Introduction
Walk Your Path Well Adventures are designed to promote a healthy lifestyle and enjoyment of the outdoors. The program was developed over the past ten years by Al Whitted, former Nature counselor at Camp Riverlea in Durham, North Carolina. Children from the age of 7 to 12 are invited to join Al in exploring wilderness areas in North Carolina's Eno River State Park. Day and week-long expeditions provide the chance for children to learn nature skills, develop physical fitness in a healthy, natural setting. 

A student in Al's nature classes once told him that if he had not been able to participate in a waterfall adventure, then something would be missing in his life. Sitting on a rock by the river, listening to the wind and seeing shapes in the clouds all seem to have a stress-relieving affect on us to counter the demands of our fast-paced lifestyle. As children become fluent in navigating their way through the digital world, outdoor excursions provide a balance, a unique opportunity to enjoy clean, pure, character-building adventures. The Walk Your Path Well adventures are designed to stimulate the brain and promote physical strength. By engaging in many different activities through the course of a journey, many aspects of a child's development can be tapped. Adventurers develop concentration in nature awareness games, critical thinking skills on river obstacle courses, peace of mind from being in nature, patience while fishing, cooperation during shelter-building, memory in tree/plant identification, and strength and coordination in hiking. A Walk Your Path Well adventure provides a chance for the student to challenge themselves physically and deepen their awareness of the outdoors.


The Walk Your Path Well program offers a series of nature adventures for children. In the program, the young naturalist will progress in outdoor skills in order to prepare them for a wilderness challenge. In each adventure, the naturalist practices skills in hiking, tree/plant identification, archery, fire-making, shelter-building, and canoeing. Once they have achieved a certain degree of knowledge in each area, they pass to the next level of wilderness skill challenges.


A beginner's level of knowledge is known as the Frodo level in the program, named after the hobbit, or the smallest creature in the Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The moderate level of outdoor skills is the Gimli level, after the dwarf in Tolkien's story. An advanced young naturalist would be at the Legolas level, after the level of skill possessed by the elf character. The mastery level is named after Aragorn, the leader of the fellowship of the ring. Once a young naturalist has achieved mastery, they are ready to accept the ultimate challenge offered by the Walk Your Path Well program:


In many native cultures, the young adult would go through a coming of age ritual in order to be accepted as an adult member of the tribe. The Ultimate Strider adventure offers just such a pivotal experience. After amassing the knowledge and skills needed to navigate through the wilderness, the young adult is prepared to face the challenges of a nine-day outdoor adventure. Participants in the Ultimate Strider adventure will undertake a nine-day hike through 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The day hikes and overnight experiences offered in the Walk Your Path Well program provide the training ground to prepare the young naturalist for such a journey.