School Camping Trips

Twice a year Running River creates camping trips that foster community, vivid nature experiences, responsibility, skill building and plain old fun!

Every fall, the oldest class go on a four day camping trip. In September of 2004 we went on a canoe trip down the Gunnison River. Many parents came with us, and our supply laden canoes traveled 35 miles of beautiful river through desert canyons. We struggled against winds, through rapids and over sand bars. We hiked into empty canyons containing ancient petraglyphs. We cooked and ate delicious meals and shared in the chores. We sang and told stories around nightly campfires, and saw billions of shimmering stars on clear nights.

In September 2005 we went on a four day trip to Crestone, Colorado. We camped in the Sangre de Cristo foothills and hiked into the mountains. We visited the Colorado Sand Dunes for a day, climbed the dunes and battled a wind storm. We visited a few of Crestone’s Spiritual Shrines, in preparation for our unit of study on World Religions. We shared cooking, cleaning and organizing, teaching children basic outdoor skills. We survived rain and wind and cold and still had a great trip. On our way home we stopped at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs to soak, swim, play and get REALLY clean (to the delight of all the parents).

Every Spring the entire school, and all the families, camp at Rocky Mountain National Park for three days. This great “village event” is a way to complete our year all together by being in nature. We hike, play games, tell stories, play instruments and sing. and look at the stars through large telescopes we bring along. We have braved rain, snow, wind, heat and cold, and we ALWAYS have fun being together. We have done Greek Dancing, had the best s’more contests, gone fishing, viewed herds of elk and mountain goats and found skeletons of elk. We have perfected the art of cooking, with all the parents and kids pitching in to create delicious meals.