I am cold and tired as I come to the top of yet another steep hill. I can feel the dehydration and altitude sickness that has been growing worse and worse all day. I am on a twenty day Outward Bound expedition through the Maroon Bells Wilderness. My group and I started our journey three days ago. There are six teenage boys in my group plus two guides. Luis has the map today and for the third time he says to us, “Just one more hill guys.” Every single time we get to the top of a hill, there is rocky uneven ground and no sign of our campsite. Finally, he is right. I get to the top and see a flat green space that is perfect for camping. I rush over, drop my pack, and lay on the soft ground. I am so relieved that I don’t notice how cold and windy it is up here. My relaxation only lasts a minute because the rest of the group comes over and we begin to set up the camp. Myshkin and Nick grab the tarps out of their packs. These tarps are just a thin plastic sheet which only protect us from the sky: they don’t have walls, or a floor. It usually takes at least four people to set up a tarp, but today we decide to have three people per tarp, so we could set up both at one time. This we found to be a very bad idea because the winds at our campsite are extremely strong, and we have to fight them to anchor the tarps down. As my group is trying to tie the tarp to the stakes, the tarp starts to blow away, and we have to chase after it. When we finish setting up camp, it is five o’clock and we have to get dinner ready. While we are making dinner, we talk and relax and get to know one another better. After dinner, our leader tells us to get some rest because the next day we will be climbing to the top of the mountain behind us. I am extremely sore from today’s hike and I am dreading tomorrow’s challenge. As I try to fall asleep, I look outside my tarp and feel as though the looming mountain is taunting me. It shows off its’ rough edges and sharp rocks to intimidate me and keep me so worried I can barely fall asleep.
At 5:45 in the morning, our daily stretching begins to get us ready to hike for the day. As we stretch, we see the light from the sunrise reflect off the rocks creating a beautiful glimmer. Today’s challenge turns into an insanely steep, strenuous, four hour-hike. We traverse across the rocky slope by carefully placing our feet to avoid falling. As we hike up, we step in line with one another, each person placing their feet exactly where the last person stepped. We move as if we are one being. This takes a tremendous amount of physical and mental concentration. As we reach the summit, we see for miles all around the magnificent mountain range. In the distance, I see dark clouds contrasting with the bright blue sky above us. I see valleys covered with green trees and grass alongside rolling blue rivers and streams. All around me, I see hundreds of mountains in a variety of colors; the red, grey, and white are especially beautiful. With the hard work we put into this hike and the relief of my last steps to get to the top, my perspective of other difficult things in my life begins to change. I realize things I worry about at home are not too big after all.
After our amazing hike, we relax and bond over our successful summit. The challenge that we put ourselves through brings us closer together. We encouraged one another each step of the way. I am surprised at how well Myshkin did on the hike because he is quite a bit smaller than the rest of the group. He showed physical and mental determination to keep up with everyone. It is not very cold outside but since Luis is from Texas, he is wearing three layers of clothing. Luis has never been in the mountains or the cold before; therefore, it is hard for him to become accustomed to it during the trip. Nick was the first one to get back to the bottom of the mountain. Nick is from Colorado and has been hiking his entire life. Abraham, who is also from Colorado, is a strong hiker. Gavin is from Michigan and is the youngest boy; however, being the tallest with long legs, he kept up with the group. As we relax, we play games and tell stories about our homes.
Day six is extremely difficult. We hike over three mountain passes each steeper, snowier, and more draining than the last. Finally, we get to the campsite and the ground is so wet it takes us an hour to find a dry place to set up the tarps. I am so exhausted that as soon as I sit down, I do not think my legs have the ability to stand back up. Even with the exhaustion that we all have, we work together to set up camp and make our dinner. After I refresh and relax, I look around and take in the beauty of the new campsite. All around us are humongous structures of rocks that are built into the mountainside. The intriguing moss patterns growing on the rocks could be contemplated for hours. A river flowing nearby creates a never ending melody of peace and quiet. The lush green valley has a perfect temperature and is much warmer than where we slept the night before. After growing up in Fort Collins, which has a mostly brown landscape, the greenness of the campsite is remarkable to me. We rest for most of the next day and rock climb on a nearby mountain for fun. After the struggles of the past few days, it is nice to be able to relax with the group. These people who were strangers seven days ago are becoming close friends.
It is day eight and I am leading the group today. I guide us over a craggy mountain pass and into a large valley. I get us a little lost looking for our campsite. I feel so bad, I know the team is tired but they are encouraging me and do not seem angry. Eventually, I find it and we set up camp. We make it there early enough to have lunch at the campsite and have time and energy to explore the area. Even though I got us a little lost, I feel like it was a successful day.
