Semester 51: Third Expedition
Written By: Tabara Fall, Gemma Ross, Jack Kurtzman & India Elliot
Group A
Written by Gemma Ross
Third expedition kicked off unexpectedly. We spent 2 hours waiting for strep medication in a park with another group. Once we finally got to camp after a crazy bumpy four-wheel drive road, we went right to sleep. The rest of exped is a blur, except for one day. On the seventh day of exped my group walked along the San Juan river for 7 miles. The idea of this wasn’t too daunting until Dylan told us it would be almost all boulder hopping. Because of this we woke up at 6 am and got started just as the sun began to rise. Although most of our time was spent on IST (Independent Student Travel), this day was very technical, so we started with our I-team. We got to a giant pour-over about a mile in and had to lower our backpacks down with a rope. After that, we reached the San Juan River and began our trek. It was beautiful with the sun rising over the canyons, but it was hard. It took us 3 hours to get about two miles. The highlight of that day was when we saw another group and got to talk about our expeds so far and how we were doing. After that, as the sun rose in the sky, we continued on. Sometimes we would find a trail, and others we would be boulder hopping. Once we reached Slickhorn Canyon, the canyon we were turning into, we were all so relieved. It took us about 30 more minutes to get to our “X” (our campsite for the night), and then we were done. As we arrived the sun was setting and Fran set to cooking our cook groups’ meal right away: two rations of hashbrowns. Hash browns have never tasted better, and we were all so ready for bed. The rest of exped felt very easy compared to that day, and our breakfast burritos and trip to Alien Jerky on the last day made it all worth it.
Group B
Written by Jack Kurtzman
Third expedition was actually the best yet. This time, we had the ability to do independent student travel days. Sending a group of 9 kids into the desert of Utah and letting them hike alone all day sounds absolutely insane but where would we do this if not HMI!? So that’s exactly what we did. The first few days mostly consisted of classes and Wilderness First Aid training which completely equipped us to deal with any issue that could ever come up while on trail. After we had a layover day where we explored ancient Puebloan ruins while learning about the history and significance of the area we were in, we finally had our first day of independent student travel (IST). Our first day was incredibly seamless which was very surprising considering we were laughing and joking all day. Despite the silliness, we arrived at our campsite, we looked for water, and had our first independent night!!! We had a student-led circle where we really opened up about our lives. Next, we had a medium length day that took absurdly long because we had to parkour over numerous rocks. Again that night we had an independent night where we geared up for the best day out of any expedition. The next day was…the San Juan River Day!!! This was an 8 mile day on the side of the San Juan boulder field. We woke up at the crack of dawn to walk to our destination. We told jokes, freestyled, and recounted a plethora of stories about all of our lives. This day was particularly incredible because our I-Team allowed us to do almost the entire day alone. We had to meet up with them at our turnoff into the canyon but otherwise we were completely solo. This was so fun because we all felt incredibly equipped to do this day so it felt like one giant fun camping trip with my best buddies. We got to our turn off, met up with the I-Team, and geared up for the best part of the day. We had been hiking for 9 hours but somehow all mustered up the most energy of the whole trip to do the pack pull. We had to set up a pulley system to pull our packs up this huge ledge. Sore-footed and absolutely exhausted, we all decided that we needed to practice our tug of war skills. Leo, Luke and I headed the operation as we organized everyone in perfect formation to pull the packs up as fast as possible. “3…2…1…!” We shouted as everyone ran as fast as they could and the packs were hurled with extreme force into the tree we tied the pulley to. “3.4 seconds,” Roy and Colby shouted up to us. We knew we could do better, so try after try, we slammed packs into trees until finally we heard “1.9 seconds!!!” We were thrilled and luckily it was the last pack of the day so we felt very accomplished. The next two days were 8 mile independent student days during which we absolutely cruised. We saw a group of NOLS students who we talked to and one of their leaders coincidentally worked with Izzy two years ago. Finally, we had one last day before we went home which was again independent and filled with so much love. We had our final circle where we all shared heartwarming gratitude towards each other for such a wonderful trip. We enjoyed our purified bus water and went to bed absolutely stoked to see everyone in the day to come.
Group C
Written by Anonymous
“POLYAMORY IS DOPE!!” echoed off the canyon walls at about mile 3 of the day. It wasn’t the craziest thing said that day or even since our last hiking break, but it was a memorable line for everyone on our Q2—the queer affinity group on campus—expedition. Belted out by yours truly, who was the SEL (Student Expedition Leader) of the trip with little context even in the moment, the unexpected exasperation left my six counterparts laughing for miles to come.
