Spring Extra-Day Trips
Students and teachers headed to Zion National Park, Catalina Island, Sequoia National Forest, and more.
Though a number of obstacles faced Thacher’s teachers as they began to plan their spring Extra-Day Trips (vast closures throughout the Los Padres National Forest due to the winter Thomas Fire chief among them), our educators rose to the challenge and offered a particularly wide range of exciting week-long backcountry adventures to our students.
“‘Adapt, improvise, and overcome’ is a common mantra for many units in the United States Marine Corps,” said Bob St. George, director of the Outdoor Program. “I asked the faculty to be equally flexible when planning their spring EDTs. As a result, our creative trip leaders rose to the occasion and offered a wide variety of trips that the students found to be very appealing. Three trips ventured to Zion National Park, one to Grand Canyon National Park, one to the Lost Coast of Northern California, and a community service trip traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to support immigrants.”
Below, a few trip leaders reflect on their excursions.
Michael Mulligan—Patton’s Cabin to Pine Mountain Lodge to Half Moon to Gauge Camp
“Richard Winters, Lulu Patterson, Yao Yin, Jessica Donohue, Clare McCormack, and I enjoyed a magical Mutau Loop. Deep blue skies, tall pines, magnificent vistas, dramatic ledges and boulders, and gentle streams welcomed us. Our horses glistened, blessed by green grass, clear water, and long days traversing the Los Padres mountains and the Sespe River Valley. And we stayed strong by lifting panniers, bareback riding about, and cooking and eating delicious meals. The trip was delightful and comforting, a great ending to my Thacher camping years.”
Molly Perry—U.S.-Mexico Border
“This trip was a bit of a first—a service learning EDT—so we were blazing the trail, so to speak. We spent the first two days of the trip helping out at a community gardening project that benefits local preschoolers who participate in the hot lunch program at their schools. Then we switched our focus to working with Border Angels, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization that supports and assists San Diego’s migrant community. The first day, we made and distributed lunches to day-laborers who gathered outside a local Home Depot. From there, we visited Friendship Park, on the border of San Diego and Tijuana. An eye-opening experience, for sure. On Thursday, we walked a couple of miles into the desert in order to drop water off for migrants who have crossed the border. On our final day, we had the chance to attend a community forum, hosted by Border Angels, about the refugee caravan that recently traveled to San Diego seeking political asylum. We heard from a lawyer who explained the legal issues the refugees face and from two members of the community who had spent the night in Tijuana accompanying the refugees as they awaited news about their asylum status.”
Edgar Arceo—Little Kern Lake
“For this spring EDT, we set out to experience the refreshing waters of the Kern River. With five full days of camping on our agenda, we clocked over 35 miles of hiking and exploring between the Sequoia National Forest and the Golden Trout Wilderness. We fished, swam, played games, and day-hiked all along the river, often setting up camp right on the river bank itself. As one student reflected on our proximity to the water, ‘It made sleeping out in the backcountry particularly soothing and comforting.’ All in all, we had a mixed and wonderful group of campers who each contributed uniquely to an unforgettable experience out on the Kern.”
William Okin—Sespe Hot Springs
“This sojourn into the Sespe was truly magical. The riders demonstrated unpretentious confidence, mutual support, and constant playfulness. We traveled from Half Moon camp, where we set up a world-class highline that must have spanned 100 yards, to the Sespe Hot Springs down the gorgeous Johnston Ridge. We traveled to Willett Hot Springs through fields of ceanothus, Matilija poppies, sticky monkey flowers, and dozens of other flowering beauties. At Patton’s Cabin, we had a chance to relax under the sycamores and the three members of Chamber Singers on the trip treated the rest of us to more than a few songs. We swam at 10 Foot Hole in the afternoon and I read aloud from Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits in the evening. Our last morning, the students were all up early and taking care of business before I had even finished a cup of coffee, so I sat back and watched proudly as they pulled camp together. We were completely packed up, cleaned up, and out of camp by 8:30 a.m., a new record for my horse trips and a full hour ahead of schedule.”
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A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
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