| Big Wild log (2006-06-19 -> 2006-07-06)
Leaders: Laura Ann Vann and Mike Foote
Students: Emma Lowry, Elyse Landry, Mariel Calhoun, Janee Peters, Wynn Jeffery, Ashley Pearce, Michael Garrison, Sarah Reusch, Caitlin LeCorgne, Emily Guzniczak, William Boyce, Connor Holmes
June 19, 2006
All have arrived and the excitement builds as they travel to Idaho and prepare for rafting one of America's most pristine whitewater runs, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Stay tuned, more updates coming soon!!
Well, I must say, we have the best group of kids!!
Day 1 was an afternoon of meeting and greeting, Sarah's bag coming in later that night, and the group settling in Jackson, WY. The boys: Wynn, William, Michael, and Connor made quesadillas for the whole group and they were delicious! We got up early the next day and started our day off with a game of "Birdie on the perch" to get everyone awake... and ready to hop in the van for a day of driving through Idaho. Thank goodness Ashley brought the song "Idaho" to get everyone excited about rafting down the Salmon River. We stopped off to get Idaho fishing licenses and continued on a beautiful drive along the river and stopped in North Fork, ID at our campsite and met with our guides. William, Wynn, Michael and Ashley hit the river for some fishing—everyone caught at least one, but more like 3 or 4 small mouth bass and chubs. Fly fishing was an activity for this crew that continued over the next several days along the river.
I don't think we really understood how much fun we were about to have on this trip. The next morning we all suited up in our wetsuits and set out on the river with our guides: Brandon, Rae, Matt, Chris, and Alec. Elyse enjoyed a chilly ride in one of the duckies, along with Ashley and Emma in the other. We stopped off and ate some cherries at a cherry tree that Brandon frequently visits, and then had a delicious lunch on one of the many small "beaches" along the river. Once we made it to camp, Emma and myself(Laura Ann) rounded up a group of eager hikers (most were eager)-- Mariel, Connor, Elyse, Emily, Sarah, Janee, Caitlin and the guides. What we thought would be a quick hike up a hill turned into an unexpected highlight of an adventure for us all. Those of us that went all the way helped each other balance on the soft, steep ground and cross the river for a much needed cool down and quicker way to get back to camp. An awesome adventure was had by all that hung in
there! Dinner was quite a reward-- homemade lasagna, followed by s'mores!!
The rafting continued-- with huge rapids, Sarah making everyone laugh constantly, William and Wynn with all of their coined phrases, and each of us getting a chance to take the oars in our hands and steer the rafts. Sarah was definitely our 'fish' in the group, and made sure that everyone got in the water and swam.
Thanks to Emily's coaxing me into the water, I realized how nice it felt to cool off. Especially, when natural hot springs were right around the corner! What a treat!
I have continuously been impressed with how well this group bonds together--whether the 'Southerners' of the group are laughing at how Emily and Janee say 'bag' or Emily and Janee are laughing at how southern some of the group talks-- we are all constantly laughing. The rafting trip really brought out everyone's personality and all the jitters and shyness of the first day were swept away and we truly became one big happy family. After much pleading, Connor finally broke out his guitar and gave us all a show like we had been begging to hear. He blew us all away! It was a perfect night, filled with a dress up party, Leave No Trace skits, game of musical chairs, and fajitas, rice and beans, and a delicious cake. Exodus rafting company made sure we were NEVER hungry--awesome meals the whole time.
The guides said they had never had a group so willing to help cook, clean, and help out every step of the way. Everyone stepped up constantly, mostly having never been asked to do so. Mike and I are truly blessed to have such an amazing group of kids, well, young adults, I should say.
The weather was amazing, it never rained, and we all slept on each of the beaches we camped on under the stars. Mariel, Caitlin and Sarah have definitely had some funny sleeping habits-- ending up on top of each other most mornings, but laughing about it each day. Our coin phrase of the trip so far has been "Mos Def" Meaning we have all "most definitely" had the time of our lives already! And there's still much more to come. It was sad to leave our wonderful guides, but we are so excited about the rest of our fun journey.
Stay tuned...
Laura Ann
July 3, 2006
Back in town after 6 days of backpacking in the Wind River Range! We hiked out this morning with dirty faces, more than a few bug bites on our arms and legs, and big smiles on our faces.
Last Wednesday we met our Guide Matt in Pinedale, Wyoming and drove out to the Spring Creek Trailhead in the Northern Winds. After hoisting our packs on our backs and a not so sad farewell to our van and U-haul we headed into the mountains in search of solitude and great trout fishing. Well at least the solitude and challenge parts were easy…..
Immediately on the trail I was impressed when I saw Janee and Emily, our Wisconsinites, taking charge up the hill and leaving the rest of us in the dust. I stayed in the back with the likes of Emma, Sarah, and Mel out of breath, not from the Elevation, but from the laughter that always surrounds them. Our first night was spent in a sub-alpine meadow and our backpacking stoves were christened with a hearty helping of Mac and Cheese.
