Unalayee’s unique location in the heart of the Trinity Alps Wilderness, and within walking distance of the Russian and Marble Mountain Wildernesses, makes it the perfect trailhead to a backpacking adventure. Our wilderness summer camp is surrounded by pinnacles and peaks, hundreds of high-altitude lakes, ribbons of rivers, limestone caverns and caves, meadows brimming with wildflowers, and tangles of trails begging for exploration.
“The best part of Camp was backpacking and having the experience of being outdoors and waking up to the sky. It was so beautiful.”
-Camper, Age 13, Santa Cruz, CA
Each session, Unalayee offers multiple Trail Programs that provide extended backpacking trips into this remarkable landscape. All of our trail programs incorporate some level of wilderness survival skills and may include 24-hour solos or cross-country terrain.
Trail Programs are recommended for campers age 12 and above. However they are open to younger campers in great physical condition with previous backpacking experience.
- Traditional Unalayee Trail Programs
These trips are a wilderness adventure for campers who want to stretch their legs and explore lots of back country. These programs start at Unalayee’s base camp with itinerary planning, food packing and gearing up. They return to base camp with enough time for campers to enjoy activities, campfires and some well-earned hearty meals before heading home. Campers spend 11 consecutive days of the 15-day session in the back country.
The itineraries of each trip are determined session by session depending on the backpacking experience and desires of the campers on each trip. Campers get the chance to help plan the itineraries for the trip they will go on. In each session there will be one trail program that focuses on longer distances and seeing more destinations and one that covers less distance and focuses more on lakes and creeks nearer to the Unalayee Basin.
Trail program campers focus on learning to do without the trappings of civilization and immersing oneself in the wilderness. Activities may include multiple layover days for a 24-hour solo, map & compass work, or summiting a peak. Trail program campers are rewarded with amazing vistas, crystalline lakes and nights filled with shooting stars. Trail program campers should be in good physical condition and expect to grow physically.
What do I bring? Equipment List for Trail Programs
- Summit to Summit
In 2016 Unalayee introduced a new 15-day backpacking adventure and it was a huge success! Campers who choose our Summit to Summit program will head into the backcountry directly from the drop off at Scott Mountain Summit and return directly to the same pick-up. This program will allow campers to get the most immersive wilderness experience possible and make even stronger connections with their group.
Click here to learn more about the Summit to Summit Program!
- Special Programs
Neither Trinity Trek nor Girls Getaway will be offered in the upcoming year. We will keep you updated in future summers!
The Trinity Trek (formerly “Walkabout”) is the ultimate backcountry expedition for campers who want a long, immersive experience in the wilderness. Trinity Trek is a thirty (or more) day program, with most of those days spent out on the trail.
Along the way, Trek campers enjoy activities like swimming, peak-bagging and fishing. They also learn all the skills needed to thrive in the mountains: route-finding, shelter-building, stalking and wild food gathering, and much more. Trek campers must be in excellent physical condition and have previous backpacking experience. Trinity Trek is a challenging quest of self-discovery, a truly epic wilderness experience.
Girls Getaway is structured like our other Trail Programs, but it’s designed for girls only. Unalayee is dedicated to empowering today’s girls to grow into successful independent women. We’ve found that the experience of living in the wilderness – this means carrying everything you need to survive on your own back as well as using your own feet to take you everywhere you need to go – builds confidence in young girls like nothing else. Not to mention spending the summer with a group of awesome strong girls is inspiring and really fun!
Girls Getaway is open to all ages and levels of backpacking experience. The aim is to show girls that they are capable of thriving in and enjoying a rugged (and beautiful) backcountry setting for eleven-days with other girls like themselves.