Third expedition was an experience unlike any other for myself and undoubtedly the six other students (six of my best friends) who joined me in making it a trip of a lifetime. As the SEL of the Q2 expedition, I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially considering attending the Q2 affinity space on campus was initially a stretch of my comfort zone as it was. I couldn’t possibly imagine why I was named the leader of the Q2 group when I had hardly come to terms with or reached a place of comfort in my own queerness. The goal of the trip, though, was to create a safe space for the Q2 members of the trip to explore the outdoors, which is exactly what happened, and in the most magical way imaginable.
Descending into Dark Canyon (shown above) was day 1–1,800 feet of elevation loss in less than half a mile. Daunted by what I knew the start of the trip consisted of, I was anxious to get my peers to buy into the “we can do hard things” motto from the beginning, worried the difficulty would bring pushback. The route we had planned was a notoriously hard one, and also not an easy one to back out of once we had started. As soon as we hit the trail, however, I realized it was going to be a very different expedition than I thought. While making the massive trek down the side of the canyon, scrambling through a boulder field with a very loosely marked route, the chatter of the group was a joyful kind of energy that I hadn’t expected. From singing the “Pitch Perfect” riff-offs over and over to free-style world-building involving giraffes in mason jars, this group was endlessly hilarious, artistic, loving, joyful, brave, supportive, and most of all, committed to making the experience a positive one. This group effort towards having a fun time while also ensuring it was a safe space for everyone there seemed effortless, but didn’t go unnoticed. There was constantly an open dialogue surrounding each other’s comfort zones and boundaries, which facilitated some of the most meaningful conversations I’ve had all semester. The respect and interest I saw expressed towards one another was unlike any other space I’ve been in.
As for the Q2 aspect, I am still in awe over just how much I was able to learn and grow with the help of the 6 other incredibly supportive human beings I spent the week with. I learned how to express myself and talk about my own queerness in a way that I never have before just from being around those 7 people (including our 2 instructors) and I will never be the same because of it.
Group D
Written by Tabara Fall
Third Expedition was my favorite expedition–that is a charged statement coming from me, a die-hard First Expedition fan. Embarking on my first backpacking trip ever and my first ever wilderness adventure with HMI obviously has a special place in my heart–and forever will. There is nothing quite like being plopped in the Sawatch mountains with 12 strangers I met 3 days prior. And over time, those strangers became life-long friends I treasure countless memories with. But hear me out: There’s nothing quite like Third Expedition.
There’s nothing quite like waking up on prep Monday, nervous and excited about the Exped group announcements. Sitting at the edge of my seat as a teacher recites my peers’ names. Thinking to myself: “Wow, that group is STACKED,” while crossing my fingers extra hard in the hopes that I, too, am in the good graces of the Exped gods.
There’s nothing quite like walking into my Exped prep space before the mayhem of clothes and ration bags spattered all over the floor. The same way I stepped into Stuen (a community gathering building on campus) some Mondays ago, knowing it would be my last time packing my backpack for the canyons with some of my closest friends. The night before, I charged my camera overnight, determined to document every last second of this final expedition. I am proud to say my camera lasted us a good 9/10 days–I, indeed, was in the good graces of the Exped gods.
Group E
Written by India Elliot
3rd Expedition was a bittersweet time. We all knew it would be our last trip together at HMI so we were determined to make the most of our time. We had deep conversations around our WhisperLite stoves and composed songs under the Utah stars. We constructed group sleeping bags to stay warm and woke up with frost covering them. We faced the challenges of independent student travel head on and became a group capable of supporting and celebrating one another.
On our last night in the canyons, a few drops of rain fell for the first time of our Utah experience. I was around two in the morning and we all rallied to set up our tarps before going back to sleep. The next morning felt agonizingly short and at the same time like it took forever. We slowly made our way along the bottom of a canyon and followed its winding path as it climbed steadily toward the dirt road we would follow back to our bus. On the last night of exped some of us sat on a huge boulder overlooking the parking lot which would be our camp spot for the night. We watched the sun set and gild the desert plants in its last golden rays. We counted jet streams and did our very best to remember the perfection of that final moment out in Utah together. That night we saw a thousand shooting stars, ate birthday cake, and deeply reflected on the journey of the last eleven days.
Fall Rock Arrives in Patagonia!
Trek Closes Out: Final Full Circle!