The next morning we set off for Borum Lake and a base camp out of the trees 6 miles away. The leaders of the day, Ashley and Caitlin, did a great job navigating the group and motivating us through the long day. We were rewarded for our hard work with a beautiful and spacious campsite surrounded by boulders and rock where we would spend our next three nights. During out moon-up that night when LA and I announced that the next day would be a rest day to hang out in camp to read or write and go fishing we were tackled with 12 hugs and tears of joy.
As promised, the 3rd day of our trip was filled with napping, reading, lounging by the lake, and many failed attempts at trout fishing. Michael was convinced Borum Lake was too cold and deep, but it didn’t stop him, Wynn and William from perfecting their casts all morning and afternoon.
Later in the day I (Foote) taught a baking class in preparation for our pizza dinner that night. Elyse, Janee, and Caitlin weren’t afraid to get their hands a little sticky and set right in to mixing and kneading the dough. As everyone knows, the best way for dough to rise is to put it in a bag and find the warmest place for it to sit for an hour. In the backcountry the warmest place happened to be our bellies, and Connor, Wynn, and Michael stepped up to nurse our “dough babies” as they expanded. Thanks to everyone’s hard work the pizza was a success and we went to sleep that night with bellies content and expectations high for our 5:30 a.m. wake up and summit attempt of 11,800 ft. Vista Peak.
Though the morning of our summit attempt was a little groggy, the fog seemed to lift with every step we took and the views became more amazing. After a few water breaks, a couple of snowfields, and a long scramble to the top, we made the summit as a group and were welcomed with one of the most breathtaking views many of us had ever seen. We were looking out over the continental divide, which was comprised of dark jagged peaks and deep turquoise lakes. After some celebration and lunch we all spread out and took some time by ourselves to ponder life and what brought us to such a spectacular place. On the climb down, we took a break for a July 1st snowball fight on one of the snowfields. After thoroughly wearing ourselves out we headed back down only to spot a large male moose on the trail no more than a half mile from camp! We made it back just in time for some quesadillas and a good night’s sleep.
Day 5 (yesterday) was our most epic day yet. After 11 miles we made it back to within one mile of the trailhead. Our previously picked campsite did not have a good water source, so we pushed on. Although packs were feeling heavy and feet were getting sore, as usual the laughter never stopped.
Now we are back in Jackson and getting geared up for our 4th of July rafting tomorrow on the Snake River and watching fireworks set off of Snow King Mountain. Spirits are high and I am sure this update is nothing but a scratch on the surface of stories that will come form this amazing adventure.
To end this little missive, I wanted to say how impressed I am with this group of kids. Backpacking is a challenging endeavor and the mosquitoes can be, well, annoying, but each and every one of them kept their spirits high and the jokes rolling. I know I am speaking for both myself and LA when I say I feel lucky to be part of such a great group. I think everyone involved has had a great opportunity to learn from one another and I am excited to end this trip with a bang (literally, with tomorrow night’s fireworks)!
See you all soon.
Foote and LA
After purchasing some festive 4th of July wear on the 3rd, we were excited to get some rest and wake up for a day of sun, fun, rafting down the Snake River and grilling out. Sarah really got everyone the spirit at the dollar store by buying stickers, t- shirts to decorate, balloons, and cups and plates for our cook-out. We even decorated the van! Mike and LA woke the kids up with "The Star-Spangled Banner" (a bit off-key) and then it was off to Barker-Ewing rafting company. Hayes met us there and followed us to the River. While it was a very short ride down the Snake-- compared to our awesome trip on the Salmon-- it did surprise us with several big rapids. At the "Lunch Counter," one of the rapids, Sarah got tossed out and swallowed a big gulp from the Snake. We all helped her back in, and she got right back to paddling to the end. It was so nice to have all 14 of us in one raft on such a beautiful day. Of course, Elyse jumped in to cool off, and Wynn got pushed in—I guess because it's Wynn, and that just has to happen.
We got off the river, enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park and Mike got out his slack line and everyone tried to walk across it-- it's SO much harder than it looks! Mike is really good at it, as well as some friends we attracted from across the street. We headed back to our "home" Slide Lake, and all went for a dip-- cold, but very refreshing! Then, it was time to get ready for the cookout. Big Wild 2 and Grand Ascents all joined us for hot dogs and hamburgers-- grilled by our Grill Master Michael (they were perfect!) corn, chips, and... Coke and sprite! What a treat! Thanks, Hayes-- the kids and I (LA) were absolutely wired for the night!! We decorated ourselves from head to toe in stickers, signed t-shirts, hats and lots of glow in the dark accessories-- Hayes couldn't believe how much I was into it :) It was such a FUN night! We headed into town for the best fireworks ever on Snow King Mountain. And made sure to let most of Jackson know that we were in town by playing "Birdie on a Perch "constantly. It was such a great time with all of us staying close together and enjoying one of our last big nights together.
The trip was about to come to a close... :(
LA & Foote |
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