| Blue Ridge Expedition log (2005-07-10 -> 2005-07-23)
Leaders: Andy Bradbury and Rachel Moody
Students: Richard Conley, Ally Crane, Logan Fletcher, Walter Gayle, Evan Glustrom, Robert Heald, Katherine Heyward, Carly Rolfe, Ben Siegel, Sheldon Taylor, Sebastien Treciak, Jake Ward, and Garrett Welshofer.
July 13, 2005
Greetings from the Blue Ridge Mountains! We just finished our first backpacking trip in Pisgah National Forest, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a more hardcore bunch of 13 year olds. I wouldn’t recommend going backpacking in a hurricane, but if you have to do it, these are the kids to do it with! Despite our frustrations with the weather, we’ve had a great time, and everyone in the group has an amazing attitude. Everything went smoothly on Sunday- we set up camp at the Davidson River Campground, played a few games to get to know each other, and cooked chicken and veggie fajitas for dinner! Everyone got along right away. We all learned about setting up tents, going to the bathroom in the woods, Leave No Trace wilderness ethics, and expedition behavior. We even managed to squeeze in a game of mafia before setting up our sleeping bags to sleep underneath the stars. Rain sent us into our tents during the night, but everyone slept well and woke up bright and early Monday morning to learn how to prepare for a backpacking trip. Once everyone’s packs were packed, we headed to the trailhead to begin the trip! Unfortunately, the rain was at its strongest when we got ready to go hiking, but the group didn’t let that stop its excitement! We huddled up, screamed a few cheers, and headed off onto the trail. It was clear from the start that this group was going to stand out- everyone showed great leadership skills and had great attitudes. Our leaders of the day, Robert and Ally, were excellent at keeping the group motivated, and Richard did an excellent job pushing through the tough hike. Jake’s attitude was a highlight- he always had a smile on his face and words to lift the spirits of the group. Everyone agreed that backpacking is rough at first, but that it gets really fun once you get into it. We arrived in camp and set up tents and played a few games underneath a shelter before Ally, Walter, and Sheldon helped prepare spaghetti for dinner. We had a nice, long dinner before having moonup underneath a tarp and talking about our highs and lows of the day. Everyone actually enjoyed hiking in the rain! They said they enjoyed the challenge and were just glad to be out and active. A thunderstorm rolled in just in time for us to head into our tents, but it passed over quickly, and we got a great night’s sleep after a long day. We woke up to sunshine the next day, and Carly and Evan, our next set of LOD’s (leaders of the day) got us started on our hike. The sun lasted until after lunch, and we had an amazing morning. We had some challenging rocks to scramble up, and it required a lot of team work and encouragement. Everyone stepped up to help their group members out. Logan showed some great EB (expedition behavior) and did an especially good job at helping people out We hiked well into the afternoon before arriving at what soon became everyone’s favorite campsite. We had a beautiful view of a river, and everyone enjoyed talking and relaxing, before beginning dinner. The cook crew made a valiant effort at cooking chocolate chip pancakes, but Andy and Rachel had to come to the rescue when the pancakes began to look more like black balls. Everything turned out just fine, and everyone was full and ready to learn how to hang the bear bag! It took a few tries to get the rope thrown over the tree branch, but Garrett saved the day and threw the winning rock.
Once bear bags were hung, Carly and Evan led an excellent moonup. The group talked about the things they missed back home, but then agreed that they were really glad to be here and were glad to learn how to appreciate the things that they missed. Everyone went to bed early to get a good nights rest for this morning- we awoke before sunrise and hiked to the top of John’s Rock in silence with our headlamps on! We arrived to the overlook just in time to watch the sunrise. (Thankfully, the rain held out!) It was absolutely beautiful, and a really fun time of hanging out and laughing. We hiked back to camp and enjoyed some rest time before Logan and Katherine headed up the packing effort and we hiked back to the van. The rain held out until we reached the van, and we enjoyed some PB & J while deciding what to do next. Andy and Rachel told the group to get ready for another hike, and their announcement was met with silence and distraught faces. It was quite entertaining to watch those sad faces cheer up when we pulled into Dolly’s and everyone was treated to ice cream! Sebastian, Walter and Ben were especially excited and all three boys are doing great. Camp is all set up at Davidson River again, and everyone is crossing their fingers for dry weather tomorrow for our first day of rock climbing, but we’ll be excited to climb indoors if the rain continues. We’ll update you again in a couple of days!
