| Big Wild log (2004-07-13 -> 2004-07-29)
Leaders: Chris Calvert, Kayla Applebay
Students: Kat Allred, William Barksdale, Caldwell Buntin, John Ervin, Grace Foerster, Susanna Hamilton, Scott Jospin, Caroline Quazzo, Monika Wasik, Hannah Williams
We are just getting started on our rafting section of the Salmon River. Can't wait! Will be in touch in a few days.
NEW LOG
Big Wild 4 1st Update
7/13/4
Welcome to Jackson Hole, Wyoming…the gateway to 17 days of the Big Wild. When we met the group at the airport they all arrived on time and organized but needless to say a little nervous. “This is not like the landscape at home” was one of the 1st things I heard from the back of the van as we drove off into Idaho along the banks of the Snake River. There were tons of questions about what was to come during our trip and many introductions took place in the van before we arrived at our first camp at Lake Walcott State Park in southern Idaho. Tent set up class was first and the entire group passed with flying colors. Minutes after our class tents were set up beautifully and everyone was ready for a swim in the 90 degree weather. For dinner we had awesome fajitas which were followed by moon up. Overall, everyone was extremely about the days and activities to come but most of all everyone was just excited to be outdoors, camping and living off the land.
7/14/4
For breakfast Kayla whipped up some killer French toast before we got on the road towards Ponderosa outside of McCall, Idaho. This group does not need much motivation to get going as everybody is anxious and willing to help out. Hannah was a HUGE help at breakfast when we needed it…great Expedition Behavior from this Moondance veteran. We reached Boise for a lunch break at a city park and the July heat was at its best. That did not stop anybody from wanting to take a swim in the frigid Boise River. We practiced river position for the rafting section which begins in 4 days. Back on the road towards McCall we saw plenty of white water that whets our appetites for our rafting on the Salmon. At camp that night we packed for the river and the group really came together. William led the crew in some ghost stories that night which brought out some screams from the girls. We finally had to get serious about getting some sleep but it was great to see these 10 kids having so much fun together after only knowing each other for 24 hours.
7/15/4
Although we stayed up late the night before we were up early and in the van on the way to the put-in on the Salmon River. The guides were there waiting and with in 1 hour we were geared up and rafting. Scott, Will and Caldwell jumped right into the single and double duckies while the rest of the crew was divided in boats with Ty or Nicole. Matt was our third guide who paddled the our boat with all of our gear. It took about 2 minutes to hit some class III rapids and we were all wet and giddy right from the start. It was almost 100 degrees that afternoon and on the flat sectios we spent more time in the water than out. Everybody loved playing games and pirating each others duckies, a favorite technique for Caldwell. Caroline’s laugh could be heard throughout the canyons as we continued to move on. We loved the white water and paddled hard to dodge holes and rocks as our guides steered from the back. The people in the front get drenched as waves crash into the front of the boat but it was received well by all. The food on the river was amazing! We had the best hamburgers that everyone was excited about. There was not a cloud in the sky when we lay down to sleep, exhausted from an awesome day on the Salmon!
7/16/4
We woke up this morning with the sun and what sun it was! The heat is relentless out here and once we were on the river it turned into a bathing session. In rapids they would “ride the bull” which basically means sitting on the very front of the boat and getting soaked and bounced around by the waves in the whitewater. Caroline had the most notable bull ride. She was dying laughing at the end of it and nothing on her body was dry I am sure. Susanna always volunteered to ride the bull and was having a blast playing all the games on the boats. We stopped a couple of times today to check out photographs or Native American rock art as well as the house of a Chinese minor from the 1800’s. We have all been very entertained by Grace. Her southern accent has been a hit and everyone is saying ya’ll a few more times than normal. Our campsite that night was nothing short of spectacular. We had hundreds of feet of flat beach to play on and tons of swimming space out of the current. We set up a volleyball net and played for hours. The boys threw the Frisbee and football around and practiced diving catches into the river. Kat loved throwing the football and did so the whole trip. We all relaxed in the shade for awhile before dinner. After dinner and moonup we told ghost stories again and everyone slept out under the stars after most people’s favorite day so far.
