| Pacific Northwest Exposure log (2004-07-15 -> 2004-08-04)
Leaders: Jeremy Wold and Elizabeth Long
Students: Tucker Cason, Annie Cheslin, Sheffield Hale, Sasha Hayes, Agee Palmer, Hugh Palmer, English Saunders, Jack Slatery, Juliana Thiels
Opening Day
We are just about set as we are awaiting a few folks that are coming in from around the country on later flights. We will be heading to the San Juan Islands for our sea kayaking section in the morning. Looks like we have a terrific group.
Update from the field of PNW 5
We are having a great time and very excited to be in Washington. Here is a quick synopsis of our group.
Juliana is a veteran Moondance student and has had a brother and sister who have been on previous trips. She is very helpful when decision time comes around and is always mindful of the well being of her peers. Juliana’s enthusiasm gives everyone any extra motivation the group needs!
Agee’s previous Moondance experience is apparent to all. She has an awesome respect and love for the wilderness and it was fun watching her interest and involvement when exploring the many creatures in the tide pools.
Sasha is again another Moondance vet and her knowledge of backcountry skills has helped us greatly. She has great people skills and a strong ability to work within a team. We were amazed at how quickly she was able to connect and feel comfortable with the group.
Jack has emerged in the last couple of days as a natural leader and a positive presence in the group. Jack loved the wet exits (rolling your sea kayaking and getting yourself out of the boat) and took several voluntary plunges into the frigid, yet refreshing water!
Though English may physically be the smallest in the group, she is without question one of our strongest kids. Her positive spirit is thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. English’s enthusiasm helped those more hesitant through the wet exit drills.
Tucker also was on a Moondance trip last summer, so he brings these skills to the table. He is the group comedian. His sense of humor and the ability to make all ten of us laugh, even after a long day paddling. Tucker’s leadership qualities are very apparent, especially when decisions have to be made.
Hugh paddled with Liz his first day and from the very beginning, he proved to be a strong paddler. His experience on the Blue Ridge last summer has helped him get everyone working to support each other as “Expedition Behavior” is certainly in his vocabulary. He is always willing to help with tasks whether it be washing dishes, cleaning the kayaks or giving his friends a hand when packing their kayaks.
Sheffield has earned the respect of our group and he has been efficient around camp getting everyone organized for the next activity. Though he has not had much previous paddling experience, he seemed like a natural when it came to paddling his kayak.
Annie is the natural leader of the group and reads the dynamics within the group really well. Her intuition has helped bond our group and we all know we have a pretty special group. Annie has an easy confidence about her and her enthusiasm and motivation has been invaluable in our first few days together.
More news coming after we go backpacking. We’re having a blast!!
NEW LOG
Backpacking in the North Cascades has been wonderful. Annie continues to show signs of a natural leader. She is extremely self aware for her age. She and Hugh, as leaders of the day, helped the group summit Desolation Peak, at 6102 feet! (From sea level) Hugh helped motivate the group after rising at 1 am to get an early start on the climb to the summit. He has proven a strong hiker and helps keep the group going when some question their abilities. His leadership skills have only improved after seven days of backpacking. He is always upbeat and improves the morale of the entire group. He lead us through our first and most difficult day of twelve miles of hiking. Sheffield and Sasha are the glue of our group. They both get along with everyone and have formed strong group bonds where there would otherwise be lacking. Sheffield’s constant smile is contagious and none of us can stop laughing once he starts. I’ve been impressed with Sasha from day one. She is mature beyond her years and is increasingly felt as a positive presence in the group. English continues to show her strength. When others complain of heavy packs and tired feet, I never have heard a negative word come out of her mouth. She’s a great help around camp and has helped out in the kitchen more than her share. Jack is one of the strongest hikers of the group. He continues to make us laugh and really helps lighten the mood when some humor is really needed. He always offers a hand around camp and looks out for everyone while hiking. Jack is a vital member. Even though backpacking was a bit of a challenge for Agee, she truly enjoyed being in the backcountry and was extremely satisfied at its conclusion. There is never a dull moment with Agee as she has countless crazy stories that keep us enthralled. When the cards come out, our Gin Rummy master is Jules. Jules is also mature for her age and never ceases to amaze us with her topics of discussion. Tucker is another laugh-a-minute member of our group and has been the entire trip. He is still bringing his experience from his previous trip last summer, which was especially useful in the backcountry. We are really excited for climbing out at Smith Rock as we make our last leg of the journey south. We’ll see you soon.
PNW Climbing Update 7/31/4
Tucker: Tucker is one of the strongest climbers in the group and always wanted to climb more. He has an awesome ability to motivate and get people moving when enthusiasm is lacking.
Juliana: Jules is a natural when it comes to rock climbing. She was always helping people through the routes when they got scared or stuck.
Annie: Annie really took to climbing and even impressed the guides for her first time to climb! She always helps and volunteers when tasks need to be done.
Sasha: This was not her favorite section due to her fear of heights. However, she impressed everyone by facing her fears and climbing a few of the routes fairly quickly. When she was not climbing she was always cheering people on and belayed half of the time.
Hugh: Hugh always started on the hardest route and really pushed himself to get to the top. He has really enjoyed cooking more and more and is always giving a helping hand around camp.
Sheffield: Sheffield’s methodic approach paid off in his success to reach the top of each climb. We have really enjoyed his company due to his pleasantness, great attitude and constant smile. His journal entries read at moonup are hilarious.
English: Despite her fear of heights she was an amazing climber and climbed each route with ease. She had such a great attitude that we did not realize her fear of heights until the last day.
Agee: Agee came into this section with a previous love of climbing and it really showed when she was on the rock. The whole group was inspired by her overcoming the fear of repelling 180 feet down “the monkey’s face.”
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