July 16, 2005
Well we have reached the halfway point in our Blue Ridge Expedition, and everyone is happy and healthy! We have spent the past two days rock climbing, and amazingly enough, the rain, remnants from Hurricane Dennis, has held out until nighttime both days! After finishing our last backpacking trip and settling in at Davidson River, we had a great night of relaxing in the campground filled with massage trains, Frisbee games (Logan impressed us with creative and exciting ways to throw a Frisbee,) yummy chicken and vegetable teriyaki, and even a human pyramid to top it off! Ally taught a few others how to play the "ha ha" game, and the rest of us sat and laughed at the people attempting to play it. We had a great Moonup- everyone went around and talked about the things they are most grateful for. A lot of people mentioned how thankful they are for the opportunity they had to come on Moondance. We were all hoping for sunny skies as we went to sleep, and much to our amazement, our wish came true! We had a wonderful day filled with climbing at Looking Glass Rock on Thursday, and the rain held off until dinnertime! Everyone was really excited as our guides, Stuart and Eric, taught us how to put on harnesses and belay and showed us climbing techniques, and before long, everyone had made it up at least one route successfully! Carly and Katherine kept the spirits high with their thoughtful encouragement. Carly roared at the top of every climb, and tried to get others to roar with her, but she was usually the only one. :) The hardest climb of our day was a route named "Bloody Crack," and we were all impressed when Robert, Jake, and Sebastian made it all the way to the top. We got in a full day of climbing, and everyone was hot and tired so we found a great swimming hole and a tree with a rope swing to finish off our day. Jake was the first one to fearlessly go off the rope swing, but Sheldon and Richard weren't far behind. After feeling refreshed from our swim, we headed back to the campground where Andy, Ben, Robert, and Richard cooked grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup for dinner.
Unfortunately, the rain rolled in right as we began cooking, but we huddled under the tarp and enjoyed each other's company until it passed over. We had a few more showers during the night, but come morning it had passed and we were able to head to Snake's Den just north of Asheville to do some more climbing. The sun was out all day long, and everyone had a great day with more climbing and rappelling. We did some more great routes, and everyone successfully finished every climb that they attempted! Garrett set a great example all day long of what good EB (expedition behavior) looks like, and was always willing to help out and belay someone. Walter and Evan both showed some great EB as well, and both did an awesome job making it up all three routes. Hayes made a visit and brought along Michael and baby Hunter! It was definitely a highlight for the students, as they excitedly filled Hayes in on the highlights of the trip thus far. Despite a stop for snacks at a gas station, everyone was hungry for dinner when we returned to the campground, and Rachel helped Ally, Walter, and Sheldon prepare some Jambalaya with veggies and sausage. Everyone enjoyed their dinner and sat around talking for a long time afterwards before we cleaned up and finished the night with Moonup, where we talked about places we would like to live, things we hope to do before we die, and our biggest fears. It was our first day completely rain-free, and it wasn't 5 minutes after we were in our tents that it began to rain. So we stayed dry all day and got to fall asleep listening to the rain! Today, we are packing up and heading to the Nantahala National Forest for our second backpacking trip. We'll send more news as soon as possible!
July 20, 2005
Well, we’re back from our second backpacking trip and we’ve started on our day at the ropes course. We had a great trip, and miraculously, there wasn’t a drop of rain! We packed our camp up on Saturday and headed to the Appletree Group Campground in Nantahala National Forest. We had a great time in the van and stopped for a picnic of chicken salad wraps and fruit. We got to camp, and started the packing effort- this time the students were in charge! Richard and Garrett, our LOD’s, helped keep the group moving, and we got done in record time and had time to hang out and play games around camp before dinner (including an exciting game of red rover!) We talked about our favorite movies at Moonup, and got a good night’s rest for our first day back on the trail. We headed out bright and early Sunday morning, and had a really good day of hiking. It was challenging, but everyone met the challenge with good attitudes. The sunshine definitely helped! Walter and Sheldon did a great job setting the pace, and we reached the Standing Indian Shelter by mid afternoon and relaxed and talked for a while before Andy, Katherine, Logan, and Sebastian made some delicious macaroni and cheese. After dinner, we had a lot of fun sitting around watching the sunset and asking each other goofy questions. At Moonup, we talked about our role models and why we admire them. It was neat to hear a lot of students mention their parents and siblings. It was a beautiful night, and some chose to sleep underneath the stars while others played it safe and slept in the shelter. Monday was another beautiful day! Rachel made cinnamon rolls for the group before heading out on a day hike to the top of Standing Indian Mountain and Beech Gap. The group moved really quickly and enjoyed each other’s company and the lightness of the daypacks. Carly and Jake were our LOD’s, and they did a great job taking turns leading and setting the pace. We had a great view from the top of the mountain, and lunch at Beech Gap was a highlight of the day. We held a competition for the remaining beef jerky, and whoever performed the