7/17/4
Another day on the river with some big rapids and beautiful canyons en route. We powered through China Rapids and into the magnificent Blue Canyon. There were cliffs hundreds of feet straight up on either side of the river which made it feel like we were deep in the back country. The 6 girls teamed up in one raft and rocked it with Nicole guiding. They beat us to the beach by about 10 minutes before we set up camp. We had another beautiful campsite right in the canyon and we had plenty of time for fun and games. We had a wacky relay race for Hershey’s chocolate which Will and Monika won. John and Caldwell were extremely fast as well. Kayla and I got whooped by Hannah and John. With the clouds out we set up tents and hung out before Mexican food for dinner. There was a bit of a drizzle while we slept but not enough to move people from sleeping outside once again.
7/18/4
We loaded into the rafts for the last time this morning and headed out of the canyon into a few final rapids. In no time we reached the end of the Salmon River as it dumps into the Snake River. With Oregon on the western side of the Snake and Idaho on the eastern bank we hooked our boats together and attached a motor to power us to our take-out. Scott was getting nailed by waves as he sat at the front of one the boats. We eventually took out in Washington making it our 3rd state of the day and said goodbye to our guides. Looking back on the trip I can’t think of a better way to start the Big Wild. We had a blast playing games, playing tricks, eating well, rafting class III and IV rapids and getting to know each other. Everybody is close and having fun. The ride to camp today was never quiet and we jammed the whole way back. Tomorrow we drive across Idaho and back into Wyoming at the base of the Wind River Range in order to prepare for our backpacking section.
Student Quotes:
Caldwell: “Rafting was really fun, especially when I was in the front of the boat.”
Caroline: “Rafting was so much fun. The duckies were the best!”
Grace: “Rafting was so much fun. The duckies were awesome. The views were amazing.”
Hannah: “I am having a great time. Rafting was very exciting and fun.”
Susanna: “Rafting was amazing. Sleeping outside on the beaches was really fun also.”
Monika: “So far this trip is a lot of fun. We all had an awesome time rafting and sleeping outside.”
Scott: “I am having a fabulous time. Sleeping on the beaches, playing football, and rafting on the Salmon River has been great. I love it!”
William: “Everything has been fun so far especially playing Frisbee and volleyball on the beach.”
Kat: “Rafting was a blast!”
John: “Rafting was really fun. There were good views and I played sports and chilled on the beach.”
NEW LOG
After a long drive back to Wyoming listening to Caroline’s cds, we organized everything we needed for our backpacking section. We headed off into the Wind River Range weighted down with food and supplies for our journey into the backcountry. The whole group was challenged within the first hour being on the trail, as we hiked up switchback after switchback, gaining elevation every step of the way. Caroline and Caldwell impressed us early on with their strength, each helping those who needed an extra hand on the trail. We arrived at camp with a sense of accomplishment knowing that we just hiked a total of 16 miles! With our camp set up and Ramen Noodles in our bellies, we hung the bear bag with a perfect rock throw by Scott. We went to sleep very soundly. The next morning John got everyone up and motivated which has become an everyday occurrence, and it’s a welcoming one at that. He helps us out everyday with morning duties, and we can’t thank him enough. The sky was beautiful and cloudless for our short day of only three miles. So we took advantage and played trail games, had lessons on wilderness skills, talked about the wildlife, and just had a great day getting to know each other even more than we already had. As we got closer and closer to camp the skies darkened and before we knew it, hail had begun to fall. Our camp site was in view but the shielded stretch of trail that we were on made better shelter from the storm. So we decided to wait it out a few more minutes, than an hour, but the storm kept coming. We decided to throw up shelter where we were, and we all huddled in two tents together to keep warm. William really stepped up as a leader and made sure that everyone in the tent was warm and dry. He handed out extra clothing to anyone that needed it and always tried to keep everyone’s spirits high. Laughter and giggles were heard between both tents as we tried to pass the lull of time. Singing soon took over and at this moment we knew that this group was incredible. Here we are bogged down in a hail storm, and we are having the time of our lives! After the weather let up, we walked to our campsite and reset up camp. We had a clothes-drying festival as we ate some grub and talked about the crazy day. Kat helped set up a bear bag and then it was off to bed. We all slept outside glad to be dry…thanks mother nature. The next day we summated a peak over 10,400 feet in elevation and had a magnificent view of the Rind River Range. At the top we had a well-deserved back-scratching circle as William and Monika took some amazing pictures of the group and our surroundings. Monika has been a huge part of our group. Everyone seems to look up to her and she is as helpful to us as leaders as she is to her peers. We got back to camp and played cards, hung out, and shared stories. We had to hide form the rain again but it let up after a quick shower. We woke up the next day with frost on our tents! Everyone thought it was so cool to have frost in the middle of the summer. On the trail today everyone did a great job, especially Susanna. She is always leading fun activities on the trail and has never complained once. We finished up the day at camp at the foot of a wonderfully cold alpine lake! Caldwell pulled some trout from the lake as some others took a dip and then let the afternoon sun dry and warm them up. Hannah spent the day learning card tricks and hanging out by the lake. She is the most easy going student of our group. Everyone finds talking to her is a breeze and nothing gets her down. Caroline and Grace volunteered to help with the backcountry dinner and turned rice, cheese, and chicken into the best food of the section! Moon-up was awesome considering we held it on top of a rock, overlooking this beautiful lake! We ended moon-up with a great game a charades where Monika was the champ. We had clear skies this evening so we all slept out underneath the stars and thought about tomorrow being our last day in the Winds. We had a tough 6 miles to hike out and everyone was setting an amazing pace. Kat really showed some determination all trip and hiking today was completely different from day one. She has improved her wilderness skills greatly. We reached the trail and van around lunchtime and were glad to take off our packs and put on some clean clothes! We said goodbye to our guide Mitch and his dog Shotsy and hit the road to Jackson.
