6 Things to know and do on a Caribbean Cruise

My family and I went on a cruise a few summers ago and it was great! The weather was amazing and the islands were beautiful! We were on the Carnival Victory and made port at St Thomas, St Lucia, Barbados, St Kitts, and St Maarten (or St Martin or St Maartin, we saw it spelled so many ways haha) I could talk about everything we did but that would take too long but basically we snorkeled reefs and shipwrecks, saw the countryside of St Lucia, rode horses on the beach, laid out on gorgeous beaches, played soccer on the beach in Barbados,went shopping in St Marteen and had fun on the boat.  When I was on the boat running on the track on the top of the sky deck all I could see in any direction was water. It was so amazing to see how vast the ocean was. It really made me think about how vast the Lords power and love truly is. Job 11:7-9 says the The almighty is “broader than the sea

5 things you should know/do in the Caribbean:

1. TAXI:  You will get bombarded by taxi drivers/tour guides etc as soon as you step off the boat. If you don’t want a taxi then just keep walking and ignore them. If you talk to them at all they will stick with you and try to convince you to get a taxi to go to a store that is just a block away no matter how many times you say no. Don’t worry about being rude, just keep walking. However, if you want to see the island, a taxi is the way to do it! The locals will show you all the beautiful places. On our taxi tour of St. Lucia, our taxi driver took us to an absolutely beautiful viewing spot. He also stopped so we could purchase some coconuts and pick some limes and mangoes right off the trees on the side of the road.

The view from our taxi tour in St. Lucia

2. Locals:  Meet the locals! My sister and I enjoyed some soccer on the beach of Barbados with some local teenagers and loved it! Our tour guides for different excursions always had fun stories about where they came from and what we can do on the island. Everyone is friendly so be friendly back. Don’t let them talk you into buying something but don’t be a snobby tourist and not engage in conversation either.

My sister enjoying a coconut.

Playing soccer on the beach

3. Snorkel: You have to snorkel at least once. The fish life is amazing! We went snorkeling in St. Thomas and Barbados and saw tons of fish, sea turtles and I even found a sting ray. In Barbados we snorkeled around a ship wreck and the fish around there were so amazing! I especially enjoyed seeing fish from Finding Nemo. There are tons of companies that take people snorkeling on every island so you will have tons of choices and they will take you to the best places.

4. Monkeys: St Kitts is full of monkeys! They say there are more monkeys than people and there are locals everywhere with baby monkeys on their shoulder and its usually only $3-$5 to take pictures with the monkeys. It’s a total tourist trap but it was one I didn’t mind falling into. They are adorable and so fun to play with!

5. Shopping: Last but not least the shopping! I am not a huge shopper but the local little shops are so fun. There are all kinds of jewelry and clothes and on a few islands there are tons of things made out of coconut shells like bird baths and statues. On the islands, they use everything from the coconut. There were also arts and crafts made from seeds and leather and wood. It was all so fun! I really enjoy local stuff that you can only get there and there are plenty of one of a kind items on the islands. In St. Thomas as well as most of the other islands you can buy jewelry with precious stones, especially diamonds, for way cheaper than in the states.

6. Beaches: Don’t forget the beaches! All of these islands have beaches (Duh!) and you need to take at least one day to just lay out on the beach, find a beach-side bar and meet fun new people. Collect shells and make a necklace to remember your trip. Play soccer and go for a walk and see what you find. You never know!

My sister is awesome!

Overall, there is plenty to keep you enjoying your vacation. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the beauty of these amazing islands!

Until next time, relax, spend lots of time with Jesus and make each day an adventure 🙂

 

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Part 5 of the heroes journey – Student Led

Approaching the last 7 days of the trip we were left to fend for ourselves as our instructors separated from us. We had an interesting start to our student led with a complication in our last food ration. On trips this long, horse packers will hike in with any food and gear you need rationed in and you have to meet them at certain spots but if they don’t show up you have to hike towards the trail head till you meet them because they may be stopped because of snow, water or any other barriers. For this food ration we were scheduled to meet the horse packer at Water World but we figured he could not make it that far because of the snow. We hiked a few miles to a lake that we figured the horse packer could make it to.

