December 16th

Classes finished, a solo accomplished and our packs are packed...almost! It is a hard concept to grasp, yet it has happened to all of us:  four months have passed in the blink of an eye.  Coming into this semester, most of us had high expectations---but the past 122 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes and four seconds has downright blown our minds.  The memories and friendships we have made here will be recalled time and time again. The gratitude we have toward this community- friends, faculty and furry animals alike will be forever remembered. 

We have just come back from solo---an amount of time alone in the woods. For us this meant a full ten hours to relax a bit, reflect on our time here and write what we call a “Full Circle”.  It was so much fun to lay in the snow for nine hours during the gloriously sunny day, eating snacks and writing our end-of-semester letters, the Full Circle:  where we began, where we ended, and what has gone on in the meantime.

Freezing mornings, waking up to a stove that has died out, and the notion that we must get out of our cozy beds and run four miles now seems somehow appealing. Seeing the smiles of 42 hungry students plus staff and faculty as they pass through the food line and get a scrumptious meal we have just prepared is something we may never have the opportunity to do again.

And my goodness, expeditions! Every couple of weeks, packing up and leaving our new home to go gallivanting through the mountains of Colorado or canyons of Utah was exhilarating. We loved expeditions, don’t get us wrong, but when toes had been frozen for ten days straight and our armpits smelled like wet dog---a warm shower and comfy bed was more than appreciated! 

But let us not get too far ahead of ourselves here---or in this case, I suppose, behind.  As excited as we are about the past few months we have lived in this little wonderland, we are just as enthusiastic to reflect on the multitude of things that have happened in this past week alone.

Monday was an exciting exchange of gifts---the last step of our Secret Solstice Winter Gift Exchange. Homemade earrings, huge signs declaring gratitude toward individuals, and a lovely Focus Train (gifted to the birthday boy, Alex) were just a few of the wonderful presents. 

Classes officially finished on Tuesday, followed by our Practice and Principles exam on Wednesday. It was a tough last pull with the mountain of final projects and papers. But we made it through! And when classes were over we all felt very accomplished. The P&P exam was a several-hour process that had everyone running around to different stations to get tested on skills we had learned throughout the semester, primarily during our backcountry expeditions.

And last but not least, the endless packing, cleaning, and taking down of decorations in our cabin that we have begun… and cannot yet seem to finish. It is a very sad process but we know that home is awaiting us, and that isn’t too bad of a place either. We will miss you HMI! Many thanks and endless hugs from yours truly, the student body.

Written by: Gavin Arnold, Annie Hall and Natasha Hampton