Conquering Monkey's Face!
June 22, 2025
Trip Update #3
We did it! We made it to our final destination of the scenic and crowded SEA TAC airport. As we sip our long awaited Starbucks we reminisce on the countless crazy memories that made up the last two weeks.
Smith Rock welcomed us with some very fitting Miley Cyrus to kick off our first day of climbing, rather fitting no? James, assisted by Carter and Sam, prepped us a delicious Moondance classic, “The Davis”, to fuel us up for the day. We met up with our epic outfitters, James and Michael, and set off on the beginning of our highly anticipated rock climbing journey. First, we went over the basics of belaying and once we got the PBUS (pull, break, under, slide) down we began climbing, with the fate of our climbers now in the belayer’s hands. Everyone conquered the first two routes both on the wall and on the belay. Will and Davis took a particularly strong liking to the belaying and were very impressive in their skill progression throughout the day. After completing our climbs for the day we moved into our first repel of the trip, a little sneak peak into what the Monkeys Face had in store for us. Rylan, Thomas, and Carter impressively completed the repel with a new found positive attitude towards heights. With our first day of climbing complete of course we had to celebrate with some local ice cream! And granola! After indulging in some spike ball (which Savannah crushed!), our cooks got to work on creating a Mediterranean menu for the evening. We all congregated for an epic sunset and finished off the night with moonup.
The next morning the group arose from their slumber to the sweet ol tune of the Rocky Theme to get pumped up for another grand day of climbing. After feasting on some oatmeal we hit the rocks and got active once again. The progression of the group truly took off on day two. Sam, Jesse, and Katie showed off their climbing techniques on all three of our routes that day. Rylan really impress the group with her climbing skills getting up every route on her first try despite her fear of heights. Today’s repel was a higher then yesterdays nonetheless the group took it in stride and cruised through our repel. This was our last day before monkeys face and we were feeling well prepared after the last two days. After thanking our outfitters we headed back to our campsite where we surprised the students with a town day in Bend Oregon. A beautiful town along the Deschutes River. We stopped at a food truck lot where the student got a variety of different things. After eating we headed to drake park where Ryland and Flannary Rose organized a game of mafia. After that we played a game of hide and go seek with Carter being the seeker. We had a lot of fun. After the park we headed back to our campsite where we cooked an early dinner of burgers and mashed potatoes. Then hit the hay early for our big climb tomorrow.
MONKEYS FACE!!! Today we conquered one of the most legendary routes in climbing. It was an early start. We woke up before the sun and hit the trail at 6am to meet our guides. We hiked “misery ridge trail” (the name sounds bad but the students crushed it). The monkey’s face is a 190ft formation that from most angles looks like a monkey’s face, hence the name. We started with a safety talk then headed right into the Tyrollean traverse. A twenty foot hand over hand crossing on a rope between two points. Will bravely took on the challenge first crossing the traverse. After the traverse we climbed out of the side of the monkey’s mouth and up to his nose where we repelled down. Sam and Katie kept all of us in a positive mindset while everyone waited to go. Everyone killed it and made it though. Special shout out to Sofie, Carter, and Rylan for getting out of their comfort zones and facing their fear of heights. After the monkeys’ faces we packed up camp and headed to our next camp site, battle ground campsite, where we made a delicious meal of pasta bolognese and brussel sprouts. Then moon up and straight to bed for some much needed rest.
And here we are, our final full day together. Though the activities had come to an end, the fun still remained. After indulging in a James Spencer special of French Toast and eggs, the group acted as if they were Canadian geese in the spring and migrated north towards our final campsite. At said campsite we set up one of our more impressive architectural projects- a four tent structure with a roofed courtyard. Poker was played and laughs were had. With great excitement, the group assisted in the cleaning process! Big shoutout to Flannery Rose and Will for cleaning the Coleman stove (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!) and the rest of the crew for being so tentative to this process. Post cleaning we celebrated with a trip to goodwill to find our Friday’s best and sport our new wardrobe out on the town. We found a lovely pizza parlor to show off our new drip and got many glances from passers by. We concluded our evening with a moonup for the books.
So proud of our group and we miss them dearly. Safe travels back to the homelands!
