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Pacific Northwest Exposure Log (2008-06-17 --> 2008-07-06)
Leaders: Beanie Arnold, Annie Durkin and Harris Diano
Students: Leslie Bruce, Lyndsey Garrison, William Jenkins, Forrest Lewis, Lee Lewis, Reid McLean, Matthew Saer, Catherine Stevens
Trip Update 6-21-08
Hello Moondance Central! We just came off an absolutely amazing four days of climbing at Smith Rock State Park in Oregon. The weather could not have been more perfect nor the scenery more picturesque! After a smooth arrival day over at Sea-Tac airport, our rock solid group headed to Battle Ground State Park where we pitched our tents for the very first time. We woke up to oatmeal and a travel day as we drove the gorgeous parkway around Mt. Hood - effectively leaving the chilly mountains behind us and greeting the warm desert air of central Oregon.
Upon arrival at Smith Rock State Park, we met our guides and geared up. After a quick stove lesson, Reid and Lindsey whipped up some tasty chicken burritos for us. The next morning, we hiked back among the Red Rocks of Smith, where our giggly and excitable group quickly bonded with the help of the trust and communication involved with rock climbing. Forrest proved to be our resident Spiderman on the rocks, as he was the only one to almost complete the "spicy" route of the day, or most difficult. With some great warm up climbs under our belt, our guides lead us on a surprise adventure through caves and crevasses all the way out of the park. After a day of climbing we headed over to Bend to check out the scene and dip our toes in some chilly Deschutes water. Later, Catherine, Lee, and Matthew warmed our bellies with some fantastically zesty Southwestern Mac, delicious!!
With a good night's rest, we woke early this morning to conquer the Monkey's Face! This climb, repel, tyrolean traverse-all wrapped in one-is the most difficult route of the park and extremely high; our total group achievement made for a memorable day to say the least. Leslie transferred her mean indoor climbing skills over to the "Face" and dominated the climb with a 'flash route' (meaning no falls or stumbles). Before, during, and after this lengthy climbing process, William managed to keep the Smith Rock canyons resonating with our group's laughter.
We descended the tough hike we had completed earlier in the morning, gulped some water, packed up camp, and headed to Bend again for some 'town time'. Smith Rock was absolutely incredible - an honestly one-of-a-kind place. Now we're headed to the Deschutes for two days of rafting, we'll talk to you then!!
Peace. Harris, Annie, and Beanie
Trip Update 6-24-08
Hi Moondance central! Fresh off the Deschutes River, our newly tanned (but not burned) group has been spending the day prepping for our Ross Lake backpacking expedition starting bright and early tomorrow morning.
We have been blessed with sunny weather thus far. Chilly nights and hot, clear days have allowed us to stay out of the tents and under the stars every night! Our rafting section was an absolute blast as guides Liam, Mary and Sonya steered us through class II and III rapids. Lee Lewis captained a raft while Matthew championed the splash wars- mischievous smile and all. William and Reid both literally jumped at the opportunity our guides gave us to swim a class III rapid. They went through with some slightly nervous faces but emerged all smiles, convincing the rest of us that we just may have missed out. Leslie, a.k.a. "Lil Red" for her continuous tendency toward wearing the color red, braved Reid's relentless puddle splashes. Our guides cooked some pretty amazing meals for us with the help of Catherine behind the scenes. The couscous and homemade pound cake may just stand unmatched.
Our tour of the Deschutes was heavily populated with wildlife as we witnessed nesting osprey, ducks and their ducklings, deer, an otter and as Lindsey stepped off the raft to our river campsite she spotted a local snake- mouse in its mouth! The volcanic scenery and peculiar land formations made for awesome back drops for games of "Big Booty", many riddles, and a very memorable "Moon UP".
As leaders, we are very excited to be heading into our North Cascades backpacking section. It's always a treat to be able to strap on packs and get even more people turned on to the simplicity and beauty of traveling with all necessities on your back. Our small group has become very close already, we feel lucky to still have 2 weeks together- it might not be enough! So until next time, peace and have a great week!
Beanie, Harris and Annie
Trip Update 7-1-08
Hey Moondance!
We are headed to the San Juan Islands today, fresh off the Ross Lake Trail! Our backpacking section went extremely well - our good fortune held up with gorgeous days (some reaching well over 90 degrees though...) and chilly, starry nights. With full packs, we took a local water taxi to the trailhead and began our 40 mile trek around the pristine Ross Lake located in the heart of the North Cascades.
The first 2 days were great warm-ups for our mid trip summit as Lee helped us bear bag our food at night and Leslie entertained us with well-informed discussion of film at an interesting Moon-Up. After a good night's rest at Devil's Creek, we headed toward Lightning Creek where Reid, Forrest, and William shocked us by donning all of their rain gear and completely submerging themselves in the glacial water of Ross Lake. No worries though, the temperature outside soon hit 95 degrees and the sun broke free from unwanted clouds.
On the 3rd day, we left our camp early in the morning and began our ascent of Desolation Peak. We hiked approximately 6.5 miles straight uphill to be pleasantly greeted by a cloudless, panoramic view of the North Cascades - affirming their nickname "The American Alps". Our proud and extremely capable “Leader of the Day” Matthew Saer met the top of the peak with a penguin dive into the summer snow as the rest of us basked in the accomplishment of ascending over 5,000 ft in just five and a half hours! After plenty of pictures, we descended back to Lightning Creek for a big warm dinner and a happy Moon-Up next to the lake.
