Family Courses
Families are brought together by shared experiences. Our goal is to provide a safe environment in which parents and children can enjoy the wilderness together, learning about the natural world. Quality time with your child is a precious commodity and we take our responsibility with your family time seriously. New for 2009, the "Little Fox Class" for ages 6 and under - See details below.
Programs Offered
Offered to ages 7-70+ first time students under 10 must be
accompanied by an adult
Pre-requisites: None
During this week-long course we teach the following skills:
debris hut shelter
- a stick and leaf shelter built from surrounding materials;
bow drill fire - a method of fire-making without matches;
techniques of finding safe water in the woods; stalking and
movement; an introduction to the vast methods of tracking;
nature awareness and observation; the art of moving silent and
unseen in the forest; the use of field guides; methods of
naturalist journaling; animal study - through body movement and
performance; and philosophy of living with the earth - taught
through storytelling and caretaker principles. We will
teach these skills entirely through hands-on and experiential
learning techniques. This course is also open
to Grandparents to attend with their
grandchildren. This positive experience produces
lasting results where the parent and child continue to grow
together long after they have returned home. Adults and
children do participate in some activities together.
Offered to ages 6 and under
Pre-requisites: None - Class size limited to 7
This is really where it all begins. This day program with overnight options runs Monday - Friday. What a great way to spend a week in the mountains with your children or to take a short break while they play and are closely supervised by our staff trained in early childhood development and care.
Day camp hours are 8am - 4pm with options to overnight. This class is based entirely on the youngsters. General areas of play are; animal study - through body movement and performance; the philosophy of playing with the earth - taught through storytelling and games. We teach entirely through hands-on and experiential learning techniques. This course is also open to Grandparents to attend with their grandchildren. This positive outdoor experience helps children to naturally explore and learn through the sounds and smells of nature. Come and take a break with us and enjoy the fresh summer mountain air with your kids. Adults and children participate in all activities together.
FAMILY TRACKING AND AWARENESS ADVENTURE
Offered to ages 7-70+
Pre-requisite: Family Fox Trail
This class focuses on families learning and growing together within the science and the art of the ancient tracking skills. We will be going deeper into animal tracking and nature observation. This will include; animal track ID and sign, trail systems, gait patterns, scat analysis, plaster casting, use of a tracking box, how to age tracks and much more. These skills will be learned through hands on activities, games, and through wandering adventures through the woods. We will also be going into basic search and rescue techniques including how to lost-proof yourself and your children, all done in a fun and light-hearted environment.
Offered to ages 7-70+
Pre-requisites: Fox Trail Adventure or Family Fox Trail
This intense week long course for students hones and polishes the survival skills and craft work that were only introduced during the Fox Trail Adventure. These primitive living skills are works of art in the truest sense in both beauty and function. The people's lives depended on their knowledge and craftsmanship. We will cover advanced shelter building, flint flintknapping (the art of making stone tools), bow making, basketry, advanced fire techniques, brain-tanning buckskin, advanced stalking and movement, coal burned wooden bowls and utensils, primitive pottery, and advanced tracking techniques to name a few. It is our goal to increase the student's appreciation for the natural world and the beautiful and useful tools that can be created as caretakers of the land. An opportunity to put into practice what you learn is provided. The Family version is tailored to the ages attending, incorporating more games and fun-filled adventures!! Families and Teens will be in separate learning groups.
Offered to ages 7-70+
Pre-requisite: Fox Trail Adventure or Family Fox
Trail
This week is all about fostering a deeper connection
within your family. It is both personal and
dynamic as these skills really take hold. In
our philosophy of nature classes we study our relationship
to all things great and small. We explore Inward
Silence, uncover methods for increasing awareness and learn
techniques for becoming one with the natural world around
us. All of this is incorporated back into your daily life
as we practice how to maintain the inner peace we gain in
wilderness no matter where we find ourselves.
We have separate learning groups for each age
range. This is one of those classes that leaves a
positive and lasting impression for years to come.
Offered to ages 7-70+
Pre-requisites: Family Fox Trail and Family Bear Skills
If you would like to really experience being a child at heart again then sign up for this week with your family and re-live your youth. The safety and health of the people depended upon the skills of the Scouts to locate fresh water and food and to navigate the people around danger. The ability of the Scout to sink and fade into the landscape and move invisibly at high speeds is both an art and a science. Skills include: advanced and invisible shelter and fire techniques, martial arts study and movement, high speed tracking, and expanded awareness through the use of blindfolds and night-time activities. This week is all about fun and new adventures. It will re-awaken a playful and joyful way to view the world. To sum it up, this week is like one giant game of capture the flag. If you are ready to explore a world of adventure and excitement, where you can never be bored again, join us.
FAMILY WILDERNESS WANDER QUEST
Family Wilderness Wander Quest: ages 9-70+
Pre-requisites: Family Fox Trail & Family Bear Skills
We will only be accepting 12 students for this
course. If interested please notify us 6-12 months
in advance, so that you can prepare for this life
changing and truly rewarding shared family experience.
This experience will test your skills and allow you to get directly in touch with nature and yourself through the purity of wilderness. This is where we witness the families really bond on a deep, deep level. We will be living close to the earth, re-setting our internal clock to that of the land, losing our modern necessities and moving toward full primitive living. Our time will focus heavily on living the primitive skills and incorporating the philosophy of Nature and caretaking. We will venture deeper and deeper into the Oregon Wilderness while practicing all we have learned in a safe but adventurous way. The opportunity will exist to experience a solo overnight as a rite of passage for those who are interested and qualify.
"I loved slowly discovering the positive forces among the
class group, the amazing skills and patience and beauty of
the staff, and the existence still of abilities in myself."
-Martin, father
"I saw a lot of growth within each member of my family and
upon returning home, I see that this experience has had a
permanent, positive affect on each person."
-Sandy, mother
Offered to Ages 7-70+
Pre-requisites: None
Studying the ecology of one place and all the different interactions of the plants, animals, birds and insects and how they relate to the seasons and the ever changing weather patterns can seem an enormous journey. This class provides a grounding framework and consistent methodology to organize and retain newly discovered knowledge. We learn to fuel and sustain our curiosity and excitement for the natural world through the use of creative research, journaling and a daily study of our surroundings. When listening to the voices of the forest, watching the weather and observing mammal behavior, scientific study turns into a playful and adventurous trail of wonder and exploration.
The focus of study (plants, animals, birds, insects, fish) will change each year this class is offered.
Offered to ages 9-70+
Pre-requisites: Advanced Bear Skills
Living the ancient skills means maximum utilization of the materials provided through Nature. This class will give you hands-on experience in: earth shelters, making axes, hatchets, wedges, vises, spears, slings, sewing needles, awls, hooks, baskets, drills, the sharpening of wood and bone tools, advanced shelter doors, effective smoke draws for your shelter, advanced heat reflectors, rawhide cordage and containers, water containers, packs, advanced bow making, steam bending and straightening of wood, sinew preparation, dyes, clay processing and a host of so much more.
COYOTE KITCHEN ON THE FOX TRAIL
Offered to ages 16-70+
Pre-requisites: None
Join our head chef and nutritionist as an opportunity to track the inner-connectedness of diet, nourishing traditions and earth caretaking. Using indigenous cooking methods and supplementing a whole foods diet with wild harvested plants, we will further our relationship with food, farming and foraging. Skills and activities include: primitive cooking, wild harvesting, education in whole foods nutrition, eating with the seasons, meal planning, mindful movement in the kitchen and trips to the farmers market and local family farms.
