Final Hooray!

July 7, 2024

RISE AND SHINE for the final leg of our BCO journey! After an incredible stint in Cumberland, it was time to bid farewell to rock climbing and welcome the group’s most anticipated activity: SURFING!!! We rose early and packed up camp while LODs Rand and London whipped up a hearty breakfast of crispy bacon and savory hash browns. We met our guides for some early morning climbing and rappelling before our afternoon adventure of tackling a ginormous wall over Lake Comox: the Devil’s Ladder.

After a fantastic morning with much more sunshine than the day before, we returned to our campsite for lunch. Hamilton and Peyton discovered a vendor selling poutine, a Canadian classic of French fries and cheese curds smothered in gravy. Everyone sampled this delectable treat before heading uphill for our afternoon challenge.

Ben was the first to take on the 100-foot rappel and made it back up in no time. Hutty and Vivi followed soon after as the group gradually warmed up to the rappelling and climbing. The rest of us cheered on those brave enough to master the lakefront giant, with Henry, Rand, and Hamilton also taking on the climb before helping our guides pack up for the road.

After a long day of climbing, a well-deserved car ride to Tofino awaited us. On the journey, we sang along to “Don’t Stop Believing,” our anthem for the quest to our beachfront campsite. Upon arriving at beautiful Bella Pacifica, the gang quickly set up tents and secured spots before heading to the beach for some spike ball while the sun was still high. We enjoyed a deep moonup on the beach and retired to bed, eager for a day of surfing and Stand-Up Paddleboarding.

“HAPPY CANADA DAY!” The leaders exclaimed loudly, much too early in the morning for our sleeping campers. July 1st marks Canada’s day of independence, and what better way to celebrate than surfing on the beautiful Pacific?

We met our Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP) instructors right on our beach and suited up in wetsuits for some awesome fun and games. Our SUP session turned into a free-for-all, with Ben becoming the most feared SUP’r, reigning as king of the boards. After an exhilarating morning, the gang was ready for a savory and sustaining lunch.

Lunch featured a smorgasbord of summer sausage and turkey quesadillas, with sides of guacamole, Cheez-Its, and baby bell peppers. The group devoured this delicious spread before gearing up for our afternoon surfing lesson.

Blessed with endless sunshine, we slathered on sunscreen before heading back out. After a quick beach tutorial, we ventured into the chilling waters to catch some surf. The ocean blessed us with righteous waves, and the shakas flew as the goon squad rode wave after wave until our instructors signaled it was time to wrap up and head back in.

We capped off Canada Day with Smash burgers and our own take on poutine (Hamilton clearly didn’t get enough the first time). Gathering around a fire on the beach, we enjoyed moonup, ending the perfect day with s’mores stuffing our faces, ready for a final day of surfing.

After an awesome stint in Tofino, we packed up our tents and loaded our U-Haul for the journey back to the mainland. Our ferry ride offered a final glimpse of Vancouver Island’s sights and scenes as we headed towards our last big adventure: Rafting!

Blessed once again with beautiful weather, we paddled down the scenic Squamish River. While the sights were breathtaking, so was the icy water splashing us through mega rapids. Ben bravely took on “riding the bull” on the raft’s front through one of the easier rapids. We concluded our adventure with overnight camping on an island, treated to a delicious meal of steak, salmon, salad, garlic bread, and fried potatoes prepared by our guides. The gang slept contentedly under the stars, gearing up for one last day on the water.

Returning from our rafting adventure, we dismantled camp and prepared for the bittersweet journey back to Seattle. For our final camping night, the group paired off to compete for the title of MASTER CHEF! The winning dish, a creative concoction by Hamilton and London, featured spam dinosaurs on a mashed potato island with broccoli trees and a gravy topping. Delicious and creative!

On our last day, we made a quick stop at the car wash to clean the van after our long journey. Ben, Hutton and Vivi handled scrubbing and spraying while Rian, JoJo and Henry tackled vacuuming and deep cleaning. After a brief lunch in the park, we headed to Goodwill for outfits for our final group dinner. To the group’s surprise, we ended up dining at a Seattle local favorite, CHICK-FIL-A! Once satisfied and catching many stares from locals, we headed to the hotel for our bittersweet final moon up, a perfect conclusion to an amazing trip!!!”

Checking in from BCO!

July 6, 2024

What is the best way to start your day? Breakfast, obviously. What is the best kind of breakfast, you ask? PANCAKES! Our wonderful LODs, Hamilton and JoJo, made the brave decision to prepare pancakes for the group before leaving We Wai Kai Campground. The group ate enough pancakes to feed several orcas or at least one humpback. Hamilton created the monstrous and now legendary beast of Quadra Island: the MEGA Chocolate Chip pancake. This delicious giant fed the entire group before we tapped out and started loading up the van. Hutton led the group in a round of hacky sack before we loaded the van and U-Haul for the next leg of our journey.

As Willie Nelson once said: “I can’t wait to get back on the road again.” After our memorable stint on Quadra Island, we packed up and set off for the next phase of the trip: climbing. London and Vivi coordinated the van ride vibe with some righteous tunes to help our journey go by with more flow. Before making our way to Cumberland, we decided on a day hike to get our steps in. Henry coordinated our lunch, which consisted of pita wraps with various toppings: Cheez-Its, turkey, tomato, mustard, mayo, lettuce, cheese, and everything else we could find.

After a fulfilling lunch, we set off for a quick hike on the Elk Forest Trail before making our way to Cumberland Campground. Cumberland greeted us with some drizzling rain. Despite the rainy weather, the group was beyond excited for this new campground. We were welcomed by a small band playing Spanish and Brazilian tunes. Vivi, Rian, and JoJo ran to the front of the stage to join the locals boogying to the holiday band as the boys tossed the frisbee while the sun set behind us. Hutton and Ben worked on dinner as Peyton created an awesome fire to warm the group from the rain. Dinner was a heartwarming classic of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Everyone chowed down and hit the hay, looking forward to the full day of climbing ahead of us.

