Summer Expedition
We begin by building your outdoor and expeditionary skills at our home base in the foothills of Mount Hood. Train in stealth, archery, and wilderness survival. Pursue the ancient Art of Tracking. Learn old-school outdoor skills like how to use an ax, process animals, and cook your meals outdoors.
Next, we start our journey across the Pacific Northwest. Forage for wild foods on the Oregon Coast. Travel the high desert crafting tools like baskets, bow drills, and obsidian-tipped arrows. Navigate epic landscapes by map and compass. We end our trip with an epic multi-day paddle down the mighty Willamette River.
Experience Goals
Our expert Guides lead action-packed camps filled with hands-on outdoor skills:
- Learn the way of the Tracker! Develop incredible awareness and observation skills.
- Train with the Rangers: Wilderness Survival, Tracking, and Stealth.
- Tend to the land with the Wilders: Farming, Folk Craft, and Gardening.
- Forage with the Mariners: Fishing, Water Craft, and Sustainability.
- Create with the Artisans: Woodworking, Hand Crafts, and Storytelling.
- Become invisible! Sneak through the forest playing games of stealth.
- Journey west, foraging and fishing your way along the Oregon coast.
- Travel the High Desert, learning to make obsidian arrowheads and other crafts.
- Navigate by compass, map, sun and all of nature.
- Build expedition skills: Preparation, Organization, Planning.
- Learn how to care for expeditionary gear, equipment & vehicles.
- Connect with new and old friends while exploring and having fun.
Teams - Exceptional & Self-Directed
Our expectations for all participants in this program are high. As a Tracker and a member of a Trackers Team, you must aspire to exceptional progress. In many activities we trust youth to explore and engage in projects in a self-directed manner. With training, teams are given more operational freedom than in a typical camp program. Together, teams participate in cooking, explore on their own, and set group goals. With greater freedom comes greater responsibility. You do this together in a Trackers Team. Your focus is contribution to each other and community.
Lead Guides
This program is led by Edan Kahane. Growing up in New York, Israel, Indiana, North Carolina, and Massachusetts, Edan is a born explorer. After earning a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, Edan joined Trackers in 2016. He has worked as a Guide, a founding teacher for our micro Forest School, Bay Area Regional Director, and Portland’s Director of Field Operations. Edan is now the Primary Guide and Manager of Trackers Immersion, leading this program’s high-level mentoring curriculum. He is passionate about sharing his years of experience in tracking, wilderness skills, and innovative educational methods in this premier outdoor experience.
Additional Guides are chosen and trained by Edan and Trackers Founders based on extensive experience in outdoor education and youth mentoring. Every guide is thoroughly vetted and background checked.
Overnight Camping
This is real camping! Overnight camps are 100% outdoors and in the fresh air. We camp out under the stars while connecting with friends and nature. Each student has their own tent and we eat all meals outdoors.
Trackers Guides facilitate each camp adventure. They are experienced outdoor educators, well-versed in Trackers and industry standards of safety and care. All Guides are thoroughly background checked and have the required medical training.
Learn More Camping & Meals.
Registration
Scholarship & Discounts A 25% scholarship is available to Teen Staff who work at Trackers.
Overnight
About Overnights
Join us for real camping! Be ready for a rugged outdoor experience. Trackers Overnight Camps are 100% outdoors. We eat all meals outside. There are no bunkhouses or indoor spaces, just a personal tent that each camper has all to themselves. In the right weather, we even sleep out under the stars.
Location Overnight camps take place in fantastic wilderness and rural locations. Parents drop-off at our SE Portland location and Wayfinder, our bus, shuttles students across to key wilderness location across the state for epic adventures.
Tents & Shelters Each camper sleeps in their own personal tent supplied by Trackers. Tents are all-weather to keep out rain or inclement elements for a comfortable and cozy camping shelter. Campers must bring their own sleeping bag and pad—we give equipment recommendations upon registration (see below). Campers learn to care for their own tent and organize their Tracking Kit (gear & clothing) to stay clean, dry, and well maintained. Instructor tents are centrally located, so camper support is easily accessible at all times. All activities take place outdoors, in the fresh air. Covered structures have a maximum of 3 walls, while most are roof-only (no walls). This is an authentic camping experience.
Meals We serve meals completely outdoors. Depending on the season and camp logistics, food may be cooked over an open fire or on personal camp stoves. Meals are simple, using menus common to backpacking or overland expedition kitchens, for example, hearty stews. We make sure campers are well fed for their action-packed activities each day, but please understand that this is not the camp for choosy eaters. Due to the rugged nature of this camp, it may be difficult to provide accommodations for specialized diets. If your child has a severe, systemic food allergy, contact us and we may be able to work with your Medical Doctor (MD) to see if adjustments can be made to meal plans.
Your Tracking Kit (Gear & Clothing) We collaborate with families to outfit your camper with appropriate gear and clothing for the authentic camping of Trackers Overnight Camps. Our goal: to get campers ready while empowering them for future adventures beyond their week at Trackers! The Tracking Kit you assemble will include a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, outdoor clothing, and other personal gear. Before camp begins, we send you packing recommendations with links so you can stock their kit efficiently and cost effectively. A camper’s Tracking Kit can last them through years of future expeditions.
Family Success Meeting In the months before camp, mentoring begins with a free webinar for parents and campers on Trackers Spark, our online learning platform. During this session, you meet our Overnight Camp Director and learn what to expect during your week, how to pack your Tracking Kit, and other tips to prepare for your week of adventure.
COVID-19 Protocols Real outdoor camping is safer! We DO NOT use bunkhouses or indoor areas during Trackers Overnight Camps. We follow essential protocols for distancing and care, requiring vaccinations and performing medical check-ins at camp drop-off and each morning of camp. Campers wear face coverings for social distancing. We eat all meals outdoors, spacing individuals to maintain proper distance between campers. Trackers Earth follows all evolving state and health guidelines, operating camp under their guidance. All programming is outdoors or under open air shelters. Fresh air is a core protocol at Trackers.