During each Mountain Classroom term, students with varied outdoor experience undergo a remarkable transformation through the deliberate progression of increasing responsibility and outdoor skills development. Starting under close supervision, students gradually take on expanded leadership roles, developing new skills and decision-making abilities that culminate in student-led expeditions at the end of the term. Mountain Classroom participants also build a unique community, forming lifelong friends bonded through shared challenges, successes, and unique experiences. Read more from Tony '26 below!
Tony '26 - The End of a Journey
Our final week of Mountain Classroom was filled with preparation for our student-led expedition, the adventure of a lifetime and an ending many weren't ready for. The start of our final mountain expedition took place on our bus, Bennie, with a trusty map of the Colorado River, making our PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingent, Emergency) Plan. After our plan of a 21-mile out-and-back in the Black Canyon, the group went to an Albertsons to shop for four days' worth of delicious food. Passing all the logistical stuff, we finally met our gear lender, Holmes from Desert Adventures, for our first day on the river.
Once on the river, we all paddled feverishly to make the seven miles to Arizona Hot Springs before the dam opened up and started pushing the river against us. After a nail-biting four hours, we finally made it, only to find the campsite completely packed. Good thing we made a PACE plan, and we quickly changed to another campsite about 100 yards downriver. Although having paddled seven miles, many people weren't tired, so we immediately got to setting up tents, but it was then swapped to having the group sleep on tarps next to each other to watch the stars at night.
The next day, the group woke up bright and early for a 6-mile out-and-back up to the Hoover Dam. Once hitting the dam, we were told to turn around by a tour boat because we were in a restricted area. The following day was much different than the other days due to it being a chill four miles downstream to our next campsite and the absence of the instructors for a 24-hour period from 10am-ish to takeout the next day. The group ended up deciding on two different hikes in the morning. One up a canyon and the other up to the Arizona Hot Springs themselves, which provided a once and a lifetime experience for all those involved. The rest of the day went smoothly, but it also felt a little odd due to not being able to ask questions or talk to our instructors, who were a couple hundred yards behind us. On the final day, many of us awoke at 6am and watched the sunrise, although still with a strange feeling about the missing instructors. The rest of our day was amazing, from making it onto the river on time, to meeting the person who was going to take our canoes.
The 24-hour period away from the instructors was a great challenge for the group, but throughout the trip, the instructors have been slowly handing over control from the start until, as they say, 'being only the drivers.' This slow handover has helped the group become more independent and self-reliant, allowing for a smooth 24 hours.
Once we finished this amazing river trip, we were hit with the reality of only two days left on the trip. All of us were saddened by the harshness of this realization, but everyone in the group knew they had created a close friendship with every other person in this group and that everyone would be there for anything any one of us needed. This trip, although ending soon, has created a tight-knit group of people that transformed from peers, who now will always be close friends.
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