Rocky Mountain Way

Rocky Mountain Way log (2004-06-18 -> 2004-07-01)

Leaders: Alexandra Brown, Chris Barnes, Sarah Burbank, Jordan Crockford,

Students: Shelley Adams, Henry Baird, Will Barge, Neil Crocker, Michael Fisher, Jack Gray, Andy Kohl, George Lane, Stephen Manker, Rick Pattillo, Cally Pirrung, Hamilton Reynolds, John Whitcomb

All landed safely into Denver before heading southwest into the mountains of Colorado for their first day whitewater rafting the Royal Gorge section of the Arkansas River. Lots of smiling faces as they met new friends. Update from the river coming Sunday.

After a fun drive from Denver to Lake Pueblo State Park, mother nature decided to rain down on us right before we pulled up to the site. The weather was not a problem for such a great group and everyone was quickly helping set up the tents even before our tent set up lesson. The leaders were there to help each tent, but little instruction was required with these quick studies--George, Michael, Nick, and Will were born for this. In the morning, we all learned how to brush our teeth the way that is appropriate when camping. John was by far the best at this technique beating out the leaders and the others with no tooth paste on his face. After shaking our bags and tents dry and packing them up, we headed to the Arkansas River for a day of rafting. The weather was overcast and cool on the way but as soon as we arrived at the drop-off site the sky opened up and Mother Nature smiled on us with sunshine, which was a welcomed treat. Once on the river, we went through some awesome rapids. Shelley, in the front of one raft was met with constant splashing from the river and other boats in the water fights. She fought right back and drenched some others too, though. Callie's favorite rapid was shark's tooth where she was drenched along with the others who were in the front of the boat. Rick was paddling strong when the raft was intentionally caught in a hydraulic creating a surfing effect. Intentional swimming, however, was a highlight for many including Hamilton and Andy who also later swam to the pick up area. We had a blast swimming, splashing and pulling each other into the water. Henry or "H-Bomb" as he has now been affectionately "dubbed" was also a master water fighter and cracked everyone up when he jokingly pointed to his eyes and then to us signaling that we were his next target. The guides were a lot of fun and really knew what they were doing. A great time was had by all. After the river, we all piled back into the van and drove to set up camp for the night. After we found the perfect site, we set up the tents, which I have to say looked "bomber" (which is a good thing). Stephen was a quick study with the knots that we taught and is an expert at tying taught-line hitches, trucker's hitches, and bowlines. He also has shown excellent EB (expedition behavior). After setting up camp, we had a great dinner of burritos with rice, corn, beans, salsa, and guacamole. We, then, proceeded to learn essential backcountry safety and ethical procedures such as Leave No Trace, proper layering, Expedition Behavior, and proper hygiene. After lessons we all threw around the light up frisbee. We were fortunate enough to see three adult female black tailed deer because they wandered through our camp and came pretty close to where we were all standing. The sun finally disappeared and darkness came, so we decided that hot drinks were in order. This is a group of chocolate lovers so we drank hot chocolate and warmed our bodies during Moonup. Moonup was awesome and we went around the circle and did "high-low-high" which is when a person talks about a good thing about their day, then a bummer, and then ending on a high note with another high. The lows were mostly about losing in a card game in the van or having to get up in the morning, but the highs consisted mostly of how much fun everyone had or how funny they thought a person had been. Also at Moonup, Jack and Callie were given their responsibilities as Leaders of the Day (LOD) for tomorrow and will be waking us all up in the morning and keeping track of the group. This group is meshing really well and we are all getting really pumped to rock climb for the next two days, then on to the Faraway Ranch for a day of ropes course before heading into the backcountry for the backpacking section. We'll be updating you all again soon. Take care.

