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Moondance Leadership Log (2008-07-13 -> 2008-08-01)
Leaders: Ben Loveless and Laura Ann Vann
Students: Lauren Cash, Gina Cramer, Gabby Freeman, Ethan Grossman, Caitlin Hanley, Luke Josey, Rob McAlister, Lauren Moore, Margaret Priester, Julie Swinson
Our group is finishing their Olympic Coast beach trek and should be touching base soon. Stay tuned and we should have an update soon.
Ben just called and said they are off the beach safe and sound. WE should have an update late today or early tomorrow.
Trip Update 7-19-08
First, and foremost, I am the luckiest Moondance leader!! Wow, this group is amazing...everyone in the group arrived solo to Seattle, just less than a week ago. And now, you'd never guess it. Ben and I have a dynamic, determined, and deliriously fun group of 10 young leaders. This trip is focused on leadership and each and everyone is up for the challenge.
After spending a night at Sequim Bay State Park the first night of the trip, we headed to the trailhead to start our beach backpacking section at 3rd beach, a part of Olympic National Park. The group learned how to cook on the backcountry stoves, set up tents (on the beach, in the wind), and enjoy going to sleep and waking up to the sound of the ocean crashing on the beach. Getting to Third Beach was simple, the next 3 days provided more ups and downs into the forest and on the beach, as we logged over 17 miles total for the entire trip. Everyone has had the chance to be the LOD (Leader of the Day) and each person has proved that setting a schedule for the day and cooking up quesadillas, grilling bagels, and keeping everyone moving right along is what being a leader is all about. Not even Caitlin's bad heel blister slowed her down, as she offered her hand to help each and every person down the very steep rope ladder from the forest to the beach.
Our last day of the backpacking was filled with the challenge of crossing the rocks along the beach and waiting for low-tide.. Everyone was successful, and our tired aching bodies were psyched to see the van and u-haul waiting patiently for our return.
Rob, the king of the peanut butter jar (his favorite food) has been our constant entertainment as the "rapper" of the group. While, Ethan has had most everyone doubled over with laughter. After asking everyone to sum up the trip so far, Margaret said "I'm having the time of my life!" And Gina, from Illinois said "Hey y'all! I've picked up a southern accent because everyone is from the south. I love it! The trip is awesome". Julie said "I couldn't imagine being anywhere else".
We will head up to the Sol Duc Hot Springs today along with a beautiful waterfall. And, tomorrow will enter the Hoh rainforest.. We got a taste of it as we left the beach. We hope for more bald eagle sightings, big trees, and peaceful nights.
I will end this section until next time with a statement by Rob..."I've seen an orange moon sink into the horizon, and listened to the immense silence of the forest and the meditative crash of the ocean simultaneously...so I am feeling pretty blessed!"
That goes for the whole group. We are becoming more and more a tight-knit family as each moment passes by.
Laura Ann & Ben
Trip Update 7-25-08
Greetings Leadership parents!
We are slowly transforming these amazing teenagers into thoughtful, caring, responsible adults. The wilderness has taught us many lessons the past few weeks, and we have been taking notes!!
Lessons:
1. Sandy wet boots are not so bad, but actually quite refreshing.
2. Sleeping outside in the mountain air WILL keep us young forever
3. Smiling and having fun is contagious
4. Working as a team makes 10 mile hikes extremely enjoyable
5. Bull-Elks are much, much bigger than us
6. A little river sand in the diet assists with digestion
7. Push-ups build character
8. On a multi-week adventure there are bound to be strange smells coming from the back of the van. (What is that??)
9. Marinating in Hot-springs followed by a rushing icy creek is good for the soul.
10. And Lastly, Friendships created in the wilderness may be as strong as they come. We need each other out here. We are having many laughs and adventures. Your teenagers are growing in ways that can not be measured with a ruler...
We have made the Olympic National Park our home for the past few weeks and have settled into our group. Now that our group is established we are able to soar.
We finished up our Hoh Rainforest backpack at 9AM after completing the last 5 miles with an alpine start. We turned our boring Thermarest sleeping pads into water rafts in the Hoh and surfed down the Hoh River's glacial run-off yesterday morning. Talk about the Polar Bear Club! Wow!
We have been traveling down south to Oregon and passed through the Columbia River Gorge scenic by-way yesterday. We explored a side gorge and found ourselves swimming in a pool at the end of the gorge in an icy waterfall (don't worry we have photographic evidence).
We woke early today and as we drove farther south to Smith Rock State Park, we watched the morning rays shine upon the spectacular Mt Hood. I wish you all could have seen your children's expressions! Simply perfect.
We are now in the desert of the eastern Cascades and are about to test our vertical balance as we enjoy some of the best rock climbing that the Northwest has to offer. I hope you are smiling while reading this and know that your kids are having an adventure of a lifetime. It is truly a pleasure to do this work with your kids. That is it from Ben, but here are a few shout-outs to the parents. Thanks and we will keep you posted after the climbing section.
Rob- Happy 35th Birthday Mom!! I love you so much!
Caitlin- Thanks for the hackysack Kev! Love you and miss you! Hope it's not too peaceful at home.
Luke- I'm having a good time Mom and Dad. See you soon
Gina- Hey! Moondance has been so much fun so far! Sweet...umm Hi mom and dad and Andrew! I miss you oodles!
Lauren Cash- Hey Mom! Hey Dad! Miss you guys! I love you so much. Thanks for an awesome trip!
Margaret- The trip is AMAZING! I've met so many cool people! Tomorrow we are rock-climbing and it is going to be awesome!
