First job as a youth backpacking leader! Any tips?

[AidanDawn2000]

Hi all!
I’m a 24 year old with 24 years of camping experience and about 6 of wilderness backpacking.
I just landed a job as a youth backpacking leader/guide at a summer camp in the Yosemite area and could not be more stoked.

Has anyone done this before and could throw in some words of wisdom?

I am very confident in my safety training, planning, technical abilities and judgement but would like to know more about how to convey the magic of backpacking to a group of twelve 10-14 year olds. How to foster group bonding? How to show the fun side of physical effort?
What are some likely challenges to the group dynamics at this age range? How to have teaching moments without sounding preachy?

Thanks!

[Wandering Daisy]

I certainly hope they do not just send you out by yourself with a bunch of kids! Are experienced other adults going with you? How many kids? How many adults? Are the adults trained to deal with youth? How many days? What specific training are they going to give you? You could be in a great situation or a situation ripe for liability. Does someone on the trip have advanced first aid? My husband teaches archery to kids- he had to go through on-line training on accepted "behavior" for teachers. He can only teach with another adult present.

Fun or not, safety is the number one concern. I do not mean to throw cold water on your enthusiasm but be sure the organization hiring you has your back. If not already well informed about the organization you are working for, do some research on their reputation.

Assuming all is well on the organizational side of things, I did similar work as course leader for NOLS. I did a junior course with 13-16 year olds with two other well-trained instructors, 15 kids. On one end you will have to get some over-energized enthusiastic kids to be serious about safety. On the other end you will have to be temporary parent to teary homesick kids and encourage them to be more self-sufficient. We had 30 days to work with the kids; I doubt you will have more than a week. With that little time, the most important thing is that they like you. If so, they generally will follow you to the ends of the earth. Be sure you do not take them farther than they can safely go. Kids under 16 have little or no sense of risk. Your own enthusiasm will probably be contagious to most. If you get to choose tent partners, put the more experienced with the least. If your group is co-ed, put girls together and boys together - not having anything to do with hanky panky, but so everyone learns the same and do not fall into girl-boy stereotypes or roles. Let the stronger carry more, the little kids less. Keep the group together. Nobody will be enthusiastic or have fun if they are tired, hungry, thirsty or hurt. If that happens, stop and solve the problem- eat a snack, have a drink, bandage a blister. Be genuine- neither anxious nor fake smiley. Kids can spot a fake a mile off. A lot of group enthusiasm is pure luck- some groups just click, others need a lot of gentle pushing towards better group dynamics. Remember that the group as a whole gets no farther than its weakest member. Kids nowadays are used to being on sports teams. Use this analogy if needed. You are a team, not competitive, but with a group goal to reach point A, stay safe, make everyone feel accepted, help the less capable without making them feel bad. We also had a "rule", limited talk about self and no talk about politics or religion. There will be plenty to talk about at the end of the day- the wilderness, leave no trace, flowers and animals seen, etc.

But then, the kids I worked with never had I-phones, social media, computer games. That presents an entirely new set of issues. Personally, I would not allow any electronic gadgets. You probably will not have any control over that since those who hired you make that policy.

Good luck!

[balzaccom]

Lots and lots of advice.

1. Who plans the trips? In most groups of kids, you'll find one or two who have backpacking experience, and are willing to tackle longer hikes and more challenging terrain. But some of the other kids will wilt on that same itinerary. With that in mind, I always plan a three day trip as a base camp trip. First day, we hike in and set up camp. Second day we can explore--climb a nearby peak, take a hike around the lake, practice some off trail navigation, climb to a snowfield and have a snowball fight, etc. Third day, we hike out.

2. Check the packs before they start out. You don't have to empty them all, just heft them to see who is carrying the most weight, and maybe talk with them about what they can leave behind. Nothing kills the joy of a trip more than a single hiker who can't manage with his/her pack over the distance. And the time to fix that situation is before you leave the trailhead. You may have to take on a few things in your own pack. Just saying. You can share communal items, like stoves, water filters, first aid kits, but be aware that if the group splits up for any reason, each party needs to have the basics in their gear.

