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Typical Day

There are two basic types of days at SUWS of the Carolinas: hiking days and layover days.

Layover Days: Monday through Wednesday

Students are stationed at a large campsite where their days are structured with the following activities:

• Meet with their primary therapist for individual and group therapy sessions
• Discuss the highlights and challenges of the week with staff and peers, and offer constructive feedback to other students
• Discuss their objectives, progress and individual treatment plans with the staff and clinical team
• Work on primitive or “hard” skills such as steel and quartz striking, trap building and bow drilling (rubbing two pieces of wood together to create fire), which require a great deal of patience and determination and create opportunities for students to learn to cope with frustration and build on small successes
• Enjoy a few minutes of free time to write letters home, work on their growth books, do laundry, put on talent shows, and play games like “Zoogle” (tossing a wood stick back and forth), Hacky Sack and Frisbee.
  

Hiking Days: Thursday through Sunday

Students spend most of the day hiking, setting up camp at a new site each night and participating in the following activities:

• Pack up personal gear and clean up campsite
• Cook a hearty breakfast and eat as a group, with staff leading guided discussions about daily goals 
• Clean up meals using a “back country” kitchen, a three-bucket system for cleaning, rinsing and sanitizing dishes
• Hike up to 5 or 6 miles a day through moderate terrain in the stunning Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. During hikes, students are doing more than getting exercise and experiencing the beauty of the wilderness. They work through difficult emotions, process experiences as a group and complete a variety of challenges facilitated by the staff. Two of the favorite hikes among students at SUWS of the Carolinas are the Heartbreak Ridge trail and Snooks, both of which are challenging but promise a handsome reward: breathtaking summits where students can see for miles throughout western North Carolina.
• Eat lunch and set up camp at a pre-determined location and work on primitive skills like fire-building and trap-making
• Prepare dinner and gather for evening circle, a check-in with the students to process the experiences of the day and discuss various therapeutic topics

Sample Weekly Schedule at SUWS of the Carolinas

Decoding Wilderness “Lingo”

P-Food – Personal Food
Medicine Spot – Space and Time for Yourself
CCBT – Clean Cups Brush Teeth
Sloggers – Camp Sandals
Indy – Personal Tent or Shelter
Billy Bath – Field Shower
Raptor Claw – Spout of the Water Filter
Check Off – Daily Goals for the Day
Striking – Creating a Fire with Steel and Quartz
Busting a Coal – Creating a Fire with Bow Drilling
Bear Hang – Where the Food is Hung in the Tree Outside of Camp at Night
Tort – Tortilla
FAB – I Feel About Because