For the past two days the RMW1 group has been rock climbing outside of the quaint town of Lake City, Colorado. The weather has been wonderful. Lots of sun and warm weather, though a few afternoon showers have rolled in, but that hasn't seemed to put a damper in the group’s spirit. Everyone has been enjoying the stars while sleeping out, but we have awoken to frost on our bags in the morning! The rock face proved to be challenging, but everyone seemed eager to scale the face very quickly and frequently. John, the natural athlete, had no problem practically running up the hike to the rock face and then quickly scurrying up the long 180 ft. climb. H-bomb (Henry), "the certified belayer," has been putting his skills to work while volunteering to belay anyone who wanted to climb. The cooking groups have been doing a fantastic job dishing up some stir fry, burritos, fried bagels, and oreo pies. Rick, Nick, Andy, and George cooked up a mean stir fry that was absolutely delicious. They were chopping and sautéing vegetables like they were pros even though they all said that they had never done it before. Now that everyone has settled into their groove, the group seems to be meshing a lot more and getting along like they have been ole time friends. A group went down to the river yesterday to fish, and Rick and Jack caught little baby trout which they threw back. The group has been partaking in some game playing during the afternoons. Will showed off his rhythm and defeated everyone in big booty. Michael rocked the house during the question game until Alex was finally able to bring him down. Hamilton enjoyed yesterday's festivities especially when he dominated the game Moose. Manker seems to be keeping the entire clan laughing with his antics, and has shown excellent EB. Shelley was a great LOD and really motivated people to get moving in the morning especially to get them to take their tents down. Cally continues to exemplify good EB and leadership skills. Jack and Cally led an awesome moonup the other night and asked a question about being deserted on an island. At night Chris continues to astound us with his amazing guitar playing and singing which everyone enjoys because it is a great way to end the day. Upon Jordan and Sarah's arrival back to camp after communication with the office, they brought the whole group a "sweet" surprise. More updates soon.

Last night the Alpine glow was amazing full of life and spirit. Mt. Wilson in the background glowed as if it was illuminated. The kids seemed to be in great moods after rock climbing and couldn't wait to get on the ropes course. Moonup was the best one yet. It got to be a little deeper and more meaningful which I think all the kids seemed to like. The night was a little chilly, but we awoke to a warm sunny morning. John, Will, Manker, and Andy cooked a good breakfast for us, and with all their practice with hash browns, waffle house will be knocking at their doors offering them jobs. Everyone enjoyed the rope course especially the rope swing. Shelley overcame her fears and dominated the rope swing. Henry seemed to go the farthest and highest because everyone hoisted him as high as he could go. Michael proved to be a very good LOD and helped organize a mini van clean out and was able to motivate the group to get ready for the swing. Cally and Rick did a good job at communicating with the group during the mowhawk walk which helped the group as a whole stay on track. Nick and Hamilton kept us amused today with their jokes about how funny everyone looked in harnesses and helmets. Jack brought his digital camera up onto the rope swing with him and filmed his whole ride which was very entertaining not too mention a good idea. George is a great leader and has shown off his skills already. He can't wait to be LOD so that he can really get the whole group together and moving as a whole. We all went into telluride after the ropes course for the afternoon for a little walking around and dinner. We are off to the back country tomorrow and everyone is so excited they can't wait. It is going to be a blast. More to come following our stint in the back country.

Update 6-30-04

Before we headed out into the back country we had a little visit to telluride. We enjoyed eating dinner at the sweet life, a 50's style diner. Our group hiked in the San Juan Mountains. It was gorgeous. We all had such a good time. We saw lots of wildlife for example deer, foxes, marmots, flies and MOSQUITOES!!! The food we had in the back country was exceptional. We had burritos, Gado Gado, pasta salad, chicken broccoli and potatoes, chicken mushrooms and rice and tomatoes, mac and cheese, brownies, cinnamon roles. The kids seemed to enjoy the surprises they found in their GORP. All 17 of us were able to summit centennial peak. The summit was 13,062 feet above sea level needless to say the oxygen was very thin. We had awesome 360 degree view of the San Juans. It was gorgeous. Stephen and Jack ate muffins up top. We all went glissading and had a snow ball fight. John said, "This is the first time I had a snowball fight in the summer." The group motored out of the backcountry and it took half the time as it normally does for a 13 mile hike. Because of that we went on a small day hike and involved the kids in a leadership game which they all seemed to like. The groups displayed awesome LNT and were able to win their prize.

Each of the kids was able to excel in something particular in the back country which helped develop their love for hiking and backpacking. This was truly exciting for the instructors because that was what we had set out to do. George made walking in the snow look easy with his trekking poles. John was eager to run up the trail but he waited until a quarter of a mile when the whole group took off. Rick spent hours in the river fishing and teaching and seemed happy despite not catching anything. Hamilton brought glissading to new heights. Stephen seemed to be having fun glissading even though his skills were a little ROCKY!! Nick continues to entertain all with his humor and his ability to breakdown techno songs. Cally loves the back country and the down time but can't wait to turn 21 to hit Vegas because her card playing is superior to all. Shelley forced herself up to the summit and was so happy and proud of herself. It was an awesome accomplishment. Henry has a very inquisitive mind which shows his vast intelligence. Andy shows his southern charm while helping everyone over logs. Will is up and at'em to help with breakfast even when he is not on cook crew. Michael exemplified great LNT by packing out chef Boyardee that was left behind from someone else. Jack was a fabulous LOD especially when he allowed up to hit the snooze button for an hour. Hayes just visited our group on the Arkansas River and we all had a great time. The weather was ideal, and the water was a blast. Everyone is having a great time but are getting sad as the trip is starting to near the end. I know all will make the best out of the last few days.


