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Home > Education Adventures
Education Adventures in San Juan Mountains
Ten Weeks of Outdoor Learning with Instructors and Gudy Gaskill. Offered by The Colorado Trail Foundation.
Each of these week long classes is a real educational opportunity. The classes are rewarding and fun. Sessions are taught by professional instructors and hosted by Gudy Gaskill, the program leader. They take place in an incredible mountain setting near Lake City, Colorado, at the CTF Education Center. Course credits are available for some of the sessions.
2009 SCHEDULE
Click on a class name below to view course description:
-Work Crew 1
-Work Crew 2
-Kids' Natural World
-Colorado Mountain Club Hiking Week 1
-Colorado Mountain Club Hiking Week 2
-Artist Retreat OR Painting Nature Outdoors (Oil & Watercolor)
-Birds and Wildflowers
-Geology of the San Juans
-Plein Air Watercolor
-Clmbing Some of the HIghest Peaks
Work Crew 1
6/13–6/19
Help ready the Education Facility, clean up & set up. No cost. –
Phone Gudy at (303) 526-2721.
This first week is not a class, but a chance to volunteer and help ready the education facility for the summer class season. There is no cost. All meals will be provided, an especially good thing because Gudy's such a good cook. This effort is limited to just a few energetic souls that wish to work at the elevation of 10,800 feet and assist Gudy with all the set-up chores and readying the cabin for the summer. Gudy Gaskill is the Mother of The Colorado Trail - she coordinates this week in its entirety - so if you're interested please phone her at (303) 526-2721.
Work Crew 2
6/20–6/27
Help improve the Education Facility, build a shower and storage shed. No cost. – Phone Gudy (303) 526-2721.
This week is not a class, but an opportunity to volunteer and help improve the education facility. There is no cost. All meals will be provided and Gudy’s a good cook. This effort is limited to energetic souls that wish to work at the elevation of 10,800 feet and assist Gudy with building a shower and storage shed. Gudy Gaskill is the Mother of The Colorado Trail - she coordinates this week in its entirety - so if you're interested please phone her at (303) 526-2721.
Kids' Natural World
6/28–7/4
Ages 6 to 11 with parent or grandparent, hike, fish, crafts, wildlife, nature studies, survival, animal tracks and exploring.
Parents or grandparents accompany their youngsters for mountain fun and learning. Teaching and activities are oriented to the kids and include hiking, fishing, crafts, wildlife, nature studies, survival, animal tracks and exploring. Adults can choose to stay with the young ones each day, or concentrate on separate crafts and outings provided for the grownups.
Everyone has a great time and returns with special memories. This class is a great way of teaching our children to become stewards of our Colorado backcountry.
Instructor: Polly Gaskill - Polly has a degree in child psychology. This will be her fifth year teaching at the CTF educational facility. She relates well to children and gives them her undivided attention. She is an assistant teacher, an outdoor enthusiast, and an old hand at children's activities. For more information on this class, email pollygaskill@yahoo.com.
Colorado Mountain Club Hiking - Week 1
7/5–7/11
Hike the peaks including nearby 14ers. Register with Janet (303) 933-3066 or wildjc@juno.com.
Participants will hike some of the most spectacular mountains in the San Juan Mountains. Nearby 14ers include Handies, Redcloud, Sunshine, Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre Peaks, and there are loads of 13ers too. This week of hiking and peak climbing is offered in partnership with the Colorado Mountain Club. A reduced fee applies. Janet Farrar, stalwart volunteer of both the CTF and CMC, will coordinate the registration and arrangements. Phone her for details at (303) 933-3066 or email her at wildjc@juno.com.
Colorado Mountain Club Hiking - Week 2
7/12–7/18
Hike the peaks including nearby 14ers. Register with Janet (303) 933-3066 or wildjc@juno.com.
Because this class is so popular, we offer a second week.
