Expedition Experience

A quick overview of my NOLS expedition…7/9 First day out! While setting up the maps to view our route through the Winds a local named Dale approached to ask what we were doing (complete with beer in hand and dip in mouth!)7/10 Dear Lord, the mosquitoes! They’re solid black clouds!7/12 Went fly fishing for the first time ever. Ate a delicious trout dinner. Yum!7/13 Summited Mt. Geikie (12,378’)7/15 Camped in the most beautiful campsite ever. Froze my butt off jumping into an alpine lake. Had to pee in the middle of the night, and the big dipper seemed to take up half the sky. Enormous!

8/4 Holy shnikeys, my tent mates and I were almost just taken out by a lightning storm. We were in the tent talking and snuggling against the cold when we started hearing a clicking sound. I looked up and saw a red electrical arc between the 2 tent poles. We all freaked and moved as far away from the poles as we could. I don’t know how long we silently held lightning position on our sleeping pads, but I eventually had to break the tension with a song. For future reference, singing ‘You are my sunshine’ is very calming during near-death experiences.8/6 Today we started our independent student travel, which officially means the course is winding down. I’ve started fantasizing about “civilization”, and even made of list of things I can’t wait to do (#1 is take a shower- you can’t imagine how bad I smell).8/9 We left camp at 4:30 this morning and were picked up at the trailhead at 7. The shower was everything I hoped it would be, as was the burger I chomped down for lunch and the coffee I drank while I checked my email.8/12 It’s officially over. I’m back in Denver, and already checking things off my list (yoga class and a hoho cupcake at City, O’ City). I have to admit that I’m trying to shake a slight feeling of melancholy, and putting off going back to work as long as possible.