Overland SUMMER PROGRAMS FOR 4TH - 12TH GRADERS
open to grades 10-12 On the Alaska Leadership Course, Overland’s experienced leaders offer on-the-trail instruction on what it means to lead, not just in the outdoors, but in any setting. Over the course of four weeks, students will learn new backcountry skills, ice climb the Matanuska glacier and earn Wilderness First Aid certification, all while enjoying the spectacular Alaskan landscape.
We’ll start with an exploration of the tundra and lakes of the Talkeetna Mountains for the first of our two backpacking trips. This portion of the course will focus on acquiring the hard skills necessary for outdoor leadership: backcountry safety, navigation and Leave No Trace practices. Following this first hike, we’ll spend three days with guides learning to ice climb on the Matanuska Glacier. We’ll then head north to Talkeetna where we’ll spend two days earning Wilderness First Aid certification.
Our second backpacking trip begins in the Chugach Mountains, where we’ll focus on learning how to lead a group and how to work with a co-leader. Each student will co-lead the group for a day, putting planning, navigation and leadership skills to the test, all while under the careful supervision of the Overland leaders. At the end of the course, we’ll return to Anchorage to celebrate our time together. As we say goodbye to our group and the Alaskan wilderness, we will take with us a newfound understanding of what it means to be a leader.
"I loved everything: the students, the leaders, the backcountry, the WFA course, ice climbing, Alaska. It was perfect." Helen Head, Cincinnati, Ohio
For students completing grades 10-12 in June 2012
Multiple sections are grouped by grades. The group is limited to 10 students.
Call us (413-458-9672) to check on current availability
9 (1-10, 1 is easiest)
Starts and ends in Anchorage, Alaska
12 nights of backcountry camping: five nights in the Talkeetna Mountains and seven nights in the Chugach Mountains.
13 nights of frontcountry camping with a range of facilities; some have outhouses while others have flush toilets, showers and laundry facilities.
Two nights in a hostel in Anchorage at trip start and end. These are dormitory style accommodations with showers and laundry available. Rooms are divided by gender.
4 Weeks
Sunday, June 24 to Saturday, July 21
$4995 (airfare not included)
“Our leaders were enthusiastic and caring. They rule." Seongjoon Hong, Ann Arbor, Michigan
We'll meet in Anchorage and spend our first couple of days getting to know one another and preparing for our backcountry hiking. We’ll check over our gear, learn how to pack our backpacks, shop for food and explore the majestic Chugach Mountains on day hikes.
From Anchorage, we’ll head into the Talkeetna Mountains for the first of two backpacking trips. We’ll hike through valleys and over passes across the Alaskan tundra and camp at remote lakes. This portion of the trip will focus on acquiring the hard and soft skills necessary for leadership as Overland's leaders guide students through interactive seminars. We’ll learn Leave No Trace ethics, bear safety, map and compass skills and other essential backcountry skills. Averaging 6-7 miles per day on the trail, our days will be long and full as we learn and practice new skills.
Following our first backcountry, we’ll spend three days ice-climbing and learning about glacier safety on the beautiful Matanuska Glacier. Our Alaska Mountaineering School instructors (www.climbalaska.org) will guide us as we learn how to travel across glaciers; we’ll don helmets, crampons and ice axes, as we develop the techniques needed to walk in a rope team and read a glacier. In addition to basic ice-climbing skills, we'll learn to tie knots and rappel on the glacier.
After ice climbing, we’ll head north to Talkeetna, a small town that will serve as our base for our Wilderness First Aid course. Under the guidance of a SafetyEd instructor (www.safetyed.net), we’ll spend two days learning how to manage first aid emergencies in the backcountry. During this 16-hour course, we’ll learn first aid techniques imperative for backcountry travel and work through scenarios to help us implement what we have learned in the classroom. Upon successful completion of the course, we'll each receive Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification from SafetyEd.
