July Newsletter: Summer time, feelin' fine

Trip Spotlight: Blowin’ in the Wind River Range

This summer a group of 12 participants took on a new challenge for Coombs Outdoors: an epic 8-day backpacking trip in the Wind River Range. The adventure started with a night base camping at New Fork Lake, where they ate burrito bowls, got caught up on the latest chisme (gossip), taught each other new friendship bracelet designs, and showed off their favorite Coombs Outdoors stickers from Sticker Mule.

These kids started with us when they were little elementary schoolers and are now in late middle school or early high school, making them some of our longest running participants. It’s been so silly and impressive to watch them grow up through various phases and emerge as strong, confident leaders who don’t bat an eye at carrying a heavy pack up and over one of the coolest mountain ranges in the world.

Check out this incredible “day in the life” video of their trip made by a longstanding participant, Camila.

Camila, a rising 8th grader, has been part of Coombs programs since she was in elementary school. Over the past few years, Camila has participated in many Coombs activities: summer camps, the Coombs Club ski mentorship program, climbing club, mountain bike club, after school workshops, and more. Although she always enjoyed being outside, Camila was often hesitant about trying new things and less than enthusiastic about leaving her phone behind to go on hiking trips.

This spring, Camila elected to go on the most difficult backpacking trip of the summer, which included 7 nights in the Wind River Range. She was the youngest participant on the trip, but was undeterred by the challenge ahead. While the trip was intense, Camila’s positive attitude had an impressive impact on the entire group. She was often overheard telling her fellow participants and instructors “don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay” in moments of stress. She went swimming every day after the hikes, and even taught other group members how to dive. Camila volunteered to create a “day in the life” video of her experience on the trip. We are so proud of how confident Camila has become, and we can’t wait to watch her continue to grow and take on new responsibilities through Coombs programs!

Summer Adventures are the Best!

With summer flying by, I hope you’re enjoying this special time of year as much as we are. It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through our summer programs for over 275 participants, with more than 75 kids adventuring with us every week.

With summer school’s significant drop in capacity this year, we expanded our summer camp programs by 2 groups per week or over 1,000 camper days. This was only possible due to generous funding from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole and a big lift from our amazing staff. We were proud to be one of 3 organizations able to help fill this gap in services for our families. You can read more about the community effort in this article from the Jackson Hole News & Guide.

Once again this is our biggest summer yet, with doubled Activate elementary school camp capacity and a wider variety of adventures for middle and high schoolers. We hired a record 13 summer instructors, 7 of whom are former Coombs Outdoors participants now in a position of leadership and representation for younger kids.

We’re so proud to be able to offer more and updated opportunities for local youth to try new things, get comfortable in the outdoors, and build skills that can help them overcome challenges on the trail and in life.

Thanks again for being a friend of Coombs, whether that’s joining us at an event, volunteering at our bike or climbing clubs, or donating to support our programs. By helping us create access to the activities that make Jackson special, you are making a difference in our community and in the lives of over 450 kids.

Activate Summer Camp

Activate day camp is bigger and more action-packed than ever. 145 participants in grades K-5 are attending up to three weeks each of camp this summer.

So far this summer, our elementary school participants have explored Grand Teton National Park, made arts & crafts with the Art Association, paddleboarded at R Park, tried fishing, visited the Jackson Hole Children’s Museum, played in local parks, cooked with Slow Food in the Tetons, played disc golf, visited the National Museum of Wildlife Art, met cats at the Animal Adoption Center, ridden strider bikes from Friends of Pathways, learned about hydrology with Protect Our Waters JH, played ukulele with the Grand Teton Music Festival, gone rock climbing with Exum Mountain Guides, rafted the Snake River with Dave Hansen and Snake River Fund, taken swimming lessons with Jackson Hole Swimming, and more!

Engage Summer Adventures

This summer’s Engage programs are an exciting mosaic of opportunities for middle and high schoolers to pursue their interests, challenge themselves, and spend time outside with peers and mentors. 107 participants are backpacking with us and also have the opportunity to attend outdoor clubs during day camps or evening sessions, keeping them engaged, active, off of screens, and having fun.

Kids entering grades 6-7 get their feet wet on shorter 2-night backpacking trips to Leigh Lake in Grand Teton National Park and Firehole Meadows in Yellowstone. We were thrilled to see some of our older middle schoolers step up as volunteer leaders on these trips and help show our newer backpackers the ropes.

This year we wanted to offer our more experienced Engage participants opportunities to explore new terrain and push themselves farther with longer backpacking trips. These more challenging adventures include 3-night trips in the Tetons, 5-day trips to Black Canyon in Yellowstone, an 8-day trip in the Wind River Range, and 8-day trips backpacking and sea kayaking in Yellowstone partnering with Wilderness Adventures. These trips keep our older participants engaged with our programs and excited to keep exploring and progressing their outdoor skills.

We were also excited to begin offering other program options for our middle schoolers such as swimming lessons and specialty day camps. We’re calling this new program structure “Club Weeks,” giving kids the opportunity to sign up for full days of biking, climbing, paddling, or hiking in addition to the backpacking trips we offer. We also continue to offer our “aftercamp” evening clubs for climbing and biking with staff and volunteers. Growing all of these specialty skillbuilding opportunities from last year’s 50 spots to this year’s 90 spots helps us move toward our goal of providing participants with ways to increase confidence, experience the same activities as their peers, connect to Jackson’s outdoor community, pursue their individual interests, and build more advanced outdoor skills.

Empower Summer Internships

After a successful and fun training week including a campout and rafting trip, 11 interns are enjoying their experiences so far this summer through our Empower program. This season’s internships are with Stio, Hole Food Rescue, the Nature Conservancy, Teton Physical Therapy, REI, and Coombs Outdoors. A highlight this summer is seeing our interns take on roles at Coombs including Activate instructor, lifeguard, Engage backpacking co-leader, gear manager, and club instructor. This has been an exciting way for them to see different parts of summer at Coombs, learn a variety of skills, and become positive role models for younger participants.