Checking in from NLT!
July 7, 2025
We had some well deserved “Type 1 fun” on July 3rd as we went whitewater rafting down the Matanuska river! The students had big smiles on their faces as we tackled impressive Level 3 and 4 rapids, and George said it was the most fun he had ever had… we have to agree! Our raft guides made the experience even better – Ben remarked that his conversation with one of our guides, Willy, was a highlight of his entire time in Alaska. Willy and our two other guides, Gavin and Lucas cooked us an absolutely delicious enchilada meal with red velvet cake. What a treat!
We then went to bed early and woke up the next morning on the 4th of July to breakfast burritos and bald eagles (it doesn’t get more patriotic than that). Next, we rafted by the infamous Alaska car launch, seeing the spot where cars would be hoisted off a cliff later in the day. We eventually hopped off the water and had a few hours to relax and decompress (a strange feeling) while Will cheffed up some cinnamon pancakes with Clay. Samantha, Marley, and Carmella played bananagrams, and Ben found an old bike we played around with. We then finished off the day with one of THE coolest experiences – a scenic flight over Denali. The mountain was utterly grand. Sweeping the landscape in a passenger plane with our Moondance family is a memory we will hold dearly for the rest of our lives. Mason particularly loved the flight and spoke to the pilot about the ins and outs of the planes – his curiosity will surely be missed. We finished off the day with some pad thai that our cook, Lucile, helped make. We then had our final Moon-up, facilitated by our Leaders of the Day, Samantha and Logan. The students reflected on the trip, and talked about how they felt proud of themselves for completing such a challenging yet rewarding adventure. They all said that they will feel more confident facing challenges in the “real world.”
And now, here we are, on the last day of the trip. We woke up and had our farewell banquet in the town of Talkeetna and headed to the airport to say our goodbyes. The students have all made it through security as we write this and we can’t help but get emotional at the thought of them leaving. Parents, friends, whoever is reading this: thank you for giving us the privilege of being with your loved one for the past 21 days.
We have been absolutely blown away by these humans – their care for each other, willingness to lend a helping hand, grit, passion, and more. We are inspired by them and will carry them with us for the rest of our lives.We hope that the students had as much fun as we did, and we can’t wait to see them thrive in the weeks, months, and years to come.
Backcountry Fun!!
July 3, 2025
Greetings from the backcountry!
We have been having the BEST TIME since our journey to the Prince William Sound. After our final days of sea kayaking, we headed back into Anchorage and made a speedy stop into Costco and Walmart to pick up our next ration of food for the rest of the trip. Clay and Lucile were in charge of getting plenty of summer sausage while George made his way into the backpackers aisle and got a life straw water purifier. We have all been drinking fresh glacier water since then and he has been so generous to offer it to all of us.
On day eight we finished up our last day of ice climbing. We were driven to a spot along the Matanuska River and rafted across to begin hiking into a very remote area of the glacier. Carmella was the first to descend into an icy cave and touched ground into a glacial stream. Alongside, Will descended into another ice cave and speedily made it back up. We ate sandwiches and learned about glaciation and glaciology with our climbing guides. We continued climbing all day and into the late evening where we later had a pad Thai veggie bowl dinner! But before we could get started, our guides drove us to get ice cream. George, Mason, and Logan spotted some spray painted cars and we had a photo shoot in front of them before they get launched off a cliff on the 4th of July. After some laughs, we headed back to our campsite where Ben cheffed up and made an incredible coconut peanut sauce. He served all of us before himself. We have been learning what it takes to be a real scout!
On day nine, we woke up warm in our tents to prepare for our backpacking section. We had a duffle shuffle and showed the kids how and what to pack inside their backpacks. We continued going through backcountry protocol and teaching the kids how to prevent bear encounters and respond accordingly. After a long day of prep work, we surprised the kids by going out to eat for burgers, tacos, and salads. We had a blast and are getting super antsy to get into the Talkeetna mountains!
Day ten was officially our first day entering the backcountry for our daunting and epic backpacking section. Samantha and Logan were the chosen Leaders of the Day and kept the morale of the group up. What started as a sunny day turned into long winding trails through some thick mud and cold rain. We kept spirits up as we continued to push further and further into the tundra. Along the way Marley lost her boot to the mud, but was able to pull it out and never lost a positive mentality. Finally, after what was undoubtedly the most challenging day of the trip, a day none of us will ever forget, we made it to our campsite. We set up a tarp to stay dry and feasted on chicken and rice in the swampy valley that was home for the night.
The next day of backpacking Marley and Mason led as we hiked a few miles to a lake for a scenic lunch before descending down a long valley through the stunning mountains. We stumbled upon the full skeletons of a moose and her baby and paused to appreciate the bones. After a few more hours we made it to ‘hunters camp’ which felt like a luxury due to its dry ground and chairs carved out of logs.
For day 3 of backpacking we walked along a river bed before soon stumbling upon massive grizzly bear foot prints in the mud. We continued on through rolling hills, making loud calls to stay safe in the wilderness. We landed for the night at a field on top of a large hill, surrounded by 360 degree views of mountains, and with an abandoned excavator to explore and do a photo shoot on. That night we feasted on pita pizzas and Will, Clay, Carmella, Marley, and Samantha went feral over brownie batter we were heating up. With full bellies we went to sleep to prepare for our biggest day of backpacking.
