| Rocky Mountain Way log (2004-07-16 -> 2004-07-29)
Leaders: Courtney Parks, Chris Barnes
Students: Steff Adrean, Bill Brading, Oscar Evans, William Evans, Bobby Gary, Hugh Hilsman, Kelsey Maguire, Leah Potter-Weight, Sam Rawlins, Sarah Stewart Vollmer, Whit Whitmire
I know these folks will have the best time ever. Both leaders and kids are incredible! Stay tuned for this incredible Colorado adventure.
NEW LOG
7-19-04
We’re off! Finally after all the students flew in
safely our trip has begun. Our first night was
spent at the beautiful Lake Pueblo. As soon as we
entered the campground all the kids were eager to
learn how to set up their tents. Luckily the rain
subsided long enough for us to work together and make
our first family dinner, filling their tummies to
their hearts content. All gearing up for our rafting
adventure on day 2, Courtney and I were so
pleased to find that even though we had to wake up at
sunrise everyone was super positive and truly
energetic. Tents came down and camp was packed up
like the kids were a bunch of old pros. And with help
from everyone, a good breakfast followed. We left the
campground just the way we found it, clean as can be
thanks to some earth friendly kids, practicing
stellar "leave no trace". Finally we hit the river.
The water was raging and the rapids fierce. And we
were lucky enough to have Hayes Hitchens join us for
our morning of fun. We hit some class two, three and
even class four rapids as we floated down a powerful
Arkansas River. We all came off the river covered in
mud, a little cold but mainly covered in smiles. We
began our drive to our next destination, Telluride
Colorado for a team challenge at the Ropes Course.
The day began early as usual after a little
thunderstorm the night before (which didn’t bother us
too much thanks to the amazing Chris for playing the
guitar)! Steff and Oscar were our Leaders of the Day and
they both helped everyone get organized for the day
ahead, with Steff in charge of purifying everyone’s
water bottles and Oscar wore the only watch of the
group! Luckily it was a gorgeous day and everyone
successfully completed the entire ropes course. There
is a giant swing at the end of the course that everyone
loved....including Bobby who did it again, yet the
second time he was BLINDFOLDED! The weather continued
to be on our side all day as we finished the course by
mid day, ate a yummy tuna fish lunch and then did a
lesson on how to pack and WHAT to pack in our back
packs for the next six day backpacking trip! It’s
amazing to see how much the group has bonded and it’s
only our third day!! The four girls are like
sisters....with Sarah Stewart (who was affectionately
nick named BAMA) always smiling and making sure
everyone else is as well....to Steff keeping us
rolling with her awesome outgoing attitude, to Leah
who is so easy going and up for anything including
being one of the first to always help clean up and
pick up trash and Kelsey who is already such a natural
in the outdoors....The boys are also having a ball!!
Bill is a constant comedy show with Whit by his side
to keep the morale at its highest always. Sam had his FIRST peanut Butter and jelly sandwich the other day and we
think he loved it (LONDON WATCH OUT), Will is learning
to "cope" with our American accents while he can do a
great impression of a southern one...and Oscar was
such a great first LEADER of the Day--he has really
great leadership abilities already and the ONE worry
he had on the river the other day was the exact count
of English people who had rafted this exact
river...anyone know?? Bobby is such a natural
outdoorsman as well and treated us last night with his
talents on the guitar, accompanied with Chris! Hugh is
having fun clowning with the guys as well and has been
so considerate of everyone all the time.....He has the
sky view tent down to a science! Anyways...we are going in to town tonight to Telluride to see what she’s all about and then back for a good night’s sleep to prepare for our next adventure!!!! WE MISS YOU ALL but we are having a BLAST!!!!! Hope all is well at home....HUGS AND KISSES!
