| Pacific Northwest Exposure Log (2007-06-20 --> 2007-07-10)
Leaders: Charlie Miller, Hallie Wilson
Students: Adair Dickerson, Hannah Thiemann, Joanie Davis, Nic Hogan, Alex Caffentzis, Ryan Mercer, Ansley Kenney, Caleigh Tully
June 20
All have arrived safely. Perperations are underway for Sea Kayaking the San Juan Islands. Stay tuned.
June 24
Hallie and I were thrilled to finally be meeting our crew! Airport pick up went smoothly, except Joanie's bag went missing. We decided it best not to wait on it, for all we knew it would never arrive. It was a beautiful ferry ride from Anacortes out to Lopez Island. We traveled alongside another Moondance group with 20 aboard the ferry. We cruised among the San Juan Islands as the sun set. We arrived on Lopez Island, and it is quite picturesque. It is a simple place consisting of quaint little houses, pastures, several harbors, and a nice downtown. That night we picked up cheese burgers and had them at the campground.
The following morning we met with our guides, Outdoor Adventures. We were given dry bags, we loaded our things, and hit the water. The forecast predicted 3 days of rain. What followed was 3 days of sunshine and glassy waters. The group quickly took to sea kayaking. Caleigh and I set out together, her level of enthusiasm for handling the sea creatures brought a lot to my personal experience. Adair was quick to teach us we could eat kelp, and not only is it tasty, but nutritious too, and Alex couldn't get enough of it. We paddled 4 miles that day. As we approached James Island we saw seals & dolphins. We set up tents, had a great dinner, and at sunset we were lucky enough to watch as Orca's breached not far from shore.
Day 2 was a challenging one. We all could feel that our bodies were getting broken in, and with sore shoulders we followed the shoreline for most of the day and spotted a bald eagle in its nest. Nic and Hannah showed a great deal of maturity & determination as they paddled a heavy boat with smiles on their faces. We arrived at Doe Island to discover we had paddled 10 miles that day. We had a late lunch followed by a delicious dinner. We skipped some stones and hit the hay.
We started Day 3 by exploring some tidal pools. We took to the water and learned some more advanced paddling strokes. It took a little while, but after our lunch break on Obstruction Island, we all felt energized, and for the first time paddled in a tight knit synchronized pod. Ryan, more than anyone else, brought new meaning to the term 'water fight'. He soaked everyone and everyone responded! Ansley expressed a nervous reluctance towards learning to 'wet exit' from her kayak, but ended up partaking in what I consider to be the most stylish & well executed exit of them all.
Joanie's bag had finally arrived! Despite being without some creature comforts for the previous 3 days, Joanie maintained a great attitude, an upbeat mood, and a glowing smile.
We have a long drive ahead of us, and then we head into the woods. We are all safe & happy and hope all is going well with you.
Blue Sky's,
Charlie & Hallie
Hello Parental Units!
It is so hot out here! Today we concluded our climbing section at Smith
Rock. It's an absolutely beautiful place with awesome rock features and the
best sunsets yet. After a day of unwinding in Bend we began our climbing.
All the kids took to it quickly. Belaying one another takes a great deal of
trust and therefore brought the group closer and closer. Each and every one
of them challenged themselves. When someone faced a challenging problem on
the wall they had an entourage of their encouraging peers cheering them on
from below. Alex, probably the most experienced out of the bunch, was on
hand to give climbing tips. Nic realized he's a dedicated crack climber.
Hannah realized she has a fear of heights. We had a variety of routes to
choose from, ranging from easy to challenging. On our first set, everybody
made it up the more challenging one. Caleigh worked hard at it for a while,
and her hard work paid off. However, not everyone made it up the most
challenging problem that day. Adair did though! And he made it look easy. As
did Alex, Hallie, and myself (I don't know that I made it look easy though).
Day 2's climbs were taller than Day 1's. All the kids successfully made it
up Spiderman's Buttress then rappelled themselves down. The day's "spiciest"
climb proved a true challenge for several kids, but no one showed more
determination on it than Ryan. Joanie, on the other hand, cruised up it with
ease. It was a hot day, and at its conclusion our guides Marco and Dean were
nice enough to clue us in to one of the locals' favorite swimming holes:
Steelhead Falls. After this adventure one would not have guessed that Hannah
had any fear of heights. And Ansley casually "explored" the waterfall area.
Adair perfected his doggy paddle. Basically, all the kids proved to be brave
and burly. I'll let them fill you in on the details.
Today was an epic adventure. We attacked the Monkey's Face. This involves a
Tyrolean traverse from a cliff, across to the Monkey's Face, over a 200+ ft.
drop. Once across, one climbs to the top of the Monkey then rappels down.
Take my word for it: It's scary!
We're off on our next adventure. Tomorrow we get on the Deschutes River for a 2 day trip. We're all looking forward to it! Talk to you soon. Hope all is
well.
Blue Skies, Charlie and Hallie
Greetings from Smith Rock!