Crabs, Campfires, And the Call of the Salish Sea
June 18, 2025
Greetings from the rather aquatic PNW1A!!!!! The group has spent the past few days getting active in the water and it has been a blast. On our first day of our sea kayaking section we had the honor of indulging in fresh blueberry and strawberry pancakes from the pancake coundesuirs Jesse and Rylan. The group fueled up and headed over to Roche Harbor where we met up with Tyler and Eli, our guides for the paddle journey. We set off on our paddling voyage. We quickly got comfortable on the water, adjusting to the mechanics that make up the art of kayaking after a long set of days using our lower body backpacking. We stopped by Posey Island, the 2nd smallest State park in the United States (~1 acre), to explore the island wildlife and snack on some sandwiches. Savannah faced her fears and picked up a crab for the first time! Flannery Rose was on the hunt to find the biggest crab on the island, and Jesse was infatuated by the eagles nest (go birds) on the island. Post lunch, we got back on the water and ventured to our campsite for the evening. Upon arrival Sam, Katie, Jesse, Will, and Davis did a polar plunge into the ocean! Flannery Rose set up a fire for the group where we gathered for an evening filled with riddles and laughter. Jesse and Will make friends with other island dwellers, Ollie and Leo, two spritely young spirits. We closed out the night with Tea Time with Thomas and s’mores accompanied with a gorgeous sunset on Jones Island.
The next morning the crowd was woken up with some reggae music to fit the island setting. Our outfitters prepared us some oatmeal and hot chocolate to get us ready for another beautiful day of paddling. After breakfast we explored Jones Island and played some paddle games before setting off on the Salish Sea. We were greeted by lots of wildlife on our journey back, most notably being the seals! Carter’s strength got the best of him and ended up snapping his paddle in half… luckily the outfitters had an extra paddle for him! After battling strong head winds, the group arrived safely back at Roche Harbor. We spent the afternoon exploring Friday Harbor indulging in the frozen delicacies and boba. The group had a grand time on the town took the evening ferry back to the mainland. We got to our evening campsite with plenty of time for mac n cheese, watermelon, and roasting hot dogs over a fire. Jesse, Will, and Flannery Rose attempted different techniques of utilizing the fire as a cooking tool to roast some watermelon and pop tarts. Gotta love the creativity of these chefs!
Happy Fathers Day! The next morning we kicked off our big travel day with the dynamic duo of showers and pancakes! After cleaning up camp we set off to Southern Washington to meet our campsite host Jim! Jim, more commonly known as Big Dawg, welcomed us to the campsite of our dreams with his warm smile and contagious laugh. James and Sofie got to work in the kitchen to allow the group to explore Big Dawg’s 5 star resort. The group feasted on a Sofie and James special of fried rice and lo mien and got out of this world reviews. In honor of James newly becoming a father of 10 kids, the group surprised him with brownies and a card to celebrate fathers day! Happy first fathers day James <3 The group ended the night with some haircuts provided by Sam, Katie, and Flannery Rose. The crew has never looked better!
Our short-lived outing at Big Dawgs palace concluded with morning tea, hot chocolate, coffee, and breakfast sandwiches cheffed by our LODs Will and Katie. The LODs provided a much needed hearty breakfast to get the group up and at em for our day of rafting. We met our outfitters along the White Salmon River and got situated for the day. On the front end of our trip the girls boat was led by Rylan and Flannery Rose while the boys boat was headed by Jesse and Carter. The four of them took on the brave and important role of facing every rapid face on. Before lunch the whole crew successfully partook in bridge jumping into the White Salmon River. After lunch Davis and Rylan stepped up to the challenge of “riding the bull” and rode on the very front of the raft through a rapid. Sam and Jesse took charge of the GoPro and the responsibility of filming and providing rafting commentary for the viewers back home. Post rafting we road tripped our way to Smith Rock State Park where we indulged in some well deserved personal pizzas!
Good morning from the beautiful and vibrant PNW!!!
June 15, 2025
The twelve of us have had an extremely splendid time hiking, swimming, playing, and thriving in the dramatic landscapes that the North Cascades have provided for us. Kicking us off on day one James and Sofie were accompanied in the kitchen by an eager and spritely Jesse who, despite having a late night due to the travel day, were still enthusiastic about assisting in the kitchen cutting veggies and helping prep our breakfast burritos that fueled us for our first hiking day. After breakfast, James led us through our first duffle shuffle. Will graciously crowned himself with the chivalrous role of carrying the pots and pans for the duration of the trip. Thank you Will! The group got packed up and headed into the backcountry!! Upon arriving at the Ross Lake trailhead we then had a group stretch led by Carter and headed on our way. We met Captain John who took us in his water taxi to Devils Creek trailhead. Then the group proceeded on East Bank Trail towards Lightening Creek group camp. About half way through the route, we stopped to teach a water purification lesson which unfortunately set us off trail for a brief moment. Thanks to Davis’ knowledge and skills with the map, he and Sofie found our way back on track! With some sour patch enthusiasm we finally made it to Lightning Creek group camp where we were greeted by Melvin the log and had tons of fun swimming and playing in the gorgeous Ross Lake. After drying out in the sun, Sam spearheaded an amazing dinner of pesto pasta with help from Carter and Davis. Carter sumpted three cans of chicken marking his new role in the group as sump master! After dinner we had our first moon up around a roaring fire made by Thomas and Flannery Rose. Sofie and James led moon up and outlined the roles of LOD (Leaders of the Day) and Cook crew as well as the format of moon ups (Nug Jug, quotes, silly question, and serious question). Savannah and Carter were made the LODs for the next day).
