Students: Koula Callahan, Mary Cox, Michael Garrison, Aaron Hays, Joseph Lowe, Holden Moore, Schilling Nechtman, Whitney Nudo, Wood Robinson, Ashley Zweier

Friends, family, past and future Moondancers,

The 2008 Leadership boat has embarked on its fabulous adventure throughout the Pacific Northwest. Just 6 days ago we: L Kam, Willy, Ashley, Schilling, Mary, Koula, Wood, Michael, Aaron, Holden, Joseph, and Whitney united at the Sea-Tac airport as strangers. Now we have just completed 4 days of hiking and climbing through the jungles and beaches of the last stretch of wild beach in the world.

Schilling and Koula started out as the very first LOD's (Leader of the Day) and got us off to a great start leading the way to our first backcountry campsite - Third Beach. Here we played games, we learned how to set up tents, navigate the coastlines and read tidal charts. It was quite a day. Our first student lead cook group pulled together a fabulous meal of stir-fry and veggies with some amazing chicken. Michael, Joseph and Ashley set the bar for backcountry meal quality that first night.

Day two we continued our journey south down the coastline. Day 2 was filled with wildlife spottings: seals, bald eagles, Willy, and many animal tracks in the sand. We alternated between hiking along the coast and moving up very safe ladders into the forest. This was our first somewhat strenuous day and the group really came together as a team. Willy and I were very excited and thrilled to see such amazing teamwork on day 2. Joseph, Wood, and Holden showed us their frisbee skills and even how to retrieve a frisbee from the ocean without getting wet. Whitney has kept the group entertained with crazy stories and fun boarding school games. We have all enjoyed the Egyptian game!!!

Day 3 Mary keeps the group on their toes with her zest for life and the many different accents she has perfected over the years. We started day 3 with an unbelievable beach side pancake breakfast lead by the one and only L-Kam. She shared her secretes with the group and soon Holden and Schilling were able to come close to duplicating her mad skills on the pancakes. Hiking all day brought us to our third and final night on the coast - Mosquito Creek. Don't worry friends there really weren't many bugs - just the beautiful bald eagles and Willy! After our toughest day so far Aaron, Schilling, Koula, and Whitney learned the secrets of the quesadilla from the master himself - Willy!!! We cooked and laughed and ate until our bellies hurt from all three. Day 4 brought us to the mouth of the HOH and inland to find that our van shuttle was a success and our van and U-haul was sitting safe and sound at the end of our first trek!

The team has really grown into a family over this first backpacking section and Willy and L-Kam will be passing over the role of leader to our faithful students during this next backpacking section.

We will talk to you soon!!!

Peace and blue skies,

L-Kam and Willamino

Trip Update 6-28-08

Greetings to everyone both near and far. We have successfully made it out of the Hoh Rainforest with sunshine and smiling faces. We managed to hike east along the Hoh river trail for twenty miles. We set up camp at some breathtaking campsites, cooked some fabulous dinners, and shared many belly aching laughs at the same time. During this section we handed over the leadership to the group. They were in charge of waking everyone up, breaking down camp, and preparing all meals throughout the day. Everyone stepped up to the challenge, and we have been blown away by their leadership skills. At the last campsite, we participated in a NOLS leadership activity so that each student could figure out their specific leadership style. It was great to see how the group was split up in the different areas creating a great discussion about what it means to be a leader. The following are some notes from our new leaders:

This trip is amazing! - Mary

Hugs to Mom for the best trip ever! Tell John I am making him proud. - Schilling

Thanks again guys, don't lose Sparky. - Wood

I miss you mama bear and papa bear. Don't take it personally if I stay out here and don't come home. J/K, tell Liza and Lauren hello for me. - Holden

Dear Mommy and Daddy, I love you a lot. I hope that you guys are not missing me too much. Whitney

Dear parents, thanks for sending me, I might come home...Love you and see you soon! - Aaron

I might not leave this place because it's so amazing and I am having a great time. I am keeping everyone with me because they are so amazing too. Thank you for the opportunity, much love. - Michael.

Mom and Dad, I am having great time here, much better than expected. Hope all is well at home, tell Billy and Katy I have survived the backcountry. Ashley

Parents, I am having just as much fun as I thought I would. Making friends with everyone was very easy because they are silly and awesome. We have been having a great time backpacking! Tell my peeps I'll be home soon. Love, Joseph

I am having the best time. Willy and L-Kam are awesome leaders - we all get along very well. It has only been 10 days but we are all acting like brother and sister. I look like a dirty wooly mammoth and I love it!!!!!

Koula

Our leadership team is moving south into Oregon tomorrow to test our skills on the rocks! We can't wait. Talk to you soon!!!!!

Love,

ML 1

Trip Update 7-1-08

Hey folks!!

