Price: $595
What else should I know?
Who chooses this adventure?
Outdoor experience levels do not matter. Campers with no experience, weekend day-hikers, and seasoned wilderness warriors are all welcome to partake in the Girls Empowered experience. No matter what experience you arrive with, we hope each girl leaves feeling empowered by the benefits of outdoor learning.
This program is designed for girls entering grades 6 and up. Each session is open to mixed age groups for a unique peer-to-peer experience. For example, GEMS: Shining Bright sessions are ideal for girls entering grades 6-8, while GEMS: Digging Deeper and GEMS: Rock On sessions may each have a combined group of girls entering grades 7 and up.
What’s Included?
Gear
The only required items are comfortable, weather and activity-appropriate clothing, a pair of walking/hiking shoes or hiking boots, and river-appropriate footwear. Closed-toe shoes are required; no flip flops, sandals, or other open-toe shoes. To avoid blisters and other injuries, we don’t recommend campers bring brand-new shoes or boots to wear during camp. Our packing list specifies required items and offers some suggestions for optional items. We provide basic toiletries, towels and linens, and all outdoor equipment (please review the Equipment and Property Care policy regarding all supplied outdoor equipment).
Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks are provided daily. Campers enjoy delicious, balanced home-cooked meals, and we can accommodate for allergies and dietary restrictions as needed. We prefer that campers do not keep their own food in bunkrooms.
Yes, campers will learn which bugs are edible and how to identify them – but eating them is optional!
Overnight accommodations
All GEMS campers are housed in Mountain Shepherd’s cozy bunk rooms with private bathrooms attached for a portion of the week. For GEMS campers going on adventures off-site, they will sleep in tents or hammocks.
Travel Arrangements
Each session begins on Sunday afternoon between 5:00 and 6:00 pm and wraps up on a Friday afternoon at 4:00pm. Airport pick-up and drop-off from Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is also available with prior notice.
For directions to Mountain Shepherd, please visit our Contact page or check out the info sheet for this course.