From Talkeetna we’ll head to the rugged Chugach Mountains to take on a seven-day backcountry hike, over more challenging terrain. Averaging 5-6 miles per day, we'll hike up braided riverbeds, over passes, along ridges covered with soft tundra and through fields of blueberry bushes and fireweed. We'll once again dedicate time each day to learning new skills--this time we’ll focus on some of the subtler aspects of leading: how to develop a personal leadership style, cultivate successful group dynamics and foster a good co-leader relationship. For the last few days of this backcountry section, each student will co-lead the group for a day, putting planning, navigation and leadership skills to the test all while under the careful supervision of their Overland leaders. This is a great opportunity to see what it's like to lead a group within a comfortable, supportive atmosphere; you will see different leadership styles in action and learn not only from your Overland leaders, but also from your peers.
At trip's end, we’ll head back to Anchorage to celebrate our month of leadership training and summer adventure in the great Alaskan wilderness--a trip with value and resonance that extend far beyond the boundaries of a single summer!
“Our leaders were the best leaders I have ever had. Amazing." William Sargent, West Hartford, Connecticut
Here is a description of Alaska Leadership Course from one of Overland’s Logistics Coordinators:
“Alaska is like no other place in the lower 48. When you arrive in Anchorage and see the Chugach Mountains just outside of the city, rising 5,000 feet directly from the ocean, you know that you are entering a backpacker’s dream. At times, you’ll be only a few miles from the main road, but as you look up at glacier-draped peaks, jagged ridges, valleys of tundra and fireweed…you’ll feel like you’re the first person to ever lay eyes on this magnificent terrain. Alaska is the perfect location for a leadership training course; the variety of terrain and the challenges you’ll face throughout your month together will prepare you for almost anything. Your days will be spent on the trail, practicing new skills and working with your group to learn how to work within and lead a successful group. Days will be long and challenging, but you will come away with an array of new skills and an unforgettable month of hiking in the most amazing and pristine wilderness you’ll ever set foot in.”
“Connor loved the trip. He came back happy and safe.” Patricia Farren, Chappaqua, New York
Your trip will be significantly more enjoyable if you have a good level of fitness and well-broken-in boots. We cannot overemphasize the importance of well-broken-in boots. There have been students who have had to leave their trips because of blisters from boots that were not well broken in. The training table below is designed to help you properly break in your boots and develop a solid fitness base.
Five weeks before your trip: Wear your boots for 15-30 minutes a day to walk around your house or neighborhood so your boots will begin to conform to your feet.
Four weeks before your trip: Take three 30-minute hikes or walks in your boots.
Three weeks before your trip: Take three 60-minute hikes or walks in your boots.
Two weeks before your trip: Take three 1-hour hikes or walks in your boots with a backpack loaded with 10% of your body weight.
One week before your trip start: Take two 2-hour hikes or walks in your boots with a backpack loaded with 15-20% of your body weight.
Participants must be prepared for long days on the trail hiking with full backpacks. Groups wake early, hit the trail right after breakfast and hike with breaks until at least mid-afternoon. The terrain is challenging—with long, steep uphill sections, rocky descents and possibly some hiking on snow (depending on the trip) and inclement weather can add a further challenge. Experience among participants will vary but no previous hiking or backpacking experience is required.
Please note the following important policies:
Our programs offer the opportunity to strengthen independence and self-reliance. To maximize these benefits, we do not permit phone calls to or from our students (except in the case of emergency).
If it is important for your son or daughter to be able to call you while en route to Overland, we recommend that you purchase an inexpensive phone card that your son or daughter can use at any airport pay phone.
If you feel that it is necessary to send your son or daughter with a phone, please do not send an expensive smart phone like an iPhone or BlackBerry. Send an inexpensive prepaid cell phone instead. On arrival we will collect all phones but we have found that safeguarding these phones is problematic given that our programs move from place to place. Despite our best efforts over $25,000 in phones have been lost, damaged or stolen in the last two years alone. We regret that due to the expense involved in replacing these items, we take absolutely no responsibility whatsoever for phones, electronics or personal property brought by students and we will not make any reimbursements for lost, damaged or stolen phones, electronics or personal property.
Communications
Cell Phones
Personal Electronics
Personal Property
No Reimbursements for Lost, Damaged or Stolen Phone, Electronics and Personal Property
Questions or concerns? Please call us. Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.
Families are responsible for making travel arrangements to and from Anchorage, Alaska. Overland’s leaders will be on hand at the airport to provide supervision and assistance at trip start and end.
