| Big Wild log (2005-07-12 -> 2005-07-29)
Leaders: Mitchell Bilbro and Mary Jane Partlow
Students: Ben Beath, Leigh Carter, Kevin de Regt, Jennifer Detwiler, Jeff Eydt. Eloise Hamilton, Charlotte Harvey, Andrew Rapp, English Saunders, Sara Walden, Matt Witmer, Rebecca Wren.
July 15, 2005
We picked up our kids from the airport and instantly everyone was friends and all smiles. I could tell right away that this group was going to be too much fun to handle. Eloise and Jennifer got the shaft from their airline and were a tad late (no big deal) and we played the most entertaining game of "shoes" at the airport. (kind of like "spoons" but with shoes---truly riotous laughter ensued.) We were then off to Slide Lake to enjoy some killer fajitas that Mary Jane and myself had planned to cook but this group wanted to dive right in and help (impressive) and so we made it a group effort. To Mom and Dad back home: watch out, these kids can cook, and you should let them. Tasty stuff!
Our second day we are off the Tetons to do some climbing. We learned knots, we learned belaying, and we conquered a fear or two. English and Sara were perhaps a bit nervous and they completely styled our first multi-pitch climb. We were at the top of Mt. Rendezvous (10,450ft!!!) and loving life. Ben informed us of his "rappel skills" and showed us all how to get your photo in the Moondance catalog (i.e. wear a Moondance t-shirt and do something really amazing in a beautiful place like rappel down Mt. Rendezvous---nicely done.)
Our third day had us refining our skills and climbing truly tricky stuff. We climbed some routes as hard as 5.12 (hard!!) and got more brochure candy as we saw some huge smiles and amazing climbing. Andrew gave us his best "Mission Impossible" on the "Impossible Wall", 5.12 whoo, thats hard! Sadly none of us quite got the whole thing but man did we style the 5.9 right next door. Our power to weight ratio champ, Matt showed us some real climbing ability and really impressed our Exum guides. Kevin showed us all how to fall gracefully while Sara prevented him from becoming a sticky spot on the rocks, Way to use those belay skills! Kevin keeps us all smiling with his wit, he is so motivated its awesome. Rebecca and Charlotte sailed up the first pitch of our multipitch climb and we were all quite impressed. We had a fantastic day of climbing and then went for a quick swim in Jenny lake with our Exum guides to cool off, and back to camp for a scrumptious meal of Italian Moon
Mac--yummy!
This morning we got a few more winks and had an amazing breakfast of French Toast and Eggs. Leigh, or as our Exum guides call her "Laya" and Jeff showed us what cooking is all about and I ate way too much.
July 22, 2005
We started our backpacking section at the Scab Creek Trailhead and promptly proceeded to gain 1,200 ft of altitude in less than 2 and a half miles. If you do the math, you’ll find that to be quite the steep gradient. Mary Jane, our local guide Matt Kelly, and I knew we were golden after our whole group completely cruised this tricky portion of our hike. Leigh and Ben quickly became our blister champions and learned the value of fully broken-in boots. I must say that I was certainly impressed with them because despite some serious blisters, they were still all smiles and cruising right along. Andrew, Ben and Kevin even accompanied Mary Jane on a little side mission to recover a wayward camera and did 10+ miles on their first day. These guys are rock stars. Our second day we were greeted by a glorious sunrise and some amazing pancakes that Matt cooked up for us. We had our hiking legs under us at this point and started our hike towards Sandpoint Lake that would have us gain another 1,000 ft. of elevation and 5+ miles. Along the way we stopped to play in this amazing alpine meadow beside a gorgeous trout stream. Andrew and Matt proceeded to show us how fly fishing is done and they caught quite a few brookies (sadly none big enough to eat!). At Sandpoint Lake Eloise and Sara helped cook the most delicious stir fry I’ve ever had and then off to bed. Our third day we awoke to the best grits I’ve ever eaten (and I’m a good ole Georgia boy that knows good grits!). Apparently Jennifer and Leigh took it upon themselves to convince anyone from outside the south that southern folk know how to eat, and if a little butter is good, a lot must be better. Our LOD’s (Leaders of the Day) took us up to Rainbow Lake while Andrew and I decided to recover an errant water bottle and have a little side adventure of our own. We took the scenic route to rejoin the group and knocked out 9.5 miles in record time. This jaunt solidified Andrew as our high mileage champ. He is a machine! Rainbow Lake sat at the bottom of an amphitheatre of rock and snow and was completely gorgeous, albeit a bit buggy. Our next day saw us summit Dragon’s Head Peak (12,230 ft) and I can’t begin to explain how impressed we were with the group. Charlotte and Kevin literally sprinted the group up 2,600 ft of vertical gain past one amazing alpine view after another. Not one person even slightly struggled. I was truly amazed.
