Summer 2020 Schedule Change: The Last Day of Our Two-Week Sessions is FRIDAY
Especially for our returning families, we want to make sure you saw that our two-week session schedule has changed this year. All our regular two-week sessions (1, 2, 3 and 4) continue to start on Sunday but now end on FRIDAY in 2020. Our staff work hard, so we’re making this adjustment to provide two days off between sessions for our staff to stay fresh and excited about camp all summer long!
Explorer Registration is Now Open!
The schedule is up for our back country program and we’re now taking reservations! The program is in its 4th season and we’re offering just 4 weeks this summer with space for just 9 Explorers in each week. (All Explorer Sessions start on a Sunday and end on a Saturday).
- Explorer 1: June 28-July 4*
- Explorer 2: July 12-July 18*
- Explorer 3: July 26 – August 1*
- Explorer 4: August 9-August 15
Why the reduction in the number of weeks? As we’ve mentioned before, we’re picky about who we hire. And so far this year we’ve found enough staff who meet our tough criteria to staff just the 4 weeks above.
*TRANSPORTATION NOTE: Although we have our regular chartered bus service available TO CAMP on arrival day, we have NO BUS SERVICE back to the Bay Area on the closing day of Explorer Sessions 1, 2 and 3. We can still, however, provide transportation to the Reno airport. (The last day for each of these 3 sessions lands in the middle of a regular two-week camp session. Chartered private transportation is cost-prohibitive since the max number of riders would be fewer than 9 Explorers.) Don’t hesitate to write to bridget@highsierracamp.com or to call us at 415-897-0316 with questions.
Want to Combine Our Overnight Summer Camp Program and Explorer?
If your camper is excited about experiencing all the fun activities of our two-week overnight summer camp program and the wonders of a week in the backcountry in our Explorer program for a total of a 3-week stay, the following session combinations are available:
- Session 1 plus Explorer 1 (June 14-July 3)
- Session 2 plus Explorer 2 (June 28-July 17)
- Session 3 plus Explorer 3 (July 12-July 31)
- Session 4 plus Explorer 4 (July 26-August 14)
Camper-In-Leadership-Training Program (CILT)!
As you may recall, we surveyed parents last fall to get feedback on either expanding the Camper-In-Leadership-Training (CILT) Program or keeping it the same. The proposal was whether we should add 3 days before the normal start of a session during which participants would go through extended leadership training exploring themes such as communication, problem-solving, and self-management. This would also give all involved the opportunity to form deeper bonds within the group while enjoying some fun backcountry activities. The response was overwhelmingly in favor of extending the CILT Program.
So here’s how it will be structured.
Eligibility requirements:
- Returning campers only.
- Campers must be ages 14-17 by the time their CILT session starts.
- After a parent submits a summer camp application for the session of your choice, we’ll send a link to the CILT application for your camper to complete. (Decisions can typically be made within a few days.)
- The applicant must have a desire to spend time in the backcountry prior to the start of the regular summer camp session. We also look for enthusiasm, maturity, and a desire to be a positive role model for younger campers.
An important note: CILT participants will still have plenty of opportunity to have fun with summer camp activities throughout the session, just as other campers do. They’ll have CILT responsibilities daily but we don’t treat our CILTs as volunteer staff. Our CILT Director manages the program and our participant-to-CILT Leader ratio is small, allowing our staff to spend enough time mentoring CILTS and giving feedback.
We’re pleased to offer four CILT sessions this summer. (Each session is limited to 9 participants.)
- CILT Session 1: Friday, June 12 – Friday, June 26 (CILT 1 + Session 1)
- CILT Session 2: Friday, June 26 – Friday, July 10 (CILT 2 + Session 2)
- CILT Session 3: Friday, July 10 – Friday, July 24 (CILT 3 + Session 3)
- CILT Session 4: Friday, July 24 – Friday, August 7 (CILT 4 + Session 4)
If your camper is interested in applying, you can submit an initial application here.