A Blast While Backpacking!
July 5, 2026
We kicked off our backpacking adventure by making our way to the trailhead, where we enjoyed a lunch of ramen before tackling the famous “duffle shuffle.” Everyone worked together to divide up camp gear, kitchen supplies, and food. Once our packs were loaded, we hit the trail toward our first backcountry campsite. The hike was filled with beautiful scenery, great conversations, and plenty of games. Lily, Elizabeth, Anna, and Bailey kept themselves entertained with a game of Wavelength while hiking in the caboose, while the front of the pack enjoyed great conversation about past travels and favorite hometown activities. Grayson, Drew, and Jackson kept a steady pace, leading the group, helping everyone make their way up the trail. At one river crossing, Elizabeth took an unexpected dip, while others, including Grayson and Henry, decided to embrace the cold water and simply walk right through! Shoutout to Caleb for his navigation skills to keep his shoes completely dry while scaling the rocks across the river. After arriving at camp, the girls all squeezed into one tent to stay warm before enjoying delicious pita pizzas for dinner. We ended the evening with Moonup, where Clara and Mack had everyone laughing with their best snoring impressions.
The next morning, we fueled up with oatmeal before heading out on a day hike to beautiful Navajo Lake. Cooper made sure Grayson got the last brown sugar oatmeal packet, earning some extra friendship points before the hike even began. Along the trail we passed several friendly dogs and tackled some intense incline trails. Reaching the lake was well worth the climb, and everyone was ready to relax and enjoy lunch by the water. Grayson and Drew had success fishing, while Elizabeth, Sims, Cooper, Caleb, Jackson, Zander, and Herrington cooled off with an icy jump into the lake to earn a well-deserved Sour Patch Watermelon reward. Herrington led the charge after losing a game of “What Are the Odds?” and fully committed to the challenge. Back at camp, Anna and Jackson worked their magic in the kitchen, whipping up a tasty chicken, rice, and bean dinner despite realizing they had forgotten the seasoning. We wrapped up another unforgettable day with Moonup, where Herrington, also known as “Steve,” officially earned his newest nickname, MC Swivel Hips, after treating everyone to some unforgettable dance moves.
Our final day of backpacking was met with an early wake-up in order to have plenty of time for a good lunch in Telluride before heading off for two days of rock climbing. What’s for breakfast, you might ask? A variety of cereals and a camper favorite: Made Good Granola Bites!!! After making it down the County Road 38 and into Telluride, we stopped at the Cornerhouse Grille for a tasteful medley of hamburgers, fried chicken, Mac and cheese, and enormous fried pickles which Lily kindly shared with everyone. The meal was punctuated by conversations where Drew and Clara claimed they could do better than the English national team mere seconds before Harry Kane scored an 86′ minute game winning goal. Wandering through Telluride we ran into even more dogs to pet thanks to a friendly roofer who previously worked for our rafting guides at River Runners.
Following a stop at the store and a drive to Elk Creek, Bailey cooked a dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce, which Sims revealed during Moonup to be one of her favorite meals of the trip. As dinner was cooking Elizabeth and Clara took a photoshoot courtesy of Zander’s camera that continued through the night with many others joining in on the fun. We ended the night by doing a fruit roll up eating race, where hearts were broken and victory was grasped in the final moment. While Henry was fumbling to grab the half eaten fruit roll up he dropped, and Elizabeth was celebrating her seemingly certain victory, Caleb swooped in at the last possible second to finish his first and claim victory at the end of a Moonup filled with laughing and contemplation thanks to excellent questions from our LODS Lily and Herrington. We went to bed eager and excited for the rock climbing that awaited us the next day!!
Thank you mom and dad! I’ve had so much fun here! -Herrington
Thank you mom and dad so much for sending me here. I have so many memories and new friends! -Grayson
I am having so much fun. Thanks mom’s MF dad for letting me come. I am making so many new memories! -Sims
I am having so much fun and making so many new memories! Thanks mom and dad! -Elizabeth
I am having an amazing time out here and I am super thankful for the opportunity to go on this trip. Thank you mom and dad! -cooper
Thank you mom, dad, and Mimi so much for this trip, I have fun new memories and new friends! -Clara
Thank you for sending me on this trip. I have made so many friends and memories. -Lily
Thanks for letting me on this trip, can’t wait to see you! -Mack
Thanks mom and dad and Mimi for this trip. I am having fun. I am so grateful! -drew
Thank you mom and dad for sending me here. Having fun! Love y’all. -Caleb
Thank you mom and dad for letting me go on this trip! I’ve had lots of fun and tell minnie I said thanks! -Zander
I am so grateful for you guys (mom and dad) giving me the opportunity to go on this trip. Making so many memories! With love. -Henry
Shout Outs!