7/23/4 RMW 5 Backpacking Update
We are back!! We made it safely through our backpacking section. While the backpacks were extremely heavy, the group came out successful and smiling. Our first day began with a yummy pancake breakfast. Then we headed to the trailhead where the kids kissed the “White Dragon” (our van) goodbye and we were off into the backcountry. Leah and Bobby were our Leader of the Day and they took turns leading the pack and did an amazing job. We had beautiful weather all day which was great because we did not reach our campsite until 5:30. Even though everyone was tired Whit, Hugh and Oscar jumped to the gun and made awesome pasta with cream sauce and ground beef. After dinner all the kids helped Chris and I rig a bombproof bear bag to keep our food safe.
Our second day was just a taste of what it means to say “the toughness of the climb makes the view even better.” The trail was mostly uphill in preparation for our summit hike! Sam and Kelsey lead the pack and during our lunch break they gathered the group to teach a map and compass lesson. Once again there were times when we thought we were too tired to push on but our group always pitched in to help carry extra gear or just take a breather and laugh which got us all going again! This time we reached camp a little later but this site was right by a beautiful waterfall where we got a lot of pics!! For dinner Kelsey, Sarah Stewart, Steff and Leah made hard earned chicken fajitas. With full bellies, we had a great moonup and all expressed excitement and fear for the Summit Day to come!!!
As 5AM came around we all sort of “jumped” out of our sleeping bags, got bundled up, grabbed rain gear and a granola bar and hit the trail to Mt. Centennial. Did I mention that it is at 13,062 feet? Will and Bill were the Leaders of the Day and we needed them! Our first section of the hike was straight up…passing patches of snow and beautiful wild flowers. We took a short rest in a meadow beneath Mt. Centennial, drank some water and all encouraged each other for the final push! After about an hour, all of a sudden I looked over and all 13 of us were on top of the world!! We all made it and even got to sign in at the top among all of the others who have conquered this amazing climb. The climb down was a breeze. We flew down laughing and in awe of what we did. We returned to camp around 2 and spent the rest of the day playing intense games of crazy eights, eating GORP, snickers and of course PB and J’s, and just relaxing in the sun. We stayed at the same camp site again this night feasting on a family dinner where we all pitched in to make mashed potatoes and chicken with veggies. Our moonup was so special…everyone was so pleased that they not only made the summit individually but as a group as well.
The next day and a half we took our time hiking out of the backcountry and back into civilization. Even though this section was hard and all the kids agreed it was one of the hardest things they have ever done, it was well worth it! Everyone not only feels so proud but is also now aware of all the things we take for granted. Whether it is learning new words for things from Sam, Oscar or Will (like a band-aid = plaster and a headlamp = torch), or laughing up a storm or learning how to use a stove or rig a bear, we are busy and having fun! However…never too busy to miss all of you! Off to Rock Climb!
NEW LOG
Coming out of the backcountry, spirits were high and anticipation was building as we changed activities to rock climbing. Driving into beautiful Lake City Colorado all of us were ready to tackle the wall. Bobby, Sam, and Will were an unstoppable team tearing up every route on the first day, really challenging them to push their personal limits. Whit, Bill and Hugh also worked hard as a team, climbing as much as they could. Whit was especially helpful in belaying us leaders. Leigh overcame some fears of heights on the repelling section and Kelsay was especially confident after her go around at climbing. Oscar was named the “Little Monkey” out of the group, scrambling up like he had four arms! Sarah Stewart, and Stephanie were an amazing belay team and of course keeping everyone laughing and always having fun. All in all it was two days of great climbing and we had a blast.
As our travels continued we pulled into Buena Vista Colorado for our last adventure, a day of rafting some intense class three rapids. With the sun shining and water flowing we enjoyed lots of laughs and great times on the river.
We are now posted up at our last campsite, ready for our last day. And as I look around I marvel at changed faces, from fear to confidence and from shy to goofy. But most of all a sense of family is felt in this group. A sense that in just fourteen short days such a bond of friendship could be made. A bond stronger than the rocks we climbed, smoother than the waters we flowed and brighter than any sunny day. A friendship that keeps our feet on the ground and our hearts in the sky. An experience never to be forgotten.
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