In 1972, then Eagle’s Nest Camp Director Helen Waite envisioned an opportunity for teens to undergo a rite of passage that could shape their trajectory in life. From wide ranging interdisciplinary studies of botany, anthropology, and music, as well as unique personal life experiences, she saw and realized how simple living in the natural world facilitates the process of self-discovery. At Eagle’s Nest, groups of young people, interested in learning from each other and the world around them, ventured out from Camp and worked within their intentional community to find meaning in their shared experience. Whether they were as close as the Appalachian Trail or as far as another country overseas, participants were challenged by having to think beyond themselves in the face of uncertainty. Inevitably, every group returned connected – to themselves, to one another, and to a place that they were fortunate to learn from. Over fifty summers later, this practice continues, allowing people in one of the most transformative periods of their life to share an experience with others in a unique setting.

Hante Adventures is one of ENF’s vehicles for achieving our mission by using experiential education and promotion of the natural world in order to help develop the whole person. The goal of every trip is to develop the intrapersonal and interpersonal skills of every participant while using a technical outdoor skill as one of the guides for their development. We define intrapersonal and interpersonal skills using the competencies of emotional intelligence*, which is reflected by our uniform objectives toward meeting those goals: