After weeks of group living, Mountain Classroom students spread out near the San Juan River in southeastern Utah for their three-day solo, alone at their sites with their packs of provisions, shelter, diversions of their choice, and their thoughts. Lila '26 traces the lead-up and then surveys all nine crewmates on what they were proudest of, what they ate, and the "type 2" fun they experienced along the way.
Lila '26
In my opinion, one of the most special parts of Mountain Classroom is “chaos cards.” For those of you who aren’t familiar, chaos cards are a Mountain Classroom tradition that dates back almost 30 years. Here’s how they work: every evening, the next day’s LOD (Leader of the Day) gets to pick a chaos card blindly from the deck. The cards each have a different label, explaining how the “chaos” of the next day should go. And there is only one rule: if you pick the chaos card, you MUST complete it before picking a new one.
Some of our favorites have included: spa day, instructors cook breakfast, parking lot dance party, manhunt, 20-minute meditation, bring a special rock to evening meeting, go out for dinner, and of course, bus and trailer blowout.
My solo mailbox
It was due to these chaos cards that the morning of April 18th was so special. We awoke bright and early, the air at Page Lake Powell campground was crisp, the neon sign across the road reading “Antelope Recreation” was bright, and our spirits were high; it was Christmas Day. Breakfast was pancakes, masterfully “cheffed” by the amazing kitchen duo Christina ’26 and Will ’27. As we ate, ideas flew; we couldn’t decide how we wanted to spend Christmas. Especially seeing as today was our last full day together before solos.
Our morning consisted mostly of Social Studies class and a few last-minute showers (free AND hot, by the way), before we piled onto our beloved bus (Bennie) and headed to the ultimate Christmas day destination: the Sand Island campground near Valley of the Gods, Utah. Our drive was long, but before we knew it, we were parked in site #17. The sun beat down as we began packing for our solos. Unlike other backpacking trips, the goal when packing for a solo is actually to make your bag as bulky and heavy as you possibly can. Our crew achieved this by bringing a plethora of books, knitting, watercolors, embroidery, food, blankets, sunscreen, and even… homework.
Utah sunset
After packing, our crew rushed to decorate a tree and make our Secret Santa gifts. I was lucky enough to receive a hand-painted postcard, while others got friendship bracelets, handcrafted stamps, coloring sheets, and even a coupon for “one free update on the Seahawks draft info.” Evening meeting was freezing (34 degrees), but before we all tucked into our zero-degree sleeping bags, the next day’s LOD (Reagan Lorio) pulled the Chaos Card “20 minute meditation.” What divine timing.
On the morning of April 19th, it was abundantly clear that our mission was complete. Every single person had no less than two backpacks (a backpacking bag AND their day pack), their food (expertly crammed into rat-proof bags), and of course, their Crazy Creek chair. Some other popular accessories included 10 liter water dromedaries (which weigh about 20 lbs each), a Tupperware container for additional food storage, some 2 lb weighted stuffed animals, Rumpl blankets, and our matching new shiny safety whistles. It was just after 12 when I was dropped off at my site, a gorgeous swath of desert about half the size of a soccer field. The first day of solo looked about the same for each of us. After being dropped, we set to work establishing cooking and sleeping areas, setting up our mailbox, and settling into camp.
Our last night in Valley of the Gods.
The following 3 days were when our paths started to differentiate. Obviously, I know what I did on my own solo, but I was interested to learn about how my friends spent their alone time, so… I asked:
- #1. What they were most proud of themselves for accomplishing
- #2. A food they ate that they would definitely recommend
- #3. An activity that they enjoyed
- #4. A type 2 fun story (if applicable)
For your enjoyment, I have also assembled the following information in the exact order that we set up our campsites.
Reagan’s “Sticks in an Apple Core” (2026)
Base Camp - Bennie and Emi and Ted
Edward “Ted” Gordon Fuell
- #1 - “Doing absolutely nothing.”
- #2 - Boursin cheese and crackers
- #3 - “Sitting and looking.”
- #4 - “Finding dead bugs in my ear, that was pretty fun.”
Emi Lim Morison
- #1 - “I’m proud of getting back to messages from friends.”
