Farewell, Friends!
July 25, 2025
Howdy from Idaho, Big Wild friends and family! We have had quite the eventful past five days out here with BGW 5C. We’ll run you through it!
On Wednesday morning, we woke up and packed up our campsite in McCall, ID. Heading to Riggins, Idaho, we jammed out to our hype playlist and got stoked for the river. We packed up our gear in dry bags and learned about river safety and etiquette. We were on the river by mid-morning, paddling our way down the beautiful lower Salmon River with our guides Jaden, Larkin, and Micah. We stopped for lunch after a few hours, where Kathryn and George helped prepare a delicious asian chicken salad paired with Pringles and Oreos. Back on the water, Tradd took a turn riding the bull (sitting on the bow of the raft) while Ethan tried rowing the raft for the first time! We rafted until we found a nice beach to camp on for the night. After setting up camp, we played a spike ball tournament before eating a delicious meal- cheeseburgers! After dinner, we relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company before moon up and a few games of Capture the Flag to round out the night.
We woke up Thursday morning after a restful sleep under the stars. We fueled for the day with French toast, bacon, and berries before loading up our gear for the day. Tradd, George, and Tate sat in the front of the raft boat with the river map, keeping our guide Micah updated on the location and history of each rapid. We got out and scouted a class IV rapid called Snow Hole, which became a fan favorite. The kids crushed the big waves. For lunch, we stopped for chicken Caesar salad wraps made by our cook crew, plus Kathryn, who has a new love for chopping lettuce. We had a blast rafting through more rapids after lunch, we saw big horn sheep on the river banks, and Kathryn and Mary Moore took a turn rowing the gear boat. We had a long day of rapids, so we got straight to cooking dinner when we made it to camp for the night. Our guides prepared us fajitas and a delicious pineapple upside-down cake- Tate and George approved 🙂 We finished the day with a girls vs. boys capture the flag game, and the girls came out victorious. What a day on the river!
Friday was another full day on the river. We ate pancakes and sausage before hopping back on the river. We paddled through some bigger rapids and learned about the geology of the Salmon- the basalt columns lining the river formed over 200 million years ago due to magma cooling quickly. Soon enough, we arrived at our cliff jumping spot. All of the kids ran up to the highest jump to explore the epic columns lining the river. The kids jumped over and over again, calling out categories to each other. George ripped a 360 off the jump, and Juliet jumped nearly 10 times! We stopped a mile downriver, and Kathryn and Estelle helped prepare taco salad for lunch. Back on the river, Tradd and Tate paddled hard at the front of the raft down some awesome wave trains while a few others took river naps. Ethan paddled the gear boat for a mile, giving our guide Larkin a nice break. We paddled down the Salmon until we found a camp right on the confluence of the Salmon and the Snake rivers. We set up camp on another beautiful beach across the river from Oregon, then explored. There was a nearby rock island that created a small stream, so we swam in it like a lazy river. As we floated down the stream, our guides spotted a blackberry bush on the banks, so we stopped to pick a mid-float snack. After swimming, the kids huddled under the shade to cool off, play mafia, and journal. Dugger crafted a volleyball net with two oars and a throw rope, so we all played a few games before dinner. Amelia, Mary Moore, and Wynn chopped potatoes and prepped carrots for a delicious meal of cheesy potatoes, carrots, salad, and pork tenderloin. We ate together, looking out over the beautiful canyon walls and the river confluence. More volleyball and spike ball games followed dinner, and soon enough, it was s’mores time on the river. Tradd and Mary Moore led us in a great moon up where we reflected on the past couple of days on the river.
On Saturday, our river adventure unfortunately came to an end. We woke up to a scramblet (scrambled eggs/omelet hybrid) with peppers and onions, and bacon on the side. Our guides fashioned our three boat fleet into a flotilla and attached a motor so we could cruise out of the canyon. On the raft, we ate snacks, listened to our BGW 5C playlist, and napped while we floated out. We reached the take-out in Heller Bar, Washington, and enjoyed sandwiches while loading up our U-Haul for the drive back to McCall. The kids had a blast in the car chatting, playing games, and napping off and on. Back in McCall, we played volleyball before cooking personal pizzas with lots of cheese and pepperoni. We finished the night with ice cream sandwiches and a wonderful moon up, then cowboy camped under the Idaho stars.