The past five days really bonded the group well. We went through bad hail, nagging mosquitoes, long hikes, cold mornings, and saw incredible scenery. The group learned to trust each other and really depend on one another like families do. Tomorrow we start climbing in the Tetons and everyone is excited and sad for the last few days of our trip…
“Backpacking was awesome, the fishing wasn’t too bad and the food was a lot better than I expected.”
-Caldwell
“Backpacking was better than I expected. The views were pretty. I had a ton of fun!”
-Hannah
“Backpacking was fun. The first day was challenging. The hail storms were great!”
-Grace
“Backpacking was full of adventure, and I am really glad we don’t have much hail in Chicago!”
-Caroline
“Backpacking was fun, and making it through the storm was definitely something I’ll never forget! I can’t wait to rock climb.”
-Monika
“I really liked the backpacking section. From surviving the hail storm to playing charades, I definitely had an awesome time!”
-Susanna
“This section of having packs on our backs was so fun! The weather was constantly changing and I believe that it brought our group together. Backpacking was awesome!”
-Scott
“Backpacking was a blast and it’s a lot of hard work…but its well worth it.”
-Kat
“This section was very challenging but it still was a lot of fun!”
-William
NEW LOG/LAST LOG
The last few days of our trip consisted of rock climbing in the Grand Tetons. Each day we took a boat across beautiful Jenny Lake and climbed with world renowned guides from Exum Mountain Guides. One of our guides had climbed to the top of Mt. Everest! The days were long and tiring, but everyone still had a blast. They did multipitch climbs, rappelling and top-roping in the 2 days of climbing. The highlight for almost everybody was the 120 foot rappel down a rock face and included about 70 feet of free hanging. Needless to say it got the nerves going but at moonup it was all the group could talk about. We saw plenty of Bison out on the range in the foreground with a magnificent backdrop of the Tetons behind. Everyone slept well on those climbing days.
On our 2nd to last day of the trip we all showered which was very necessary and felt so good. After some free time in Jackson we all met at a thrift store and dressed up for our final banquet at a pizza joint and everyone ate their fair share. After an elaborate award ceremony we headed back near camp and had a glow stick dance party which was a lot of fun. Our last moonup was sad but great because we all realized how much this trip affected us and how close we were compared to the 1st few days. We will all miss each other but will stay in touch and always have the Big Wild 4 memories to look back on.
Day 17 -- Clean Up Day
Today we had a great bacon and egg breakfast before cleaning up our personal and group gear in preperation for our departure tomorrow. We washed tents, pots and pans, backpacks and clothes. We also wrote ourselves letters to remind us of all the amazing times we shared on the trip.
We spent a couple hours exploring Jackson in small groups before our banquet dinner at Mountain High Pizza Pie. We finished the night by holding our final moon-up.
Day 18 -- Good Bye!
Today everyone said good-bye to our new family. We talked about our plans for the rest of the summer and promised to stay in touch. I know Kayla and Derek will be emailing our new friends in the days and weeks to come. We want to hear about everyones new adventures as they approach high school.
Thank you to everyone for being fantastic. We were a great team and shared many special memories with eachother. Thank you very much.
Derek and Kayla
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