Monday, June 27, 2005
When we last checked in we were on our way to Lake City for our rock climbing section. We arrived safely in Henson Creek campground on day two and docked the "yellow submarine" (aka our van) and the Cap'n, Skip and the rest of the crew hopped out to make our new, temporary home. We quickly set up camp and cooked up a great stir fry dinner. After dinner, we had moon up and went to bed early to prepare for our huge day of climbing God's Crag in the Uncompahgre National Forest.

After a nice night's sleep our guides, through Crested Butte Mountain Guides, Casey and Eric met us at our campsite and led us up the trail to the base of the rock faces we would be climbing. Upon the whole group's arrival at the base we broke into "happy birthday" for Hillary who was celebrating her fifteenth birthday. After a lesson in safety and technique, we were ready to climb. Louise dominated the rock face from the minute she got on them. Brennane who was apprehensive at first got on the face and got to the top very quickly too. Sallie and Dorothy engaged in some healthy sibling rivalry and Sallie got higher than Dorothy on Dorothy's belay. We had sandwiches and granola bars for lunch and Oreos to round it out with dessert. Rebecca Lee, who had previously admitted a fear of heights, also climbed strong never letting on that she was afraid. After a long, awesome day of climbing we went on a short hike to a waterfall and took a shower in the snow melt falling from above. Since we had some time to use we broke into a game of Big Booty (a dancing game not a measuring game) and Leah showed the whole group how it's done. Although, there were many strong competitors. After the game, we had a lesson in sanitation and Leave No Trace ethics. Matt entertained the group by placing three parallel sticks all over camp which we learned was a good way to warn other travelers that spot had been used. This became known as the Matt Witch Project. We had an awesome dinner of Mexican rice dish and chips and salsa. After dinner we had cake and ice cream in honor of Hillary's birthday and everyone felt like it was their birthday since we got to have some awesome cake. Hillary and Leah were Lords of Dog Town (aka leaders of the day aka LODs) and led an awesome moon up before we headed off to bed.

The next day we woke up and hiked to the base and started climbing again. Sallie, again, dominated and was the only one in the group to make it to the top of all four routes. Kelly Ann and Chris were awesome at rappelling and named that the highlight of their day. Katie and "Skipper" (Will) entertained the group by trying to get our guide Casey to give them his shirt. In the end, Casey retained the shirt by winning an arm wrestling match against "Skip". After a long day of climbing, the group was tired but not tired enough to miss going back to the waterfall. We took some awesome picture and had a great view of the creek and our campsite from above it. We, then, descended and hung out around camp getting a little bit of sun through Sarah's SPF 45 sunscreen we were wearing. Next the group came together and laid out all of the food we'll nee for the backpacking section and made GORP. Chris and Matt are always willing volunteers and this time was no exception. Everyone pitched in and we are going to eat well on the trail with a few surprises thrown in to keep things fun and interesting. Most were excited to see the M&Ms in the GORP and macaroni and cheese seemed to be a meal to which we'll look forward. Dinner was pizzas prepared by the stellar cook crew of Matt, Chris, and Brennan. The pizzas tasted amazing and were a welcomed treat. After dinner, we mooned up with Chris and Sallie as our Lords of Dog town. Matt continued to entertain the group with his movie script that he's working out in his head. It involves campers, animals, and an ending we surely hope to avoid on our adventure. The group has contributed some to this script so when Matt's Mountain horror movie hits the box offices everyone can feel like they, too, contributed.

We woke up this morning and got an early start heading toward Ridgway. After a quick detour to get our tire patched (10 minutes), we arrived at Ridgway State Park where we'll prep for our backpacking section. We’re heading out into the woods for the next week to backpack, make a summit bid, and have a blast. We'll check back in when we get back. Copey and I are really excited about how awesome of a group we got. Take care.

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