3. Assign tasks and share duties for everything: setting up camp, filtering water, cooking, digging a latrine (you'll need this for larger groupts like yours) etc. When you do this, try pair the least experienced hiker with an experienced one, so they can help each other out. And your job is to make sure nobody suffers too much. If it were a scout group, I would start this with meal planning before you buy your food, and ask each "team" to decide on a menu and cook it for the group. Do the same with after dinner entertainment: one night could be ghost stories, one night could be riddles or campfire songs, bring a book to read out loud, etc. Again, plan this in advance, so the kids have a certain amount of time to think about it. Some kind of talent show/skits can work, too. So can sharing: best food ever, best hike ever, weirdest thing I ever ate, craziest thing I ever saw, etc. All of these give the kids a chance to express themselves as people. That's a good thing.

4. I assume, if you've been picked for this job, that you know about trail etiquette. It's a good idea to run through this with the group before you start. That means everything from who has the right of way on trails (horses over people, uphill over downhill, etc.) and how to stick together. I've never liked the idea that the slowest hiker should lead the group. Sure, that keeps you together, but it also means that every other hiker is not only frustrated, but frustrated by someone in the group. Let faster hikers hike faster, but stop at every stream crossing, trail junction, and pass or peak. where they wait for everyone else. In any group large than about four or five there should be two leaders--one with the front group and one walking sweep, to make sure that nobody gets left behind. And it's a good idea to let them know that other hikers might not love being right next to a crowd of kids, so keep voices low, and try to pick campsites away from other people. And please don't let them make any cairns along the way.

5. Making it fun? Bring a few ideas that you want to share each night around the fire. If you don't know your constellations, learn a few, and the stories that go with them. Help the kids learn to identify a few trees, birds, fish, etc.--things that they can go home and tell their parents about with pride. If you're in a region that allows fires, making a fire with a single match is one of these skills they will love to boast about. Teach them a couple of funny songs to sing, or a few jokes to tell when they get home.

6. DO NOT SKIMP ON BUG JUICE. The gallon size is your best bet :^)

7. Keep them all talking. The kid to worry about is not the one who is complaining, The kid to worry about is the one who isn't talking. Find a quiet way to ask them how they are doing. They may not want to share with the whole group, but if they are miserable, you want to know about it before it becomes so bad they burst into tears. This is particularly true of issues regarding packs and shoes. They won't complain about either until they can't move. You want to know about blisters before they become blisters. I always schedule a stop after hiking about 15-20 minutes, and call it "adjustment time." Time to fix the pack, relace your shoes, etc.

8. Bathroom. On the trail, girls go uphill, boys go downhill. And if you leave the trail FOR ANY REASON, leave you pack clearly visible in the middle of the trail, so nobody gets left behind for an emergency bathroom break. In camp, put the TP on the handle of the shovel, and lean it on a tree. If the shovel is gone, the latrine is in use. Dig the latrine for camp as a long trench, and then back fill as it is used. TP goes in a garbage bag near the latrine, and gets carried out. This is your job as leader.

9. Call for regular breaks, if stream crossings and junctions don't happen every half an hour, so that you can remind everyone to drink. They won't want to, because they won't want to admit they have to pee. Make them do both.

10. You and your co-leader should talk about what to do in an emergency--who goes for help, who stays with the injured hiker? What does the rest of the group do in the meantime? What kinds of injuries are manageable and allow you to continue, which ones are trip killers? Who carries the emergency beacon and the first aid kit? Talk through these ideas long before you hit the trail.

Let me know if you want more...

[balzaccom]

Daisy makes a great point about electronics! Although they may want to use their phones as cameras...

I'm glad I didn't have to worry about this when I did it!

And I forgot that I always made the kids do the navigation--they had to read the map, show me where we were, and where we had to go next. Given the technology of today, I would print each kid their own map, and let them mark it up as we hiked along. Great training for so many different reasons.

[AidanDawn2000]

Thanks you two! Great info that I will review more than once in the lead up to June.

The structure is me as the backpacking “expert” with two other 21-25yo camp counselors who have more limited backpacking experience and are primarily there to deal with the kids.

But I am in charge and the point of authority about technical stuff and would be the only one with advanced first aid training (NOLs WFR)

[Harlen]

Hello Aidan, (who I am lucky enough to know as a friend)
Congratulations on your position. I'm sure you will shine at this- you've got the character, and all the right skills.