- #2 - Chili lime corn nuts, and green apples with peanut butter
- #3 - Taking a Nalgene shower
- #4 - “Everything I do is type #1 fun, wait no, carrying 40 liters of water.”
*It feels only fair to mention that Emi and Ted also had to check in on us every day (via mailbox) and also bring us water - THANK YOU EMI AND TED
Site #1 - Reagan ’26
- #1 - “I read a lot, and I did my science presentation, which I didn’t think I was going to do.”
- #2 - Banana chips with peanut butter
- #3 - “Seeing how many sticks I can fit inside an apple core.” (It’s 30.)
- #4 - “Staring at the clock, trying to make it go faster with my brain.”
Site #2 - Liberty “Lila” ’26
- #1 - Reading over 2,000 pages
- #2 - Dandies Vegan Marshmallows
- #3 - Lizard-spotting, sleeping in, and stargazing
- #4 - When the zipper of my tent broke in two on the first day OR the wind blowing dust into my retainer.
Site #3 - Hailey ’26
- #1 - “I read an entire book, and journaled. A LOT. Every day.”
- #2 - Avocado toast with NO seasoning, also Oreos and Nutella.
- #3 - SLEEPING
- #4 - “My tent blowing over twice, but it was fine 'cause I just took it down.”
Site #4 - Georgia “Georgie” ’26
- #1 - Watercoloring
- #2 - Overnight Oats, and apples with peanut butter
- #3 - Journaling, knitting, and reading
- #4 - “Having spiders crawl all over me.”
Freya’s Solo Rock Tower
Site #5 - William N. ’27
- #1 - “Reading, books”
- #2 - Canned pineapple
- #3 - Sleeping
- #4 - Nothing
Site #6 - Freya ’26
- #1 - “I did a lot of homework, and I do NOT like homework, also I watched every sunset and sunrise.”
- #2 - Guacamole WITH a bunch of spices and 5 lbs of Cuties
- #3 - Stargazing
- #4 - “Getting a cold 2 hrs after I got dropped off, and not sleeping for the first two days, it sucked.” Also, “cowboy camping on the last night because my tarp blew away in the wind.”
Site #7 - Christina “Tina” ’26
- #1 - “I read a whole book.”
- #2 - Dots Original Pretzels.
- #3 - Working on her “puzzle game” or watching the sunset
- #4 - N/A “I HAD fun.”
*We're pretty sure that Tina would do solo again. When asked to comment on the matter, she said, “I wouldn’t object to that.”
Site #8 - Elliot ’27
- #1 - “Surviving”
- #2 - An entire can of beans and a bag of salmon
- #3 - Reading and “geology research”
- #4 - “The whole thing, but especially the day that I ran out of water.”
Site #9 - Anne “Annie” ’26
- #1 - “I read a book, and I hate reading.”
- #2 - Nutella and bagged chicken
- #3 - “Rock ASMR”
- #4 - “Tanning, because I had to put sunscreen on my back alone.”
Site #10 - Cortland ’27
- #1 - “Finding a place for my hammock.”
- #2 - Homemade guacamole
- #3 - Journaling
- #4 - The heat
Cortland’s Solo Rock Towers
On the morning of April 22nd, we woke up alone for the last time. At 11 am, Cortland began his trek back to base camp, picking each of us up on his way. By 11:30, we were all sitting in Bennie, covered in sand but thrilled to see each other. Our next destination? You guessed it: the Sand Island campground!! We just can’t get enough. The rest of our day consisted mostly of sorting and returning our gear, swimming in the San Juan, and presenting our Masterclasses! Hailey Pastel and Georgie Nichols educated us all on blister care and prevention, while Christina Fossum and I led a class on caring for your down sleeping bags and jackets. By 5 pm, the exhaustion of the day was beginning to get to us. We sped through a delicious macaroni and cheese dinner, before tucking into our tents for the night.
Overall, solos were amazing!! Although some members of our group might be more excited to repeat the experience than others, I think it's safe to say that each of us spent some valuable time by ourselves and gained a new, more grateful perspective on the special group dynamic that MTCLRM provides. To my family and friends: I miss you all and I can’t wait to see you! Thanks for reading!
Read More Mountain Classroom Reflections
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- Off-Campus Program