Sunday, we had a nice and slow morning, enjoying pancakes and bacon. Tradd helped put sprinkles and blueberries in the pancakes, making a colorful and delicious breakfast. Next up, Wynn and Mary Moore led the way on our hike around the Ponderosa State Park peninsula. We had a great time talking on the trail and telling stories about our lives. For lunch, we decided to make grilled cheeses and turkey sandwich melts. The boys made a fire so we could melt the cheese on the yummy sandwiches. After our leisurely morning, we went into town to meet our fly fishing guides for a lesson. Kathryn, Juliet, and George were naturals- nailing their cast on their first couple of tries. We headed to a nearby creek and learned about imitating insects on the water to trick the fish. It seemed a perfect afternoon for an ice cream stop, so we headed to Ice Cream Alley for mountain-sized ice cream scoops. After eating our ice cream at the park on the lake, the kids ran around town looking for souvenirs. To end an already awesome day, we stopped for our local food stop at Lardo’s for a family-style Italian meal. Tate was thrilled to have spaghetti and meatballs, and the girls devoured a giant Caesar salad with chicken. The kids engaged in a competitive volleyball game once again before moon up, led by Amelia and Tate.
We have had so much fun and adventure the past few days, and we still have so much more to come! The kids are thriving, laughing all the time, and working so well as a group. The kids can’t wait to fill you in on all the details in just a few days. Bye for now!
Warm wishes,
Claire and Dugger
Update from Big Wild!
July 21, 2025
Howdy from Idaho, Big Wild friends and family! We have had quite the eventful past five days out here with BGW 5C. We’ll run you through it!
On Wednesday morning, we woke up and packed up our campsite in McCall, ID. Heading to Riggins, Idaho, we jammed out to our hype playlist and got stoked for the river. We packed up our gear in dry bags and learned about river safety and etiquette. We were on the river by mid morning, paddling our way down the beautiful lower Salmon river with our guides Jaden, Larkin, and Micah. We stopped for lunch after a few hours where Kathryn and George helped prepare a delicious asian chicken salad paired with Pringles and Oreos. Back on the water, Tradd took a turn riding the bull (sitting on the bow of the raft) while Ethan tried rowing the raft for the first time! We rafted until we found a nice beach to camp on for the night. After setting up camp, we played a spike ball tournament before eating a delicious meal- cheeseburgers! After dinner, we relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company before moon up and a few games of Capture the Flag to round out the night.
We woke up Thursday morning after a restful sleep under the stars. We fueled for the day with French toast, bacon, and berries before loading up our gear for the day. Tradd, George and Tate sat in the front of the raft boat with the river map, keeping our guide Micah updated on the location and history of each rapid. We got out and scouted a class IV rapid called Snow Hole which became a fan favorite. Soon after Snow Hole was China, and the kids crushed the big waves. For lunch, we stopped for chicken Caesar salad wraps made by our cook crew plus Kathryn who has a new love for chopping lettuce. We had a blast rafting through more rapids after lunch, we saw big horn sheep on the river banks, and Kathryn and Mary Moore took a turn rowing the gear boat. We had a long day of rapids, so we got straight to cooking dinner when we made it to camp for the night. Our guides prepared us fajitas and a delicious pineapple upside down cake- Tate and George approved 🙂 We finished the day with a girls vs. boys capture the flag game and the girls came out victorious. What a day on the river!
Friday was another full day on the river. We ate pancakes and sausage before hopping back on the river. We paddled through some bigger rapids and learned about the geology of the Salmon- the basalt columns lining the river formed over 200 million years ago due to magma cooling quickly. Soon enough, we arrived at our cliff jumping spot. All of the kids ran up to the highest jump to explore the epic columns lining the river. The kids jumped over and over again, calling out categories to each other. George ripped a 360 off the jump and Juliet jumped nearly 10 times! We stopped a mile downriver, and Kathryn and Estelle helped prepare taco salad for lunch. Back on the river, Tradd and Tate paddled hard at the front of the raft down some awesome wave trains while a few others took river naps. Ethan paddled the gear boat for a mile, giving our guide Larkin a nice break. We paddled down the Salmon until we found a camp right on the confluence of the Salmon and the Snake rivers. We set up camp on another beautiful beach across the river from Oregon then explored. There was a nearby rock island that created a small stream, so we swam in it like a lazy river. As we floated down the stream, our guides spotted a blackberry bush on the banks so we stopped to pick a mid-float snack. After swimming, the kids huddled under the shade to cool off, play mafia and journal. Dugger crafted a volleyball net with two oars and a throw rope, so we all played a few games before dinner. Amelia, Mary Moore and Wynn chopped potatoes and prepped carrots for a delicious meal of cheesy potatoes, carrots, salad and pork tenderloin. We ate together looking out over the beautiful canyon walls and the river confluence. More volleyball and spike ball games followed dinner, and soon enough it was s’mores time on the river. Tradd and Mary Moore led us in a great moon up where we reflected on the past couple of days on the river.
