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Cottonwood Gulch Expeditions

Knowledge through Wilderness Adventure

2008 Prairie Trek Expedition

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Boys, 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.

This 36-day group adventure begins with a 10-day expedition to one of the most spectacular parts of the Southwest. After arriving in Albuquerque and meeting their group leader and staff instructors, the boys of the Prairie Trek will head west towards the mountains, rivers and canyons of Utah.

On their first 10-day wilderness expedition, the group will travel into the spectacular canyons and red rocks of the Navajo and Hopi lands. After dayhiking into remote canyons to see hidden ruins like Keet Seel and enjoying the spectacular vistas of Monument Valley, the group will spend 2-3 days living out of their backpacks on Cedar Mesa in southern Utah. The staff instructors will help the Trekkers live and play in the wilderness responsibly. Each day the Trekkers will continue to build a more complete understanding of the Southwest’s complex cultures. Spending these days and nights on the Hopi and Navajo reservations, camping with our host families, and participating in a sweat ceremony will certainly be highlights for the journey. By the end of their first loop the Prairie Trek will have pushed themselves harder than they had once imagined possible. They will have grown into a tightly-knit team.

The Prairie Trek will travel to Cottonwood Gulch’s Base Camp on July 8, where they will meet up with the other expeditions. This rendezvous day will be a chance to tell stories with their fellow Trekkers in the Turquoise Trail, Outfit, Wild Country Trek, and Mountain Desert Trek expeditions before the groups depart on their second “loop” into the backcountry.

The PT will journey northward for their next 10-day adventure exploring the alpine environment of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. While there, the PT will delve into the area’s long and fascinating cultural history, starting with the ancient ruins at Bandelier National Monument and continuing with the contemporary pueblos of northern New Mexico. Putting their new wilderness skills to the test, the group will set off into the backcountry for a challenging 3-5 day backpacking trip. Living together in the alpine backcountry is an intense and amazing experience, which they will share in small groups with their instructors. While there the Prairie Trek will be continuing their group 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 the Prairie Trek projects changes each summer but it always reflects the individuality of the boys in the group.

The Prairie Trek’s exploration of the Southwest will conclude with a 10-day sojourn at Cottonwood Gulch in the Zuni Mountains of New Mexico. After a second rendezvous day on July 20, the group will settle into the cabins and routines of Base Camp. Located on 540 remote acres, Cottonwood Gulch’s nature preserve is the ideal place for the Trekkers to try new things and develop a deeper appreciation for nature. At Base Camp, they 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 nearby canyon, studying a riparian ecosystem along 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 day rappelling a 100-foot canyon wall.

The other groups return for a third rendezvous day on August 1 and these last few days will be spent seeing nearby Gallup, the trading post capital of the Navajo Reservation, and preparing for a final banquet. Their final night will be spent around the campfire at the Gulch, sleeping under the stars, laughing and reflecting on their adventures together.

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