Cottonwood Gulch: Quartz Trek Recently Updated

Quartz Trek was added to our summer roster in 2023, with the intention of providing a trek that invites genderqueer/nonbinary youth into a safe space and community in the outdoors. QT focuses on further developing identities as members of a greater community, with an emphasis on accountability and mindfulness. This trek links young people with intersecting identities and challenges them to recognize their roles and responsibilities to each other and themselves.

Quartz Trek spends 5 weeks connecting with the Southwest, driven by a focus to establish healthy, harmonious relationships between trekkers and who/what they encounter. The QT itinerary alternates each year with the expectation that a trekker who attends both years gets a fuller picture of the southwest and their relationship to it as it relates to their personal, physical and social growth. Each year, QT spends about 10-14 days throughout the summer at our Basecamp, where they can settle into our rustic cabins, swim in the pool, and work with our specialists to practice new skills, and deepen their knowledge about the local cultural and physical geography. 

QT will go on several road loops and backpacking trips throughout the four corners regions. During the summer, these trekkers focus on taking action in the communities they visit, which may include traditional ecological knowledge-driven restoration projects such as building one rock dams for watershed restoration, mapping and plotting sections of land, and removing invasive species from a particular area. QT trekkers will expand on their technical skills, gaining comfort in front country camping (tents, tarps, road kitchens and groovers) and in the backcountry (packing backpacks, using Whisperlite stoves, and navigating with a map/compass). At the end of the summer, these young adults walk away with confidence, community, and a deep respect for eachother and themselves.