Where the Mountains Become a Classroom

Every summer since 2018, the FPU Wilderness Studies Program has been holding a summer school session in our “back yard,” engaging with peers and professors in disciplines such as philosophy, biology, literature and biblical studies. We split our time between the remote and inspiring backpacking trails of the Range of Light and a posh lodge basecamp that includes home cooking, hot tubs and hilarious memories around starry-skied campfires. Whatever our elevation, we take full advantage of this privilege to retreat into creation and build a community centered in intellectual and spiritual engagement.

Nature never fails to steal the show and serve as the inspirational backdrop to the mind and heart work we do up there. 

Without exception, every student and faculty participant comes off the trail expressing essentially the same thing— “this was the most awesome academic experience of my life, and one of the best experiences, period.” How quickly we forget the chilly nights, the hot days, the tired feet and the food fantasies that we experienced while out on trail! All of these discomforts pale in comparison to the glorious vistas, life-changing conversations and spiritual epiphanies that were had while reflecting in solitude and deep friendships forged while on the same trail. In fact, we relate these transformations of mind, body and spirit to the Diamond Principle—only under pressure can adaptation toward growth happen.

And so, we are forged by the mountain, the trail, the weather, the curriculum and mostly by one another while on an epic adventure that takes us to places very few humans ever get to go or see. The refining process is such a privilege.

Over the years we’ve crisscrossed the high country trails of Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks, and we’ve recently added spring break and summer sessions that take us on week-long road trip adventures through Utah’s national parks (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion).

So, if mid-summer snowball fights, campfire tall tales and songs, tent camping, backpacking and chasing sunsets sound like your kind of fun, then join in! Just make sure to show up with big expectations for what you might gain from such experiences—it will be so much more than great pictures, stories to tell and another class checked off the list. God has never failed to meet us on the mountain top with a special gift that can only be received “up there.” Take the journey.