The Spring 2025 Mountain Classroom group embarked on one final expedition before transitioning to their student-led expedition phase: a week-long rafting adventure down the San Juan River. After months of hiking, rock climbing, and navigating the American West and Southwest, the transition from land to water represented more than just a change of scenery -- it was an opportunity to learn new skills, face different challenges, and discover how teamwork takes on new meaning when you're reading rapids and sharing oars. Read below as Erin '26 reflects on learning to navigate 83 miles of water and discovering how the rhythm of the river teaches lessons about adaptation, trust, and living in the moment -- even when you are soaked to the bone.
Erin '26
We reached our final expedition before the student-led expedition: The San Juan River! Ahoy! For six nights and seven days, we rafted, rowed, and paddled down the San Juan with four amazing guides: Molly, Alex, Gwen, and Hannah. Our guides gave us a warm welcome at the Sand Island put-in ramp to brief us on the many safety protocols for being on the water. We were all given life jackets with some very unique names, such as Earth Cube and Pterodactyl. Alex introduced us to the three different boat setups: an inflatable kayak, an oar boat, and the paddle boat.
On our first day, we were lucky enough to enjoy our first rapid of many. Little did we know that we'd later see class three rapids and get completely soaked in the waves. Our first stop was to see an incredible cultural site with original ancient structures and petroglyphs. Seeing small carved handprints on rocks and stone walls designed to preserve food through winters was certainly a highlight of the trip. On the very same walk, we saw some bright pink flowers and a rather good sized snake slither past a tumbleweed. Our guides later introduced us to the many new systems of rafting that we'd soon take over operating. I enjoyed seeing new ways to cook and do dishes, tasks that have become so routine for us in these past weeks.
We quickly learned the importance of sun protection by the second day, having spent the entire day without much shade. We all kept plenty cool with frequent dips in the river and by staying hydrated (Yes, Mom, I'm drinking enough water). After long days on the river, we enjoyed some good conversation and some very intense games of gin rummy and cribbage. Evening activities were a great time to relax after up to 20 miles of paddling through rapids and around lots of rocks.
By day three, we'd done 37 miles and tried different positions on boats. Personally, I got to row for the first time with Hannah and only hit a few rocks. Our guides make rowing boats filled with bags and equipment look so much easier than it actually is. Seriously, I don't know how they do it. Getting to learn to row was one of my favorite things about the whole river trip.
We were lucky enough to spot a few big horned rams along the riversides with tracking collars designed to track diseases spread by domestic sheep. This fair weather was much missed by the last few days, bringing hail and rain. When Nate said to "pack our ponchos," we clearly didn't listen because, by the time we excavated our rain gear from bags, it had completely stopped. But alas, it was not over. The pouring rain came back once more, but we paddled on, enjoying every minute of it. After all, what's a river trip without being soaked to the bone?
That night, we enjoyed a spectacular talent show featuring Nate's spin tricks on a rock, Lauren and Frances' partner yoga, and a tortilla slap contest. That was exactly what we needed to conclude our final full day of the river and celebrate all the ways that we've grown over the past week.
Throughout our 83 miles down the San Juan, we grew closer together and learned plenty of new skills to take back with us. Gwen taught us all about the moon phases and Alex gave us a lesson of rock formations that we won't take for granite (see what I did there) anytime soon. As we returned to dry land with intense Teva tans and a few new blisters on our hands, we began the surprisingly long process of derigging boats. Once we were packed up to go, we said our goodbyes to each of our incredible guides and thanked them for such a memorable trip. As we piled into Bennie the Bus, "Hotel California" came on the speakers and we set off to our next campsite, only slightly covered in mud and sand.
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