September 7

Expedition A’s adventure started off with a six hour van ride for the San Juan Mountain Range. Over the first few days we learned what LNT (Leave No Trace) was, as well as learning how to use kitchen stoves to cook our own gourmet meals. Our second day of hiking seemed to go on forever. At the point of exhaustion, seeing the lake for the first time was one of the greatest feelings imaginable, with the beautiful mountains as a backdrop and no one around but us. The next day we celebrated Coby’s birthday on a great hike up and over a pass. Dave correctly described the feeling of having an incredible 360 view as “exhilaration beyond belief.” We safely made it down to the other side and set up camp just before the rain. At our next campsite, set against the enormous mountains, Kate led an English discussion on “Walking” by Thoreau. We considered various theses in the essay and eventually combined all of our input to make a truly excellent thesis. Then, Beckett taught us the importance of giving feedback to others and how to properly give it. We ended our day with rain and a full rainbow. We all jumped for joy (literally!); it was one of the most unbelievable sights I have ever witnessed!

The students of Expedition B were eager to explore the backcountry following four (arduous) orientation days on the HMI campus. Friday morning arrived with a bang as every student piled into their respective expedition vans with enough equipment (45 pounds worth) to last 2 weeks. The excitement was palpable as the van pulled away, bound San Juan National Forest. Saturday marked our first real day of hiking; we all gaped at the steep hills which greeted us that morning. Although the first few days were heightened by the glorious sunny skies, the good weather did not last. Almost every afternoon upon arrival in camp, we were welcomed by a celebratory thunderstorm, at times forcing us to assume “lightening position.” Despite this setback, our instructors gave us ample time for study hall to work on the homework we were assigned. Who else can say they had a study period while camped above tree line? Among the many useful backcountry classes, our favorites were Carrie’s baking lesson where we learned how to cook world class pizza and mouth-watering cinnamon buns. Even though our hiking days were fun filled, our expedition group relished the time we spent together playing goofy games such as Bear Hug, Yeehaw, and the unanimous favorite, Mingle. Each student was given the opportunity to assume the role of leader of the day while simultaneously honing our navigational skills. Our favorite morning by far, however, consisted of a 4am wakeup in order to summit the 13,693 foot Rolling Mountain. At the summit, our haggard bodies ached from head to toe, but our spirits were at a peak. The combined 60 miles of hiking gave us a fantastic opportunity to bond as a group, learn about the world around us, and, most importantly, learn about ourselves.

Expedition C started when ten students and four instructors left for the Collegiate Peaks to begin our first expedition. With heavy packs and overflowing excitement, we hiked a few miles to our campsite where we got our first taste of backcountry food and had our first classes on how to set up a tarp, iodize water, and other basic backpacking skills. At night, we played various games that Christina, our expedition leader, taught us, which left us all laughing. The next few days were an adjustment period as many of us got used to carrying 40-50 pound packs and hiking several miles a day. Each day we broke into hiking groups in which an instructor would help us with basic hiking skills and navigating with topographical maps. Trail discussions ranged from our history teacher Matt’s impression of Jimmy Fallon to Molly and Reed pretending they were unicorns. Almost halfway into the expedition, we summited Mt. Antero, which is one of Colorado’s 14,000 foot mountains. For many of us, it was our first Fourteener. Following this long day, Chef Boy-I’m-Short (aka Molly and Christina) taught us how to bake in the backcountry and make our very own dough babies that grew into beautiful backcountry pizzas. At re-ration, Molly traded places with Christopher, so that we were able to get to know both of them over the expedition. One evening, Sam and Matt educated and entertained us with Leave No Trace (LNT) skits that taught us how to treat the backcountry. Our instructors made us proud by singing a song about land management to the tune of “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys (dancing was involved). For the last night, we camped at the Mount Yale trailhead, and built an LNT fire to keep warm and reminisce about the past thirteen days. All in all, the first expedition was a great success, and every one of us left with a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Group D, the Brown Barbaloots, went to the Collegiate Peaks and had an amazing experience. We drove not far south from HMI to the Colorado Trail and started hiking. That night we met for our first circle and started the nightly tradition of playing games including Animal Kingdom, Sevens (a math game our instructor Sam taught us), and Wah (the ultimate ninja game). The next day we hiked another few miles, including crossing a marsh that was waist deep for some of us! Everyone got into the swing of things quickly and the I-team (Instructor Team) decided it was time to challenge us. On the third day of our expedition, we woke up at 3:15 AM to hike up the steepest mountain most of us had ever seen! We got up to the ridge for a beautiful sunrise and continued the rest of the way up to finally summit Mt. Yale at 14,196 feet! All fourteen Barbaloots reached the peak and celebrated together with a bottle of sparkling cider. The trip continued on with steady days of hiking, new adventures and challenges everyday. One of the longest days was our hike to Hunkydory Lake. We all struggled through the rain, steep terrain, and pure exhaustion but still had a fabulous day of jumping in puddles, crossing rivers, and dumping water out of our shoes. The trip seamed so long at first but the days flew by and we were at our last campsite, the three Waterdog lakes. We were like a little family and couldn’t believe it was almost over. We decided to have one last early morning hike and woke up at 4:00 AM to hike up to the Continental Divide to see the sunrise. We made good time to Monarch Pass where we got back in the van. We all got back to HMI safe and sound and had an amazing lunch of chili and corn bread!

By Ben Lawrence, Katie Helfgott, Liz Kelman, and Chelsea Dieck