By
Hanna Newstadt
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Today was really fun. I had to get up really early to be at
school at 5:45. We were assigned buses and started the 7-hour
car ride to North Carolina. We were forbidden to bring any
food so we had some snacks while on the bus.
When we got to Pisgah National Forest, we
were given a plastic spoon, bowl, and mug with which we were
to eat all our meals. It was so gross! We had to lick the
bowl clean after every meal because that was the most efficient
way to keep them clean! At the main campsite, we had lunch
and were divided into the groups that we would be with for
the rest of the trip. Each group had 2 counselors from Adventure
Treks and around 10 kids. My group’s counselors were
named Dave and Elizabeth. Our counselors were super strict
but we had a really fun group.
They told us to pack our bags for the overnight
trip we were going on. We drove for about thirty minutes and
then hiked two miles until we came to our campsite. We had
to carry huge backpacks on our backs throughout the hike carrying
our clothes and tent equipment. I felt like my back was going
to fall off it was so heavy!
After we set up camp and had gotten our water,
we had dinner and then had an evening meeting. At every evening
meeting we discuss safety concerns, good things about the
day and things we would like to change about the day, as well
as what we were going to do after evening meeting and what
we’re going to do the following day. The good things
and the things we wanted to change were called pluses and
deltas, which is why we called it plus-delta land.
Then we were told what to do with our human
waste. This was an especially enjoyable part of the trip.
At least they were descriptive, they even told us how to position
ourselves! Wasn’t that nice…..All I’m saying
is that it involved a shovel.
Then we brushed our teeth (without water)
and went to our tents that we shared with a maximum of 2 people
to sleep. It was really hard to take my contacts in and out
without a mirror because I had never done it before, but I
got the hang of it. The bad thing about it was that before
you touch your contacts, you have to wash your hands, and
with freezing water and freezing air, I felt like my fingers
were going to fall off.
Wednesday, October
11, 2006
This morning when we got up, we had to roll up our sleeping
bags and take down our tents. We had oatmeal for breakfast
(which was so nasty because it tasted like last night’s
dinner) and then hiked back. However, we took a different
route so we could go to Graveyard Fields and see a waterfall.
It was so pretty. Then we had lunch and then we drove back
to the main campsite, unpacked our bags, and then prepared
for friction rock climbing. We reached the rock and there
were 3 parts of the rock that we could climb up. We had the
choice of going up as many times as we want on any part of
the rock. I reached the top on all three and had such an awesome
time. It was so cool because I’m really scared of heights
and I haven’t ever reached the top at the rock wall
at school!
Then we played some games with our group
and had free time for thirty minutes. Next was dinner and
then evening meeting. But since it was raining, we went to
a sheltered area for it so we wouldn’t get soaked. Then
we rushed into the car and drove back, trying to stay as dry
as possible.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
This morning it was sooooooooo cold! We had
bagels for breakfast and then climbed John Rock. It started
out pretty flat but then it got really steep. At the top,
the view was so gorgeous. On the way back, we were told to
hike by ourselves and follow the trail for a bit so we could
appreciate the nature. It was kind of fun, but not as fun
as traveling in a big group talking and laughing as loud as
possible!
Then we drove to Sliding Rock, which was
this huge rock that you can slide down, it was almost like
the coldest, largest, steepest slip’n’slide you
have ever slid down! I went down four times and by then my
butt was almost completely numb, but it was so worth the uncontrollable
shivering! Too bad we did it on the coldest day of the trip!
Then we drove back to the campsite and played
some games. Next we packed for the night (it was supposed
to reach less than 40 degrees that night) and the following
day (white-water rafting).
After that was the second most fun part of
the whole trip! MEXI-COOKOFF!!! Each group was given the same
ingredients and we had to prepare a Mexican meal. Six teachers
on our eight-grade team judged us. We were judged on six things:
presentation, entertainment, food, clean up, something I can’t
remember, and the most creative use of an avocado seed!
My group made delicious fajitas and lettuce
wraps, used car seats and plastic crates as chairs and tables,
cleaned up pretty fast, and stuck the avocado seed in the
guacamole! And for entertainment, six of us pretended we were
the teachers and treated our teachers as the students, mocking
them! They thought it was hilarious and we won the best mimicry
of the staff award!! YAY! It was so fun! Then we went to bed!
Friday, October 13, 2006
In the morning, we had to change really fast
and we weren’t allowed wear cotton at all for white
water rafting so I had to wear my wet bathing suit because
I forgot to leave it outside to dry! It was so cold!
We took down all the tents and cleared the
campsite completely. It was so COLD! We had donuts for breakfast
and it was so COLD. COLD!!! Then we returned our bowls, mugs,
and spoons. I think that was the happiest moment of the trip.
Then we rode in the bus for an hour and a
half and then reached the white water rafting site. I was
in a raft with 7 people. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooo fun!
It was the best part of the trip, but you really don’t
realize how numb you are until you try to stand up, and then
it pretty much hits you that you really are drenched in 42-degree
water! It was about a two-hour ride and about 5 people fell
in. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I fell
in because I was already shivering and my teeth were chattering
and I couldn’t move my hands for about 15 minutes afterwards!
But overall, I think I just have to say that White Water Wafting
Rules!!!! Then we had hamburgers and hotdogs and then drove
back to Collegiate.
It was such a great experience and I had
such a fun time! |
