Extreme Adventure Track - Fall Immersion 2014

 

 

During Fall Immersion 2014, the group split up into three tracks. Students chose the track which they thought would enhance immersion the most for them individually. I chose to go on the Extreme Adventure Track. We spent two days hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon. This experience made my immersion so much more special. Our guides told us that only around one out of every 100 vistors to the Grand Canyon walks beneath the rim. I feel so privileged to be that one person. Here is an edited version of my Extreme Adventure journal. Enjoy!

 

Tuesday

In the morning (at 5:45 am ish) the Extreme Adventure (EA) and Edventure people left for the Grand Canyon. I was in Mr. Davis' car with all the EA people. (Dr. Kramer drove the van). A couple of hours later we had our first view of the canyon. It didn't look real. I couldn't believe I would acctually be going into it! We parked our cars in the parking lot we were introduced to our guids, Shane and Stephan. As I transferred my fleece, gloves, and other layers into a special hiking backpack, the teachers tried ot figure out what dishes we would be using on our trek. We needed to make sure that everything was kosher.

Before we actually started, we took a short walk down the first section of the trail. It was a pretty steep set of switch backs that led down to a horseshoe shaped mesa (where we would be camping). I was a little worried that the hike (plus the weight of my bag) would be too hard. I didn't want to be the one who held the group back! When I tried on my backpack I realized that the unique set of straps transferred the weight of my supplies from my back to my hips. It was not heavy at all!

During the first part of our hike down, we stayed as a group and listened to Shane explain the different medicinal properties of plants. We also learned how to survive in the desert. After the first set of switchbacks we all sat down and had a snack. Our guides told us that we had finished one third of the trek. The walk hadn't been too hard, and after some refueling we were ready to go.

During the second third of our hike, the boys walked ahead with Shane while Mr. Davis and Stephan took their time with the girls. Other than a few narrow sections, the trail wasn't too difficult so we had time to enjoy the unbelievable view of the Grand Canyon. As we walked farther and farther I could see the horseshoe getting closer and closer. I knew that once we got there, we would be done. We stopped a for a light lunch of pita and humus at around 1:30 p.m. Stephan is a certified chef so all the food was delicious.

Once we finished eating we only had one third of the trail left. During this part of the hike I stayed close behind the boys with the rest of the girls. We were so excited to get to our camp spot that we went as fast as possible. We stepped onto the horseshoe I could not contain my excitment. We had made it! We were camping the Grand Canyon!

Once we all made it to the campsite, Chana and I started setting up our tent (with the help of our guides). Rivka Miriam and Shira set up their tent near ours as did Dr. Kramer. Across the campsite, the boys decided to sleep without tents so that they could see the stars better.

As we finished setting up camp, the boys decided to go explore. An hour later, we started to get worried. Where were they? Dr. Kramer went off to the edge and started yelling their names. I walked off a little and looked a bit too with Ricka Miriam. After a few minutes of yelling, we spotted them off in the distance. Once everyone was calm again, we grabbed dinner supplies and flashlights and took a little walk together. As Stephan prepared dinner, we sat at the end of the horseshow and watched the sunset. At one point, we all stopped talking for a few seconds. The silence was beautiful. When it had gotten too dark to see much of the canyon, we walked back to Stephan. He had prepared a delicious dinner of ginger rice and veggitables. It was so much fun to eat off of my new, blue, mess kit. (A mess kit is a container you bring hiking that usually includes a bowl, plate, spork, and cup). As we finished eating some delicious short bread cookies, chocolate, and rasberry milanos, we started singing. One song turned into a lovely "kumzitz in the kanyon." (Get it? Alliteration!) My favorite part was singing גשר צר מאד (a Hebrew song which talks about the world being a very narrow bridge). We were literally sitting on a narrow bridge in the middle of nowhere!

Back at camp, we sat on some big rocks while Stephan and Shane told us about the history of the Grand Canyon. I was surprised to learn that there had been active mines in the canyon once. (They aren't active anymore).

When we went to bed, Chana and I took off our rain tarp and watched the stars through our tent. There were so many of them! Now, I understand the significance of HaShem telling Avraham that his children would be as many as the stars. There really are so many.

Wednesday

I woke up to a chill in the air and watched as the sun rose over the canyon. We davened Shmone Esrai just as the final rays of the sun peeked over the edge of the rim.

For breakfast, Stephan made a delicious potato hash. He worked so hard to make his meals kosher and dairy. He was amazing!

We hadn't had time to explore the canyon much on Tuesday, so after packing up camp we headed out towards a cave. There is only one cave in the canyon where tourists can legally go. It was less than a mile from our campsite, so we payed it a visit. At first I wasn't sure I even wanted to go in. The cave was huge and had almost no natural light. I realized that this really was a once in a life time opportunity so I took a deep breath and ducked through the small entrance. After a few feet, the cave's ceiling suddenly was really high. I stood up and looked around. The ray of light coming from my headlamp illuminated the deep and dusty cave. In the first "room," Shira signed us into the guestbook. Once we were far enough away from the entrace (we didn't need to go far), Shane suggested that we all turn off our flashlight. At first I was too scared, but eventually I gave in. It was very crazy to opend my eyes and, no matter how hard I tried, not be able to see. After we  took some Forced Perspective pictures, we got ready for our trek out of the canyon. On the way down, the hike didn't seem to take that long. Walking down hill towards your destination is much more fun than walking up hill away from one of the most beautiful places on earth. At one point we stopped and ate a snack. I though the final climb was just around the corner, so I got pretty excited.

Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner and we were no where near the top. I was upset (to say the least). It was very difficult to know that we had so much more to climb. I started yelling at the canyon. It was the only way for me to get my anger out without yelling at my friends (which I certainly didn't want to do).

The only thing that kept me going was knowing that the only way out was up. The boys had left a couple minutes before us and were hiking much faster. I knew that they had probably already made it to the top. I just kept looking up and hoping to see their faces. Then, I would know that we were done.

Finally, we passed a man hiking on the trail. He told us that we were almost at the rim. If I hadn't been so tired, I would've jumped for joy. Instead, i just smiled and kept pushing. Oh wait . . . Actually I didn't smile. But I did keep hiking!

Suddenly, I heard voices. I looked up and saw the boys waving at us! I scrambled up the last few feet of the trail. I couldn't believe I had just hiked out of the Grand Canyon. No one could wipe the smile off of my face!

After a quick stop at a lookout, we said good bye to our guides and headed back to join the rest of the school. 

 

Written by Aliza Makovsky