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Cottonwood Gulch Expeditions

Knowledge through Wilderness Adventure

2008 Turquoise Trail Expedition

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Girls, ages 13-15
10-20 members
June 28 - August 3
Tuition $3,275
Highlights: 20 days traveling the southwest’s most rugged and wild places, 10 days at Base Camp developing projects, 3- and 5- day backpacking trips, rock climbing, environmental service, exploring ancient ruins, and a canoe trip through a canyon.

The Turquoise Trail’s exploration of the Southwest will begin with a 10-day sojourn at Cottonwood Gulch in the Zuni Mountains of New Mexico. Located on 540 remote acres, Cottonwood Gulch’s nature preserve is the ideal place for the Trekkers to get to know each other and the high desert landscape around them. At Base Camp, Trekkers will choose their activities every day from several projects led by Base Camp instructors in natural history, the arts, and archaeology. Options to choose from include rock climbing in a near-by canyon, studying the riparian ecosystem along our own Sawyer Creek, silversmithing or weaving in the Native Arts Workshop, and analyzing original artifacts from the Gulch’s own archaeological archives. One day you may be piecing together an 800-year-old ceramic pot and the next rappelling a 100-foot canyon wall.

On July 8, the Turquoise Trail will help host Cottonwood Gulch’s first rendezvous day, when the other expeditions return from their wilderness loops. The arrival of the other groups will be long-anticipated and the girls will surely have some surprises waiting for their fellow Trekkers on the Prairie Trek, Wild Country Trek, and Mountain Desert Trek.

Each TTer, whether a beginning or intermediate Trekker, will build her strength and her backcountry skills on progressively more challenging trips, including climbing the La Sal mountains near Moab and paddling the Green River on a 3-day canoe trip. These explorations will take the TT to remote ruins like Canyon de Chelly and the expansive ridgelines of Cedar Mesa in Utah. Along the way, the group will start their investigations into the landscape. They will look at the science behind the beautiful scenery and the history behind the rich cultures of the Southwest. They will explore canyons and ruins accessible only by foot or paddle. The Turquoise Trail will meet every challenge together. Each TTer will soon find herself a trusted member of the group. By the end of their second 10-day loop, the Turquoise Trail will be a closely-knit team.

After a one-day stop at Base Camp to re-supply and to see the other groups on July 20, the Turquoise Trail will head out again on their second wilderness loop. This time the TT will travel into the heart of the Gila Wilderness Area. All the Trekkers will build their backcountry skills on progressively more challenging hiking and backpacking days, exploring the area around Mogollon Baldy Peak. These trips will take the group deep into the oldest designated wilderness in the United States, exploring its alpine meadows and mountain peaks. The backpacks will present new challenges for the entire group to face as they live together in the backcountry. While in the backcountry the Turquoise Trail will be continuing their projects to investigate the land. The historians and cartographers in the group may be making interpretive maps of the region, the ornithologists and herpetologists may be identifying wildlife populations for the field guide, and musicians and anthropologists may be recording songs and interviews for a group CD. The nature of these projects changes each summer but they always reflect the individual interests and talents of the girls.

The Turquoise Trail will return to Base Camp for their final days of group fun. They will have a last chance to spend time with each other and with their friends of the Outfit, Prairie Trek, Wild Country Trek, and the Mountain Desert Trek. On August 2, after 5 weeks of living in the wilderness, they will spend their last night around the campfire, sleeping under the stars and reflecting on their adventures together.

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