Gnowees: The Gnowees had fantastic week full of games and team building exercises. Two new students joined our group early on in the week and they quickly completed first camp tasks so that they were able to join main camp within a few days. The group bonded over hiking with a handcart, which required cooperation and communication to navigate all the obstacles on the trail. We drew outlines of our bodies on our sleeping mats and filled in all the things we love about our body, and later discussed our negative core beliefs and how they can be made positive. We celebrated the full moon on Friday by letting go of restrictive expectations, and of course howling like coyotes. A Gnowee was honored with a trail name, Loving Warrior. At the end of the week, the group said goodbye some members of the Gnowees left for their goodbye solos, and a staff member finished her last shift.
Dingoes: The Dingoes had a challenging yet rewarding week working through group dynamics. We completed several night hikes under the moonlight and enjoyed watching the sun set over the mountains. A new student was named the group leader and took the responsibility in stride. Another student received his trail name, Intelligent Lightning Bolt, and a staff member received her trail name, Luminous Aspen. The group enjoyed playing with a hacky sack and working towards everyone having a complete fire set. One student had the opportunity to leave the group and go on a family expedition for a few days to spend time having fun with his family and working through different family dynamics. Overall, the Dingoes pushed themselves to work on building positive relationships with others and had a lot of fun along the way!
Ulurus: The Ulurus had a wonderful week. We were able to do a few Trail Name Ceremonies as well as hand out well deserved tokens for wonderful work being done! The students have become very proficient in busting coals for fire and have been working hard to perfect their busting sets. They have been working hard on many other primitive skills as well such as hand carved spoons and bull roars. The students are also doing great work improving communication skills and a willingness to work on personal goals. We were able to spend a lot of time by a beautiful creek which all students enjoyed.
Brumbies: The brumbies started their week off with a change in their logistical leader. This leader has been with the brumbies the longest and plans on finishing out strong with his last few weeks with the group. This leader presented two of our staff with tokens to honor their hard work in the field. The Brumbies also gave one of our husky field dogs a trail name of “Bright Fang”. Two of our Brumbies also received a token of “winged heart” and “strong cord”. At the start of their new week they crossed a canyon and traveled to an open land where they welcomed a new Brumbie student to the group. They worked hard this week with their fire busting culture and everyone in the group worked hard to individually bust their own fire for their week challenge. Their therapist celebrated their weeks effort with a French fry party and the group cooked French fries together while another therapist helper played ukulele and sang songs together.
Pindari: The Pindari spent much of the week learning about how to prepare for reintegration into the real world. Gatherings covered topics such as electronic addictions, how to interact well with others, and how to avoid escapism and confront life’s challenges. The group impressed staff, demonstrating amazing resilience on several challenging hikes and working together to fix each other’s packs. Highlights of the week included a rare blood moon, which lit up the desert in a red glow, a trail name ceremony for one of our newer students, and a token ceremony for Playful Pup, who was given a maker token to commemorate his creativity. In addition, many students enjoyed using their new slings, competing against each other to see how far they could toss rocks. Overall the group had fun and continued to display a positive attitude this week.
