Thursday, July 7

The eighteen HMI Summer Term students were divided into two expedition groups for their first expedition through the spectacular Sawatch Mountains of Colorado. Each hiked about forty miles over the course of nine days, some travelling north and others south along the Colorado Trail. Reed and Mauren, Ryan, and Libbey led one group, consisting of Scout, Gracen, Emily, Jessica, Emmett, Lars, Will B., Sheridan, Martin, and Sophie. Jen, Olivia, Micah, Josh, Jack, Ceci, Will K., and Caroline travelled with Karen and Ivan.

Below are summaries of each trip, written by Josh and Sophie, respectively.

Our adventure into the great outdoors started out in the Harvard Lakes area and we climbed a steep uphill slope on our very first day.  We were still getting used to the altitude (and the 40-50 pound packs on our backs!), so we moved slowly for most of the day. We made camp in the afternoon and cooked dinner.  The instructors helped us out, as this was our first meal using a compact stove.  After we all had food in our stomachs, Ivan pulled out a birthday cake and we all celebrated Jack’s birthday.  Our expedition had gotten off to a great start.

Over the course of the next eight days we hiked north, back to Leadville.  We saw breathtaking views and wild animals (though these were few and far between), and overall immersed ourselves in the wilderness.  Life became really simple for us as we fell into a routine.  We would wake up early in the morning, cook breakfast, and pack our bags for the day ahead.  After having a wilderness class, we hit the trail and hiked, on average, about six miles. Upon entering camp, half of the tarp group would set up the tent while the other half cooked dinner.  By the end of the expedition we could cook and set up camp like clockwork.

Karen and Ivan were not only our expedition leaders but also our teachers.  Every day, either on trail or in camp, they would teach classes about wilderness skills and ethics, such as Leave No Trace.  They also led our Environmental Science and Humanities classes and made sure that we were completing the work that would be due when we returned to HMI.  For example, our Communications 101 class was fun and interactive, as Karen divided us into two groups and gave us social differences.  One group was loud and boisterous and the other was very shy.  You can imagine how well that went!

Karen also had an old Care-bear that became the unofficial mascot of our group.  It’s a pretty shy bear, but it liked to ride in everyone’s backpacks during the trip. Every morning, one lucky student would find a faded green Care-bear hidden in the folds of his or her bag.  It was quite a surprise for some people!

Overall, we all came back to HMI as a close-knit community, ready to face the challenges that we will have to overcome for the rest of the Summer Term.

- Josh Lawrence

While it feels great to be clean, using toilets, and sleeping in a bed, we can’t help but miss the beautiful views in the backcountry, cooking meals every day with our new best friends, and laughing while running into the woods to get into “lightning position”.  Over the 9 days we spent in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, our group became very close and learned a lot about ourselves, and each other. Unfortunately, since Summer Term was divided into two expedition groups, we weren’t all able to bond in the mountains; but now that we are back on campus, we have jumped back into getting to know the other students and forming relationships with them as well.

Our group of ten was in tent groups of 3 or 4 and we cooked breakfast and dinner with our tent groups every day, making meals such as chocolate chip pancakes, mac and cheese, and cheese quesadillas. In just the first days, we had two birthdays in my expedition group, meaning we had chocolate cake two days in a row! A typical day on the expedition looked like this: wake up to alarm at 5:45 but not get out of the tent until 6:15; cook breakfast with your tent-mates, take down the tent, and repack your packs; meet the rest of the group at 8 and sit down for a class about conflict resolution; split up into different hiking groups of 3 or 4 and go over the route for the day; hike for a few hours; arrive at the campsite at 4 and set up camp; have a class about tree species; cook dinner with your tent-mates; sit in “circle” and share thoughts about where you get inspiration from; go to bed early!

Every day of the trip was so packed full of challenges, fun, and excitement, that it would take forever to write down everything that happened! However, a few of the highlights were: making it above tree line on Mount Elbert, playing a game called “Yee-Haw” in the hail, learning more about being a a leader and getting to be Leader of the Day, and making pizza all together. Going through challenges such as stepping out of our comfort zones, getting used to a heavy pack, bandaging our blisters, and hiking up steep terrain definitely brought us closer together and created memories that we will forever remember.

- Sophie Paci