Written by: Ava, Jess, Joey, Mary, & Caleb
Group A: Third Exped was in the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. On the first night we arrived at our slickrock campsite and set up camp by the bus. That night greeted us with forty to fifty mile winds that blew over our tarp multiple times throughout the night. The next morning, as we were eating our oatmeal the sky was pasted with wispy red and orange clouds. However, as the saying goes: “Red skies in the morning sailors warning, red skies at night sailors delight,” and sure enough it began to rain that very hiking day. And then it began to snow, just as my fingers began to shiver. We arrived at our destination and hesitantly set up our tarps. We made warm water bottles for our stomachs. The next morning we handlined into the canyon to collect water. We relaxed for the rest of the day and completed Wilderness First Aid lessons. Soon enough we were on independent student travel. We were doing great until the ravens got into our gummy worms. The days continued and we trapped our location around noon everyday. Our trail talk consisted of recounting memories and retelling Lord of the Rings. We hollered to cows, ate orzo, and crunched sand. We ended the trip with water we had stored in our van and a change of clothes. Driving away we were remembering our ten days in the desert with fondness, but excitement for returning to campus!
Group B: Our group departed at 8:30am for our trip to Utah. We arrived to the most beautiful moonrise I had ever seen, and winds strong enough to whip us around like we were its limp toys. After many failed attempts to set up mids in the harsh winds, we eventually gave in to the will of the desert and cowboy camped all night. We woke up the next morning to a blanket of frost covering our sleeping bags, a feeling we would become accustomed to throughout our 10 day adventure. The next day, we embarked on our first hiking day. What was supposed to be a short, flat day, turned out to be the most challenging of the expedition, with rain turning to snow and hail as it covered the mesas. Snow on mesas! In the desert! We had embarked on this trip expecting sunburns and shorts weather, not possible frostbite and the group’s growing fear of sun bumps. For the rest of the trip the cold did not give up. These 10 days were some of the coldest, most beautiful, most challenging, and most loved days of my life. I couldn’t have felt any less broken; the desert and this group gave me a feeling of being completely whole. This expedition taught me that I am stronger than I have ever thought I’d want or need to be, and how that strength has shaped me into who I want to become. These canyons will always have a special place in my heart, and I am eternally grateful for the memories I have with this group and from this experience. I love you Exped B, thank you for sticking with me.
Group C (Hikers of Hue): My name is Joey and I had the wonderful opportunity of going on the Hikers of Hue expedition! This was my first opportunity to be in an outdoor community where everyone was a person of color and it was magical. Our expedition started out with a cold first day. Temperatures were below freezing and wet heavy snow poured down all around us. Luckily this weather only lasted for the first day. Soon enough the sun was out and we were hiking on our merry way. Our hiking days consisted of freestyling raps and running only a tad bit late. Our expedition’s strength was learning to work together as a team. I have never met a more supporting and caring group of people. On day four we were rerouted due to an evacuation but we were flexible and persevered. On our expedition we were able to have tough discussions surrounding the racism we have all faced and how we have chosen to cope with each instance. The best way I can put the experience is one big group of siblings going on a backpacking trip. Martine, our student expedition leader, was our wise old grandfather leading us in the right direction. Fayi and Xochitl were our older siblings, who were just barely tolerating us. Ellie and Sky were our middle children, and Alexandra, Leo, and I were the “clueless” younger siblings. I will never forget the last night when we sat around a cliff edge singing, as Mike and Will played song after song the sun setting over us as the cool crisp air filled the space all around us. Oh how lucky I was to be with such wonderful people. To quote Fayi’s best freestyle line, “Third expedition will always have a special place in my heart!”
Group D: The day began with a pack belay, and a slightly treacherous scramble around a pour over. After restrapping into our packs, we exited the mouth of Grand Gulch Canyon. As the canyon opened into the San Juan River, we saw more sky than we had in many days. We could see our entire hike in front of us: 6.5 miles of rock scrambling along the curve of the river. Three hours in, my palms were raw. I must have scrambled over thousands of rocks that day, trusting each one with my weight. If we hadn’t spotted a trail below us, we likely would have walked into the night. As we pressed on, travel got easier, and snack breaks of candied pineapple served my body well. I always knew Professor Slughorn was onto something. As I looked down at the river, the color of the water mesmerized me. It wasn’t a clear green like the rivers of my home in Vermont, but milkier and blue like slate. This unfamiliar hue made the river look alive in a different way. Its movements were unfamiliar, its current was like fog. I couldn’t remember the last time my eyes had seen a new color. I expressed my wonder to Adam, the expedition apprentice. He then went on to speak the words that have impacted me the most at HMI: “Now when you see that color in the world, you can say to yourself that’s the color of the San Juan river.”
Group E: We all knew that prep day would be a surprise, me included. No one had a clue who they would be spending their last 10 days in the Utah Desert with while at HMI. And to be completely honest, it wasn’t until the departure from HMI that group E fully knew. A mix of sickness and swaps through the group in for a loop, but little did we know adversity was a theme that would carry us through the whole trip. A mix of driving wind, sand, and rain turning to sleet left our bodies tattered and frozen to the core. Stomach issues, near hypothermic feet, piercing shoulder pain, back pain, and the notion of another drainage crossing put us darn close to our knees. Through this though, a group of dedicated, enthusiastic, adventurous individuals by the names of Benji, Trixie, Aidan, Matilda, Tae, Stacy, Tavi, Sam, and Dan, and Caleb arose victorious. Exped 3 Group E pierced through bitter wind, faced cattle head on, and navigated the drainages and cowpaths surrounding Jacob’s Chair with ease and efficiency. Adversity was nothing on this group, making it a pleasure to lead through our independent student travel. We hugged the border of Gravel Canyon before crossing with rope in hand on day three of independent travel. It was then found Mesa and Cheesbox Canyon that led us along the second half of our expedition. Mountain goats, eagles, cows, and coyotes were among a few of our wild counterparts as we explored Bears Ears National Monument. Every now and then we had a wild sighting of the majestic towering beings of Erik Schmidt, Luke Dewees, and Jolene Dai. It was their guidance and expertise that gave us the ability to travel as an independent body. Thank you to all for such an amazing, once in a lifetime experience. May the memories, and lessons last a lifetime! Stay Psyched.