We got down from Dragon’s Head and had a leisurely afternoon of unsuccessful fly fishing and rest. Out next day Jennifer and Matt led us down to Lightning Lakes for our highest mileage day yet (7+ miles) and Jennifer picked out the most perfect campsite. She thought about all we had taught her about campsite selection and found a spot with great water, gorgeous views and no bugs! English, our always willing volunteer, promptly proceeded to thrash us with not one, but two successful blind no-low bids at a spades game. Off to bed and then our next morning Jeff and Sara took us back to the van in record time as we packed up another high mileage day. Off to Idaho for a rafting adventure on the Salmon!
To all you parents out there, thanks for allowing us the pleasure of hanging out with your children because everyone in this group has exceeded our every expectation by a huge margin. We love your kids!
My only sad note was that Rebecca wasn’t able to be there with us because of mono. Rebecca, we miss you and hope you get well soon!
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
We started our paddling adventure on the Salmon River with a bit of a drive from Pinedale, WY to McCall, ID and we were psyched to hit the water. We arrived at the Hammer Creek put in on the Salmon River just outside of Riggins, ID and packed up and headed out. Now perhaps my years of raft guiding left me a bit full of myself and so I might have uttered a statement to the effect of "I can't be thrown out of a raft unless I want to be..." Kevin proved me wrong and used all of his football skills to completely clean my clock. It was awesome. He owned me there. I took an involuntary swim. Thus the pattern of good natured water fights and incredible paddling was established. Charlotte took my advice to heart about planting a foot firmly in the boat in order to avoid being tossed out and she became a fortress in her raft. She was tricky to get wet.
Our first day saw us travel some 20 river miles and proceed through the Green Canyon. It was GORGEOUS!! Fantastic food for lunch (way over the top sandwiches) and hamburgers and corn on the cob for dinner set the tone for the heaven that we were in store for. No one goes hungry rafting, that's for sure. Our next day saw some even larger rapids and another 20+ miles of travel. Mary Jane and Leigh entertained us with their mad "ducky" skills (sometimes they thought it more fun to swim the rapids rather than paddle them) and Mitch Davis taught Kevin and Matt and Andrew how to surf the rapids in a ducky. Matt our resident power to weight ratio champion proved to be supremely hard to get in the water if he didn't want to be. Onto the beach that night and killer beach volleyball sessions followed by a rousing game of silent football kept us laughing hysterically for hours. English and Andrew acted out Romeo and Juliet, Jennifer and Ben entertained us and Kevin displayed his grasp of some Spice Girls singing and dancing. Watching your buddies totally make fools of themselves is a riot. Our next day of paddling saw even bigger rapids still as we entered the Blue Canyon and Matt and I conquered as many surf waves and holes as we could handle. It was awesome. Eloise and Jennifer became our "bull riding champions" while Jeff and Sara continued to ambush and attack folks into the water. It was entirely too much fun. I love these kids. Back to Jackson Hole we go!
Friday, July 29, 2005
What an amazing group we have had here. I know Mary Jane and I are truly sad to have to say goodbye to such wonderful kids. To all the parents that sent your kids on the "Big Wild" with us, thank you. Your kids are amazing and we love them all. Our trip started with an amazing two days of climbing in the Tetons. We learned that Rebecca can out climb most anyone, and that Sara has mad belay skills (Kevin make sure you tell her thank you for keeping you from becoming a sticky spot on the rocks!) We got to see the top of Mt. Rendezvous (10,450ft) and then got to climb over past Hidden Falls and Jenny Lake. These kids came right out of the gate impressing us and exceeding our expectations and never once let us down.
Since these kids were such amazing performers we set our sights high and planned a rather ambitious backcountry session in the Wind River Range. Sadly one of our all stars came down with mono and we had to see her off and her presence was continually missed throughout the trip. Rebecca we love you! Once in the Winds we soared up some major altitude gains over the course of 3 days until we finally got to the summit of Dragons Head Peak (12,230ft) and these guys never flinched once. I genuinely think that Charlotte, Kevin, and Andrew (really everyone for that matter) would have literally run up the mountain if we would have let them. Like I said, these guys are impressive. Matt and Andrew really impressed all with their fly fishing skills and Jeff seriously knows how to navigate. Ben's humor kept us roaring throughout our trip. A simple cruise back to the van and we were Idaho bound with paddling on our minds. Our paddling adventure down the Salmon was quite truly perfect. We picked up our resident Moondance logistics guru Mitch Davis and off we went. Amazing food, spectacular views, brilliant stars, and big beautiful smiles (Jennifer and Eloise you guys are going to be breaking some hearts with those smiles of yours...) pretty much sums up our time on the Salmon. If only we had a few more days out there.
Every one of your children are near and dear to us and we are sad to see them go. Sara your gift for writing amazes me, and English your ability to motivate everyone continually is unbelievable. I love all you guys and thank you for making my summer so wonderful!
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