The following morning, LODs Vivi and Hutton set out breakfast and lunch supplies for a full day of rock ascension! After gearing up, Rand was the first to take on the challenge of climbing the rock face set before us. Despite the rain, the group managed to take on the challenge with fervor and enthusiasm. This group truly never backs down from a challenge.

To top off a great day of climbing, the gang went out for a well-deserved pizza dinner at Cumberland’s famous Riders Pizza. Our “Za’s” included The Sasquatch, The Cumberland Pepperoni, Wowie Maui, and (the group favorite) The Four Cheese Pizza. After a fulfilling dinner and an awesome reflection during Moonup, the gang settled in for yet another night of restful sleep in the great BCO wilderness.

-Don, Annabel, Ryan

Update from British Columbia!

June 30, 2024

A wild ride in beautiful British Columbia!!

It is crazy to think that four days have already passed us by, but as the saying goes, “time flies when you having fun!”

After our BCO group fully assembled on airport day, we started our adventure at Bay View State Park, where the group decided as a unit to jump into the chilly ocean. This awesome yearning for adventure has only grown as we have progressed further on our quest for memories and lifelong friendships. Henry and Hutton displayed their frisbee abilities early on next to the beautiful sunset in Northern Washington that first night. Peter (the name the group gave the frisbee) has become a favorite amongst the guys and is always requested whenever we have any free time. We had some pizza from a local spot to start off our trip and everyone rejoiced with full bellies! A wonderful beginning of the trip of a lifetime.

Our next day had an early start, but everyone banded together to get camp taken down so that we could cross the Canadian border (goodbye U.S.A!) and get to our first activity: Canyoneering. Before leaving, Ben and London made some breakfast for the group while Jojo and Vivi prepared sandwiches for lunch. LODs, Leaders of the Day, Rian and Henry started the group off with an awesome quote from Oliver Windle Helms:”A mind that is stretched by a new experience cannot go back to the same dimensions.” This quote set our minds to bigger and better things as we set off for the next part of our adventure.

After getting our safety instruction from our guides, Rand, Ben and Henry jumped on the opportunity to be the first to repel down the chilling water fall. Everybody stepped up to the challenge of the 100 foot waterfall repel at the end and relaxed at the refreshing clear pool down at the bottom. We had a blast hanging out with our awesome Quebecoise guides, Fx and Hugo, and making some fun vlogs (shoutout Rian) as we walked up the canyon and swam in the waterfall at the bottom.Once we wrapped, we dried off and hopped back in the van to our campsite, where we began cooking our first group dinner: TACO TUESDAY! Vivi and London, AKA “the beans”, took on prep crew chopping veggies and preparing gucamole. Jojo prepared the taco meat, seasoned to perfection. Everyone chowed down and helped clean up not to attract any unwanted visitors.We spent the rest of the evening down by Rolley Lake, where we got a spike ball tournament going, tossed Peter with some friendly Canadian campers, and hung out with some local geese walking around the shore. We had moon-up at the lakeside, where we learned everyone’s middle names- fan favorites were Jojo Apple, Randolph Bluette, and London Monique Lucille- and everyone shared moments where they felt connected to one another that day. Pretty special!

The next morning, we rose even earlier for a quick breakfast of oatmeal and apple slices and hit the road to make our ferry reservation to Vancouver Island. The girls had some fun giving Rand and Henry some new braided hairdos- which Peyton and Hamilton took many photographs of, don’t worry- and acted out the classic Titanic pose on the sun deck overlooking the sea. Once we reached land, we traveled north a bit and took one more short ferry to our campsite on Quadra Island! We set up camp at We Wei Kai just as it began to rain, but the group took it in stride and spent the whole afternoon exploring the rocky beaches, befriending an abundance of crabs, and practicing their hacky sack, AKA “Hot Rod” skills, which Hamilton has taken and ran with. Vivi discovered that starfish are in fact real when we saw nearly 10 big purple sea stars at low tide. For dinner, the LODs Rand and Vivian prepped an italian feast of spaghetti and meatballs, and everyone enjoyed the sounds of going to sleep to the last of the day’s rain on their tents.

The next day, we woke to cloudy but dry skies, a perfect day for our sea kayaking adventure! LODs Peyton and London got us excited for our day with a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns as our fuel. We met our kayaking guides jusat down the road and strapped up our gear to head out for sea kayaking quest. We spent the afternoon spotting star fish, bald eagels, and “seal rock” where dozens of seals napped in the sun. Hutton and Rand provided entertainment as they steered through (and into) other’s boats. After paddling from beach to beach in the channel, we had a healthy lunch of quinoa salad and hummus provided by our guides on Turtle Island, where we got to witness some pretty cool views of the bay at the top, Hamilton’s favorite part of the day.After our sea kayaking venture, the gang dried off, played an intense game of ultimate frisbee- all 6 boys versus their 3 victorious leaders- before Peyton, London, and their cook crew prepped a delicious asian stirfry for dinner. Everyone showered off and dried some clothes, and went to bed for a good and well deserved night of sleep after four long first days.We’ve loved getting to know this adventurous and kind-hearted crew so far, and can’t wait for the memories still to come.

Stay tuned!!

-BCO 2A

Safe Arrival in Seattle!

June 24, 2024

Hello British Columbia families!

All the students have landed safely in Seattle and the group is headed to their first campsite this evening! Their leaders are so excited to have everyone together, and we are excited to keep you updated on all the awesome things to come on their trip.

-Moondance HQ