Angevine Middle School students headed up for a weekend at Cheley Outpost for their second CAP trip of the semester. They set out with the goals of exploring the outdoors and having a good time. Upon arrival, students found a slightly chilly, but beautiful day, and they headed down to explore their campsite options. Two groups chose to set their tents up close together so they could connect them into a tent house, while the third group chose a quieter spot to the side of the lean-to.

Once tents were assembled, gear was distributed, and camp was organized, it was time for lunch. During lunch, students discussed what they were hoping to do on the trip, ranging from relaxing to learning more about starting a fire and cooking camp food. After lunch, the group went hiking up to a viewpoint a few miles away, with plenty of stops along the way for sit spots, exploration, and, of course, some snacks. Students also spent part of the hike on a solo walk, where they could walk individually along the trail, with plenty of space between themselves and the person in front of them or behind them. Near the top of the trail, students broke into two groups, with one group heading up to the viewpoint, and another staying back to explore a mountain meadow.

After the groups rejoined, we headed back down to camp. After the hike, students practiced their fire skills with one match fire bundles before making dinner. Some worked as individuals, while others worked in groups to get their bundles lit. Each bundle was eventually successfully lit, and students learned a lot about fire mechanics through their process of trial and error. Towards the end of one match fire bundles, we began making dinner.

Dinner was almost entirely cooked by the students, with supervision by Sarah, the CAP teacher from Angevine. They made a delicious meal of burritos, meeting their goal of improving their cooking skills. Towards the end of dinner, the temperature started dropping, and students worked hard to keep themselves warm with hot tea, lots of layers, and socializing by the fire with smores. After smores, some students went with an instructor to stargaze, while other students decided to call it a night to play cards and hang out in the tent.

In the morning, we woke to gusty winds, and packing up camp was a challenge. Luckily, after breakfast, the winds calmed down, and students were able to play a long game of camouflage with plenty of fox-walking practice. Throughout camouflage, students took turns leading the round, testing their skills at mediating who had been found or caught by the person in the middle. After camouflage, we headed back to camp for lunch, and to finish cleaning up the campsite. The students finished up the trip with a concentric circles debrief, in which students paired up to talk about their favorite moments, some things that challenged them, and one thing they appreciated about someone else in the group. After our debrief, we headed home.

The Community Adventure Program at Angevine Middle School is made possible in part by a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) through the Nature Kids/Jovenes de la Naturalez program. Click here to learn more!

Thank you to Cheley for their continued partnership!

Written by Field Instructor Jessi Burg