Trip
Shenandoah Appalachian Trail Trek, Monday, October 4 to Friday, October 8, 2027
Group
20 tenth-grade students and four chaperones, one adult for every five students; on the Trail, two walking parties of thirteen, each with a guide and two school adults
Program
The outdoor education program and the American studies unit on the Appalachians
On foot
23.3 miles over four walking days and 4,744 feet of climb: Stony Man, Hawksbill at 4,051 feet, Dark Hollow Falls, and Rapidan Camp, with an optional rock scramble at Bearfence on Thursday afternoon
Travel
One motorcoach: about 215 road miles to the park on Monday and about 230 home on Friday, with the coach on Skyline Drive all week and meeting each walking party at the named road crossings
Lodging
Two nights at Skyland and two at Big Meadows Lodge, both inside the national park on Skyline Drive
School
Horizon Ridge School of Philadelphia

The documents

Approving the trip

Telling families

Preparing the leader and chaperones

Deciding each day's route and turnaround

Connecting the trip to learning

Improving next year's trip

Other worked trips

The west front of the U.S. Capitol seen across the lawn from the National Mall.City · Washington, DCWashington, DCHorizon Ridge School of ClevelandSee the documents →The crater lake at Poás Volcano National Park, a turquoise pool in a gray basin with forest on the slope above.Service · Central AmericaCosta RicaHorizon Ridge School of ClevelandSee the documents →The dome of Florence Cathedral and Giotto's bell tower above the rooftops of Florence, with hills behind.Culture · EuropeItalyHorizon Ridge School of ClevelandSee the documents →Map of the four-day route from Lafayette Place in Franconia Notch past Greenleaf, Galehead, and Zealand Falls huts to Crawford Depot, each day drawn in alternating blue and brick.Outdoor · New HampshireWhite MountainsTideline SchoolSee the documents →Map of the five paddling days on Casco Bay, from the launch at East End Beach in Portland to the camps on Little Chebeague Island and Jewell Island, and back.Outdoor · Maine coastCasco BayTideline SchoolSee the documents →Individual Trip Reports →