Colorado Trek 2004/5

Colorado Trek 2005 Orientation May 14, 2005

One Great River held a Colorado Trek orientation meeting at LSUS. Parents and participants attended the meeting. Tony discusses the "what to bring list" with the group and the importance of wearing the proper clothing on the trek.

Colorado Trek 30 May - 07 June 2005

Day 1

At 5:30 a.m. we met at Sportspectrum in Shreveport. We hit the road about 6:30 a.m. and traveled to Raton, New Mexico, arriving at about 7:30 p.m. It was a long day of driving, but spirits remained high. We ate at the All Seasons restaurant in Raton (which Laura personally recommends), and went to bed at a decent hour (all things considered). It was a great start to a great week! (Though slightly inactive.)

Day 2

We got up at about 6:00 a.m. and headed over to McDonald’s to have breakfast. We then got on the road, after a good game of hacky sack. We traveled through Colorado, and reached our campsite at about 1:00 p.m. The group then set up camp, while Mrs. Tammie, Mr. Mark, Dani, and Hannah did the shopping. We had scrumptious spaghetti for supper and then had a roaring bonfire (well maybe not that big!) and a meeting about the next day. We were ready to go rafting! We settled down for the night and a group slept outside.

Day 3

We woke up about 6:00 a.m., ate breakfast and then packed up to go rafting. With our lunches and bags packed, we loaded the bus. After an hour-long ride, we were psyched and ready to go! We received a safety talk from our river-guides and launched into the river (in a boat, of course.) The rapids started out pretty small, so we were able to get used to the feel of the water before we hit the big ones. We had an absolute blast! Yelling at the top of our lungs, speeding along, and getting soaked, we were having an awesome time. We ate lunch at Pinnacle Rock (though not on top of it) and enjoyed walking on land and feeding our guides. After all, our lives were in their hands! Mr. Bill and Ashley were knocked into the water by a humongous rapid, and Mr. Allen fell into the water (in flat water, if you can believe it!) After multiple water fights, and many class two and class three rapids, we were tired but enormously pleased with the day’s events. We finished rafting about 3:00 p.m., and changing into dry clothes (much to our relief!) we drove back and enjoyed chicken fajitas for supper, topped off with cheesecake for dessert. After eating, some of the group went on a hike to see a waterfall. It was an awesome experience, with many examples of teamwork and peer support. The path was steep in places, but we had excellent leaders to help us. We then wrapped up the day with a laughter-filled chat by the fire.

Day 4

We had another day of even better rafting, but the route increased in difficulty. We slept in later, until about 7:00 a.m., had breakfast, and launched the raft at about 10:00 a.m. The rapids were awesome. The day was shorter, but filled with incredible rapids. Two adults fell out at a rapid called “widow-maker.” Ms. Leslie fell out after the raft keened on its side, and Mr. Paul then fell out backwards when helping her back into the raft. We had a scary moment when Mr. Paul was positioned between a rock and the raft, but he quickly and effectively moved over, and we were able to fish him out. Both of them remained very calm and we worked successfully as a team. We ate lunch halfway through, and then tackled the two hardest rapids of the day. We scouted the first one, Sidell Suck-hole by climbing the bluff overlooking it. There, one of the guides gave an informative talk about how our guides navigated the river and “read the water.” We then attempted the class-four rapid, and each group made it through safely. It was an exciting experience! (To clarify, there are six “classes” of rapids, Class Six being impossible to go through, and Class One being still water.) The next challenging rapid was Twin Falls. It was so much fun! Everyone was soaked, but elated. We went back to the rafting headquarters, dried off, and changed clothes. After that, we hiked up to Waterdog Lake. There was snow everywhere! We had a blast throwing snowballs and playing in the snow. Slipping and falling in the snow was not fun though. No one was hurt, and as a whole, it was a wonderful experience. We had red beans and rice for supper, which everyone enjoyed. After another night of talk and laughter around the campfire, we went to bed excited about the climbing and biking taking place the next day.

Day 5

Today we split up into two groups for rock climbing and mountain biking. Group A went climbing, while Group B went biking. Several members of Group A made it to the very top of the climbing routes. A few of us were scared to go up to the top, but we all tried! Danielle had missed the rock wall climbing back in Shreveport, LA, and did very well for her first time climbing. We had an awesome time even though we were rained on towards the end. Group B had an exciting day as well. This group had a choice of taking either an easier or harder bike route. Most took the easier route. Group B made it back to camp before Group A and made an excellent dinner of hamburgers. It was fantastic! After dinner and our campfire talk many of us decided to sleep outside under the stars. It was a beautiful night.

Day 6

Today the two groups switched activities and both got rained on a little. Group A went biking and again most took the easier route, but had a wonderful ride. The ride ended at an old removed railroad site looking out over the Hope Gulch. The few on the harder route had a wildlife experience. During the ride, Ms. Leslie let out a yell and stirred up a group of coyotes, which started howling. It was quite an afternoon. Group B beat A to the campsite again and Mr. Allen turned into a “grill master”, making some amazing grilled chicken and macaroni-and-cheese. After dinner, and some serious dish washing, everyone made delicious s’mores and talked about the events for the next day.

Day 7

Another beautiful Colorado morning. Today the entire group is going hiking to Lake Ann. After breakfast and packing our day-packs, we headed out to explore the unknown. It was an amazing hike, a little hard through the snowy spots and overall we had great time. We did not make it to our destination for the snow had covered the trail and we did not want to become lost in the woods. That night for dinner we had shrimp fettuccini and sausage. We definitely cleaned our plates tonight and some even went back for seconds. After cleaning up dinner we sat around the campfire to discuss the next day’s events.

Day 8

Everyone is kind of sad to be leaving today, but ready to get home. After breakfast, we cleaned up the site and took down our tents. We then went to St. Elmo. It’s basically an old town turned into a chipmunk sanctuary. For fifty cents you can purchase a bag of sunflower seeds to feed the chipmunks. An old general store serves as a gift shop and has some very unusual and unique items there. We then left to go back to the campsite one last time for lunch. Afterwards we went to Salida to do some shopping. YEAH!!! After an exhausting afternoon of shopping and walking around town we headed to Turkey Rock for a small hike to take some pictures. Soon it was time to leave Colorado to head, again, to the Super 8 in Raton, New Mexico for the night.