First Exped | Wylan
One of the best parts of doing expeditions is the ability to share your experiences, ideas, and hobbies with people who have never met you before. From the first day to the last day of the expedition, through all the fun and challenging moments, I never got tired of sharing and hearing people’s stories. Not only did the stories entertain the group as we hiked, making us forget we were gaining thousands of feet in elevation, but they also inspired us all to open up more. I myself have spent a significant portion of my life outdoors as a student and teacher, primarily with primitive outdoors skills. Along my journey with learning and teaching outdoors skills I developed a close relationship to tracking and observing animals. Because of this I brought my book on tracks and scat with me on the expedition. As my group hiked through the Sawatch Mountain Range many animal signs began to appear all around us. From the simple deer track to the subtle, and alluring sign of an apex predator my group and I began to spot evidence of wildlife everywhere. Through these simple observations and stories my group and I bonded over our shared interests and unique experiences.
The Mix Mixup | Jessica
I never knew hot chocolate mix would bring back so many memories and leave a taste in my mouth that I would continue to look for everywhere I go. At HMI I’ve gotten a chance to experience backpacking, hiking, living, and sleeping outside for the first time. During my first expedition, everyone had gone to climb Mount Harvard, but two other girls and I stayed behind. During those moments, we wanted everyone to come back from hiking with a treat. Me and Bea created backcountry BROWNIES for the whole crew. They were a bit burned, but everyone still devoured them!
Later, everyone insisted I had accidentally used hot chocolate mix instead of brownie mix. However, a few days later when I made brownies again with the supposed “brownie mix” it came out WORSE. We still don’t know what was actually in that first bag. To this day, it will forever be a mystery of whether it was brownie mix or hot chocolate that made the best brownies. Even back on campus, I continue to crack jokes about how I am making hot chocolate with brownie mix and brownies with hot chocolate mix.
These baking mixes became an unforgettable part of my journey. I know I will carry this exact memory with me. No matter where I go next, the sweet, burnt taste of those mystery brownies will always remind me of the place where I first learned to love the outdoors.
First Exped | Connor
As someone who has been backpacking my whole life I have never grown so much from an experience in the wilderness. Throughout my life I have always been very involved in all kinds of physical activities so I was expecting to get through this like a breeze. Boy… was I wrong. This experience helped me so much because it really challenged me and helped me grow so much in so many different ways. In ways I never thought I’d need to grow. Never in my life did I think I’d miss home, my younger sister, or this idea of FOMO that I so easily slipped into and let it consume me. Sometimes growing can be difficult but the aftermath of the experience is always worth it. I am truly grateful for what I learned during this experience and will use these lessons for the rest of my life.
Mt. Harvard | Sasha
It’s 2:30 am, when I’m awoken to the roaring sound of rain and thunder rolling off the side of my mid. A wave of panic and possible relief washes over my body… literally. I decide to shut my eyes and decide the morning has not yet begun, and there is (whether I like it or not) hope left.
It’s 3:07 am, when I officially wake up and adrenaline kicks in. I find Ethan to my left with his headlamp blaring into my peripheral vision. Unanimously, we start jumping and screaming. The camp was filled with hustle and bustle. The unrest among teenagers and the fiery energy between strangers. All of us were tired, yet opposed to any idea of rest.
It’s 3:45 am, when we start the walk. I’m leading in the front, still feeling as though I’m stuck in a dream. All I see is the trail I’m stepping on, and the group behind me when I do the occasional look back. Everyone at this point is annoyed by my excessive energy.
It’s 5:30 am, when we are in alpine territory — practically walking on clouds. To my disappointment, they weren’t as tasty or fluffy as my once seven-year-old self had wanted them to be. I guide the group up the boulder field, not knowing if we will make it, but still maxing out any positive energy I can muster.
It’s 8:00 am, when we meet Larry and Lasso. Lasso skips ahead of us on trail, and Larry follows shortly in front of us. He’s the positive soul we need when everything is dark (literally dark). The deja vu of my past experiences doing this “thing” hits. However, this felt drastically different in the most beautifully fulfilling way.
