Learning through adventure.....
where challenges are faced as an individual & as a group.....
where new experiences test beliefs & boundaries.....
& create a new sense of self & surroundings.

Welcome to CA Expeditions. With the popularity of the "Experiencing Wilderness" Discovery Term backpacking trip & the Outdoors Club backpacking trips, we decided to offer a summer adventure trip that would be a longer trip that would allow for a greater variety of locations & experiences. This trip will be a combination of backpacking & flat water kayaking.

We believe that a wilderness backpacking trip offers students a rich educational experience whereby they temporarily exit a lifestyle dominated by modern conveniences and enter a serene environment where the pace of life slows, the necessities of life come into focus, & teamwork is essential:

• students explore their mental & physical capabilities & limits as an individual
• students face new individual responsibilities and explore group dynamics & teamwork as we travel in the wilderness with only what we can carry on our backs
• students experience immersion in an incredible natural environment as they travel through the wilderness while sleeping on its floor, drinking from its streams, and bathing in its lakes & rivers
• encourage an active lifestyle & promote outdoor activities that can provide lifelong fitness

Potential new experiences for students:

• traveling by foot & kayak
• living out of a backpack (where planning, choices, and economy are well rewarded)
• sleeping in a tent
• sharing a compact living space with others
• living without technology & modern conveniences such as electricity, running water,  hot water, air conditioning, automobile, computer, television, Ipod, refrigerator, freezer, microwave, dishwasher, bed, toilet, shower, mirror, roof, blow dryer, restaurants, & laundered clothes
• planning and cooking meals with limited supplies and means
• keeping cook gear sanitary
• preparing and drinking water that is not provided by a public water system
• sleeping under the stars with the sounds of the forest
• snorkeling a mountain lake
• plunging into a lake from rock ledges, boulders, & rope swings
• slowing down to focus on the experience when not tethered to technology

See details for the upcoming Summer 2013 Adventure Trip to the Foothills Trail & Lake Jocassee:

• 2013 Summer Adventure Trip

See the travelogue, photos, & videos from a previous summer adventure trip to the Foothills Trail:

• 2011 Summer Adventure Trip

Watch some of our videos:

• Video of lake plunges (make sure you watch the show until the very end)

• Video of boulder jumping

• Video of our fun on the rope swing

• Video of an afternoon of fun on a mountain river

Hear from the students:

• Read student reflections from previous trip