Julie- Having a blast out here in the beautiful Northwest. We just arrived at Smith Rock and are preparing for a 2-day rock climbing adventure. Love you Mom & Bob! I hope you are surviving without us.
Lauren Moore- Hey Mom, Dad & Lib- I'm having so much fun! Thanks! Love you Miss you!
Well folks hope you are enjoying your summer like we are.
Take good care
Ben-LA
Trip Update 7-29-08
Hello again Leadership parents and friends!
Smith Rock I believe has been the highlight thus far. We started our adventure there climbing on the Spiderman Buttress on the north side of the park. Beautiful views of Mt Jefferson and the Sisters wilderness of Oregon, as well as the Crooked River that snakes through the state park. Day one had us hiking at 7am which seems to be an early hour for most of your children. (I think most of them like the college start) Up at whenever, eat for a while, and then ease into the day. Fifteen minutes into our hike we spotted 4 river otters playing and performing for us. Very cute, I think some of the kids will be asking for a pet otter on their next birthdays. We bumped into one of our Pacific Northwest trips and they were headed out to experience the Tyrolean traverse of Monkey's Face directly next to us. We next spent the rest of the morning and afternoon learning how to climb and belay each other. Our guides were fantastic but just could not set-up a climb that was difficult enough for our group of athletes. As we hiked back to our base camp area our guides promised to make the next day a little SPICIER! Spicy??
We spent the afternoon jumping off some rocks into the (we will call it chilly for the record) Deschutes River at a waterfall called Steelhead Falls. The tired kids woke up quick with the exciting cliff jumping. The day ended with Thanksgiving in the desert. What is that you ask? We cooked a feast- Chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing (I guess down south it is called dressing? That is what a northeast boy has been learning from all these southern folks) peas, cranberry sauce (yes even cranberry sauce!), cheesecake, and a beautiful green salad. This was serious!!
The following morning we soon learned that we would be climbing a multiple-pitched climb in an area called the Marsupials. We scrambled through the desert until we reached the crag and broke into 4 rope teams to climb the 3-pitch climb. The group surpassed all of our expectations and was extremely encouraging to their teammates. Your children have truly made this trip an adult Leadership adventure. Good job parents!
We left Smith Rock and Oregon with a new appreciation for the desert, Smith Rock, Rock Climbing and each other. The drive took us back across the Columbia River Gorge and up to Mt Rainier National Park. Wow that huge mountain that we all saw from Seattle is now directly in front of us. That is a big one!
We arrived at Rainier Mountaineering and were greeted by our guides for the trip. They met with us for a couple of hours and explained the itinerary and outfitted the students completely. Today we woke early and traveled to the base of this amazing mountain. We practiced all of the technical mountaineering skills needed for a safe successful summit attempt. It was a blue-bird day and the kids had a blast sliding down the hills and practiced using their ice-axes and rope travel. We headed back to RMI and ate what? Ice cream of course--a mountaineering staple! As we walked across the grass, we spotted a group of climbers and the expedition was being led by Ed Veisters and Pete Whittaker two famous American alpinists. Caitlin, Rob, and Gina purchased Mt Rainier postcards and proceeded to ask Ed for his autograph. Pretty cool experience at this mountain.
Tomorrow we head out early to travel to Camp Muir to rest and get ready for our summit attempt tomorrow night. We will be waking up at midnight and will proceed up the mountain to the summit a little after sunrise. This is our pinnacle of this trip and we are ready. I am proud to be climbing with your children. They are in good hands. We will update you after the climb. Think Summit!
Take good care
-Ben & LA
ML 2- Final Update
Well folks we finished up strong! 4th Class rapids style! Well Mt Rainier was an amazing place to visit. We learned the basics of mountaineering at one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. We strapped spikes onto our feet, grasped ice-axes in our mitts, and bundled up in puffy clothing to endure the elements. The first morning of our ascent consisted of driving rain accompanied by strong gusts of cold wind. Is this summer?? We bonded as a group and worked hard climbing a tough mountain. At about 2PM we made the call to retreat like any smart mountaineer would do. Like Paul Petzolt has said “There are old climbers, and there are bold climbers. But there are no old, bold climbers.” It was disappointing to turn back but definitely the correct decision. We made it back to base-camp and had a much needed hot chocolate and pizza dinner. We finished dinner with a small game of Yum Yum to conclude the evening. We camped in the rain and had high expectations to finish the trip off strong.
The next morning we packed quickly in order to utilize the entire last 2-days with a whitewater rafting day on the Skykomish River on the western foothills of the Cascades. We travelled east of Seattle into the mountains to set up camp and have a huge Iron-Chef marathon. We dried out our gear and started getting psyched up for big rapids and finally a day on the water.
Our final morning was all about organization and getting ready to finish our trip. We cleaned, we dried, we laughed, we cried, and we outfitted for rafting! We spent the afternoon surfing the whitewater, especially at Boulder Drop!!, an awesome rapid that took absolute teamwork to say the least. It was a chilly amazing day on the water.
We drove back to Seattle the place where it all began and prepped for a night out on the town. We showered and changed into some thrift store gems to parade around the town in. We ate a large meal at an interesting restaurant and proceeded to do push-ups through-out the evening.
It has been some serious fun and laughter. The memories from Moondance Leadership will be with us forever. I hope you enjoy the stories from your loved ones and are proud of their accomplishments. This was a challenging course that was only successful because of our tight-knit group. These are the adults of the future and have already shown that they are up for that challenge. It has been a pleasure to work with your teens and reaffirms why I do what I do. Thanks all for a special time in life…
Sincerely,
Ben Loveless
LA Vann
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