Day 4 of the backpacking journey, was led by George and Lucille. We started with a large river crossing, where everyone learned how to safely cross heavy rivers in synchronized groups of 4-5. Once we crossed, we turned off ATV trails for a few days, we were now just following along through the brush using our improved skills of reading topographic maps and orienteering. We crossed miles over a ridge line before turning uphill to make our way over a long pass. The terrain turned into a treeless tundra of soft moss and snow patches to have snow ball fights. After 10 hours of hiking we had made it to our goal, the top of Chitna pass. At our highest elevation, we were camping directly in a cloud and scarfed down ramen and mashed potatoes.
Day 5 was another epic off trail day led by Will and Samantha. We continued through the pass, before we began our descent on the side of a cliff. At that elevation the view opened up to include valleys, mountains, and waterfalls hundreds of feet tall in all directions. We even saw a family of mountain goats enjoying the steep hillsides. We completed our descent to the valley, where we then walked through a large creek bed and fought through brush at places the creek became impassible. We camped for the night finally warm and dry in the sun at a river bank where we had found a fire pit.
We slept in for our 6th day after working so hard the prior 5 days, and then waded through the river and pushed through brush and trees once again. We spent the night at a stunning campsite with a meadow surrounded by mountains behind it. We shared stories by the fire and enjoyed hot chocolate before bed.
On day 7, we could feel the backpacking trip coming to an end soon as we continued our way down the river. At one point we startled a nearby moose and her baby (this time alive) and got to see the, gallop by us. We also saw multiple bald eagles soaring above. A pilot even landed a bush plane near us, the first human we had seen in a week. We said hello and checked out his plane, before pushing to our final campsite, a beautiful lake surrounded by lush greenery. The leaders and Logan all swam in the freezing lake, feeling revitalized by the water. We enjoyed pasta for our final evening in the backcountry, and discussed the importance of immersing ourselves in nature.
On day 8, we woke up early, sentimental it was our last day in the backcountry but also excited to return to some front country comforts. We hiked out, surrounded by snow covered mountains, and screamed in excitement and pride at the site of the road. At our campsite in the front country, we celebrated with warm showers, pancake lunch, and going out to pizza for dinner! Now we are off to rafting!
Wishing you all well and we are so thankful to be here with your kids! They have been such a pleasure to get to know!
Hello from The Land of the Midnight Sun!
June 23, 2025
We are so happy to be writing our first trip update! Everyone arrived safely into Anchorage, followed by a pizza dinner before getting picked up by a charter bus to take us to our first campsite. Everyone got to experience sleeping under the Midnight Sun and we are thoroughly enjoying getting to know everyone.
Day two we drove to Whittier where we would begin preparing for our epic sea kayaking section. Marley was so helpful in prepping for the journey alongside us leaders – she is always the first to offer a helping hand. And our preparation was worth it because we were greeted with sunny skies in the town known for its rainy days, stunning mountainous backdrops, and one building housing all of its residents. We gathered our kayaking gear, had some treats at the beloved Lazy Otter coffee shop, and packed for our first back country adventure before having a veggie fried rice feast.
Day three was an early wake up to make our charter boat to where we’d start kayaking. As veteran Moondance students and natural leaders, Samantha and Will set the trip off to a great start as our Leaders of the Day, rallying the group and adding pep in our step. On the boat ride we spotted our first glaciers and even a grey whale! We paddled 4 miles to our camp site, and saw another whale from our kayaks as well as a bald eagle. We ended the day by playing games on the beach and had our first back country meal of pesto pasta.
Day four we were greeted first thing in the morning by a bear enjoying a swim off of our beach. Then we paddled 8 miles to get close up views of multiple glaciers in a fjord. Mason and Carmella crushed it as leaders of the day as they helped navigate and load and unload all of the boats. When we returned to camp we learned some Lovett cheers from Lucille which helped lift our spirits and energize us for our next big day. We also did a polar plunge in the freezing glacial bay water before warming up with some burritos!
Day five was our biggest paddle day, but lucky warm weather and calm seas persisted. We flew through 10 miles until we reached a campsite nestled in the forest at the inlet of a small cove. George and Will were natural kayakers, leading the pack with their strong paddle strokes and great conversation. Soon after landing, Logan found an intact animal spine on the beach. After quesadillas and brownies to refuel, we headed for one final day of kayaking.
Day six we woke up early for our final 7 mile push to Whittier, where we couldn’t stop thinking about what’d we’d get as a reward for our hard work at the Lazy Otter cafe. Ben and Clay were our leaders of the day and impressed us with their map skills and ability to manage the group’s long list of coffee orders. After a quick grocery run to restock on food, we were on our way to the Matanuska glacier to climb some legendary walls of ice.
On day seven, we started our ice climbing adventure. Clay and George were the brave first people to climb the wall, ascending effortlessly. Lucille and Logan then posed a wonderful question to the group, and we are now closer than ever before.
We are so grateful to have such a wonderful group of students – it is a privilege to be on the adventure of a lifetime with them! We are looking forward to another day of ice-climbing tomorrow and then off to backpacking!!!
Safe Arrival in Anchorage!
June 17, 2025
Hello Northern Lights Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Alaska! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from 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
