Rocky Mountain Way

Rocky Mountain Way log (2005-06-23 -> 2005-07-06)

Leaders: Sara Burbank and Aaron Copeland

Students: Rebecca Lee Barden, Leah Benatar, William Breach, Louise Everard, KellyAnn Gorman, Matt Hostetler, Katie Irrgang, Dorothy James, Sallie James, Brennan Lang, Hillary Marbury, Chris Milich

We picked up everyone at DIA yesterday and all of the students seemed to get along like they had known each other for years. A few had met on the plane and had already started our Rocky Mountain Way family before they even got out of their starting airports. We have an amazing group of people from all over and look forward to making ties in many different regions.

We arrived at our first campsite in Mueller State Park near Divide, CO and got out to set up camp. As soon as we had all of our tents laid out, it started to hail and rain so we quickly packed them into the bear boxes, got our rain layers on and found some shelter. While seeking shelter, we decided to play a game of two truths and a lie and Sallie dominated everyone guessing right almost every time. Thankfully CO weather doesn't stick around for that long and before we knew it we were able to get our tents up, cook up some warm spaghetti, put on dry socks and hang out a bit before moon up. Moonup is our daily debrief session where we discuss the trip and lots of other topics pertaining to our particular group. At last night's moonup we discussed our goals for the trip and we have some very driven and excited individuals who we feel will get a lot out of the trip--especially a good time. After moonup Copey (Aaron Copeland) played his mandolin and then we all went to sleep. The sky was full of awesome stars which Kelly Ann remarked were better than any stars she'd ever seen in the city--although her days in Sun Valley previously had taught her to appreciate them.

We woke up this morning and began our journey to the Arkansas River. Our Leaders of the Day were Rebecca Lee and Will, so they were in charge of getting us all motivated to get on the road and keeping an eye on the general group well-being.. We arrived early and had a nice lunch of PBJs and fruit to tide us over while we rafted the Brown's Canyon section of the River. Cook Crew for the day was Will, Katie and Hillary. Thanks to the recent precipitation in the area the rivers were running high and our trip was full of great rapids. After slathering on loads of sunscreen, our crew was divided up into two stellar teams and we hit the river. Another highlight was dominating the RMW II crew in a water fight. There wasn't even really a contest. Our River Runners Guides were Kirby and Alana and they knew the river well and took us down some awesome rapids and to some cool places where we could swim. Dorothy on the front of one boat got drenched and seemed to be having the best time of all. The highlight for most was the rock jumping or the swimming a rapid at last chance rapid. Chris's favorite, however, was the seven stairs rapid which was pretty gnarly.

Matt has been keeping the group entertained with his constant naming of any and all geological, natural, or human objects--believe me the names are quite clever. Will also contributed to the group quotes after our lesson on Hydration, when he said, "Yellow pee is for losers." That quote is now the group mantra. Brennan, a helping hand in the kitchen and everywhere also contributed to quotable moments when he said while rafting, "this is the most fun I’ve had all summer." The rest of the group couldn't agree more. After morning cook crew, Katie and Hillary decided that they would aid others in taking down tents which was an excellent display of EB (expedition behavior) and expedited our packing up process. Also exhibiting great EB is Louise who also helped with tents and is always willing to help with the group chores. She has also proven herself to be quite polite and selfless. Leah has also displayed excellent EB and her maturity shows in every task she undertakes or activity in which she participates--and her conversation is thoughtful and interesting.

What a great group of kids we've been lucky enough to get and have for the next couple of weeks. We've got loads to cram into this small period of time so it should be the time of our lives. Tomorrow we have Rock Climbing and Hillary's Birthday to look forward to, so let the party begin. We also have the James girls' birthdays to get excited about and of course the 4th of July. We'll shoot another update your way after we finish climbing in a couple of days and we'll highlight that experience and the birthday party fun that will surely ensue. Thanks again for your AWESOME well-mannered kids. We're off to Lake City---YEEEEEEHAW.


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.

