Chutes and Ladders

I just realized that it has been over a month since I last blogged. I still have several Outward Bound blogs to get done and then I will get to my life. Sorry for the month long drought.
During my course, there was a section dedicated to "Main Expedition". This was basically referring to our first backpacking trip since immersion and it would be the first time that my group would lead ourselves as the instructors simply followed our decisions. This portion of the trip came directly after Solo. We had all had three days to rest up and clear our heads before taking on three days of hiking to and on Grandfather Mountain. The first day of hiking seemed rather easy even though an equal day during immersion probably felt a lot more strenuous. The second day we knew was going to be a much longer day and would involve a portion of dreaded bush pushing. All things considered, though, even this day didn't seem nearly as bad as it had sounded. After a long day of hiking we got into camp just before dark, set things up and had dinner. At our evening meeting, our new leaders of the day informed us that we had a lot of hiking to do the next day that would be technical and unlike anything we had experienced before. This all sounded fine until they informed us that we would need to be waking up at 2:45am to leave camp by 4am and get to our destination by 1pm. This might not have sounded so bad if the current time had been any earlier than 10pm.

After what felt like a short nap, everyone was up, fed, packed and ready to go. Amazingly it had been the first time that we were all ready to leave on time. About a mile into the hike we came upon our first technical element. It was a large boulder that required a hand line rope for safety. After finally getting the rope set up and getting everyone through the boulder, we understood the need to leave so early in the morning. It is no small task to get 13 people up a huge boulder safely. Nor is it a small task to get 13 people up and down steep ladders and through rock mazes and down steep boulders. We arrived at a peak right as the sun was coming up and were able to enjoy a much deserved view. Until that day we hadn't really been rewarded with many views.

After the sun rise, we continued on through the amazing day. The biggest challenge of the day was the weight of our packs. We had just done a food pack out before leaving for the trip and had 9 days worth of food in our packs. Not only that, but we had switched over to winter rations which meant even more food. Try to picture climbing down a steep ladder that is bolted to a massive boulder that is literally hanging in mid air. Now, add 45lbs to your back. It was intense!

The entire day really proved how well our group was evolving. We were forced to make safety decisions and we were all responsible for each other's lives. Everyone was extremely supportive of each other through the entire thing. I was especially nervous through the whole day as my fear of heights was tested to the max. Sometimes the "trail" was simply a 2 foot wide piece of rock with sheer drops on either side. The other people in my crew really helped me get through the day smoothly.

When we finally reached the parking lot of Grandfather Mountain to meet the trail crew, I was able to take everything in. The day had been incredible and I had overcome a lot of fears to get through it. We were all really exhausted, but in order to hike the trail we did at no charge, Outward Bound had made an agreement with the trail crew to help them with a project. We carried in supplies to build a ladder and then built the ladder. It was definitely cool to be able give back to the amazing Mountain we had just hiked.