Outdoor Program Spotlight: Grand Gulch

With spring comes… spring trips! We have gone a full two years without being able to have kids experience the deserts of southern Utah or Western Idaho and we are grateful that we are able to have our last leg of Outdoor Programs up and running. Grand Gulch, our 8th grade trip, gives students their first experience in the desert and  dips their toes into what Upper School trips will be like. Because our last year's 8th grade class, now our 9th grade class, was unable to go to the desert, the Outdoor Program is running the trip for both grades. Why is this trip so important to the students? “Grand Gulch is a capstone trip at CS.” Celeste, who is the trip leader for both the 9th and 8th grade trip this year, remarks about the trip. “For the eighth graders, it is an opportunity to step into leadership roles and develop their backcountry skills. It is the longest backcountry middle school trip. The skills that are developed over this five day backpacking trip are revisited on coast sophomore year.  For the ninth graders, GG was an opportunity to “make up” the capstone trip along with the leadership and backcountry skill set.”  We are so thankful for the Outdoor Program to continuously provide our students with these wonderful experiences that help to take our school beyond its walls.