Beyond the Classroom: Wilderness Adventures in Waldorf Education

Each fall, our middle school students venture up into the glorious Cascade Mountains on backpacking trips. Our 6th and 7th graders head into our local Cascades, where they can feast on wild blueberries and enjoy magnificent views of Komo Kulshan and beyond. Our 8th graders expand their backpacking into a challenge week, which includes rock climbing and rappelling in Mazama with North Cascades Mountain Guides.

We take our Waldorf middle school students out on these adventures for many reasons. Wilderness backpacking helps a student learn to take care of themselves on a different level: they become empowered by new experiences of independence, and through them build resilience and confidence. The expansiveness of the wilderness gives the possibility for deep inner reflection and new personal discoveries. Wilderness adventures also allow for valuable extensions and experiences relating to our curriculum. Up in the mountains, students can test their knowledge of geology, identify various rocks and see how the land has been shaped without man-made structures in the way. Opportunities to view alpine plants, animals, and mushrooms abound. Meteorological understanding becomes paramount! 

Another profound value of these trips is social growth. Students take on the challenge as a class, and support and encourage each other.  When one student struggles, another is always there to help them out. Students bond together in a special way during these wilderness field trips, echoed by the way in which our alumni speak about their own transformations and experiences on these trips. A shooting star in a truly dark sky, whistling marmots tumbling through rock fields, cooling off in a mountain stream, or rappelling down a rock face with classmates cheering you on are experiences few will ever forget.