Discovering Nature, Building Community, and Making Memories. Written by Assistant Instructor Sasha Trask.

Day 1 – Get-to-know-you and basic skills!
We started off our first day of the Explore Outside program at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College (DMLK).  After a cool, cloudy morning of games, we headed off to Barr Lake State Park. At the park, Carly led the students in setting up bear bags with a fun treat prize. If a team successfully hung a bear bag, they got the sweet treat of Jolly Ranchers that we put inside the bear bag. It was so fun seeing all the different ideas they had to make the bear bags secure and the different ways of getting them in the trees. Through a lot of team building, communication, and creativity, all of the groups were successful!

After a calm but hot lunch, we took a short hike to the visitor’s center, where we were relieved to be in the air conditioning. We learned about different birds and animals and then gathered to learn about compass navigation, which was a new skill for many of the students. Soon after, we headed back to the van to drive back. Our first day was rough in the sweltering 90-degree heat, but the students of DMLK did absolutely amazing!

Day 2 – Hike and overnight trip prep!
On the second day, we had a few more people! Some of the students had spent Monday helping set up for a Juneteenth event, and we were so glad they could join us on Tuesday. We started our time at Barr Lake with a navigation hike. Students used their compasses to find the bearings of different objects, like the mountains or a different landmark. We also saw the coolest fish! The fish were jumping out of the water and spinning around. We saw catfish and carp, and we watched them on the dock for a while.

The afternoon was spent preparing for the overnight trip. We broke off into groups and prepared meals and a packing list. Then came the fun part, which was learning to set up tents! It’s so cool seeing young people step out of their comfort zones, problem-solve with their teams, and learn something new. It was amazing seeing the campers become more comfortable being outside with each other and begin to feel excited about the overnight trip!

Days 3 and 4 – We made it to the overnight!
After a van ride, we arrived at Camp Patiya –  a lovely campground just outside of Boulder. We used the skills we learned on the second day to set up tents right away in case it got stormy. The campers did an amazing job! The practice really helped! Once we had set up camp and eaten lunch, we went on a scavenger hunt for animal traces like scat, feathers, prints, and more! We even found some fresh bear scat, which the campers recognized by all the berries in it. The students learned how to identify dog tracks versus cat tracks and also how to recognize deer footprints.

After the hike, we split into groups for some chill time. Some people learned to whittle, others collected firewood, and some made bracelets with paracord. For dinner, we had delicious burritos thanks to our incredible team of young outdoor chefs! With s’mores for dessert, it was the perfect meal!

Finally, we ended the trip doing something that the students had been asking for–fishing! On previous days of the trip, the students expressed interest in learning to fish, so we spent our final day fishing at a pond in Boulder. At least four people caught fish! It was so cool seeing the rainbow trout. Overall it was a very successful trip with so much learning and joy, and I’m very glad I got to accompany these students on this journey!

If you are inspired by this program and want to help make it possible again next summer, consider making a donation to Cottonwood Institute today!