We also ran into Team 2 (another 40/40 team with SROM) and they were supposed to meet the horse packer too so we all just waited together. It was fun to hang out with them but we began to worry because the horse packer wasn’t showing up. There wasn’t any snow anymore so we couldn’t figure out what could have stopped him. Eventually we sent scouts up the trail and they found him another mile up at another lake. He had seen a patch of snow and thought it continued and didn’t have anyone else with him to go ahead and see and with 8 horses he couldn’t go check himself so he just stopped and unloaded and waited for us. It was 7pm before we finished rationing and separated from our instructors and made it back to camp. But when we made it back we had a great dinner! It was one of my teammates birthday so we made this chocolate peanut butter fudge with butterscotch icing. We had NOLS outdoor cookbooks and used our brownie mix and peanut butter and just added a tiny bit of water so it was really thick. Then we melted brown sugar, butter, and powdered milk to make the icing.

The next day was the official start to our student led. We had to navigate, pick campsites and kitchens, and even climb a peak with no instructors. By this point in the trip we were skilled in all these areas so it wasn’t much of a problem but we were challenged in our teamwork and leadership. We still had LODs every day and we had to be good leaders and good followers. On this day Lauren, one of my teammates realized she left her journal at the lake where we met the horse packers so we had a 30 min late start because she had to run back and get it. I was so glad it was there because she had written everything in it. We hiked to Upper Jean Lake and the last few miles, the trail was under snow and when we got to the lake it was covered in ice. It was so beautiful! We found some grassy areas so we were able to have a good campsite and we had some good talks as a group and smoothed out some misunderstandings and tension. When you are with people for 40 days there are bound to be conflicts but our team handled them all with love and honor! For the next few nights we had our devotional about what we had learned on the trip and how we had changed. It was so encouraging and amazing to hear the transformations in some of my team members.

The next day, day 36, we made great time. We had an 8 mile hike and we had multiple stream crossings and lunch but we still made it in 6 hours. We also ran into our instructors (they still shadowed us on the student led and would camp about a half mile from our camps) but didn’t really talk to them, they wanted us to be completely on our own. We had an early night because the next day was another peak day! We were climbing Glover Peak. I dedicated this peak to my house and roommates and my friend April and I prayed for the next semester. We woke up around 4:30am and began climbing. It was different than Gannett because it was 1000 feet lower in elevation and it was all rocks so we scrambled the whole way and had a blast.

We had a false peak 3 times! We thought we had made it to the top then when we got there we realized there was a higher peak in front of us. Once we made it to the top we just hung out for an hour and a half and took pictures and had some amazing Jesus time!

On the way down we saw a buck and everyone except me and Mike jumped in the lake. It had ice on it so there was no way I was getting in, they are crazy!

The next day, TJ and I were LOD and TJ had the map at the top of Glover so we could find our next lake because we were going to be off trail. When we got to the bottom TJ realized the map was no longer in his pocket and after backtracking we realized the map was gone. Gunnar, TJ and I decided to go find Emily and Jacob and we took pictures of their map and for the next 2 days we navigated off a camera. It was so crazy but we did it.

So camera navigation was a success and we made it to our next destination, Thompson Lakes. It was a gorgeous campsite and we had a great dinner because Jacob brought us some trout and my food group had grabbed an extra jar of peanut butter so we had peanut butter brownies. In our devotional that night we had some TAG (time alone with God) time and prayed about our top 3 “upgrades” or things we see God changing in us and how we want to transfer it to life back in civilization and how it would affect our community.

The next day was a pretty chill day. We made it to Kenny Lakes by 10am that morning (it was only a 3 mile hike) and we just sat around and talked about all kinds of different topics. The next day was our next to last day! We hiked up our last pass and the rest was down hill and by far the most gorgeous hike yet as we entered back into the timber line.

We hiked 9 miles in 5 hours and met up with Emily and Jacob at our last campsite by Porcupine Creek. I had an amazing TAG time sitting on an island in the middle of the river. We also had an incredible evening as we just recapped on the whole trip and what we had learned and what God had done. We encouraged each other and we just enjoyed our last night in this gorgeous valley.

The next morning we hiked the 8 miles to the trail head, waited for our van and headed out. It was a 6 hour drive back to Laramie, WY so we stopped for ice cream and the looks we got from people were priceless. I mean, we walked in, a group of college students who practically haven’t showered in 40 days and are wearing the same clothes they have had on for almost 40 days. We were the most pleasant smelling people in the room but I sure did enjoy that ice cream. When we got back to the SROM base we took fast showers then went out for a celebration dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I think the waiter was a little shocked at how much food we ordered and the fact that we ate it all! The next 2 days were mainly debrief with Josh Horak (40/40 director), reissuing gear, and cleaning gear.

