| Cascades Mountaineering log (2004-07-15 -> 2004-08-04)
Leaders: Tommy Gavigan, Laura Musser
Students: Kari Cholnoky, Ryan Deane, Marco Dyer, Patrick Fink, Charlie Gibbs, Mary Anna Lynch, Spencer MacGriff, Clay Maxwell, Nate Rosenblum, Maxi Thiels
Cascades is pulling away from the airport as we speak and the adventure is about to begin! We will have their first update soon...
Cascades Mountaineering Update 7/24/4
We just completed a seven day backpacking section in the North Cascades. Each day brought good weather and smiles for all. We had an amazing trip and are all looking forward to rock climbing at Smith Rock.
Our backpacking section took us to the beautiful Stehekin area of the North Cascades. A remote region, it is only accessible by taking the Lady of the Lake ferry to the northern most end of Lake Chelan. Full of towering peaks and endless forests this area is known for its wilderness feel and wildlife. While we were in the backcountry many deer frequented our camps and we saw a black bear as our section came to an end. Laura and I can only hoe that the rest of the trip goes as well for this all-star group!!
Spencer, after dominating the entire group (minus Tommy) in arm wrestling, secured his position in the group as a freakishly strong 15 year old. He is super uplifting on the trail and is always checking up on the group to make sure spirits are high.
Nate is always up for filling water bottles or taking extra gear and proved his strength on day 1 with a pack over 80 lbs to carry. This is considered great EB (Expedition Behavior)!
Ryan always has words of encouragement for the group and with his great attitude he makes a great backpacker.
Kari proved her will and endurance by completing the backpacking trip with some annoying blisters. She never complains and is the consummate great Moondancer . She came out all smiles and is excited about rock climbing.
Clay is keeping the group laughing constantly and has been dubbed as Dominator Jr. because he “dominates everything.”
Mary Anna loves backpacking and was constantly hydrating. She was a great motivator on the trail and developed a fantastic dreadlock at the back of her head. Sorry Mom!
Maxi, felt the challenge of the backpacking section, but stayed strong and finished beautifully.
Charlie’s never ending supply of movie quotes kept the hike amusing. He was a constant fixture at the head of the pack and was always willing to help around camp.
Patrick is a Frisbee fiend. His hopes of being able to boulder along this section were unfortunately not fulfilled, but he is psyched about the upcoming rock climbing section.
Marco, popularly known as “Carlos”, is a very strong hiker. The group was blessed enough to hear Carlos’s beautiful rendition of the popular song “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” at the top of his lungs.
New Update 7/29/4
Over the past three days our group has gotten to tryout some of the most challenging rock climbing in the United States. We have witnessed some incredible views from Smith Rock State Park in Oregon, just outside of Bend. We have pushed each other to try harder climbs, move faster on climbs and to just be better overall.
Everyone is enjoying getting to know one another better; we are becoming a very tight knit group. As we head on to mountaineering, our excitement builds for our attempt at the summit of Mt. Adams.
Marco has been upbeat and helps the group with his great mood and cheers everyone up the rock when they are feeling down…which is far and few between. Spencer is the leader in EB (expedition behavior) and always offers a helping hand, volunteers to take extra weight and is always there to encourage a fellow student on whatever they are doing. Ryan is always challenging himself on the rock, pursuing all the toughest climbs and never giving up. After he gets done conquering the wall, he is always there to help someone else figure out how to get up the climb.
Kari is without a doubt one of the greatest leaders in our group. She normally leads by example; being the first to get up and take down camp, cooking a meal while others are playing games and making sure everyone has a full water bottle. These are just a few of the ways she leads. After the rock climbing section she has found a new found love for “crimpers.” Patrick has impressed us all with his incredible climbing skills. He conquers some of the toughest rocks in the park without breaking a sweat. Patrick is always there to lend a hand to any of his fellow students whenever it is needed. On a side note: everyone in the group joined in celebrating Patrick’s 16th birthday on the 26th. Charlie is a very positive student; he always has a kind word to share and a joke to tell. He really helps keep the group in high spirits. Maxi is always helping out around camp. She is happy to cook a meal for the group, pitch a tent, clean up or just share a kind word about one of the group members. Mary Anna is an extremely energetic individual who always wears a smile. She is constantly doing things to make the group laugh and have a great time. She is always shouting encouraging words to her group to help them up the rock. Clay is the junior dominator and the comedian of the group. He always knows just what to say to get a smile out of everyone. He has also been a very helpful member around the campsite, volunteering to do anything that needs to be done. Last but not least is Nate. Always helping out with bags and water, he is the person that puts the leader’s words into action. His positive, upbeat attitude helps to make our trip fun for the rest of us. He was also the belaying master, always volunteering to belay anyone who wanted to climb.
Laura and I are very fortunate to have such a great group to share the beautiful Northwest. We have found the groups energy to be contagious (or it maybe Laura’s triple shot vanilla latte). We have had a great time sharing the qualities of a “bomber campsite, packing a pack and cooking some fantastic backcountry cuisine. The group has been quite receptive to all our lessons and we look forward to a great mountaineering section.
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