American Wilderness 2025

By: Max DeVore '25

The American Wilderness class spent the past weekend white-water kayaking on the Kern River, near Kernville, California. The 12 students will depart once more on Wednesday, this time for their week-long trip to the Green River in northeastern Utah.

12th-grader Stella Rogers shared her thoughts on the weekend trip, saying, “It was super fun but also a bit scary. Some of the rapids were really big and I got flipped a couple times.” The group faced rapids ranging from classes I to IV.

The trip consisted of the 12 American Wilderness, along with former Cate students Paul Denison, Chris Skelton, and longtime Cate Outdoor Patron Ned Bowler. Ned, who graduated from Cate with the class of 1983, served as a safety boat during the Kern River Trip, and will man one of the supply rafts when the group travels down the Green River. “The Kern trip was super fun man, I was impressed by how much you all improved throughout the weekend,” he said.

One of the most important moves for white-water kayaking is the roll, where one is able to use their core strength to flip back over after being flipped by a rapid, as opposed to wet-exiting the kayak and swimming in the river. 12th-grader and American Wilderness student Phin Stephenson consistently demonstrated a strong proficiency in the crucial move. “I had to roll maybe 5 or 6 times during the trip, sometimes in the middle of rapids,” Phin shared.

The group now faces a 14-hour drive to the Green River, passing through Los Angeles and Las Vegas on the way to Price, Utah. They will return late Wednesday, May 21st, in time for the Sunset Ceremony the following evening.

Image taken by Johnny Foster '25