September 3, 2009

During our first expedition, Rocky Mountain Semester 23 learned how to hike on and off trail, find our way with the help of topographical maps, cook in the backcountry, communicate with each other, use basic first aid, and much more.

We took turns acting as Leader of the Day, or LOD. When acting as LOD, each of us was responsible for leading a small hiking group of three to four students and an instructor from one campsite to the next. This meant analyzing maps, picking the best route, reporting the total mileage and elevation gain for the day, and using land features to help guide the group and stay on course. For many of us, it was a challenging task, but we had multiple opportunities to practice and saw a lot of improvement.

When we arrived at our campsite at the end of the day, we spent time relaxing and cooking our own meals. We learned to use a camp stove, pot, and fry bake to create anything from cinnamon rolls to curries. We had full spice kits to work with, and we experimented to find our favorite backcountry flavors. At the Rocky Mountain Semester, backcountry cooking is much more than boiling water.

After meals in our small tarp groups, the whole expedition group would often gather together for classes. These “classes” weren’t just academic; many were specific to living in the backcountry. We learned that in basic first aid, the first step in response to an injury is to stop and think, or “stop and eat a Snickers,” as we came to say. We talked about the best ways to deal with conflict, give feedback, and communicate with the other students and instructors in our small groups and the larger community.

Most of us never thought we would be sitting on a rock at the 12,000-foot base of Mt. Ouray reading the works of Thoreau and historian Howard Zinn, staring out at the Rocky Mountains. Study Hall will never quite feel the same after an experience like that. We all read a history essay by Howard Zinn and then Karl led a discussion that really made us think about the way history is told and written. Practices and Principles class was based on a collection of readings from various different authors who wrote about their feelings on the preservation of the wild. This was followed by another invigorating discussion facilitated by Sara, our wilderness apprentice. Apart from being an amazing wilderness experience, there was an unifying theme of education. Combining academics with skills classes, we learned to stretch our minds in a variety of ways from how to lead a group to how to make real food to why Thoreau spoke so much of "going west." It is really amazing to think that we were in school at an average of 11,000 feet, with mountains replacing the normal drywall as a backdrop.

The four groups in the backcountry had four separate routes. Our route took us through the Collegiate Peaks, about an hour away from Leadville. In the first three days of our expedition, we hiked out from the trailhead and up Brown’s Creek to our two-day campsite near Mount Tabaguache, where we met and welcomed our jovial apprentice Nate, fresh from studies in Prescott, Arizona. After a weather-thwarted but still entertaining attempt at Tabaguache and a good night’s sleep, we continued hiking over the course of several days, on trail and off, through several campsites to the heart of the Collegiates near Mount Yale. On our second day at Hartenstein Lake, the 11^th day of the expedition, our whole group awoke for an "alpine start" (read: very early!) in order to summit Mt. Yale before the afternoon weather moved in. Over the course of our hike, which lasted from 4:30am until 4:30pm, we hiked up to Brown’s pass, a low saddle on the Continental Divide, along the Divide, and then, leaving the trail, along one of Mt. Yale’s ridges. We summited Yale around noon, and after a relaxing and rewarding break we began our descent on the main trail back to Hartenstein Lake. The following day, having caught up on sleep, we hiked yet again over the Divide to Kroenke Lake, the day after that to a campsite on the North Fork of Cottonwood Creek, and then to van back to HMI.

After our adventures, all of the expedition groups rolled in to campus laughing, smelly, and happy to be back. There were lots of excited greetings for the students we just met two weeks ago and any fears of awkwardness were soon forgotten. However, the excitement of the trip was not over yet! We had to de-issue all of our group camping gear, which involves lots of cleaning and organizing. So after a lunch of sloppy joes (which was even better seeing as we did not have to make it on a camp stove!) everyone signed up for a chore and got to it. There were pots, vans, spice kits, and more to clean and put away, but everyone was in high spirits so the work went by quickly. It was also extra motivation that we could not shower or call home until all the chores were done!

We are all extremely happy to be back together as one giant Rocky Mountain Semester expedition and can't wait to reconnect with everyone here and back home. We are also all mentally preparing ourselves to go back to school for real because classes start tomorrow!

By: Eliza Green, Alex Ford, Nick Gannon, & Lilly Holman