Participants will hike some of the most spectacular mountains in Colorado. Nearby 14ers include Handies, Redcloud, Sunshine, Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre Peaks, and there are loads of 13ers too. This week of hiking and peak climbing is offered in partnership with the Colorado Mountain Club. A reduced fee applies. Janet Farrar, stalwart volunteer of both the CTF and CMC, will coordinate the registration and arrangements. Phone her for details at (303) 933-3066 or email her at wildjc@juno.com.
Artist Retreat OR Painting Nature Outdoors (Oil & Watercolor)
7/19–7/25
ARTIST RETREAT: For experienced painters who wish to spend the week on their own in a visually inspiring place, here is your opportunity. Imagine having a week in the high Colorado Rockies with little else to do but paint! High mountain peaks, verdant stream valleys, beaver ponds, creaky ghost town buildings, and wildlife and wildflowers galore are here to pique one’s imagination. CTF provides the base camp and meals (you will be asked to help clean dishes occasionally) and you are free to create. It doesn’t get any better than this!
OUTDOOR PAINTING in Oil or Watercolor: At the same time, for those who are in the Outdoor Painting class, there will be daily field trips to picturesque sites with individual instruction in color, focal point, and composition. Learn techniques of capturing high altitude color, plus secrets of washes, sketches, and shadows. This class is for beginning, intermediate and advanced students, with individual critiques daily. The week will include a Friday evening review and exhibit of all class paintings.
Instructor: Dr. George Callison - George has paintings in many galleries and has an eye for nature and nature's shape, color and form. He will provide careful critiques and hands-on demonstrations. Visit www.georgecallison.com.
George adds this:
"Hello,
I and The Colorado Trail Foundation thank you for taking our outdoor painting workshop. Painting is an enterprise that is greatly rewarded by informed practice. By selecting this course, you have taken an important step in the process of becoming a better painter. Painting from nature outdoors continues to bring me many personal rewards beyond painting itself; principally, I see and understand more about nature because of having become a painter. Outdoor painting is sure to do the same for you. Congratulations.
I look forward to working with you personally this summer. Following our arrival on Sunday afternoon, July 19, and after setting up our tents and beds we will have some social time to begin getting acquainted with one another. We will paint every day; if the weather is bad we will paint still lifes of natural materials under the shelter awning or landscapes from photographs.
During the week, I would like for each student to complete at least 2 small paintings a day. We will critique them each afternoon. Artists on the Retreat may participate as they wish. Even with this effort there will still be time to socialize and to explore this amazing high mountain valley. Wildflowers and waterfalls in the spectacular nearby American Basin will be wonderful. Painting is a fun and interesting way to experience and to better appreciate the world. Let's do it. The place and the price couldn't be better.
Should you need clarification or more information, please call or email me: George Callison at dinobonz2@bresnan.net or (970) 243-9797 or visit www.georgecallison.com.
Birds and Wildflowers
7/26–8/1
Early morning bird walks and all day field sessions in flower filled meadows, stream beds and high passes.
Nothing compares to the sub-alpine and high alpine meadows of the San Juan Mountains in late July, when the slopes are alive with a myriad of colorful wildflowers. Enhance your appreciation of these beauties, rare and common, by taking a wildflower identification class at the Colorado Trail Foundation Education Center near Lake City during peak blooming season. Hiking miles are few for this course; most of the days are spent sitting amid a field of color. Bring your cameras!
Naturalist Lori Brummer will help you sort out these high altitude beauties, even those “darn yellow composites,” by teaching you the basics of plant identification. The class will emphasize family characteristics and the use of simple keys. Most days are spent in the field in such outstanding wildflower areas as American Basin, Cinnamon Pass, Grizzly Gulch, and Burroughs Park, exposing students to a variety of habitats and plant species. In past years, the class identified almost 200 plants! This year we will be including early morning and evening bird walks as part of our activities and will work on identifying high country birds by sight and sound. Binoculars and a hand lens will be helpful. The wildflower text, /Alpine Flower Finder/ by Janet L. Wingate and Loraine Yeatts, will be provided at the beginning of class. Two teacher enhancement credits are available through Colorado School of Mines. Contact Lori Brummer at lbrummer@frii.com or 970-416-8971, for more class information.
