Wilderness Self-Discovery Camps

The goal of CMR wilderness programs is to instill a practice of social responsibility and self-governance in an environment outside of one's daily context. The natural resources provided by our Gila Wilderness are the ideal setting for youth that have behavioral issues. Participants must manage all their own supplies and work together to achieve a comfortable existence while backpacking and camping in the wilderness. The intensity of these programs involves the dismantling of unproductive patterns and behaviors and stretching beyond comfort zones to discover self-confidence, trust in others, and previously untapped potentials.

Taking 8-10 kids into the Gila with 4-5 facilitators, relying on packed-in food and supplies, teaches life-lessons like responsibility for self and others, self-sufficiency, reliance on the group and appreciation for nature. Blessed as we are with the amazing Gila Wilderness just outside town, we love utilizing therapeutic and life-skills training methods in a setting that inspires awe and creates a sense of “something totally different.” When we step outside our daily lives and into a magnificent surrounding, deep change can happen more easily and quickly.