Shoutouts!
July 14, 2025
Jack: Hey y’all, were about to start our 8 day backpacking trip, hope everything has been running smoothly, and Hollis good luck on your trip it’s going to be awesome. Also, tell Katie how to see the trip updates because I forgot. Thank y’all!
Reed: Hi mom and dad, were leaving today to start our 8 day trek into backcountry. It’s been a super fun and unique experience so far, the glacier exploring was really cool . I love y’all so much hope stuff is good in LA. Thank y’all for the trip!! (PS tell Avery thanks for the letter)
Dash: we just finished ice climbing and are about to go on our backpacking trip. It is cool I am having fun.
Nat: Hi guys, I’m about to go backpacking and I am having an amazing time. This trip is incredible thank you!
Eleanor: Hi! Alaska has been so much fun, and I’m having such a great time. We just finished glacier climbing and are starting our 8 day backpacking trip today. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Ford: hey mom and dad, I’m chilling out here. It’s a lot of fun, were about to start backpacking. The group is great and everyone is really nice. When I get home, please make sure I can have a ten count mini because I am really looking forward to that. Love y’all
Eddie: Hi Mom and Dad I’m having a good time. We are about to go backpacking for eight days straight and we will be carrying everything we eat and use. It’ll be a pretty good experience, I’m excited. After that we will go kayaking and rafting for a bit. The last two days, we have been ice climbing on glaciers. It will be fun to see y’all soon!
Gwen: Hi mom dad and Syd I am having a really great time its my fourth day here and I’m already sad to leave we went ice climbing the first couple days and everything is so pretty and I loved it and am excited to show you the photos. Today we are starting backpacking! Everyone on the trip is great and we all are pretty close love you see you!
Asher: Hey guys! Thank you so much for letting me come on this trip to Alaska! I’m glad everything worked out in the end! Everything is so beautiful and we’re all having so much fun. Sending love to you and family.
Gigi: HI FAM!!! We just got done ice climbing it was really cool(haha) and now were about to go backpacking in the backcountry for 8 days. I’m very exited and I really love my group. I love the landscape here and it reminds me a lot of Colorado but way way better. Love y’all so much!!
Update from Alaska!
July 14, 2025
Hello from Alaska! The 13 of us are having an awesome time in this beautiful place, it is flying by! We are stoked about this group and are excited to share some highlights from our first couple days together.
The group arrived at staggered times in the Anchorage Airport, us leaders highly anticipating their arrival and ready to get the trip started. Once our kids arrived with the highest level of excitement, we gathered their belongings and headed over to Eagle River to camp for the night. We had our first “Moonup” – an evening ritual where the group comes together to reflect on the day and share special moments from various parts of our lives. We discussed why we wanted to do this trip and connected instantly, setting a strong foundation for the rest of the trip. The kids had their first night sleep in broad daylight, the first of many!
The next morning was early, and we feasted on breakfast burritos and fruit. The kids were instant professionals at taking down their tents, and by 9 a.m. we hit the road in our coach to Glacier View. The drive was incredibly scenic, with large mountain ranges towering around us as we all got to know each other better. We bonded over a shared love of music, getting some deep pulls from everyone’s eclectic music taste.
We camped at the NOVA base, right along the Matanuska River. We were greeted by beautiful purple fireweeds that surrounded the camp. That afternoon, we played group card games of tongues and B.S. Eddie took the cake in B.S., sneakily beating us all while none of us saw it coming. We taught Leave No Trace principles to the group, as well as animal safety. We walked along the Matanuska, and it was the first time the group was able to truly breathe in the Alaska air and take in all the beauty that was around them. They were in awe of the view, and so were we. It never gets old!
After an afternoon of getting to know each other and a million games of hacky sac, we made tacos for dinner. Gigi was the first to step up to help us cook, cutting all the onions and peppers for us quickly and efficiently. Gigi and Jack were our first LODs (Leaders of the Day), leading us in a special Moonup by the river, where we reflected about important events that had happened in our lives. We were serenated by Jack and his guitar, and we ended the night dreaming of the glacier adventures that awaited us the next day.
The next day we were finally taking on the ice! We woke up early and had a breakfast of yogurt and granola and met our NOVA guides who outfitted us with all the mountaineering gear needed for ice climbing on the Matanuska Glacier. We had mountaineering boots, harnesses, crampons, and ice picks – the crew looked like true professionals! After gearing up, we headed to the glacier. We spent the afternoon exploring the glacier, walking up hills of ice and getting more comfortable with the crampons on our feet. Reed, who had expressed interest in glaciers in school, was especially in awe of the stunning glacier. We repelled down a wall of ice, hopped over crevasses, and learned about the complexity of glaciers from our expert guides. Once it was time for climbing, the kids brought the stoke. Everyone excelled at climbing, and we had an amazing afternoon on the glacier. Natalie was a natural, speeding up the ice like nobody’s business and encouraging everyone as they took on the wall. To make things even better, the sky cleared up and we were able to soak in the sun, appreciating it a little more than usual here in Alaska! After a few hours on the glacier, we packed up and headed back to NOVA for a well-deserved dinner of Gyros. Asher and Eleanor led an excellent Moonup, followed by a tight knit a circle of laughter and fun. The groups chemistry is growing stronger every day, and we are excited to see that everyone is connecting so well already.
After a successful climbing day two days ago, the group was ready to take on the ice again! This time, we had quite the journey to get to our climbing spot. We ferried a raft across the Matanuska River and hiked through scrub and sluggish glacial mud to get there. Asher was a natural explorer, conquering this new terrain elegantly and having fun while doing it! We were able to see a mini rockslide, which was awesome. The journey was worth it. We were climbing right above a river created from the glacier water, where the students were repelled down into a canyon and climbed back up. They also had the option to climb a 60-foot wall, which each kid took on with no fear. Ford and Dash decided to race up the wall with Ellie timing them, and the friendly competition made the day more exciting and fun. Everyone was enthusiastic and excited to try each pitch, while motivating each other when it was difficult. It was only fitting to end the day with ice cream, where we celebrated the successful completion of our first activity! After filling our bellies with moose tracks and brown sugar ice cream, we headed back to camp to prepare for our backpacking adventure. This included staging all our group gear, sorting snacks and meals, and packing clothes. Gwen was efficient and quick in her packing, being a great listener which helped the evening go smoothly. We had Korean BBQ for dinner and closed the busy day with Moonup led by Reed and Eddie, where we fantasized about places we would love to visit and discussed mentors in our lives. After a long and fun day of climbing and backpacking preparation, everyone slept soundly in their sleeping bags.
Backpacking time! Today we had a huge breakfast of steak and eggs for breakfast before hitting the backcountry. We packed up the rest of our gear, teaching the kids how to pack a backpack and the way it should fit. The kids are excited for our 8-day backpacking adventure in the Alaska bush, and us leaders know they are going to kill it!
We are so proud of how the group has come together and embraced everything Alaska has to offer. They are all incredibly grateful, excited to be here, and ready for the adventures ahead, and we can’t wait to see them grow in new ways and be challenged over this week in the backcountry. It is magical out there, and we can’t wait to experience it with them.
Stay tuned for updates from our backcountry expedition in the Talkeetna Range – the real wilderness adventure is just beginning!
-With excitement from Alaska,
Porter, Matt, & Ellie
Safe Arrival!
July 11, 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
