POLARIS 2 - WEEK 1

Welcome to POLARIS! We are so excited to have you all with us for this absolutely incredible week of fun, camping and learning.

We started our week off with packing up our gear and loading onto the bus for the ride up to our site for this year Pioneer Lodge.

Tuesday was a time for us to familiarize ourselves with the camp and its surroundings. We also got to practice our wilderness survival, essentials and safety. Bear safety was a big point of discussion as we want to be able to know how to handle an encounter with both a black bear and grizzly bear. We also got to practice spraying our counsellors with pretend bear spray! That evening we joined overnight in their soggy but still enjoyable campfire, and headed to bed ready for the days ahead.

Wednesday we really jumped into our activities starting with knot tying and then moving onto fire starting and navigation. Being able to tie strong knots is a vital component in many wilderness survival skills, as well as being able to start your own fire for warmth/cooking. Afterwards we learnt how to use a map and compass and went on a scavenger hunt using our new skills to help us find marked spots.

Thursday we learnt the importance of trail safety, water filtration and the principles of leave no trace. We found out the length of time it takes for items to biodegrade, and worked on making bear hangs so our food doesn’t get swiped in the night! After this we packed our bags and began the hike to our campsite for the night!

Friday we hiked back from our camp site and began to pack up for the journey home to Calgary. It has been a fantastic week with many great laughs, memories and skills learnt.

What does next week have in store for us? Make sure to check back here to find out!