Course Dates
July 6-16 or July 14-24, 2010
Unable to attend the field course? Enroll in our
curriculum only option.
Students enroll in the fall, and they receive and begin their at-home coursework at the start of the spring semester. After studying the provided material at home for a semester, the group will go to Lake Clark National Park for nine days. In the field we apply all the concepts learned at home. We camp and backpack in this beautiful wilderness while learning about the ecology of Lake Clark National Park and gaining experience in outdoor leadership.
This field course is 12 days long. The first day is spent picking up students from the airport and getting everyone situated in Anchorage. On days one and two, students will take part in a safety orientation, gear training, teambuilding and packing backpacks. On day three, we board a chartered float plane and fly from Anchorage and land on a beautiful, turquoise-colored lake in Lake Clark National Park & Preserve.
We will have the fortune to backpack in a pristine wilderness. Throughout the nine days we are in the backcountry there, we will find our own route cross country since there are no trails there, and often you have the good luck to not see anyone else!
Our backpacking route is a trek across beautiful, high tundra hills between stunning Turquoise Lake and Twin Lakes in the Alaska Range. Located above treeline, it offers great backpacking in the tundra. We have roughly 15 miles to cover. With 4 days to cover this route, we hopefully will have the time to take fun side field courses to spots that look interesting to the group.
Our backpacking also includes 3 days exploring east up the glacial valley that feeds Turquoise Lake. This is breathtaking landscape with many glaciers and mountains that rise 7,000 feet above us in steep walls.
As we go we will incorporate presentations given by students and lessons given by instructors. For example, during a lunch break, a student may give a presentation on the Mulchatna caribou herd's migration through the Lake Clark area. In the evening after dinner an instructor may lead a map reading lesson. At a hiking break we may do a team building activity. Throughout the field course we also take advantage of all the teachable moments that make this an exciting, hands-on, real-life classroom like observing caribou, identifying an interesting plant, creating a new backcountry recipe or allowing the student-leader to facilitate the group decision on where to set up camp.
There are also many lessons built into the structure of the course. Each day, under the supervision of the instructors, two students are leaders responsible for our schedule, group decisions, group welfare, our route and more. We believe in empowering the students with the information and then giving them the opportunity to master leadership skills, outdoor skills and naturalist skills by actually doing them. Woven into the format of the course, we model and teach values such as teamwork, trust, honesty, integrity, respect, and friendship.
After 9 days in the backcountry, a chartered float plane will meet us to fly back to Anchorage. We will spend the last night in Anchorage cleaning up the gear and reliving the experience. The next morning, students will be picked up by parents or brought to the airport to fly home.
“We have home schooled our kids for over 20 years now. In that process I have constantly looked for school alternatives. I have never found a program that so adequately handles these important issues (acceptance, tolerance and cooperation) with young people.”
- Parent, LC '05, Chilkoot '04, Baja '06, Spanish Immersion '05
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