So there you have it, 40 of the most adventurous, amazing, challenging days of my life! I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Until next time, relax, spend lots of time with Jesus and make each day an adventure!

Part 4 of the heroes journey – Climbing Gannett!

So part 4 of our journey is the mountaineering section. It’s the highlight of our trip where we climb Gannett Peak, the highest point in Wyoming. It was also the most unpredictable part of our trip. We will pick up where we left off, being dropped off at a different trail head. We hiked in to Eklund Lake, where we were supposed to meet the horse packer to get our 4^th ration. We camped out and woke up to joyful Jim Yancey and the horse packers. We spent the morning re rationing our food for the next 11 days and getting our equipment for mountaineering. We had our ice axes, our helmets, harnesses, crampons, and snow shoes. We also had group gear, pickets and clips and ropes. We also had whatever we may have rationed in to ourselves, cliff bars, a clean shirt, etc. So needless to say our packs were the heaviest they would be on the entire trip. My pack was 70 lbs at least, plus we had a 7-8 mile hike ahead of us and we didn’t start hiking till 11am.

After we hiked for about a mile we came to a huge raging river and hiked up river over rocks for a couple hundred yards and had to pass packs across some rocks to get across. It took us at least an hour to get across and it started raining on us about half way through. Even better, it stopped raining as soon as the last person got across and we got our packs back on. We continued on the beautiful hike and started gaining elevation. As we gained elevation we realized more snow was starting to appear and I was reaching the end of my rope. We came to a lake (we had lost the trail under snow by now) and had decided to go the short way around the lake and walk along the steep slope of snow that ended in ice cold water. We had to unclip our packs so if we slipped on the snow and fell in the lake our packs wouldn’t drown us. The lake was pretty big and it took each person at least 20 minutes to walk the length of the slope. Let’s just say, walking on a steep slope with a 70 lb backpack is hard work and to make matters worse it started sleeting on us. I was one of the last people and when I got across it started hailing too. Everyone was wet, cold and exhausted, except Jim Yancey of course who was energetic and encouraging as always. I would not have made it that far if it weren’t for Jim. He was so helpful and encouraging. He walked with me and held me up the last few feet of the snow slope by the lake and kept me from slipping and falling in. Well needless to say, we still had 2 miles to our destination but everyone was beat so we made camp there and made up the 2 miles the next day.

The next 2 days were not nearly as bad. Everyone was used to the terrain and our packs and we were making great time and enjoying the majestic alpine scenery. We made it to Indian Pass, which would take us to the glacier where we would start our mountaineering when we were faced with an unexpected turn of events.  One of our team members began to realize how far into the wilderness we actually were and her imagination began to take off with what could happen to us on the mountains. Now, SROM takes every safety measure needed and we were perfectly safe with equipment and ropes and experienced instructors but for a southern bell from Georgia who is not used to snow, the idea of being a 3 days hike from a car can be pretty terrifying. After much prayer and discussion and love, she decided she could not go on and wanted to go home and quit the course. Now, this was frustrating for the team but we loved her and showed her all the grace and honor we had. No one got upset and everyone was very loving and accepting of her decision. We hiked back to our last campsite at Water world (one of the mountain lakes and one of my favorite campsites cause it was BEAUTIFUL) and after making a call on the satellite phone, we decided to have a rest day the next day and 2 people from SROM would hike in and hike out the next day with our team member.  Our amazing instructor had to move our itinerary around and, to everyone’s delight, they made it possible for us to still climb Gannett Peak.

After a much needed rest day and an amazing devotional time the night before we woke up early and headed out to Bonnie pass which would take us to Gannett Peak.  We roped up in teams and climbed over the pass and made camp on the glacier right below Gannett Peak.

Camping on a glacier was exciting. We camped right next to a talus field which is a field of rocks basically except the rocks can move even huge rocks. Like I jumped on a huge rock and it moved and I almost fell off! We saw some mountain goats on the talus field quite a few times too and that was exciting. Anyways, the next day was peak day! We woke up at 2:30am and started climbing! The moon was so bright we didn’t even need our headlamps.

And when the sun rose it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The sky burst open with blazing red and orange and with the mountains and valleys and snow and grass in the distance I felt like God was painting a masterpiece just for me.

SROM also does something with all their courses called peak dedications. Everyone is supposed to dedicate the peak to someone and pray for that person as they climb. I dedicated Gannett to my parents and sisters and prayed for them as I climbed. It was super powerful and I loved it. Once we got to the top a huge cloud blew in and socked us in. We were able to get some pictures when the cloud would part a bit but for the most part we were socked in.

