August 20
On the plane ride to Denver everyone was getting very excited about the Rocky Mountain Semester! Most of us arrived in Denver between 9am and 2pm. We made our way to the not so obvious fount
ain (since it doesnt have any water in it at the moment!) to meet the group. There we were greeted by smiling faces and a blue and white HMI sign. Once we gathered our bags, we departed in shuttles and began the trek to Leadville. At first, the car ride was a little bit awkward, but as we began to get to know each other better, everyone was talking. The view was spectacular, and we shared how nervous and excited we all were. After the lovely two hour drive we arrived in the very small and scarce town of Leadville. After filling up on some gas we finally arrived at The High Mountain Institute where every one settled in for the start to a great journey.
Immediately within the first two days we knew that our group was going to grow into one strong, cohesive unit. We made friendships and bonds with each other more quickly than we thought and by the third day, were all friends with everyone and working together as a team. The instr
uctors and apprentices really helped to facilitate our growth as a community at the first few circles of the year. One circle that really stands out took place around a roaring fire. Each of us wrote an expectation and a fear that we have of the semester on a slip of paper. The slips of paper were then jumbled together and read aloud anonymously so that we felt less alone in our fears and were able to see the similarities in our expectations. It was truly a bonding experience for our group.
For the first expedition, we have been split up into four separate expeditio
n groups. Our expedition groups are further subdivided in tarp groups of instructors, girls, and boys. We are all really excited for our first trip. We're going to be hiking in the Collegiate Peaks, traveling both on and off trail. For the first day or two, we'll be hiking in a big expedition group of 14 or 15, but later on we're going to split up into smaller, self-sufficient hiking groups or four of five people. In addition to hiking on and off trail, we might even get to hike up to the top of a 14,000 foot peak, like Mount Yale.
In order to make these trips happen, we had to do a lot of preparation over the last two days. First we went through all of the clothes we brought with us and whittled them down to the bare minimum that we could carry on our backs. Second was rationing. This was the bustling, exciting, and 
rowdy hour or so in which each expedition team packed their food for our first 14-day expedition! Here we found ourselves packing all of the food that we would eat for the next two weeks. Boxes full of everything from pasta to powdered milk, snickers bars to pancake mix, lined the Red Room. Carefully we measured thecorrect amount of each food we needed until the room was overflowing with plump
food bags, ready to be taken on our adventure.
In addition to food, we also needed all sorts of group gear. We spent an hour learning how to light our compact cooking stoves, set up our tarps, and other essential backcountry skills. Finally, with all of our group gear and food divided up, it was time to pack our packs. After some desperate cramming and jamming, we managed to fit everything we needed into our backpacks.
Ready to go, tonight well eat a big dinner. Then, first thing in the morning, we are off!
By: Cassie Ali, Imaani Easthausen, Ben Capelin, & Alex Cious Feroe