As you know, I did some of this work, taking what was then called "troubled youth" out into the State Parks, and also into the Sierra. One point I'll make, as a wildlife guy:

Be sure to teach them early on, about the value of the wild animals. Remind them that they are in the home of the native animals, and that we must respect them. I once had the shocking experience of having to watch, and then stop some of our group (late teenage youth) from trying to kill Belding Ground Squirrels with rocks! What we realized was that these formerly tough-life, inner-city youths had grown up around rats, and that every rat should be killed. They were totally unaware of the rights of wild animals.

On the other hand, with other groups, we had the experience of having kids get so excited about the animals- in this case it was frogs and lizards- that they wanted to take them home with them, and were sneaking these animals into their pockets!

Good luck Aidan; I look forward to hearing how this goes for you. Good luck, Ian.

[Wandering Daisy]

This age group can vary in size and strength considerably. Keep the pack weights about 25% of body weight. It depends on their bone development. You may want to talk to a pediatrician about safe weights kids of various ages can carry. The adults or larger kids may have to take all the group gear and even some of the smaller kids' stuff. Be strict about excess unneeded gear. I was lucky in that all our students were outfitted by NOLS. It would be worthwhile to have a scale so you can weigh the packs and kids. I think it is difficult to simply pick up a pack and decide if it is OK for any specific kid.

Assuming relatively short trips, you can them take 8 oz or so personal stuff that is not necessarily needed. With your teen girls, it may not be worth the ill feelings of saying no to their "beauty products". I think there is even make-up that acts as sunscreen. I would hope your organization sends information to the kids and parents so they can choose appropriate gear if you are not providing it.

Also let them dress in fun clothes, as long as the clothes do the job of keeping them warm. I have run into PCT hikers wearing tutus, kilts, and all sorts of fun personal clothing. Flashy bandanas can also be used as first-aid if needed. Nothing wrong with hilarious sunglasses. Be sure jewelry is safe in outdoor settings. Wild colored socks do not get lost.

[FrankPS]

Hi all!
I’m a 24 year old with 24 years of camping experience

Are you counting the years that your parents took you (as an infant) as experience?

[AidanDawn2000]

[quote=AidanDawn2000 post_id=183132 time=<a href="tel:1712263408">1712263408</a> user_id=39322]
Hi all!
I’m a 24 year old with 24 years of camping experience

Are you counting the years that your parents took you (as an infant) as experience?
[/quote]


Yes!

[Flamingo]

Hey @AidanDawn2000, it sounds like a great experience, both for you and the youth

+1 to previous advice, especially from Wandering Daisy and balzaccom.

1. In my experience leading scout groups, the outdoor bathroom situation can be entirely new (and scary) for some youth this age. I've known some kids to hold it in; they avoid having a bowel movement for several days, and then feel sick. Watch out for this situation.

2. Be on the lookout for bullying. I've led several youth trips where one kid is a bit slower at hiking, struggles with their gear, or feels homesick... and the other kids tease them for it. If this dynamic emerges, it's a fast recipe for that one kid to have a terrible experience. If you sense any indication that bullying is emerging in the group, your job as trip leader is to proactively shut that down.

3. For group bonding, end the day with the "rose and thorn" activity: everyone sits in a circle, and says their favorite moment from the day (the rose), and their least favorite (the thorn). I suggest doing this as the very last thing in the day, then go to bed. In my experience, this activity resets the group energy back to baseline. Also, in the event your after-dinner entertainment became too rambunctious, this activity helps everyone settle down.

4. Leader in the Back: I agree with balzaccom that putting the "slowest in front" isn't necessarily a good idea. But I will suggest that you always put an adult leader in the VERY BACK. Walking at the back of group can feel lonely, especially if you're the slowest hiker and struggling. If an adult leader is in the very back, then you prevent anyone from feeling like. . . they're being left behind.

5. Here's 3 more ideas for after-dinner entertainment (in addition to suggestions already mentioned). . .

- Wilderness Fashion Show: use your existing clothes, gear, and found materials (wolf lichen, leaves, branches, etc.) to make a new look. Some kids love to ham it up and walk the runway. Use your backpack as a hat? ...hilarious. Use lichen to make a fake beard? ...hilarious.

- Awards Ceremony: on the last night of the trip, announce special awards. Make sure everyone gets a title. "Fastest Hiker", "Best at making s'mores", "Best at telling knock-knock jokes", "Earliest riser in the morning", etc. Improvise awards and titles based on the group in-jokes and situations that occur during the trip.

- Charades. You'll need paper/pen. Put all the prompts into the bear canister.

Best of luck!