme for the week, students had an opportunity to plunge into the chilly mountain lakes.
On our last day, we hauled the Realms canoes to Jordanelle Reservoir and enjoyed a much-needed relaxing day on the beach. Nick took some students adventuring around the lake in a canoe while the rest enjoyed the water, group games in the sunshine, and some relaxing summer reading.
All in all, it was an adventure-packed week! We are proud of all of our navigators for engaging with wild spaces in their Salt Lake City backyard, supporting each other, and successfully picking up the skill of map reading and navigation.
Here’s to the rest of an adventure-filled summer and always finding your way - using trails or not.
