Days on the Trail, River, Mountain with Camp Kanuga's Trailblazer Adventure

Days on the Trail, River, Mountains

There's only one way to find out where the path leads...

The Appalachian Mountains, among the oldest on Earth, offer miles of beautiful, interesting and challenging trails. The Trailblazer Adventurer route will take them through a variety of environments, one day along a spectacular ridgeline, the next following a shade cooled stream. On a given day the trail may rise from an elevation of 1,300 or so feet to more than 5,900.

Trailblazer sessions A and B are limited to 16 participants. For the trail, they are divided into two groups of eight, each with two instructors. To practice good trail ethics, the groups remain separate during the expedition.

Trailblazer Session C is limited to eight participants for the traditional adventure and eight participants for the new Pack & Paddle adventure. Each group also will have two instructors.

The group will share the woods and trail with animals in their mountain habitats and will learn about native plants and the history/geology of the Appalachians, possibly the world’s oldest mountain range.

Days will be sunny—and rainy. Trailblazer Adventurers will learn to enjoy and survive both!

Rock Climbing

Along the trail the groups will climb and rappel at one of various sites chosen by the staff for the degree of challenge and sense of accomplishment each offers. Kanuga’s Adventure Coordinator joins the groups for the principal climbing days.

White Water Rafting

A full day of rafting on North Carolina’s most challenging river, the Nolichucky, comes at the end of the trail. The section of the river all Trailblazers travel through is the steepest gorge in the southeast U.S. and has Class III and IV action.

At Trail's End

Successful Trailblazer Adventurers receive a certificate of merit, a coveted patch and the satisfaction of having completed a rigorous and challenging adventure. They will have made enduring friendships, the result of having lived and worked together in such close cooperation.

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