What boy who has read Hatchet or My Side of the Mountain hasn’t dreamed of one day going into the woods to live off the land? That dream can become a reality at Night Eagle!

During the summer, after learning how to be comfortable in the woods, small groups of campers may set out with their counselors on survival hikes. Equipped with just their knives and blankets, and wearing only breechclouts, they can have the opportunity to test the skills and knowledge they have acquired while at Night Eagle.

In the rich hardwood forests of the Green Mountains, one of our country’s most diverse communities of plant and animal life, campers will build debris huts, learn to find safe drinking water, make bow drills, and forage for food. Boys won’t have to eat roasted grasshoppers, frog legs, snakes, or plantain, but someday it might be nice to know that they can all be quite tasty!

During the day, the sky will offer its lessons to the group as they learn to identify various cloud formations and predict the weather. At night they’ll view the constellations and discover the significant role stars can play in helping to guide a person to safety. If they are lucky, they will have been able to schedule their trip to coincide with the Perseid meteor shower and will be able to witness an awesome display of "shooting stars."

On survival hikes, campers acquire real skills and an increased awareness of themselves and their environment, and they develop a more positive self-image through an authentic sense of personal accomplishment.