We enjoyed it for about 20 minutes and enjoyed a reward of snickers that the instructors had been hiding and then began our descent (which is the most dangerous part). It was about 10 or 11 when we got back to camp and if climbing Gannett wasn’t enough, most of us decided we wanted to do some ice/snow climbing so we went over and repelled down a snow mote and climbed for a few hours till dinner.

The next day was another crazy hard day. We woke up to freezing temperatures and insane wind! We packed up camp as fast as possible and headed back over Bonnie. I was on Jim’s rope team and he was booking it up the pass to try and get us warm but in the process I couldn’t catch my breath. I had to stop and breath but my team was very patient with me. The wind kept using my backpack as a kite and trying to freeze my feet. It was absolutely miserable and the only thing that kept me going was knowing that when I got to the top I could glissade (or slide) down the other side to the warmth and not windy valley.

Sure enough after 2 hours of crazy cold and windy climbing up snow we got down the other side and it was WAY warmer. It was still a 5 mile hike back to water world but we finally made it.

The next 2 days were rest days/evaluation and preparation for student led days. We prepared for the student led which included having a detailed itinerary for the last 7 days. We had to calculate the 5 essentials of wilderness travel for ever day which were distance, elevation gain and loss, hazards, estimated time of arrival, and water sources. We also did evaluations of each other. At first this sounded weird to me but I remembered one of the goals of this trip is to grow and one way to grow is by helping each other (as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another). The instructors evaluated each of us individually and they identified our leadership skills, our strengths and our weaknesses or areas they observed could use improvement. We also did this for each other. It sounds harsh but I actually really appreciated it. Sometimes we don’t see where we can grow as well as others can. When it’s someone we can trust then it’s a deeper form of love because we want to see each other grow. It wasn’t easy for everyone to hear but it was definitely beneficial and a growing experience for everyone. We each met with the instructors individually and discussed out evaluations and we also had a chance to evaluate the instructors. Just because they are instructors doesn’t mean they don’t have room to grow too and they were very receptive to what we had to say. I really appreciated the whole process. Well we were ready to meet the horse packer at water world the next day for our last food ration. We would be saying bye to Jim and beginning our Student Led section!!! The journey was coming to a close and the next 7 days would test us to see how much we had actually learned as the instructors released us to fend for ourselves in the wild.

Part 3 of the heroes journey – Yes we were in the Winds THAT year

At this point I had been out in the wilderness for 2 weeks and loving every minute of it. I had learned so many skills and really grown in my relationship with God but nothing prepared me for what it was like to be in his beautiful creation in the Wind River Range. This was the most beautiful wilderness I had ever seen. I will post as many pictures as I can but I am telling you, pictures do not do it justice. Being in the mountains and seeing the vastness of them, I was in awe of the power of my king. I was also overwhelmed by his love. I had moments where I felt he had created this masterpiece just for my enjoyment and to show me how big He is and how massive His love is for me. I don’t know how else to explain it except that it is hard not to feel Gods presence when you are deep in his untouched creation.

One thing to tell you about this section of the trip is we were not prepared for what awaited us in the Winds. If you are familiar with backpacking, especially with the Wind River Range you will know that this summer was one of the most intense summers ever. Wyoming had a record year with snow fall and cold temperatures and it had carried over into the summer.  There was still snow on the ground in places at 9,000 feet when we arrived. By the time we hit 10,000 feet and higher there were times when we would lose the trail and have to walk on snow for a mile or so. Luckily we had snowshoes. Snowshoes weren’t on our list of gear to have but the 40/40 team that was 3 days ahead of us had ran into a NOLS group that warned them of the snow conditions. So they went into town and rented some for all the teams.

Our first 9 days in the Winds were quite the ride. Day one was more exhausting than any of us were expecting. We ended up taking a wrong trail and hiked an hour through an area of dead trees to find the right trail. We were straddling trees, ducking under trees, climbing over trees, all with a 50-60 lb pack on. The area had been part of a controlled burn months or maybe years before and was just now beginning to grow back.  I felt like I was in a tree graveyard. Our amazing LODs, Gracie and Lauren successfully guided us through to the right trail and soon after we set up camp.  The mosquitoes were bad in the area but we had nets for our cook groups so we could cook dinner in peace of the evil bugs.

