Brat Camp, Episode 2: A Thanksgiving Story

In the first hour of the two part season premiere, nine troubled teens were dropped off at the SageWalk Wilderness Camp. We learned about each youth’s problems and saw the frightened parents who are desperate to turn their lives around. The councilors showed the SageWalk approach of calm attitudes mixed with strict discipline, and the varied attitudes of the teenagers. Impact letters from the parents were passed out, explaining why each youth was sent to SageWalk, along with desperate pleas of the parents.

The episode begins three days before Thanksgiving, and the teenagers are still adjusting to the difficult reality of camp life. Lexie says the experience is killing her. Shawn talks about the harsh morning routine, and Lauren thinks it’s inhumane. Jada talks about having to redo the whole thing if it isn’t done in five minutes, while Frank thinks the whole thing has no point. Bear times them, and they are 20 seconds late. They have to do it over again. Glacier tells us how this teaches the youths responsibility and routine. He hopes they take it back home.

Frank is a problem for them, because he could snap at any time. Nancy, Frank’s mother tells us he has anger issues, and footage is shown of him smashing things. Also, he gets into fights. Jada tells us Frank is scary, and Wind tells him there have already been several instances of him being rude. Frank informs us he hates the staff, particularly Wind. Wind tells him to take a deep breath and figure out what is going on with him. He goes off, and Lexie tells us Frank is on the strange side - he might kill somebody. Meanwhile, Frank wants to beat up the staff or other youths, and goes into a profanity laced tirade about how he hates them.

The punishment for using profanity is the teenager is forced to carry a rock. The worse the word, the bigger the rock. Frank complains about it and the enforcement of it, even if he just cussed under his breath. He keeps swearing, and his pockets are full of rocks. It should serve as a reminder for him.

Next, trained clinical therapists arrive at camp. They all use their Earth names. Mother Raven, Fire Bear, and Flying Eagle all conduct one-on-one therapy three times a week, and ultimately it’s their call as to when a child goes home. However, today they are only making a shocking announcement to them. They get the teens to admit they want to go home after SageWalk, but then they tell them it’s a 60-day program. It may not last that long, but the program is for a minimum of 40 days. The length of the stay is a real shocker for the teens - most of their parents lied about it to get them to come. Isaiah says he was told it would only be a week. Jada wants some way to go home faster, but it’s not going to happen. She starts crying. She wants her parents and her home. Lexie says they will miss Christmas. Mother Raven says if they want to get home by Christmas, they need to buckle down. Jada cries, and Heather says the place is hell. Derek would rather be in juvie for 40 days. All of the youths are unhappy with their predicament.

The next activity at camp is their first major physical challenge - a hard overnight hike. Bear tells them to pack up their stuff and get ready to hike. Jada says she’ll fall down. Glacier says that physical activity brings out behaviors, which makes it great therapy. The teens will hike over 100 miles during their stay. All the packs are heavy, but Derek can’t carry all his stuff. The packs can’t be more than a third of their body weight, and he only weighs 90 pounds - a 40 pound backpack is too heavy. Bear asks the others to carry some of it. However, Lauren complains about the reduced weight. She thinks they pamper him too much.

They start hiking, and Wind tells us it’s one of the hardest ones of the experience. Lots of them are tired after one mile, and they complain about the weight. The terrain is fairly rough, and everybody is drooping by the three mile mark. At the four mile mark, Derek is physically exhausted - a new thing since he usually has boundless energy.

Cut back to his home life. His mother explains that he has ADHD, but won’t take his medication. He runs around the house in the footage, but back at the hike, he’s having a rough time. Bear tells him to ignore the pain, and Derek tells him he hates hiking - it sucks.

As expected, when the youths reach their physical breaking point, suppressed emotions begin to surface. Lexie complains of cramps and how much pain she is in. However, the councilor knows her ailments have more to do with her emotional issues than physical condition. Wanda, Lexie’s mother tells us she began having mood swings at age 12, when she was molested. She’s built up layers of defiance, anger, and opposition. Lexie tells us her parents will say something, and she’ll go off and break rules. Back on the trail, Heather tells us that Lexie just wants attention. Wind tells us that the emotion came out when she hit her breaking point.

At mile six, Lexie starts crying and complains she can’t breathe. She stops, and the councilors tell her they’ll wait until she can walk again. The others get restless as Lexie rests. Lauren complains she’s holding everybody back. They finally start up again. However, as night falls, tempers rise. It’s 7:00 by the time they reach Eagle Camp. They’ll stay there a few days, then return to Base Camp. However, camp has to be set up. Wind explains they need to get a shelter up, dig a latrine, dig a sump, and get a burrito line up. It’s up to the youths to make it happen. Lauren takes charge and starts assigning tasks. Glacier tells us she’s good at telling others what to do, but has avoided her own issues so far.