Summer Programs > Age 12-14 > Olympic Odyssey
Olympic Odyssey
“This journey was the beginning of our son’s personal transformation into a young adult. His experiences with personal reflection allowed him to understand his own worth.” - Parent
Program Details
Olympic Odyssey
Early adolescence brings new questions about identity, belonging, and the influence we have on one another. Who am I away from my family? Who am I in a group? How do my choices affect others, and how do the words and actions of my peers shape how I feel, how I show up, and what I believe?
Olympic Odyssey creates space to explore these questions through an accessible and rewarding backpacking journey in the alpine wilderness of Olympic National Park. A small group of young people and their guides will travel together through mountain landscapes, sharing the responsibilities, challenges, and joys of life on the trail. Along the way, they’ll interrogate peer pressure in all its forms—not just the pressure to fit in or go along, but also the positive influence we can have on one another. Through group agreements, shared responsibilities, talking circles and honest reflection, we’ll consider how individual choices shape a community and how a supportive community can help each person thrive. Participants practice listening across differences, taking responsibility for their impact, and choosing how they want to show up.
Time alone in the wilderness offers an opportunity to go deeper into this learning. Each participant will have an extended solo experience of up to 36 hours, creating space to reflect on who they are and the person they are becoming.
Olympic Odyssey offers a meaningful opportunity to step more fully into adolescence and discover that belonging doesn’t mean following the crowd. It means learning to bring your own voice, values, and care to the communities you help create.
Sessions 1 and 3 are designed for male-identifying* participants, with an additional emphasis on exploring boyhood and what it means to grow into a young man with integrity, empathy, and respect.
Session 2 welcomes participants of all genders, offering the same opportunities for growth while learning alongside a more diverse group of peers.
*Our male-identifying programs welcome all who identify as male, including trans boys, as well as non-binary youth. We trust your family and your young person to know which program will be the best fit for them, but if you have any questions please contact us.
Want more information? Download the Welcome Letter!
At A Glance
Dates Session #1: July 3-9, 2027
Dates Session #2: August 13-19, 2027
Cost: $1495
Duration: 7 days
Who: All-Genders, Age 10-12
Location: Backpacking, Olympic Coast
Quick Links
8 Days
Sessions 1 & 3: Boys*
Olympic Coast
$1795
Session 1: Jun 27-Jul 4
Session 2: July 23-30
Session 3: August 21-27
Session 2: All Genders
Meet The Team
2027 Guide Teams
Our guides bring years of experience working with young people. They offer a range of diverse perspectives from across youth education, wilderness, wellbeing, and rite of passage fields.
We pride ourselves on the care and supervision we provide, historically maintaining an average 1:3 guide-to-participant ratio. This means individual attention, stronger relationships, and the support kids need to grow.
Check back in early 2027 to meet the Olympic Odyssey guide teams!
Sample Itinerary
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Day 1
Participants and families meet at Rite of Passage Journeys basecamp for a gear check and send-off ceremony. After a ferry ride and some van games, we arrive at a front-country campground, have a fire, get to know each other and prepare for adventures ahead.
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Day 2
Time for our first hike! After learning to cook a camp breakfast and take down our tarp shelter, we’ll start our journey to our first back country campsite. Along the way, we’ll learn backpacking, wilderness and community skills and take breaks to play fun games.
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Day 3
We’ll wake up early to embark on one of our longest hiking days. Encountering the challenge of the trail will be an important part of preparing for our upcoming solo experiences. When we reach camp, we’ll spend time in a talking circle or ‘Council’, where we’ll discuss expectations, questions, fears and excitement as we prepare for our solos.
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Days 4 & 5
Today we’ll choose our solo spots and walk through the threshold to experience time alone in the wilderness. Before we go, we’ll craft an intention statement that will bring focus to our time. We’ll set up our own tarp shelter at our solo site, and may even spend the night there, if we feel ready. Upon our return, we’ll tell our stories and have our courage and learning reflected back to us.
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Days 6 & 7
Our group is really starting to feel like a community. On our way out of the back country, we’ll reflect on our experiences in nature, and continue to learn more about one another through nightly councils. We’ll also start to think deeply about what might be different upon our return home. We’ll spend our last night together back at Rite of Passage Journeys’ basecamp.
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Day 8
We did it! We’ll spend our last day reconnecting with our families and telling our stories from the trail. We’ll be witnessed in our learning and growth by our peers and families in a meaningful reincorporation ceremony.