The next day we hiked out of the tree graveyard and had a gorgeous hike. We crossed a freezing river and then got turned around when we came up to another river that was too big to cross. The rivers were so huge from all the snow that was melting and our instructors made a decision to turn around and hike to the area near Baldy Lakes for our solo because Timico Lake would have been too snowy for us to camp by ourselves without full tents.

One of the biggest parts of the 40/40 is the solo time.  Students and instructors spend 48 hours on their own and since we didn’t have a full tent set for each person we had to share parts and just use them as rain protection. For example I had a rain fly so I draped it between a rock and tree and just slept under it in my sleeping bag. We also had to change out a bandana hanging on a tree twice a day so our instructors could see that we were ok.

So on our way to the new solo area we camped near the north end of a huge mountain lake with a waterfall and the reflections of the peaks in the background. I was amazed by the beauty of the area. That night during debrief we prayed and decided what the core values of our team would be. We found that they spelled out S.W.E.E.T. It stood for :

Soak Gods love in

Worship the King

Equipped (put on the armor, be equipped for Gods plan for your life)

Encourage (love each other, be joyful and encouraging)

Talk (be honest and vulnerable)

The next day was the first time we could wear our snowshoes. We were going off trail towards the Baldy Lakes area and there was snow everywhere but we finally arrived and made camp.

The next day we started our solo. We prepared and packed our packs and separated out food for the 2 days within our food groups and hung the rest of our food in trees to keep them away from bears. I was worried about the solo because being out on my own, especially at night was kind of scary for me. Emily took 5 of us and we hiked to each of our campsites and when we were left we set up camp and were free to do whatever. I set up camp right before it started raining and climbed in and read my bible while it rained. It was surprisingly peaceful for me. I was expecting to be pretty anxious. I slept pretty well that night and the next day was relaxing. I spent most of the day reading and worshipping and I got to wash my clothes. I had a lot of things to pray about and as I prayed God really gave me peace in a lot of areas. I prayed a lot for my family too. That late afternoon; though, was very unexpected.

Around 4pm I started to climb in my sleeping bag for a nap when Emily came up on my camp out of breath and told me the solo was cut short and to meet back at the kitchen at our main camp. So I packed up super fast and headed back. I was the first on back and was freaking out wondering what could be going on. Did someone get hurt? Was there a bear attack? Did we have to evacuate someone? What could have happened? Eventually everyone arrived and we were informed that a bear had been eating our food and they did not think it was safe for us to be out alone with our food for our solo with a hungry bear roaming around. Apparently Derek and Jacobs solo food was eaten and the bear had gotten into our food bags twice, even after they were hung twice as high and far from the trunk as usual. So we all hung our bags again and hiked far from the kitchen for the night.

The next morning we packed up camp, went to the kitchen and found the bags had been slashed open again! We took our bags down and made breakfast and all the food groups analyzed the damage. Most food groups were ok and had enough meals except one but my food group had exactly enough extra meals to help them have enough to last the rest of this ration. It’s funny how God takes care of us.

The next 2 days kind of ran together. Derek and I were LODs and led the group out of the area where we had our solos and we hiked to Pole Creek. We were greeted by a huge flowing river that was impossible to cross. We eve hiked 3 or 4 miles upstream to find a crossing and never could find one. We ended up having to hike the 15 miles back to the trailhead and get driven around to another trail head in order to make our next food ration on time.  We had to meet our horse packers at a specific place but we couldn’t meet him if we couldn’t cross that river. Our instructors said the river was 3 times bigger than it should be or normally is.

Well that is the first section of the Winds. Next will be our mountaineering section where we are joined by the one and only Jim Yancy! Enjoy.

Part 2 of the Heroes Journey – the Snowy Mountain Range

So Veedauwoo is over and the Snowy Mountain Range is approaching. As we sat in the van we realized how we were beginning to realize we don’t smell quite like roses. But we were excited and enjoying the drive through the Wyoming countryside. We were planning to stay in the Snowy Mountain Range for 3 days and do mountaineering school where we learned how to use all of our mountaineering gear.

As we pull into the trail head and start getting all of our gear together but as we get out of the van we saw snow everywhere and were slammed by cold air. We were all in shorts and tshirts because it was warm in Veedauwoo. As we got our packs out of the trailer and hastily put on warmer clothes the rain blew in, as if the cold wasn’t enough. So we all tried to get warm and strap our ice axes on our packs, put our boots on and get ready for the hike. Today was my day to be Leader of the day (LOD) along with Mike and we were looking at the map but soon realized any trails we could follow were under snow. But we managed to get to a lake by a road, which was under snow and started to make camp because it looked like a storm might blow in.  We learned how to set up our tents on snow and soon were trapped in our tents for a few hours because it did begin to rain more.  Eventually we had to face the rain and go make dinner.  When you are in the wilderness you can’t skip a meal because you need all the calories you can get because you are so active. After about 30 minutes of cooking the rain let up and so did the spirits. We had a fun evening and were super goofy and giggly all night and played a fun game.