We took the next day nice and slow - giving our muscles and joints a chance to rejuvenate. After reaching the aptly-named "Nightmare” campsite at dusk, Lindsey cooked up some mean burritos, and later Catherine helped in sending us all to bed with a Moon-up filled with ghost stories and urban legends. Her fearless instructors even felt obliged to lave their headlamps on a bit longer that night...
Feeling refreshed, we woke the next morning to a hike through extremely tall trees and a couple rushing creeks close to Hozomeen Lake. This may have been our favorite campsite thus far. We took a dip in the pristine glacial water surrounded by snowy, jagged peaks.
After drying off and enjoying a tasty "Pizza Pasta", we got some rest in preparation for the final hike out. The next day, we returned to the van after an easy 4 mile hike just a hint smellier and a touch dirtier than we had been 6 days before. We cranked up the "Into the Wild"
soundtrack and treated ourselves to some local, homemade ice cream and maybe a latte for the leaders.
Everyone wanted to give their families a quick shout-out:
"Hey Mom and Dad, I'm having an amazing time here. I hope you are having fun with Thomas. Can't wait to see you! Love you, Matthew"
"Hola Mom and Dad! I'm having a lot of fun! Hope we have a house! LOVE you, Lyndsey"
"Hey Mom and Dad! I am having a blast! See you soon. Love you!! Forrest"
"Mom and Dad- I love this trip. See a soon - Love, Lee"
"Hi Mom and Dad, I'm having so much fun. This trip is awesome! I miss you and am excited to see y'all. Love you! Catherine"
"Mommy! Daddy! I just got done backpacking and it's amazing out here.
See you in a week! Love you! Leslie. p.s. I have not showered in a week"
"Why hello everyone. I am having so much fun and can't wait to see you all. Love you :) p.s. tell taylor his weak hike at camp is nothin'
compared to our 36 miles of backpacking! -William"
"Hey Dad! Moondance is fun, I'll tell you about it when I get home - tell Janie I said Hi. Love you all, Reid"
"Hi Mom, Dad, Pat, Jack, Nicky, Mac, Boone, Moose, and Cody! We've got a stellar group out here...lots o fun. None of their names are “Mud” yet, so that's a plus, Mom. Talk to y'all soon. LOVE, Bean. p.s. oh hey, Nenna"
Well, it's on to sea Kayaking! Until next time, lots of love from Beanie, Harris, and Annie!
Trip Update 7-7-08
Happy 4th of July Moondance Central!
Though we just had some very sad goodbyes at the airport we have had an amazing adventure.
Just two days ago, we slid out of our sea kayaks to a wonderful Independence Day barbecue. However, before the celebration we spent 3 days paddling around the awesome San Juan Islands. They made us think of Jurassic Park, a small main Maine island, and The Goonies- all wrapped into one. Our friendly guides showed us several different types of starfish, seals and their new pups, and how to navigate the different tides.
Our first day of paddling took us the 13 miles from Lopez Island. Once there, Lee, Matthew and Catherine helped the guides whip up a very tasty and fresh clam linguini with some scurvy fighting salad on the side. Later that evening our tired eyes saw the first rain of the trip. While the girls paid heed of ominous clouds during dinner, the boys found themselves scurry for shelter in the middle of the night as they stubbornly decided to sleep outside of the tents.
The following morning was a Lazy one that included plenty of hot chocolate and homemade apple cinnamon and banana pancakes. While digesting our guides, Blair and Cathy, took us on a nature hike around state park Jones Island. They pointed out and handled eels, sea cucumbers, many different crab species and plants native to the island. Reid especially enjoyed holding the eels, later commenting that it was a high point of the trip.
After a quick lunch of veggie roll ups and ants on a log we prepared for the highlight of our kayaking section: WET EXITS! While the weather was cloudy and cool and the water a mere 50 degrees, we were all pretty excited to learn how to tip a sea kayak upside down and then self rescue. Though the chill of the water shocked their breath away momentarily, Forrest and Matthew came away with the fastest time followed closely by Leslie, Catherine, and Lyndsey. Though confident and totally capable the 3 leaders finished dead last- having to tow in their swamped kayak rather than cleanly flipping the rig and sliding back in while still on the water.
We put on dry clothes and warmed up by a nice fire (controlled, legal and in a designated fire pit). Later that day we played a giant game of sardines on the North Side of the island enjoyed a great stir fry dinner, and found an unbelievably memorable Moon Up site for a gorgeous sunrise.
We awoke the next morning to catch the tide current back to Spencer's Spit. It was a cold wet morning, but it only magnified how lucky we had been thus far. Halfway through the paddle back we made a floating stop to enjoy some delicious snacks prepared by our guides right on the ocean. We then paddled away only to be constantly splashed by William and Reid and their trusty water pump that doubled as a super soaker.
Just before landing we spotted seals on a distant island and paddled closer. Some seals swam even swam closer to return our curious looks with curious looks of their own. We finally reached Spencer's Spit, unloaded our gear and enjoyed one final wet exit demonstration by William and Leslie. The group decided that it would be good punishment for loosing in a game of silent football. However, this time they were also required to put maple syrup in their hair. It was quite a quirky fusion of punishments, but all in good fun. The night was capped off with a dazzling firework display on Lopez Island that had us continuously ooing and ahhing.
We awoke early the next morning, quickly cleaned all of our gear and headed directly to the thrift store to find the most bizarre garments we could for our banquet dinner. Upon entering the pizza restaurant we got plenty of strange looks and even some honks on our walk to the ice cream shop.
After ice cream we hopped in the van and rocked the whole way back to one of our favorite techno songs "Sandstorm". The night concluded with an emotional and memorable Moon Up that everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy.
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