As Mountain Classroom students concluded their backpacking expedition through the Los Padres Wilderness, Henry '25 reflected on the group's three-day journey through California's Big Sur region. From frosty mornings and steep terrain to discovering ideal backcountry camp spots, students embraced both the challenges and rewards of wilderness travel. Despite blisters and difficult climbs forcing route adjustments, the group experienced landscapes of incredible beauty -- enjoying an outdoor English class beneath open skies and witnessing a stunning sunset over the mountains and ocean together. Through collaborative problem-solving and supporting each other through physical challenges, these students are gaining practical wilderness skills while developing the resilience that defines Mountain Classroom.
Henry '25
Our backpacking trip began with a nice chilly morning up on the ridge at China Camp, and a bit more prep work and packing before we began our way down into the Los Padres Wilderness. We were greeted with beautiful vistas of the mountains of Big Sur as soon as we broke out of the tree cover of our camp, and enjoyed quite a descent into the valley below our bus. We hiked along the bottom of the valley for a little before setting camp up in a beautiful clearing. We all prepared our first meals in our cook groups, rice and beans for many of us, enjoyed an evening meeting under the stars, and headed to bed to prepare for our long day tomorrow.
We woke to a thin layer of frost the next morning and colder than expected temperatures, and therefore elected to stay in camp for a little longer and thaw. Eventually, we began our hike. With quite a steep pitch in the morning, and many suffering from blisters, it definitely was more challenging than our beautiful descent the day before. We had lunch at a nice spot in the shade, and continued to our next camp. We ended up deciding not to go as far as we had originally planned, as our route for that day had us descending a few thousand feet, which we would’ve had to earn back the next morning, and many of us weren’t quite in a state to begin a likely 10+ mile day that way. Camp was set up earlier in the day then, and we were able to enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the sun, and perhaps the most beautiful English class of our lives. There had been a sweet pair of pants left behind in the camp, which, to my delight, fit me perfectly. Good news and much needed, since my others had acquired multiple holes. Many enjoyed their second night of rice and beans, some with quesadillas as well. We soon discovered that climbing a nearby hill provided stunning views of the mountains around, as well as the ocean. We scaled said hill and enjoyed a nice sunset all together.
The next morning, we packed our gear up quickly and began back the other way, leaving our beloved Pine Ridge camp behind and heading back down into the valley and back up the other side to China Camp, where the bus was parked. Seeing as lots of us were nursing very beat-up feet, we pushed through to get all the mileage done and get out a day early. It was a long day, with much uphill in the sun and more mileage than our previous days. We were definitely happy to see our bus at the end of the day. We still enjoyed one more night in our backcountry tents and cook groups, with our final dinner of rice and beans (now perfected) marking the end of an amazing time in the mountains.
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