So Day 2 of the Snowies is first day of mountaineering school. I wasn’t sure what we were in store for as we hiked about a mile or two away from camp toward the mountains but I knew we would be on the snow because we were told to wear our rain gear. At the base of the mountains we stopped on a pile of rocks and got our ice axes and all lined up on the snow as our instructors demonstrated the correct way to stop yourself with your ice axe if you ever fall down a slope. We all got on our knees with one hand on the top of our ice axe and our other hand on the shaft. The correct way to “self arrest” is by shoving the pick into the snow and pulling up on the shaft and leaning into the pick. We also learned how to “self belay” which is when you are walking in snow you hold the head of the ice axe and put the shaft all the way into the snow every few steps. It helps with balance and if you fall you can grap your axe and it should hold. Next we hiked up a slope and began the long day of practicing. We threw our self off the slope over and over and over and had to stop with our ice axe. Needless to say, I was not very good at this and had many long hikes back up the hill.

My friend TJ practicing self arrest

Day 3 of the Snowies we were joined by Jim Yancey. Jim is an old friend of SROM and came as an adjunct to help us with our mountaineering section.  He was such a fun guy and always joyful and funny. He was one of those guys who, when you’re around him, you can’t help but smile and be happy. We woke up early and started school at 6am. We learned how to rope up into rope teams and climb mountains.  Later on we would have to rope up for safety. When you climb mountains or if you are on a glacier, rope teams are vital in case someone falls down a mountain or into a crevasse. That way the other people on the team can go into self belay with their ice axes and catch them. To practice we hiked around the slope we had thrown ourselves off the day before and learned how to kick steps in the snow and how to down climb in safe ways. Going down a mountain is always the most dangerous part of mountaineering. We also learned what to do if someone falls into a crevasse and how to build an anchor and pulley to pull them out.

The last night in the Snowies we had our midcourse ceremony. We made cheesecake and played a game and had an amazing devotional.  We all made “I am…” statements which we wanted to be true about ourselves throughout the course. They may or may not have already been true and they were almost prophetic to what we wanted God to do. My “I am” statement was “I am a confidant godly woman who is not concerned with what people think of her but instead walks daily with her King, the Love of her life and personally knows His character, His deepest desires and His purpose for her on this earth.” It was a little long but it’s what I want to be true about my walk with Jesus. During this whole trip my relationship with God grew. I was reading through the Old Testament and some of the New Testament but I saw so much more in the Old Testament then I ever thought would be there. Ill put more of what Jesus showed me in my other blogs.

The next morning we woke up early, packed up camp, hiked to the van, and headed to the Wind River Range for the last 4 weeks.

Part 1 of the Heroes Journey – Veedauwoo

As some of yall know this summer I went on the journey of a lifetime! I spent 40 days in the wilderness of Wyoming with Solid Rock Outdoor Ministries (SROM) and learned so many new skills and really grew closer to God. I don’t think I’ll be able to write everything that happened but I sure will try. The first 10 days we spent in Veedauwoo which is a state park near Laramie, Wyoming (where SROM is based) and is known for its climbing.

On day 1 we got our packs (which we had packed the day before) and piled in the van. It was warm at the base but within 15 min we had climbed 3000 feet and it was cold and rainy. As I got out of the van and put on my 52 lb backpack I began to wonder what I was getting myself into. I almost got back in the van and told them to take me home but I just kept telling myself it would get better. After a 3 or 4 mile hike to our campsite it did get better.

The rain let up a bit and the next day was definitely warmer. Finding a campsite was a challenge though. If you haven’t heard, there has been an epidemic in the Rocky Mountains. A little bug called the pine beetle has been killing trees and its getting more difficult to find a place for your tent because you are not supposed to camp within range of a dead tree because it could fall on you. But there are so many dead trees so sometimes this seems like an impossible task. Some days we did not have too much trouble and other days we had to camp in less than ideal spots but overall we managed.

