Camp Chrysalis

Trip length

10 days

Ages

10 - 16

Dates

Monday, July 1 – Wednesday, July 10

Fees

$1900

Our Mendocino session places us at a large group site at MacKerricher State Park, an ecological wonderland, a short distance from spectacular headlands and sandy beaches. We investigate the local plants around our camp and rise before dawn to explore the rich inter-tidal invertebrate and algal life of the wonders: sea urchins, abalone, nudibranchs, and many species of sea stars.

We hike the coastal terraces of Jughandle Preserve up to a pigmy forest, where ancient, fully mature trees are shorter than some campers and also hike up a canyon blanketed by ferns to put our heads under a waterfall. We spend time in solitude watching the sunset over the ocean, play games like “Shoes in the Sand” at our local beach and visit the edge of the spectacular landscape of sand dunes at the Ten Mile River beach. We paddle five miles up the tidal estuary of Big River in catamarans to have lunch and jump off a rope swing keeping our eyes out for river otters and herons on the journey. This year, we will be on the Fort Bragg headlands watching fireworks explode over Noyo Harbor for July 4.

Woodworking, creating jewelry, sewing leather bags, and starting fires with flint and steel and bow drills highlight our base camp activities. Due to the ecological abundance of the area, our Mendocino session frequently allows us to enjoy the local foods: seaweed salad and thimbleberry and red huckleberry cobblers. We never know what new dishes campers and staff will create!