On Saturday, our river adventure unfortunately came to an end. We woke up to a scramblet (scrambled eggs/omelet hybrid) with peppers and onions and bacon on the side. Our guides fashioned our three boat fleet into a flotilla and attached a motor so we could cruise out of the canyon. On the raft, we ate snacks, listened to our BGW 5C playlist and napped while we floated out. We reached the take out in Heller Bar, Washington and enjoyed sandwiches while loading up our u-haul for the drive back to McCall. The kids had a blast in the car chatting, playing games, and napping off and on. Back in McCall, we played volleyball before cooking personal pizzas with lots of cheese and pepperoni. We finished the night with ice cream sandwiches and a wonderful moon up then cowboy camped under the Idaho stars.
Sunday we had a nice and slow morning, enjoying pancakes and bacon. Tradd helped put sprinkles and blueberries in the pancakes making a colorful and delicious breakfast. Next up, Wynn and Mary Moore led the way on our hike around the Ponderosa State Park peninsula. We had a great time talking on the trail and telling stories about our lives. For lunch, we decided to make grilled cheeses and turkey sandwich melts. The boys made a fire so we could melt the cheese on the yummy sandwiches. After our leisurely morning, we went into town to meet our fly fishing guides for a lesson. Kathryn, Juliet and George were naturals- nailing their cast on their first couple of tries. We headed to a nearby creek and learned about imitating insects on the water to trick the fish. It seemed a perfect afternoon for an ice cream stop so we headed to Ice Cream Alley for mountain-sized ice cream scoops. After eating our ice cream at the park on the lake, the kids ran around town looking for souvenirs. To end an already awesome day, we stopped for our local food stop at Lardo’s for a family-style Italian meal. Tate was thrilled to have spaghetti and meatballs, and the girls devoured a giant caesar salad with chicken. The kids engaged in a competitive volleyball game once again before moon up led by Amelia and Tate.
We have had so much fun and adventure the past few days, and we still have so much more to come! The kids are thriving, laughing all the time and working so well as a group. The kids can’t wait to fill you in on all the details in just a few days. Bye for now!
Warm wishes,
Claire and Dugger
High Spirits and Cool Dips
July 16, 2025
Hi Big Wild 5C friends and family! We are so excited to be out here in Wyoming and Idaho with such a stellar group of kids. We want to run you through what we have been up to for the past few days!
On day 1, we met the kids at the Jackson Hole airport. Once everyone arrived, we drove to our campsite and learned how to set up our tents. Tradd and Juliet helped demonstrate this essential skill to the group. We circled up and played the name game and ‘Birdie on a Perch’ to get to know each other. Next, we explored the Gros Ventres river behind our camp site, where Mary Moore and Kathryn practiced skipping rocks. Tradd had the idea to dunk in the river, and everyone got on board, plunging into the water. We drove to town to pick up Pinky G’s pizza and brought it to Jackson town square where we devoured our pepperoni and cheese pizzas and Caesar salad over good conversation. After pizza, we drove to Mormon Row, a classic Jackson Hole sunset spot for our first Moon up. Worn out from the travel day, we drove back to camp and went to bed.
The next morning, we woke the kids up to scrambled eggs, fruit and bagels with cream cheese before heading into Grand Teton National Park. We met our climbing guides at Jenny Lake and packed up our gear. Our guide Gerrick gave us a safety lesson before we hopped on the Jenny Lake Ferry to Hidden Falls. We learned about bouldering and multi-pitch climbing then we put our new skills to the test. Tate and Juliet excitedly scaled up the first couple of pitches. We took a lunch break up on the rock face overlooking epic views of the Tetons and Jenny Lake. After lunch, Estelle and Tradd bravely volunteered to rappel down first. After our intro climbing day, we needed a swim. We headed to String Lake, put on our suits, and found a nice beach to relax on. We all plunged into the water together, Tate, George and Ethan taking off to a rock island not far off shore. There, they sun bathed to warm up before making the trip back to the beach.
