| Blue Ridge Expedition log (2006-07-09 -> 2006-07-22)
Leaders: Willy Seabring and Katie Tennille
Students: James Blackwood, Sarah Buckley, Alex Caffentzis, Catherine Conner, Nic Hogan, Hannah Hollett, Ansley Kenney, Alex Langlois, Andy Stormont, Hannah Thiemann, Scout Thomas, Caleigh Tully, Joe Webb
July 9, 2006
Everyone has arrived safe and sound. Preparations are underway for backpacking in Pisgah National Forest.
The first section of Blue Ridge Expedition II went very well. Our three day backpacking trip was a walk in the park for these kids. On our first day we were lead by Nic, who kept up a very strong pace that got us through the first half of the trail. On one of our breaks Alex L. got everyone to dip their heads under a water fall to cool down after a tough section of the trail. Sarah and Hannah wanted to wash their hair, but we could risk hurting our water source with the harmful shampoo. Hannah T. was the other leader of the day; she kept everyone motivated and kept us from spending too much time at water breaks.
We made it all the way to Butter Gap Shelter. When we got there we stared up dinner. The cook group did a great job. Jo ate 4 helpings of beans and rice, I thought he was going to pop. After we were done with dinner, which was earlier then we thought, we played games and talked about our lives at home. Caleigh was the master of our game of Evolution and almost won Look Down Look Up too. When it was time to start going to sleep James started to tell scary stories that I just couldn’t stay awake for.
The second day of hiking was the hardest, the day that we had the most up hill. I couldn’t believe how far the kids made it. They did the whole second half of the trail in a couple of hours. Alex C. and Ansley were the leaders of the day. At times I thought that they were going sprint off and leave me in the dust. I could tell that everyone was getting a good workout when I saw the sweat dripping off of Andy’s nose. But he just laughed, put on his pack, and kept on hiking.
One the morning of day three we had oatmeal for breakfast. Scout told Catherine put together the camping stove all by her self. After breakfast, the rest of the trail was only a 15 min. walk. We set up camp by the river, got in the van, and drove to sliding rock. Everyone had a great time, even though the water was freezing. We are all getting pumped about the rock climbing that is coming up and all the good food we are going to get to eat while we are near our van. I’ll up date y'all again soon.
7/19/06
I am happy to say that the first Moondance trip ever has summited Mt. Mitchell. We had an easy hike into the Mt. Mitchell National Park, which was lead by Hannah H. and Scout. We kept a very quick pace which got us to our camp in time to make dinner and set up camp before it started to rain. We had a hard time putting camp together because the camp site was a little small for 6 tents. But, thanks to James, Alex C, and Alex L. we were able to find a way to fit all of the tents in a very tight spot. While most of the group was putting together camp Ansley, Catherine, and Jo worked on dinner. Cooking dinner was not the hard part, the hard part came after dinner. While they were trying to clean up dinner it started to rain, and when it rains on Mt. Mitchell it really rains. The rain was coming down in buckets, but there were able to clean up and stay a little dry. While the rain was coming down the rest of the group was in their tents telling stories and Nic was drawing pictures of mystical beasts like the “manbearpig.” After the cleaning group was done cleaning the rain stopped in time for us to do Moon-up and go to bead.
The summit hike was lead by Andy and Hannah T. They kept a fast pace and we were at the top in no time. On the top of Mt. Mitchell me and Sarah went to look in the store to do just a little shopping. When we came out of the store, to our great surprise my parents were standing there with Subway for everyone. The lunch helped us down the mountain. By the time we reached camp it was so early in the day we decided to go ahead and hike out. On the hike out Caleigh was brave and was able to tuff out the long hike. By the end of the hike we had hiked around 9 or 10 miles that day! It was truly something to be proud of. I’ll update you’ll again after we get done with the rafting. Until then, GO MOONDANCE!!
I just returned from visiting BRE 2 and they are all doing really well. Had a chance to run the Ocoee River today and it was nice to cool off on a toasty summer afternoon. I was lucky enough to have Joe, Ansley, Katherine and Scout in my boat. A special treat to spend a little time with everyone later on. All is going well and both Katie and Willy are remarkable with the kids. I know they are looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend.
Hayes
7/25/06
The trip has come to an end, and it has been one
remarkable experience. Our group truly enjoyed
themselves on the Nantahala even though the water was
freezing cold. Every single person dominated the
river with a couple of exceptions at the last rapid.
The exceptions being Joe and myself as we both took a
swim at the end but laughed whole-heartedly about how
funny it was. Sarah seemed to be nervous at first but
by the end she was as ferocious as they come on the
rapids. Nic and Alex C. showed their adventurous side
by both going down the final rapid backwards. Hannah
T. was as fearless as ever and every time I saw her or
looked around she was bumping my raft from behind and
laughing, shortly after I nicknamed her "Trouble". It
was amazing to see how much everyone enjoyed
the water, and as I looked around I could see Caleigh,
James, and Alex L. just smiling and laughing as hard
as they could. It was a huge team effort going down
the river, and it was also a truly independent
experience as we were all in our own individual
Duckie.
The final day at the ropes course was kind of a sad
day being that the trip was over the next day. But
that did not stop us at all from having fun. This was
our last task that truly challenged everyone to their
physical limit, and some to their mental limit with
the activity being so high in the air. Ansley seemed
to be unstoppable as the group watched her scale
through the entire challenge like a champion. Hannah
H. truly proved to herself that she could do anything.
She expressed her fear of heights but before we knew
it she was swinging on the 40ft swing and smiling
about it from ear to ear. Catherine seemed to provide entertainment with her short songs and star like performances. Scout and Andy both did a remarkable job tackling the ropes course and both seemed to be extremely proud of what they had done.
We decided to go to Yummi Yummi Chinese Cuisine for
our banquet. Everyone seemed to have Chinese on the
mind and Katie and I were not going to argue with
that. We enjoyed each other’s company for our last
and final meal, and had a blast. Shortly after dinner
we gathered at Lost Mine Campground and had our final
moon-up. We all went around in a circle and talked
about certain experiences that we will never forget
and we also spoke about how our impressions of
Moondance changed from the beginning of the trip to
the end. It is amazing to see how everyone was
touched by this two-week excursion. Katie and I had a great trip and enjoyed sharing it with such a great group of kids.
Thanks to the parents for sharing their children with
us this summer. They have accomplished so much and
have gained a huge increase of self-confidence. I am
proud of each and every one of them and I hope to hear
good things from them in the future. Keep Moondance
on your mind, and KEEP ON TRUCKIN' BLUE RIDGE KIDS!!
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