The next morning Savannah and Carter kicked off the day with some delicious oatmeal to set us up for another successful day of backpacking. This was the most challenging section of our trek but nonetheless PNW1A took it in stride. Notable counts from this section were clear points of perseverance from both Flannery Rose and Rylan. Additionally, Thomas and Carter were extremely helpful through this route, providing both helping hands and words of encouragement. Throughout the day we also listened to the musical stylings of the PNW1A playlist carefully crafted by the kids themselves. We enjoyed the lyrical masterpieces from Justin Bieber (thank you Katie), Lorde, Billy Strings, and everyone in between. Upon reaching our next campsite the group participated in a group polar plunge initiated by Flannery Rose. Post polar plunge Rylan, Katie, and Thomas took their skills to the kitchen and whipped up some burrito bowls for the group. Though the bowls were delicious, the best parts of the meal were the competitions to finish the beans and Rylan facing her fear of cheese! We ended the day with a moon up Led by the LODs where they asked the group about dream weddings and characteristics of a good leader. Then headed to bed for some much needed ZZZs.
Day three, we began the day with some delicious and hearty hash brown bowls made by our new LODs Samantha and Will Adair, the dynamic cousin duo. Following breakfast we hit the trail and after yesterday’s brutal uphills we had a great time on this flatter section. Vibes were high and the whole group looked like they were experienced backpackers. The hike was about six miles and ended at our final and most beautiful campsite Hozomeen Lake. Our home for the night was next to a gorgeous alpine lake with the most blue water one can imagine. After setting up camp we went for a group swim in the refreshing crystal clear water. After drying off on the sunny rocks Carter and Flannery Rose built a fire and where we hung out and chatted for a while. Then James broke out the fly rod for a fly fishing lesson taught by himself and Jesse attended by Sam, Davis, Carter, and Katie. Although no fish were caught, everyone had a great time learning the basics and tossing the fly around. Then, our chefs for the night Flannary Rose, Jesse, Savannah, and Will began preparing our dinner of jambalaya. It turned out amazing and had everyone coming back for seconds! After dinner we headed down to the lake for a mediation and yoga session led by Jesse. While it may not have been traditional, it sure was fun. After finding our inner peace we ended the evening with a moon up Led by our LODs. After moonrise we went to bed for our early start the next morning.
Day Four! We got up with the sun and had a quick breakfast before hitting the trail. Our LODs Katie and Davis set a great pace to keep us on schedule. This last section of backpacking was relatively short, only 4 miles as we headed to meet our water taxi at the trailhead for a 9am pick up. We got to the trail head with plenty of time but had to reroute due to low water levels around our pick up spot. Thanks to this hiccup we were able to pop over into Canada for a second before heading to our new extraction point. Although this setback added a couple of miles to our day the group took it in stride. Our water taxi ride was a beautiful cruise through Ross Lake. Once we disembarked we had a short but steep climb up to the van where we loaded up and said goodbye to the Northern Cascades. After leaving the Park we stopped at Cascade Burger, a local burger joint, for lunch and enjoyed Carter’s favorite, burgers and fries. After scarfing down lunch we had a short road trip to Anacortes on the Washington coast and the entrance to the San Juan Islands. After jamming out on our drive we set out on a ferry to Friday harbor where we began our sea kayaking section. The ferry ride was a beautiful ride through the stunning San Juan islands. After arriving at Friday harbor we had a quick drive to our campsite for the night at Lakedale resort. Leading up to dinner the group participated in a friendly yet competitive game of poker run by Davis. Katie, despite being new to the game, had a very impressive evening giving the others a run for their chips. The poker table transformed into an Italian side street in Rome as we feasted on a fabulous dinner of chicken pasta with red sauce cheffed up by Sam, Flannary Rose, and Thomas. Katie and Davis closed down the evening with a thought provoking moonup conversation. The group hit the hay and got a good night’s sleep in preparation for sea kayaking.
Until next time!
James + Sofie
Safe Arrival!
June 9, 2025
Hello Pacific Northwest Families,
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Seattle. 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