July 3, 2005
Greetings from Montrose, Colorado! We just jumped aboard the yellow submarine and are headed to Buena Vista. We have plenty of fun times still ahead and plenty from our backpacking section to share. For our prep day we woke up early, packed, divided up group gear and food and then headed into Telluride. While in Telluride we saw the sights, had dinner at The Sweet Life and hit up the free box to see what kind of goodies we could claim. Matt got an awesome pair of Spyder ski pants and Will got a trucker shirt that they later modeled for us back at camp. Believe me, these were no ordinary outfits. Soon after we called it an early night so we could get up early and begin our trek into the San Juan mountains.
Day 1:
We hiked a long way with heavy packs on our first day out but were rewarded with a great campsite at day’s end. We were treated to some afternoon rain but Kelly Ann was not defeated by the rain and helped us all by keeping spirits high with a few of her original songs. Dinner was quesadillas with chocolate cake for desert! Matt was especially fond of this meal as he stated that “The best three meals of my life are Outback Steakhouses 8oz. Prime Rib w/ a side of fries or a hot dog and a side of fries or quesadillas on Moondance!” After dinner, everyone congregated on a large rock and took pictures that will surely make next years’ catalog. Then Matt dominated Copey in a toothpaste spraying contest (see Leave No Trace protocol).
Day 2:
We woke up and hit the trail early. During our hike we passed another Moondance Adventures group that was hiking back to their van for the next adventure. It was nice to see some familiar faces along the trail. We think our energy and silliness made them a little nervous! We made good time which gave us the afternoon in camp to relax and write in our journals. Katie and Rebecca Lee have kept an awesome record of our trip thus far. We saw tons of humming birds in camp and had tons of daylight to explore the area around camp. Brennan, Matt and Kelly Ann got into the game of sniper and ultimately it was down to those three for the final round. Afterwards, Will drank a rather large amount of pink lemonade and kept us laughing with his antics. At Moon-up we learned that neither Sallie or Dorothy can wink with their left eye.
Day 3:
We kept the same campsite but spent the day hiking up to a know waterfall. Will drank all of someone else’s lemonade and kept us laughing again with his antics. Leah and Chris were great as leaders of the day and Leah led Moon-up by telling a story of losing one’s inhibitions and fears to overcome challenges. After Moon-up Louise scared us all with a few ghost stories and we all slept right out under the stars.
Day 4:
We hiked most of the day until we fond a large beaver pond. We chose this as our place to set up camp and then went for a swim. We also played Frisbee and worked on our tans. Sarah enforced the sunscreen rule so no one developed sunburn.
Day 5:
We hiked to another campsite and along the way found a person on a motorcycle who had crashed in the woods. We helped him up and did a little first aid on him and off he went, mostly unhurt and certainly thankful he crashed in the path of this Moondance group. For dinner it was a spruced up Ramen dish, Katie admitted it was her first taste of Ramen noodles but she also admitted enjoying it very much. At this campsite the Park Rangers came into camp and made some small talk before the pushed on to check on other groups in San Juan National Forest.
Day 6:
We got up really early and hiked out to the van. We hit a gas station and got Gatorade drinks for everyone. We are looking forward to an awesome 4th of July on the Arkansas River, but even more important…the James twins are turning 15 and we will be having a 4th of July/Birthday party. Dorothy was heard to say “my birthday is such a big deal they made it a holiday” and Sallie said “tomorrow is the USA’s birthday but more importantly it is my birthday…oh yeah and my twins too.” We will do it up right in their honor!
Until next time…
July 6, 2005
Howdy! We're back at Mueller State Park for the night and spending the day cleaning all of our gear, ourselves, and getting ready for the trip home tomorrow. Everyone is really bummed but will be excited to see family and finally get all of that dirt out from under their fingernails--Look forward to seeing some of y'all at the airport tomorrow.

Yesterday, The James girls' birthday...and the fourth of July, we got up early, headed to Canon City to raft the Royal Gorge section of the Arkansas River. We rafted with River Runners again and had the stellar guides Alan and Gary. On the river we were able to see the suspension bridge, the cable cars/gondola, and raft some gnarly class IV and V rapids. Katie and Will took the front of one boat and were completely drenched by the time we switched 1/3 of the way through. They had some sporadic sunshine to warm them up, though. Chris took over Katie's spot in the front after that and paddled the lead through the class V rapids which were super fun. The whole section was running high, so we all enjoyed this harder section of the river. Hillary entertained us with her oversized helmet and funny accent on the river and in the bus afterward. She's thinking about purchasing one when she gets home--she'll definitely be the most stylish person in B-ham if she does. After rafting, we had tomato soup for lunch, to warm up, and then piled back into the Yellow Submarine and headed back to our campsite in Buena Vista. Not long after we arrived, we fired up the grill for a cook out to honor the three birthdays we had to celebrate that day (Sallie, Dorothy, and USA). We ate tons of food including burgers, chicken, veggie burgers, chips, cake and ice cream. Sallie and Dorothy blew out their birthday candles and we quickly cleaned and got on the road to see some fireworks. We saw fireworks in Buena Vista and had an awesome time watching, singing and dancing. Leah, Rebecca Lee and the twins entertained us with their own song and dance rendition of the popular song Caroline. After the show we headed back to camp and got ready for moon up and bed. Some went to bed after moon up because they were super tired from the day's activities but Matt, Kelly Ann, Louise, Brennan, Copey, and I decided to go to an open river bank and toss the frisbee with a glow stick duct taped to it. It was hard to see but so much fun. Louise's throwing has improved so much and Matt continues to make us all laugh with his inconsistency and hilarious comments. We had a blast and then went to bed so we could be ready to go for our clean up day.

Today we're cleaning and then going out to dinner at a cool pizza place here in Woodland Park for our banquet. It's going to be weird to see each other clean. Then we'll have our final moon up and prep for our EARLY morning tomorrow.

Thanks, again, for lending us your kids for these past two weeks. We've had such a blast and will miss every single one of them so much. What a great and unique group we've had. Hope to see many back next year. Well, all right, that's it for internet updates on RMW I. Adios--YEEHAW.

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