April 26, 2010

Traveling in the canyons was such a unique experience! It was totally different from the KOFA in that there was flowing water everywhere, and the obvious difference from our winter expedition was that the temperature was much warmer. Hiking through the canyons is no easy experience since we followed long and winding rivers or riverbeds with lots of turns and everything looks similar! However, all of us were very developed in our navigational skills, so we were easily able to navigate through the twisting and turning canyons. Some groups even went so far as to repel down the canyon walls, which is quite an experience. The beauty of the canyons was also quite amazing with all of the different colors and layers of rocks that were laid down over several eons. It was absolutely amazing to see them! All in all, Rocky Mountain Semester 24 thoroughly enjoyed the canyons and we miss them already.

In addition to being in a new environment, some of us got to experience technical travel. This means we gained a new set of skills and gear. The main skill we used in the field was being lowered with harnesses and ropes. As fun as this was, there was still loads of work to be done. We had to learn how to be comfortable suspended in mid air, then how to walk down walls. It was a topsy-turvy adventure. But no matter what, we learned how to have lots of fun walking down walls and floating above water while being safe at the same time.

One of the things that made this final expedition different from the first two was that we had the opportunity for independent student travel. Fundamentally independent student travel days (IST days) are when we as students have the opportunity to camp and travel without instructor supervision. For example, one group's IST began at 8:00 am starting with a hike through Grand Gulch. They traveled on their own for two consecutive days, choosing campsites, navigating and route finding, and having circle on their own.  As much as we all love the faculty and apprentices, it was really empowering to have the chance to make all the decisions and have complete control. It was also great to prove to ourselves how much we have learned this semester.

Over third expedition, we also had various classes, as we do on all the expeditions. However, on this expedition, we had our history class while cuddled in a stone alcove made into the shape of a bowl from years of the river's flowing. It was probably the neatest location for any class we've ever had. Also, one of the main themes of this expedition was student independence and self sufficiency. In keeping with this, we were the teachers on this expedition. We taught each other science facts, and our basic skills review classes. This shows how far we have come this semester. We also talked in depth about the main character in Into the Wild, and we compared his exploration of the wilderness to our adventure. In P&P we talked about the themes of the philosophy of deep ecology, on the edge of a canyon, another amazing location. Overall, the classes in the backcountry were extremely interesting and the topics we talked about were relevant to our location, which inspired higher levels of thought and more interest in the topics of discussion. It was a great trip.

By: Brandon Kaplan, Ariana King, Andrew Spina, Maeve O'Connor-Bethune, & Molly Knox