June 28, 2026
Zander: Hi guys, I am having lots of fun here in Colorado so far. We have whitewater rafted and fly fished. Fly fishing was way more fun than normal fishing, and the whitewater rafting was awesome. Right now we are headed to San Juan National Forest to backpack. The views out here are great, and I can show you guys with my photos. Overall it’s amazing! Love,Zander
Caleb: Having fun here. Miss y’all. Dad, there is a lot of old people because there is a lot of Cadillacs. Love y’all.
Drew: Hey Mom and Dad, I am having fun. I caught my first rainbow trout on fly. I miss y’all.
Mackenzie: Hey Mom and Dad, I’m having a great time and we are about to go backpacking. I caught 1 fish fly fishing and tried kayaking. Miss you! Tell Maverick I said hi.
Clara: Hey Mom and Dad, I’m having fun. Other than that, I miss y’all too and I’m excited to tell y’all about everything.
Lily: Hey Mom and Dad, I’m having a lot of fun. I miss you guys and can’t wait to see you.
Henry: Colorado is great. Views are better than anything I have ever seen. Counselors and people are also great. Hope everything is good at home. Can’t wait to see you.
Herrington: Hey Mom and Dad, I’m having a great time! Love y’all, see you soon!
Grayson: Hey Mom and Dad. Tell Rex, Eli, Emerson, and Paws I said hi. I am having an amazing time and I am missing you guys. Love you.
Elizabeth: Hey Mom and Dad, I love and miss you guys and can’t wait to come home! Also tell Lizzie I miss her too. Can’t wait to see y’all soon!
Sims: Hey Mom and Dad, I am having so much fun. Everything here is so pretty. I hope you are having fun in Italy. Can’t wait to see you.
Cooper: Hey Mom, Dad, and Kendall, I’ve had a lot of fun so far whitewater rafting and fly fishing. I have been taking pictures, and I can’t wait to tell you guys all about the trip. The temperature is also pretty nice. Love you guys.
Crushing it in Colorado!
June 28, 2026
HELLO COLORADO TRAIL FAM AND FRIENDS!
We kicked off our adventure with an exciting first day on the river! After a delicious breakfast of eggs seasoned with taco seasoning and crispy hashbrowns, we met our rafting guides at the river and got geared up for the day ahead. The river was full of fun rapids, teamwork, and lots of laughs. While no one ended up taking an unexpected swim, Caleb, Henry, Elizabeth, and Clara’s raft seemed to find just about every rock on the river, except for the biggest rapid! Lily stepped up as captain of her raft and navigated like a pro all day long. Along the way, Cooper kept everyone entertained by pointing out and talking about the many different rock formations that make up the beautiful canyon. We stopped along the river for a delicious lunch prepared by our guides before cooling off with a swim. Daisy even showed off with an impressive jump off the raft, making everyone cheer her on.
After a fun day on the water, we arrived at camp and got settled in before Jackson introduced everyone to the game Signs. Somehow, Henry was almost always accused of being “it,” keeping the whole group laughing throughout the evening. We wrapped up the day with a delicious stir-fry dinner and a meaningful Moonup led by our Leaders of the Day, Lily and Grayson.
Day two brought even more excitement as part of the group traded the raft for inflatable kayaks while the rest stayed together in the raft. Grayson, Herrington (also known as “Steve”), Henry, Caleb, Drew, Zander, and Anna were ready to take on the river from their own boats. Herrington’s boat needed a little bump from Anna’s to help get off a few tricky rocks, but everyone was all smiles and eager to keep paddling. Sims was the first member of the raft crew brave enough to jump off Elizabeth Rock, titled by the group after Queen Elizabeth, with Mack following right behind. After lunch, Mack hopped into a kayak and absolutely crushed the rest of the river. Jackson also made it his mission to get Clara soaked by the end of the day, and while he didn’t completely succeed, he definitely got close! After another great riverside lunch with beautiful views, we finished our rafting adventure and headed back to camp for a delicious taco dinner. We gathered for another wonderful Moonup led by our Leaders of the Day, Elizabeth and Herrington. We reflected on another incredible day together before wrapping up the night with a hilarious tortilla game that had the whole group laughing.
On our third day, we traded rapids for fishing rods as we met up with our fly-fishing guides and headed to the beautiful Wrights Lake. Surrounded by stunning mountain views, everyone enjoyed learning new techniques and trying their luck on the water. Drew had an especially impressive day, reeling in five fish! Mack, Grayson, Caleb, Zander, Anna, Jackson, and Bailey all landed fish as well, making for an exciting afternoon full of celebrations and high fives. After enjoying lunch by the lake, we packed up our gear and hit the road for our next campsite, excited to head into the San Juan National Forest for backpacking!
Talk Soon!
Anna, Jackson, + Bailey
Safe Arrival in Denver!
June 24, 2026
Hello Colorado Trail Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Denver! 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