The second leg of our trip was a great success! We took a ferry ride up the beautiful Lake Chelan to the town of Stehekin (population 85), and from there took a shuttle bus to the trailhead. We did not get on the trail until 2 pm, which worried us because day 1 has a reputation for being the most grueling of the entire trip - all uphill for a supposed 7 mile stretch. Ryan had been elected Leader of the Day, and he set quite the pace, practically running up the trail. No more than a mile up, Hallie almost stepped on a Rattle Snake. A good omen? I wasn't so sure. The switchbacks just kept on coming. We reflected on the workout we got in the San Juans - despite being a workout, it worked out none of the muscles we needed for backpacking. A few miles up we took a break at a beautiful outlook, had some snacks, and checked out the map. And then we hiked uphill some more. But the rumors about this first day really were grim. I had heard of students crying. I had heard of a 10 pm arrival at camp. As instructors, these were some very nerve-wracking rumors. Eventually we came to a really cool bridge over a raging creek. We filled up on water, and camp ended up being less than a mile away. We arrived at 6pm, smiling, not crying, had dinner, and called it a day. It was a cold night so we "Mooned-up" around a fire. We had a good talk about how everyone was feeling - Hannah had a very insightful comment, saying she wanted to see a more cohesive group with less boy-girl separation. I thought this was a very cool thing to say. Day 2 should've been the one with all the rumors attached to it. It was much more challenging, and soon into the hike the trail disappeared into a vast field of snow some four feet deep. Luckily, I had topographical maps and a compass, and thirty minutes later we found the trail, and pushed it real hard up McCallister Pass. Despite feeling sick, Nic pushed himself, and actually ended up maintaining a position in the pack close to the front. At the top of McCallister pass there was a large puddle. Caleigh feared that this puddle was our destination - McCallister Lake. She was happy to hear that this was not the case. We, for the first time, descended down trail. Ansley sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. She is allergic to Pine. We were hiking in a dense Pine forest. At McCallister Lake we found a small patch of dirt, out of the snow, and set up camp. The hardest was behind us. Over the next few days the scenery got more and more beautiful. The hikes were easier, and everyone, for the first time in a while, had time to relax. With Adair's help we had some excellent pancakes for breakfast one morning. Alex always maintained an adventurous vibe. I liked that after arriving to camp he always kept his boots and gaiters on and explored our more local surroundings. The last few days were mellow to say the least. Except for one evening of pouring rain the weather was great. And that rainy night the cook crew took the time to prepare 6 backcountry pizzas. That was a 3 hour process that would not have been possible without the help of Joanie, Caleigh, and Alex. On our final day we got up at 4:30 am for a 5-mile sunrise hike out of Stehekin. It was a beautiful morning, and just 50 feet from the trail's end the group spotted a Grizzly standing sixty feet from us. Now we're in Bend, Oregon. Smith Rock is beautiful. The last time I was here I was 14 years old, and I too climbed with First Ascent Climbing, so I can assure you it is going to be a good time. I can't think of a better way of spending the Fourth of July.
Just a couple more things: I wanted to apologize for the rather brief update after our sea kayaking section. We had one day to get it on the internet and it turned out to be a Sunday - all the libraries were closed. I ended up having to call my dad and read it to him over the phone which took sooo long (so I had to edit). He then e-mailed it to the Moondance office for me (thanks again dad). There was a paragraph I had to cut out for the sake of time. I just wanted to emphasize how amazing our Sea Kayaking guides were. Blair, Kathy, Jessica, Miles, and David were so great to us, and we all continue to speak fondly of our times in the San Juans. Talk to you soon!
Blue Skies, Charlie and Hallie
Hello!
After two days on the river this trip is coming to a close. We rafted down
the lower Deschutes with our guides Johnathan, Carolyn, and Sonia. The river
winds through a high alpine desert, a hot, dry, and dusty landscape
populated by snakes, scorpions, and river rats(raft guides). What is usually
done in three days our crew paddled in two. That's a 42 mile stretch, and
with a constant, vicious headwind, this was no easy task. But the air
temperature was nicely complemented by the water temp. Adair said that the
water was 56. He knows this because Steelheads do best in waters between 51
and 58 degrees in temperature, but thrive at 56, and the fish were jumping,
so the water was obviously 56. Both Hannah and Joanie were in my boat that
day. They were happy to go swimming as well(and nice enough to lend me
sunscreen). It was a relaxing time. After 3 sections of rather hard work, I
think we could all agree that floating down a river came as a well-received
break. Ryan paddled hard, and I don't know, maybe it was because he knew
lunch awaited us down river, but nevertheless he paddled well (and kept us
laughing the entire time). When we pulled up beside Hallie's raft we saw
something we had never before seen. Caliegh's two front teeth glowed white
instead of silver. Apparently, when Hallie pulled Caleigh into the boat
after a swim her two front braces popped off. But don't worry Mom and Dad,
they're looking good and they might be ready to come off (I understand it's
been 8 long years). At camp that night Caleigh and Alex and a few others
built the Moondance logo out of sand on the river's shore. It was a job well
done, and now that Alex has a photograph of it, I would not be surprised to
see it show up in next year's Moondance catalog. Dinner was excellent. Our
guides noted the enormous amount of food the kids are able to take down. I
pointed out Hannah, the smallest girl, as one of the biggest eaters. Then I
went to point out Ryan as our biggest eater, but he was nowhere to be found.
He was asleep in the tent, but once I woke him he promptly took down two
servings in one go.
On day 2 we switched the boats up a bit. Ansley hesitantly took a seat up
front. Once she heard that we had our biggest rapid ahead of us she asked to
be switched out. I told her she could do it, and she stuck with it, and she
got a face full of water. It was awesome. Nic had acquired an impressive
burn on the tops of his knees. I made this dumb joke that we could cook
quesedillas on his knees. Adair has yet to let me live that one down,
constantly bringing it up. We made it through the winds and off the river,
had another excellent lunch, and hopped in our van and hit the road. We
blasted some Michael Jackson - a request of Nic's I had been putting off for
far too long.
Now we're in Olympia, Wa. We're about to go clean gear, do some post-trip
paperwork, and force your children to bathe. Then they fly home, Hallie and
I sigh, sit back, and listen...silence.
It has been a pleasure having your children on this trip. But we'll be
sending all of you letters in the near future to tell you more about that.
All is well in Washington.
Blue Skies, Charlie Miller
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