The leadership crew has been climbing the big walls and faces down at Smith Rock for the past few days and it has been awesome. We had great weather, amazing “First Ascent” guides, and of course L-kam and Willy dominate!!

We arrived at Smith Rock ready to go! Wood was our only climber with outdoor experience and besides a crazy climb rated at 5.10c, he scaled up everything put in front of him. Next up, in the way of experience, was Joseph. He must be an awesome climber at the indoor gym in Nashville, because he blew us away with his Spiderman-like skills on the rocks. The rest of us were either new to climbing or it must have been a few years. We were pumped to be in the beautiful desert of Oregon! Ashley climbed hard on the first day and dominated everything she tried. Whitney kept us all on our toes as she climbed up everything that was offered to her. Mary went hard for every climb and improved dramatically over the few days. She was our most enthusiast cliff jumper at Steelhead Falls. Aaron, the funniest guy on the trip, according to Ashley, quietly dominated all of his climbs. Michael and Willy entertained the entire group throughout the Smith Rock experience - they laughed, climbed, struggled, and succeeded - and then they cooked us awesome meals. Both Holden and Schilling came to this trip with lots of scouting experience and some climbing experience - and their skills and leadership showed on the rock.

They both struggled successfully through the hardest climbs our guides put up there. Twice yesterday I heard Schilling say he was scared of heights and then either dominated a climb or jumped off a cliff. It was awesome to see both Holden and Schilling push their personal boundaries. Koula is quite humble about her athletic abilities but really proved to herself and the group that she can do anything! She was all over the place - climbing, belaying, and supporting all of her team!

Overall, Smith Rock State Park was amazing and we all wanted another day there. But, the big mountain called and here we are in Ashford, Washington waiting to climb Mount Rainier tomorrow.

Hope all is well,

Love,

L-kam and Willy

Trip Update 7-4-08

Hello family and friends we have made it up Mount Rainier and back and have been enjoying pizza with our trusted and wonderful guides. We started our trek three days ago by attending an all-day snow school. We divided into two groups - team Dominate: Koula, L-kam, Whitney, Joseph, Holden, and Schilling. And we certainly did dominate. The other team - team summit was Willy, Aaron, Michael, Mary, Ashley, and Wood - and they also dominated. Snow school was super fun. We learned how to use ice axes, crampons, how to save ourselves and our rope teams in the event of a fall, and we slide around in the snow all day. It was amazing. After snow school we did an iron chef competition at the campground. Teams were divided and the rules were given out - prizes would be given for creativity, presentation, tastiness, safety, and cleanliness. Willy and L-kam would be judging and gave the students 45 minutes to create amazing meals. Holden and Schilling did very well right from the beginning, by making L-kam some coffee!! They also had some appetizers for the judges which were award winning! Ashley made the award winning dessert of Oreos rolled up in tortillas!! The other team (Wood) started things right by massaging both L-kam and Willy while we waited for the masterpiece meals. Then Joseph followed with some fresh lemonade and garlic bread. Both teams did great and it was a tie because everyone is a winner on Moondance Leadership!

So on to the hike/ climb...

We divided into rope teams yesterday to start our five-hour hike to Camp Muir where we would be spending the night. It was great to finally be all suited up, and in the snow making our way up the big mountain, we had been looking at for the past few days. L-kam and team “Dominate” started out feeling good and hiking well - according to our guides Alex and Jeff. We took pictures, had snacks, and hiked all day. Team “Summit” followed close behind us - we could see them because Willy insisted on wearing a very, very bright tie-dye shirt all day!!!! They also had a great start getting out on the snow. Once we all reunited at Camp Muir we had a summit talk where our guides laid out what would be going down over the next few hours and the details of the climb the next morning. We then had a delicious meal of Ramen and went to bed at about 5PM. (Luckily a lightening storm kept us up the night before so most of us were out right away) Then after a few hours of sleep our guides woke us up at 12:30 AM to get going. It was very windy - so windy that I thought the guides were going to tell us that we couldn't go - but we were up and getting ready. Oatmeal and some last minute packing and dressing and we were out the door and into the moonlight. We were again divided into smaller rope teams and off we went into the night and onto the glacier. According to Holden - It was a challenging climb unfortunately the weather made it more challenging and most of the rope teams had to turn back 500 feet from the summit. We had an amazing couple of days on the mountain. Mary, Michael, and L-kam made it to the top through some seriously harsh weather. They got a picture on the top and headed down the 9,700 feet they had just climbed up. The whole crew met up at Camp Muir and everyone was drinking water and resting up for the final descent. Heading down to Paradise where the RMI van would pick us up. We all had a great time sliding down the hill. Whitney was an especially good boot-skier. Koula had trouble staying on her feet - luckily the ground was sun-soaked snow! Aaron practically ran down the mountain!

Overall Mount Rainier was a great end to a great trip. Willy and I have had an amazing time teaching tomorrow's leaders and will hate to see them go.

L-kam and Willy