It’s 9:30 am when we peak at Mt.Harvard.
Four Days In | Xaver
One of my favorite memories from exped was our fourth day. Although it was our longest and most strenuous day, it is also the day I look back upon the most. Day four started with waking up from a layover day at this campsite with an abandoned mineshaft and shacks. I rolled out of my mid and meandered over to the kitchen, where chocolate chip pancakes were waiting for me (shout-out to Jessica and Quinn). We packed up the site and divided ourselves into our two hiking groups. Most of the people I was most comfortable with were in the other group, and I was left with 7 strangers I had just met a week ago.
We soon started our trek up the first mountain at around 8:30 AM. We needed to ascend a treacherous 1100 feet in the hour or else we wouldn’t make it over our second saddle before 11 AM when storms would start rolling in. The hike up was filled with fun conversations and was the foundation of some of the relationships I have today. We made it up at around 10:23 AM; sadly, we did not make the cutoff of one hour, so we had to make a choice. Either hike to the valley and stay at treeline and wait out the storm that was brewing, or push and trek all the way up to the saddle and get to treeline on that side of the mountain. That saddle was another 900 feet of elevation we would have to hike. Steph, our group leader that day, took into account the risk, and as we all munched on our gummy peach rings, she told us the plan. We were going to hike into the valley and stay there until the storms passed. So we made our way down, passing our first river crossing, and Steph taught us everything there was to know about how to cross a river. We got close to the bottom of the mountain we were about to trudge up and set up a kitchen tarp to lay under. I think that was the coldest I have ever been. It started thundering and pouring as all seven of us huddled together under our one poorly hung kitchen tarp, which was also on a slant. It was really funny because Steph was completely dry under her tarp, which was set up on flat terrain. I remember sharing all of my cook group’s snacks with everyone as we snuggled together under everyone’s puffy jackets that we were using as blankets. The rain stopped at around three PM, and we decided to wait another hour just to be sure that we wouldn’t get struck by lightning on the saddle.
We then started the second part of our journey. We had around four miles left at this point and another 900 feet to climb. We knew we could make it though, so we pushed on. Our first obstacle was a boulder field. To get to the actual base of where we would start ascending, we had to cross over a half mile of boulders. They were enormous, and one of the people in my group was incredibly scared of them. With some persuasion and two hours, we finally made it across. We then began our summit to the saddle. It was so steep and took us all so long to make it up, but we cheered each other on and made it up right as the sun was setting. It was the most beautiful thing ever. One of my friends took a video of a small group of us just sitting there talking at the top, and it was so amazing. We could even see a city on our way up. That is definitely one of, if not the most majestic thing I have ever seen.
Guess what though, we still weren’t done. After that exhausting second half, we took a 30-minute break while we watched the sun set, and then we departed for camp. Our original goal was to make it to the treeline so we could camp there and meet up with the other group in the morning. We then came to consensus that we were going to make it to the other group or fail trying. As it became pitch black, we all grabbed our headlights and put them on max but still couldn’t see much. When I tell you we were basically walking down the side of a mountain, I am not exaggerating. This, paired with the fact that it was so dark we couldn’t even see our hands, made it so hard to get down. There was one thing giving us hope, though: the other group was flashing their headlamps from camp. It looked so far away, and it was, but it was the push we needed to make it down that mountain. After another hour or so of sidestepping down the mountain, we made it into the valley. Everything hurt, but we knew we were so close, and then we found ourselves on the path. We crossed the creek we knew the other group was using for water, and then we saw them. Fletcher and Max were standing there in their rain gear, staring at us like we were ghosts. It was probably the most effort I have ever given in a day of my life, but I am so glad I was part of that second group. The feeling of making it to the top of that mountain just means the world to me, and getting to be there with the people I became the closest to is why I loved day four so much. “Nothing worth having comes easy.” — Theodore Roosevelt