most creative song and dance got to eat the rest of the bag! Ben headed up the performing of “1985,” and Richard and Logan were backup dancers. It inspired more performances, and before too long, Rachel had convinced the whole group to do a dance “In the Jungle,” from The Lion King. We caught the dance on video and are hoping it makes the next Moondance promotional video. Everyone was energized from a good lunch and lots of laughs, and we made it back to camp in record time. The cook crew started early on the big task of homemade pizzas! Richard, Robert, and Ben did a great job helping with the baking, and everyone agreed that it was a hit. We headed to bed early after a long day and enjoyed the clear skies and full moon as we fell asleep. We woke up to another sunny day on Tuesday and had a quick breakfast of granola before heading back to the van. It was a beautiful hike, right beside a creek the whole way, and Ally led, keeping the group moving quickly. We had lunch on the trail just before reaching the van and congratulated each other on a trip well done. Everyone was excited to sit in the van with air conditioning and listen to good music as we drove to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, where we will be spending the next two days. We set up camp last night before heading to Bryson City for our one fast food stop of the trip. It was remarkable how much everyone ate! Logan, Evan, Ben, and Jake probably ate more than anyone else, but weren’t feeling as proud of that after they started feeling sick… We stayed at Burger King and talked for a long time and let our food settle (everyone felt fine by the time we left) before heading to Fontana Lake for a sunset swim. It was a beautiful night, and a perfect way to finish the day. At Moonup, we talked about the different things we’re going to miss once the trip is over. A lot of people said that they would miss the peacefulness of the backcountry and the simplicity of the life we live here, but everyone agreed that we would miss each other the most. We got a good night’s sleep- one more night free of rain! All day long, we’ll be on the ropes course, and tomorrow we’ll be in Duckies on the Nantahala River. This will be our last update until the trip is over, so we look forward to seeing you on Saturday!
Sunday, July 24th, 2005
Well, now that it’s all said and done and everyone is home safe and sound, I think we would all agree that it was an incredible two weeks. We finished with three very full, really fun days, the first of which was our day at the ropes course at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Everyone completed the course fearlessly and even jumped off the 40 foot swing at the end without hesitation! It was another hot, sunny day, so we went for swim after we left the ropes course- we found yet another rope swing and swimming hole, and had a great time watching the guys jump. (Us girls decided we should stay below and make sure they were all right… :) ) For dinner, we held an Iron Chef competition; we divided the students into 2 groups, and they used the remaining food to cook and compete for different awards, such as “Most original dish,” or “Best Leave No Trace practices.” It was exciting and a little bit nerve-wracking for the leaders at times, but all turned out well, and the food was surprisingly tasty! One team managed to create fondue out of granola bars and melted M & M’s, while Logan helped the other team create an interesting pancake and granola dish that was enjoyed by all. Some people enjoyed their first night out under the stars in a while, and we had oatmeal for breakfast on Thursday before heading back to the Nantahala Outdoor Center to ducky the Nantahala River. Everyone was a little bit nervous after looking at the rapids, but we all made it down the river safe and sound and had a great time! We spent the afternoon in Bryson City, cleaning out the van and washing group gear before heading back to our first swimming spot and eating pizza for dinner. It was a great night filled with hilarious competitions for leftover pizza. The first competition was a doggie paddling race, (Ben won!) the second was another song and dance competition, which Carly won by leaps and bounds with her rendition of “Build me up, Buttercup,” although Jake and Ben were close behind with “Ice, Ice Baby” and “Yellow Submarine.” The last competition was a trivia contest- many questions were not answered, but everyone learned a lot! Back at the camp, we hung out and looked at stars and had Moonup, where we talked about what had been the most challenging thing about the two weeks. We tried to head to bed early for our early morning, and we awoke before sunrise to head to the Ocoee River! Rafting was a great time- a favorite activity for everyone. We had lunch and reflected on the course by the river, near the site of the 1996 Olympics, before heading back to the NOC for our final banquet. We dined at The River’s End overlooking the water. It was fun to see everyone showered and in clean clothes, and the food was delicious! We stayed up late talking and had our final Moonup. Everyone talked about what they learned and how they had changed throughout the course, and then encouraged one another by sharing what we admire about one another. We awoke before sunrise again on Saturday to pack up camp and head back to Brevard. Everyone was tired, but we enjoyed each other’s company as we rode in the van and listened to music together for the last time. It was sad to say our first goodbyes, but everyone was excited to reunite with their parents. Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible, especially the parents- for sending your kids, but most of all, for having kids with great attitudes that helped make the past two weeks a blast. It was a wonderful, memorable experience for all, and hopefully we’ll see each other again- perhaps next summer! :)
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