Wilderness Adventure

Camp trips can be the ultimate
learning experience for teens.

SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

IAT hen Tama-
rack's travel
campers plan
for a trip to
Alaska or the western states,
they sign up to explore distant
terrain. Along the way, they
discover more about them-
selves.
That's how it was for many
teen-agers last summer as indi-
vidual groups of about 20
shared a bus that took them to
scenic destinations and out-
door adventures.
The Alaska trekkers plied
their pioneer-inspired skills at

Kenai Fjords National
Park, Denali National Park and
Marmot Meadows, while the
western travelers went to
Rocky Mountain National Park
in Colorado, Arches National
Park in Utah, Sawtooth Na-
tional Recreation Area in Idaho
and Yellowstone National Park
in Wyoming.
Each group got to hike,
climb mountains, go white wa-
ter rafting and experience
what it means to prepare food
in the wilds. For several days at
a time, they had to forego crea-
ture comforts — like showers

— in areas near some of na-
ture's less-than-friendly crea-
tures.
"I learned a lot about what I
could do," said Rachel Luria,
16, an Alaska tripper and now
an llth-grader at Andover
High School. "I found out I
could do anything if I put my
mind to it.
"The best experience was
the Chilkoot Trail. The moun-
tain hiking seemed never-end-
ing, but when we got to the
top, there was such an amaz-
ing feeling of accomplishment.
I was able to overcome my fear

Above: Michael Flam, Jason Klein and Alana Zaks pose by an Alaskan stream.
Left: Tripping takes many forms.

of thinking I couldn't do it."
Rachel, who had tackled the
outdoors at Tamarack's Camp
Kennedy in Michigan's Upper
Peninsula, believes her sense
of personal growth was shared
with her tour companions.
"The biggest surprise was
the difference in the group by
the end of the trip," she said.
"We started out in small
cliques, but by the end we felt
like a family. Everyone put
aside differences and support-
ed and respected each other."

Julie Zimmerman, 16, a
10th-grader at Berkley High
School who traveled out West
with Tamarack this past sum-
mer, had been at Tamarack's
outpost camp and knew the
importance of embarking with
an open mind and an attitude
that stressed teamwork.
"Because we were with a
lot of people in a little space,
we had to learn more about
working with others," said
Julie, who developed her own

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