DROP OFF: Anchorage Intl Airport (ANC) South Terminal Baggage Claim 2:00 p.m. Sunday
PICK UP: Anchorage Intl Airport (ANC) South Terminal Check-In Area 9:00 a.m. Saturday
FLIGHT ARRIVAL: Anchorage Intl Airport (ANC) between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Sunday
FLIGHT DEPARTURE: Anchorage Intl Airport (ANC) between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Saturday
Any other special cases, please call Overland to coordinate, if you have not done so already.
During the trip, students may receive mail sent to the below addresses.
Mail Notes:
1) On the lower left corner of the envelope, please write: "Please hold for Overland."
2) Mail sent to General Delivery addresses can only be sent via the USPS.
Alaska Leadership Course A
Mail Stop #1 – must arrive before July 3rd
Student’s Name, Overland/AKL A
General Delivery
500 South Cobb Street
Palmer, AK 99645-9998
Mail Stop #2 – must arrive before July 20th
Student’s Name, Overland/AKL A
c/o Spenard Hostel
2845 W. 42nd Ave
Anchorage, AK, 99517
You have two choices. You can apply online with a credit card by clicking the link below.
Or you can download the 2012 Overland Application as a PDF (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Then mail your completed one-page application and $795 deposit check to:
Overland
P.O. Box 31
Williamstown, MA 01267
For overnight mail via UPS or FedEx, please use our street address:
Overland
63 Spring Street
Williamstown, MA 01267
Applications are reviewed in the order in which they arrive at our office and we cannot hold spots over the phone.
Dave Clark-Barol is from Falmouth, Massachusetts, and graduated from Middlebury College in 2011 with a degree in environmental studies and Spanish. At Middlebury, Dave was the recipient of an Academic Outreach Endowment to conduct thesis research in Guatemala. For three semesters, Dave was named a College Scholar which is the highest recognition for academic achievement at Middlebury. He was also on the Middlebury College Snow Bowl Ski Patrol, the Environmental Council, and he volunteered at the Charter House, which is Middlebury's temporary transitional housing shelter. In his spare time, Dave likes to telemark ski, rock climb and play the cello. Currently, Dave is living in Leadville, Colorado, and he is a Spanish Apprentice at the High Mountain Institute. He has been rock climbing and loving life out West. A veteran Overland hiking leader who returned in 2011 for his fourth consecutive summer, Dave led New England Explorer in 2008, Yellowstone Teton Explorer in 2009, European Explorer in 2010, and in 2011, he led Alaska Leadership Course. Dave loves working for Overland and writes about his 2011 summer, "I loved leading the Alaska Leadership course because I saw so much personal growth in the students. They learned how to be leaders not only in the backcountry, but perhaps more importantly, in their home, schools and on their sports teams as well. The trip brought us to some of the most remote and beautiful places in the world. I feel so lucky to have been a part of it. "
Overland P.O. Box 31 Williamstown, MA 01267 | 413.458.9672 | Fax: 413.458.5208 | info@overlandsummers.com
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Overland Programs offers more than 40 different trips including New England summer camps and adventures for kids (4th graders, 5th graders and 6th graders), hiking trips for teens, teen bike trips in Europe and America, teen summer service programs, writing programs on the Williams college campus and field studies trips in the developing world. Overland has summer adventure trips and programs of all types, lengths, and locations. Our teen adventure travel trips and programs are for elementary school students, middle school students and high school students. We have wilderness adventures, bike adventures cross-country, and outdoor leadership programs spread across five continents. Overland is not simply a summer-long experience—it's a life experience with value and resonance that extends far beyond the boundaries of a single summer.
Bright, charismatic and accomplished, our leaders ensure the safety and well-being of every Overland student. We recruit our leaders from America's finest colleges and universities, meeting with hundreds of campus leaders across the the country—an effort that generates over 450 applications for just 80 new leadership positions. No other organization of our kind invests the resources that we do to put together the finest summer leadership staff possible.
Overland, also known as Overland Summers, Overland Programs, Overland Travel, and even as Overland Adventures, is proud to have ACA accredited summer programs which are held to the highest safety standards. Overland is not a teen tour or a typical summer camp, our trips and programs are carefully crafted and designed to challenge our students, who are always in small groups of no more than 12 students with superlative leadership.
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