But for parents, the summer camp poses a much different challenge.
"It's hard to just let your kid go off on his own," said Laurie Arreola, whose son, Ben, 3, went on the nature hike. "But if he let's you go, that's the first step."
For Ben's older brother, Dylan, a Nature Camp veteran, going off on his own seemed to have paid off. As Dylan, 6, inspected a deep hole in the middle of the park, he theorized that it could not have possibly been dug by a snake because it was far too wide.
Meanwhile this year's crop of campers set off from Stough Park, crossing Lockheed View Drive, single file, and traversing the short incline to the Starlight Mesa helicopter pad. McHorney pointed to a plant on the edge of a hillside.
"Does anybody remember what kind of plant that is?" he asked.
"A poisonous one?" a voice questioned with fascination.
"No, it's a Yucca Plant," McHorney replied.
As the troop climbed a small mound near the helicopter pad, braving overgrown sagebrush encroaching on the path, some hikers near the rear of the pack helped each other along.
"Follow me," Juliette Dube, 3, said to Kaylee Chiang, 3, as she reached for her hand. "It's up this way!"
Once atop the knoll, 5-year-old camper Ford Roll surveyed the view.
"Hey I can see down where we were," Ford said, pointing to Stough Park. "That's right where we were!"
When Ford climbed back down the trail to snacks awaiting the hikers in Stough Park, he turned around and took a quick glance at the path behind him.
"I want to do it again," he exclaimed.
The Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department has run the annual camp since Summer 2002, McHorney said. The camp usually registers 30 children, but had a sizable waiting list this year, leading the Parks and Recreation Department to hire on more staff counselors. The additional staffers opened up 10 spots. In addition to a camp for 3- to 5-year-olds, the Nature Center also offers a program for children ages 6 through 10.
The program is full this summer, but the center will hold the camp again next year.