Instructor Lori Brummer has worked as a seasonal biologist for several land management and conservation agencies doing vegetation inventories and conducting breeding bird surveys. She has taught plant identification and birding workshops for adults and children. Currently she is working as a volunteer at the CSU Herbarium and is a Regional Coordinator for the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas.
Geology of the San Juans
8/2–8/8
Rock hound adventures, field trips, glaciation, volcanism, geologic reality. Appropriate for all levels. Teacher enhancement credits available through the Colorado School of Mines.
Appropriate for all levels, this workshop begins with a mini geology course. The daily field trips are hands-on with micro inspection of rocks and strata, and provide permanent understanding of geology. Participants are treated to daily fascinating field trips, real rock hound adventures. Attendees must be in good physical condition to enjoy the trips to study areas of glaciation and volcanism. There's so much to see and learn.
Instructor: Dr. Pete Varney – Dr. Pete Varney is a geology professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. He has a passion for geology and the San Juan Mountains. His lecture on the geologic history of the San Juans may be the best in the field. Additional information via email at petevarney@att.net.
Plein Air Watercolor
8/9–8/15
Learn how to capture colors in our high altitude, washes, sketches & shadows.
Learn techniques on how to capture colors in our high altitude, plus washes, sketches and shadows. There'll be daily field trips to picturesque sites with lots of individual attention and critique for all skill levels. New scenes each day! The week will include a Friday evening review of all the class paintings.
Instructor: Marge Barge - Marge is a resident of Durango and long time art instructor in the city and at Ft. Lewis College. She has had many shows and her coveted paintings have brought high prices. Marge gives lots of attention to each student and each evening she provides a wonderful critique of all paintings. For more information email Marge at margebarge@earthlink.net.
Climbing Some of the Highest Peaks
8/16–8/22
Fantastic peaks, expert leaders, safety, planning, pacing - come fit. Participants climb 5 of San Juan's highest 13ers and 14ers in 5 days.
The San Juan Mountains are the best of Colorado. Experienced leaders will guide the hikes up spectacular mountains. Nearby 14ers include Handies, Redcloud, Sunshine, Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre Peaks, and there are loads of 13ers too. Participants climb every day, requiring you to be in good physical condition, or choose day(s) off for a more leisurely week. You'll learn route finding, safety and pacing. You must be in good physical condition to participate fully.
Instructor: Connie Wian - Connie is a tip-top athlete from Durango and has been hiking and climbing all her life. She is fun and provides patience and enthusiasm for all levels of ability. Connie is trained in first aid and has a mind for details and safety. For more information, contact Connie at cjwian@frontier.net.
To Sign Up
For information or to register for weeks other than Work Crew or CMC Hiking, email ctf@ColoradoTrail.org or phone (303) 384-3729. Or phone volunteer class registrar Bea Slingsby at beahive@comcast.net or (303) 422-3728. Or contact
Gudy Gaskill via telephone at
(303) 526-2721.
Registration is simple. Download and complete the Registration Form and Waiver and mail completed form to the Colorado Trail Foundation office at:
710 10th Street, Suite 210
Golden, CO 80401-5843
Cost
Most classes are $395 per week. Special price on Kids' Natural World sessions is $295 per adult and $150 per child. Fun is included plus all meals and instruction. There's a reduced fee for the CMC hiking weeks - make inquiry as indicated.
CTF Education Center
The secluded Education Center is surrounded by tall Aspens and Engelmann Spruce, open meadows and lofty peaks. You sleep in a tent, your own or one of our wooden-floor dorm tents. The education facility includes a small, quaint cabin, has solar lights, kitchen and a wood burning stove.
On cold mornings meals are served inside, otherwise you'll eat outdoors on the deck. A covered natural patio is used for classroom instruction and projects. You can heat water for showers in solar shower bags and there's a vaulted toilet.
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