Range of Light Wilderness Immersion Program June 15 - July 6

The Range of Light Wilderness Immersion Program is a three-week long experiential education program that begins at Thacher's Golden Trout Wilderness School in the southern Sierra Nevada, and then transitions to fifteen days in the backcountry of Sequoia National Park and the Inyo National Forest. The first five days of the program are centered on getting participants prepared for an extended wilderness excursion by providing them with a course in wilderness first aid, a primer in Sierra Nevada natural history, and a series of local day hikes to help students acclimate to the high altitudes at which most of the course transpires. Once their initial training is complete, students are assigned individual roles within the group as a focus of their studies in the field, and to offer the opportunity for participants to act as teachers to their peers. The roles – Poet, Historian, Naturalist, Artist, Mountaineer, Tracker, Astronomer, and Skeptic – each offer a distinct vantage into understanding the complexities of nature and the human relationship with it and are supported by a vast array of texts loaded onto role-specific Kindles which the students carry throughout the expedition. With their training complete and roles assigned, the group then walks from GTWS into the vast and stunning Sequoia National Park. 

List of 4 frequently asked questions.

  • What does the program offer?

    The first week on the trail is full of opportunities to read, write, draw, and adventure as the students set out to explore the headwaters of the Kern River. Daily mileage is minimal, allowing ample time to hone the students' skills of nature observation and cultivated curiosity-adhering to one of the program's fundamental conceits, "You don't have to go far to go deep." Surrounded by granite spires exceeding 14,000 feet in height, through a landscape bejewelled with crystalline lakes and vast alpine plateaus, the program centers its focus on depth of inquiry over distances and destinations. 

    At the end of this initial week in the field, the group is resupplied at a predetermined point by packstock, and the students participate in a monitored 48 hour solo where they have time to be alone with the wild world, while resting, reading, and relaxing. 

  • What skills will they learn?

    Wilderness skills such as orienteering and navigation, campsite selection and cooking are coupled with opportunities for solitude, reflection, and intellectual examination.

  • What are the tuition and gear costs? Is financial aid available?

    The cost is $3200 for the three week program with full and partial scholarships available. Students are provided with transportation to and from the Thacher School in Ojai, CA although we also can facilitate travel from both Reno, NV and Los Angeles, the nearest major airports. Students will need their own personal camping gear, but the program provides all group gear (tents, stoves, etc.) as well as learning materials and Kindles, journals, drawing kits and other program necessities. All inquiries should be directed to Cam Spaulding, Head of Outdoor Programs at The Thacher School and Program Director of the Golden Trout Wilderness School. Interested students will be asked to fill out a short application and spots on the program are limited to seven students.

  • What does the second week offer?

    At the end of this initial week in the field, the group is resupplied at a predetermined point by packstock, and the students participate in a monitored 48 hour solo where they have time to be alone with the wild world, while resting, reading, and reflecting.   
     
    After the solos, the group reconvenes, nominates each other for new roles, and then has the opportunity to set their own course back to Golden Trout with another week on the trail. In this final week, the students take the lead, and are offered the opportunity to find their own way home with their instructors now taking a back seat. Hot springs, mountain summits, trout-filled lakes, and vast ancient forests all find themselves on the students' menu of choices. 
     
    The trip then culminates back at the Golden Trout Wilderness School with a final night of graduation and celebration, including a pizza party and hot showers for all. 
A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
5025 Thacher Road
Ojai, California, 93023
Tel: 805-646-4377 Fax: 805-646-9490 Email: info@thacher.org 
Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.