For four amazing summers, Reconnect Earth has run backpacking trips in the North Cascades for college students and folks of roughly college age. Together, we’ve climbed mountains, hiked through some of the wildest parts of the Northwest, and had countless conversations about environmental issues, social justice, and grassroots activism.

Now, it’s time to reimagine what taking this work into the future in a way that’s sustainable for everyone looks like. With this in mind, Reconnect Earth will be putting our summer backpacking trips on pause for 2024. Our goal is to be back to running summer backpacking trips in 2025–and while they might look slightly different then, the goal of getting outside to build skills and knowledge for creating a better world stays the same. 

Putting summer trips on hold for this year doesn’t mean we won’t be doing any work with students and educators. Projects we’ll be working on in the upcoming months include:

– Converting our extensive curriculum, built on years of experience, into a form that’s accessible to other educators.

– Partnering with student groups to offer shorter outdoor experiences during the school year.

– Providing students with information about opportunities to get involved in taking action.

In the long run, taking this pause will allow Reconnect Earth to come back stronger than ever as we continue working for a just and sustainable future. We hope to see you in the mountains in 2025!

Nick, Reconnect Earth Director