The next day is one of the most grueling days of the entire trip. We walk three miles to meet a re-supply truck. After loading up our packs, which are now twice as heavy, we hike nine miles traversing across the steepest mountains I have ever seen. These mountains are so steep I feel like they are trying to push me off as I hike. The weight of my pack makes it even harder to balance on the shaking unstable rocks that we are hiking across. Once again, we are a little lost. Even though I am tired and frustrated that we can not find the campsite, I encourage Gavin, who is leading us today, that he can do it. Finally, we hike up one last ginormous peak to find our campsite. It is late at night; it’s cold; Luis has altitude sickness, and we eat dinner in the dead of night. This is the first time I reconsider my decision to go on this journey.
Day twelve begins with a seven mile hike to a nice low elevation campsite where we will stay for three nights alone. This part of the Outward Bound expedition is called “the solo”. The six of us spread out and make individual campsites that we will stay in by ourselves without being allowed to see or talk to anyone else. Outward Bound creates this experience for the campers to have a chance for rest and reflection. I set up my camp and prepare to spend three days and nights by myself. It is a strange feeling and I do not yet understand why we are doing this. I am happy because I feel very tired from the first eleven days and I look forward to getting more sleep. I wake up in the morning and realize the sun is almost at noon. This feels amazing; however, I am starving. We were only given eight crackers for our three day solo. I decide to wait and eat four of my crackers for dinner. I have never been this hungry in my life. My stomach is pleading for food. Since I am not supposed to leave my camp area, I find myself just thinking. I think about the tough, but amazing hiking my group has done so far. I think about my family and friends back home. However, I also have trouble expanding my thoughts outside the hunger and pain I feel in my stomach. Even though I am still hungry after my dinner of four crackers, I find myself nodding off. I wake up feeling well rested. As the day goes on, I realize my stomach is numb and I no longer feel hungry. What a relief! I am thankful that the hunger has subsided and I find myself reflecting more about my life at home. I feel grateful that I have parents that provide me with food for each meal and a family that supports me in any goal I create for myself. I feel regret that I am not more helpful to my parents and that I don’t show more gratitude for the help they give me. I spend a lot of time reflecting on how I behave at home and how I can improve myself. I decide that when I get home I will do chores without being asked, do more community volunteer work, and that I will look back on this time when I think a task is too difficult for me. Once again, I devour my four crackers and head to bed. I wake up earlier today and look forward to the guides gathering us back together after twelve o’clock. I start to pack up my camp, but when I stand up, I feel light headed and almost fall over. I lay back down and realize I am deprived of nutrients. I decide to rest for a while and then start packing up my camp slowly. Those three days were long and painful and by the end, I am tired of my own company. When we finally come back together, I eat at least three servings of beans and rice because I am starving. Afterwards, I am extremely thankful for the company of my group and relieved to get to tell them about my solo and hear about their experiences. Being alone for three days taught me the importance of human connection.
Day sixteen we hike down a road to a campsite near where we will meet the re-supply truck the following day. After setting up the campsite, we decide to bathe in the river next to it. The water is freezing cold but it still feels refreshing and is certainly needed because we have not bathed in seventeen days. The next day the truck comes and brings us new gear for the last section of our trip. This section of the expedition is the hardest. Every single day we travel at least eight miles and are constantly going up and down in elevation. We hike up and down slopes so steep that it doesn’t seem humanly possible to stand on them, but somehow we do.
The first day of section three we walk up the road until we are in a valley and keep walking until we are miles away from any tree. The temperature rises to at least ninety degrees Fahrenheit. During this hike, sweat soaks completely through my shirt. For the first time, Luis, the Texan, is hiking better and faster than all of us, even Nick. Finally, we get back to the cover of trees and we stop for lunch. Afterwards, we hike down a long valley which is covered in flowers. Even though I’m exhausted, the beauty of this golden meadow takes my breath away. After dinner, I am told that I will be leading the group again tomorrow, and I am shown on the map where we will be going. I pay very close attention so that I don’t get us lost again. In the morning, we hike up the side of an extremely tall mountain, it takes us three backbreaking hours to get to the peak. We are overjoyed when we get to our campsite where we see a lake and a herd of majestic elk. We are entertained by the young elk who are prancing and dancing around while their parents watch from nearby, just like a human family.
Amazingly, we get to sleep in until 8:30 today because we will not be hiking anywhere. Today we are working on our service project. The service project is a day of the expedition to do volunteer work. My group helps do work for a small town called Crystal, Colorado, which is in the middle of the mountains. The population of this town is under thirty people and is even lower in the winter. We are doing work for the family that owns most of the town and has lived on the land for over one hundred years. We are cleaning an old cabin from the 1800s, so the historic relics can be salvaged. While we are here, we see the Crystal Mill which is one of the most iconic photographs of Colorado. At the end of the day, we feel grimy from cleaning, but feel pride in giving back to Colorado.
Our final challenge is also the beginning of the end of our expedition. We jog twelve miles back to the Outward Bound base camp. Here, we collect our belongings and stay one last night. It is so much fun reminiscing with my group about the last twenty days. I know I will remember each and every one of the guys forever. I have learned a lot from them and maybe they have learned something from me.
