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Lessons Beyond the Gates
Witnessing a backcountry rescue helped put things in perspective for Shawnigan students on a Beyond the Gates expedition two weeks ago.
On the first night of their hiking trek into the mountains west of Courtenay, the students watched as three helicopters searched for and then rescued a pair of students from another school who ventured into the wilderness woefully underprepared.
“It gave our students a different understanding of it,” Outdoor Education Coordinator Ms. Jessica Dick observed. “It helped them understand the risks of being unprepared in the backcountry.”
The teachers and instructors who coordinate Shawnigan’s Beyond the Gates programs go to great lengths to make sure the students have the proper training and equipment to go on these excursions. They also waste no time in getting Beyond the Gates under way. All Grade 9s take part in the program throughout the year, beginning with backcountry hiking and kayaking expeditions over two weekends in September.
The first hiking group – the one that watched the helicopter rescue – summitted Mount Albert Edward, the sixth-highest mountain on Vancouver Island at 2,093m (6,867 feet). They gained a staggering 1,100m of elevation over just six kilometres. The group included several students who grew up on the Island and had skied nearby Mount Washington many times, but were stunned by the beauty of the rugged wilderness just on the other side of that peak. One student told Ms. Dick, “I hate to tell you this, but this is the best day of my life.”
The second weekend was colder than the first, dropping down to -2 Celsius at night, but staying sunny and dry during the day. That group also travelled to the mountains west of Courtenay, then split in two on the first day, half hiking to Circlet Lake and the other to Lake Helen Mackenzie. The next day, they all went to the awe-inspiring Cruikshank Canyon Lookout.
On a beautiful day, with visibility up and down the canyon, the students expressed their gratitude, using one word to describe their feelings in that moment. The responses ranged from “transformative” and “serene” to “adventure,” “grateful,” and “perspective.”
“Those words were very powerful for the kids,” Ms. Dick said. “We talked about how gratitude can play a role in life and attitude.”
While half the students were experiencing the backcountry, the other half were kayaking in the Salish Sea, from Canoe Bay near the Swartz Bay ferry terminal to Portland Island, where they hiked and camped overnight. On the first week, the group had to paddle back in dense fog, a new experience for most of them that involved a different kind of communication than they were used to and responding to their instructors. The kayakers were lucky to have Grade 11 student Moira P. along for the trip; an exceptional kayaker from the adventure sports program, she volunteered at the last minute to join the trips.
Over the two weekends, the BTG coordinators took 83 students into the Vancouver Island outdoors to kick off the program. It will be integrated into the Grade 9 curriculum throughout the year, culminating with the Week Without Walls in June, when all Grade 9s will participate in their choice from a handful of different week-long activities.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 12 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