Back at camp, we elected cook crews for the trip. Juliet, Tradd, George, and Kathryn were first up to help prepare Walking Tacos and taco bowls… delicious! The kids had a blast playing hide and seek tag after dinner at the campsite as a pink sunset painted the sky over the Tetons. Mary Moore won the first round, and Wynn won the second! We ate s’mores and had moon up before settling down into bed for the night.
On Monday morning, we set out for Jenny Lake again and hopped on the ferry. The kids were naturals by now, so we geared up again at the base of the mountain and split up into climbing groups with our guides. Amelia and Mary Moore helped our guide Collin set up the ballet for the top rope climb while Juliet learned about some advanced techniques with another guide Tim. Tate and Kathryn got to take the challenging multi-pitch route up the mountain, and Tradd, George, Wynn, Estelle and Mary Moore courageously repelled down a 70 foot rock next to Hidden Falls. It was so awesome to see the kids conquer their fears and crush such a challenging yet rewarding activity. After climbing, we headed into town for a gear stop before our drive to Idaho the next day. On the way, we had to get a sweet treat- Dairy Queen blizzards!! Yum. We enjoyed our ice cream then made our way back to camp to cook dinner. Wynn, Amelia, Estelle, Tradd, Kathryn and Mary Moore went to the river with Dugger to dunk in the water and do some backcountry laundry while George, Ethan, Tate and Juliet played frisbee and journaled. Wynn and Estelle chopped vegetables and helped cook the chicken and veggies for chicken fried rice. While they cooked, the rest of the group played volleyball and are still trying to break their personal record of 47 volleys in a row. We enjoyed our meal all together, laughing and reminiscing on our past two days while anticipating the next adventure. We began packing up camp and getting ready for our travel day before enjoying s’mores and cowboy camping under the stars.
Today, we woke up bright and early and packed up camp. This group has mastered efficiency, and we were on the road in no time. The kids slept and jammed to the music for the first half of the drive to McCall, ID. When we pulled into Chick fil A- our surprise lunch stop- the kids hollered and cheered. We enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken and fries, before hopping back on the road for the second half of the drive. Claire led a game of trivia in the backseat with the kids. We all learned a lot and had lots of laughs. Tradd, Wynn, and Kathryn (team Potato Perfect) were neck and neck with Juliet, Ethan, Amelia and Tate (team 4 Amigos) until the very last round when Estelle, Mary Moore and George (team Trivia Champs) somehow pulled off a win!!! It was epic, this team really did live up to their name. The kids finished off the remainder of the drive playing Star, guessing movies and enjoying being together. Once in McCall, Amelia, Kathryn, Estelle and Tradd jogged with Claire around the campground to get some energy out. Afterwards, we all jumped into the beautiful Payette Lake for an evening swim. We enjoyed spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner, packed our bags for rafting, and set up our sleeping bags. Before Moonup, we squeezed in one short game of volleyball to round out the day. Ready for bed, we cowboy camped with a starry night sky overhead.
These kids have such great attitudes and are just a joy to be around. We are heading to Riggins, ID to begin our 4 day rafting adventure tomorrow morning, and we cannot wait. We will update you on the other side!
Shout outs
George: Hey guys, I’m having fun! Thank you so much
Ethan: Thanks for sending me here! And with the candy!
Juliet: I’m having a great time so don’t worry about me. The climbing was so awesome, and the people are super nice. I miss you guys. This has been an amazing experience!
Wynn: I’m having fun and I miss you and I love you!
Mary Moore: Hi Mom and Dad, I’m having fun and I miss yall so much love yall
Tradd: Thank you so much for sending me here, this is the coolest trip ever. Can’t wait to see yall.
Tate: Thank you for sending me here, this trip is so cool!
Kathryn: I’m having the best time ever, and I love my group. Rock climbing was the most amazing activity and tomorrow we go rafting! Thanks so much for allowing me to go on this trip!
Amelia: Hey guys, I’m having a lot of fun. We got to rock climb and our group is so nice. Thanks for letting me go on this trip. I miss y’all!
Estelle: Hey guys, thank you so much for sending me! I’m having so much fun. I miss you so much and I can’t wait to see you.
Safe Arrival in Jackson Hole!
July 12, 2025
Hello Big Wild Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Jackson Hole! The trip is off to a great start, and we are so excited to hear more stories as they begin their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