Anyway, on day 1 we learned how to set up camp and how to cook.  There were 12 of us (2 instructors and 10 students) and we were split up into food groups of 3 or 4 and each food group ate and cooked together for every meal.  That night we learned how to use the tiny stove and we learned what all of our food was. Some of the stuff, like the rice, was easy to identify but other stuff was freeze dried or was just a dry mix and was unidentifiable to a new camper. For example, we had baking mix for breakfast and we could make pancakes or cinnamon rolls or whatever else we thought of and for dinner we had a few other dry mixes like garbanzo flour and falafel mix and corn bread mix and let’s just say, one morning my food group had garbanzo pancakes. I DO NOT recommend them haha. But anyways, my first food group was TJ and Mike and for our first dinner we made cheesy rice and chicken.

I’ve gotta say I loved it! It was delicious! I was actually pleasantly surprised by the food on the trip because we ate very well most of the time. We had 5 food rations throughout the 40 days and we had one in Veedauwoo. The next day was the first day of climbing. I couldn’t decide if I was excited to get better at climbing or freaked out because I HATE heights. Well on the first climbing day I did not do so well. I was pretty shaky because of the height and my shoulder was acting up and I was worried it would dislocate.  A few months before the trip I dislocated my shoulder and was paranoid about it during the climbing section. But by day 4 I was over it and over my fear of heights and I was dominating many different routes! Ok maybe dominating is an exaggeration for some of you who climb all the time and can climb a 5-12 or something crazy but I was dominating something I didn’t think I could do.

On Day 3 we hiked to a new campsite.  This campsite was so cool! There was a huge cluster of rocks and we camped on one side and had our kitchen on the other side.  We also climbed all over the rocks and had our devotionals up there.

This is the huge rock campsite!

The next day we climbed some more at Vista Point. I learned how to face climb and crack climb. Veedauwoo is famous for its crack climbing and all the rocks are granite. If your climbing a face and not a crack, your hand and foot holds are tiny crystals maybe as big as your finger.  It takes a lot of trust in your climbing shoes to hold haha.

Another thing we did was multi-pitch.  We had 2 days of multi-pitch where a few more instructors came in and we split into teams of 3 (2 students and an instructor) and we climbed various routes in Veedauwoo.  On day 1 of multi-pitch, I was in a team with Mike and Emily and we climbed Ed’s Crack. It’s a classic climb in Veedauwoo and was quite the challenge for me. All the shakes from day 2 came back and I was a little freaked out from the height of the first climb. I had to sit on a tiny ledge with Emily while we waited for Mike and continued to climb. I made it to the top and ended up having a blast and I’m definitely proud of myself.

One significant event in Veedauwoo was the night repel.  One evening our instructors told us to go find rocks and we had to hold them all evening without letting them touch the ground.  This was really frustrating, especially while we were cooking dinner or if we had to go to the bathroom. We had to do everything with just one hand.  After dinner we started our devotional and I realized Jacob (one of our instructors) was missing. It was about 7:30 and Emily (our other instructor) took us for a walk. We walked for about 20 minutes and then started scrambling over rocks for what seemed like forever. I never thought we would reach wherever we were going. Finally we saw Jacob on top of a big boulder and once we all made it up they explained the point of the rock.  The rock symbolized a burden or sin we were holding onto. Cheesy, I know, but it was actually pretty cool.  We spent some time praying about what our rock symbolized and then we surrendered it to God, threw the rock down a crack and let it go.  After we threw the rock we repelled down the side of the cliff.  After all that scrambling we were probably about 200 feet up. Whenever a person was ready to go, they shared what their rock symbolized with the group and we prayed for them and then they repelled down. I went last and by the time I went it was 11:30 and pretty dark outside.  I was a little freaked out but it was really exhilarating! After I got over the first ledge I was hanging in complete darkness spinning around the rope. I couldn’t even see my team under me; I could just hear them telling me it was going to be ok. It was an overcoming experience for me to just let go of my burdens and overcome my fears.

The last night in Veedauwoo it stormed on us pretty badly. One of the guy’s tents zipper completely ripped on their rain fly and they had to cover all their stuff then run for cover in some other tents. It stormed from dinner all through the night pretty much. I was in a tent with Emily while the other 3 girls were in the other tent. When the rain let up a little I went over to the girl’s tents and found them having an awesome time being cooped up. They had played Farkel and were in the process of making some hilarious videos when I came in. We goofed off and took some fun pictures and when it started raining again I ran back to my tent and slept like a baby. I love sleeping in the rain. The next morning we packed up camp, hiked to the van and headed to the Snowy Mountain Range.

Backpacking

During the summer of 2011 I was privileged to participate in a 40 day backpacking trip through the wilderness of Wyoming through a christian outdoor ministry called SROM (Solid Rock Outdoor Ministries). I can easily say it was one of the best experiences of my life. Not only did I learn leadership and outdoor skills such as mountaineering an climbing but I also had a life changing 40 days with Jesus Christ. When you are out in the wilderness you are as close to God as you can get in my opinion and when you are in an emotionally, physically and mentally demanding program you are pushed to your limits and find that the only way you will make it is by God’s strength. It was the best and hardest thing I have ever done. If you ever have the chance to spend any amount of time in the wilderness please do not pass it up and if you need a program there are plenty of companies out there that have amazing opportunities such as SROM (www.srom.org). For those of you who are interested in a backpacking trip, I want to provide some tips for you and equipment you may need. If this post is popular I may post more tips on mountaineering and climbing.

Backpacking

The first thing about backpacking is to keep it light. This is not drive up to a bare spot of land and pitch a tent. Backpackings is when you put EVERYTHING in a backpack including your tent, sleeping bag, etc. It is not as fun if you are trying to cart around 100 pounds worth of stuff you wont need. So think minimally and think light. For my 40 days I had one pair of zip off pants that could zip off into shorts, a pair of nike shorts, a short sleeve T-shirt, a long sleeved shirt a thick pullover, a down jacket and some rain gear. Thats all I wore for 40 days. Think layers especially when it comes to weather and make sure your rain gear is easily accessible just in case it starts raining on your hike. Backpacking equipment is all about efficiency and light weight. You would be surprised how much you can stuff into a backpack. Make sure there is no dead space in your pack when packing. Every bubble should be stuffed with something, even if its just a pair of underwear. And only bring one pair of campsite shoes such as chacos or five fingers. And make sure you have a good pair of hiking boots.

On our trip we camped in some low lands and up above tree line and even on a glacier. When it comes to backpacking, the right equipment could meen the difference between getting any sleep or not. I had a sleeping back that was meant for cold weather. When we were at low elevation I just slept on top of my bag because otherwise I would sweat to death but when we were on a glacier I was very thankful for my 15 degree sleeping bag. Make sure you get a sleeping bag that is good quality. Go to REI and they can help you find the bag that is perfect for your planned trip. Dont forget a sleeping pad either. Sleeping on the hard ground isn’t fun if you don’t have at least some kind of cushion. And dont be surprised if the first night is pretty restless. After that you will get used to it. I see people use the egg crate foam pads but I prefer the inflatable sleeping pads. REI lets you try them out and you can choose the one that is most comfortable to you.

Now when it came to my backpack, I borrowed one from SROM because mine was not big enough for a 40 day trip. You do not want an everyday backpack but instead the special ones for camping trips. Mine is about a 40 liter bag which would be perfect for a weekend getaway but when you need special equipment and are carrying a weeks worth of food you may need a bigger bag. The one I used was 100 liters and was always full. Packs also need to be fitted and adjusted so that the weight is evenly distributed between your hips and your shoulders. Trust me when I say you want it fitted correctly. You do not want 50-70 lbs resting just on your shoulders. You can get backpacks at REI or any outdoors store.

Don’t be intimidated by the size of the backpack. That is 11 days worth of food plus mountaineering gear (hence the rope and snow shoes).

When it comes to cooking on a backpacking trip, some parks allow fires and some do not. On my trip we practices LNT (Leave No Trace) so we did notwant to alter anything about any of our campsites. We did not build a fire unless a fire pit was already provided. You can find good backpacking food and recipes in multiple cookbooks and online. Food does not have to be just trail mix and freeze dried potatoes. We ate great on my trip and we had a NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) cookbook that came in handy. If you are not building a fire you will need a small backpackers stove and some fuel. There are plenty of good brands but make sure to keep it light and get something reliable. The last thing you want is a stove that will not start when you are starving and 20 miles from the nearest highway.

Now when it comes to shelter you will need some sort of rain protection and bug protection. I have an Eno hammock with a bug net and rain fly that can packdown super small. I could easily sleep in that if I am camping somewhere with trees. If you are going to high elevation or just camping with friends you may want to get a tent. Make sure to get a backpackers tent that can pack down and is lightweight. GoLite is a good brand of tents and REI has plenty of different sizes to choose from.

So the essentials you will need are:

Rain Gear

Sunscreen

Chap stick

Minimal clothing (Make sure it is all dry fit, NO COTTON)

Backpackers Tent or tarp (depending on where you are camping)

Backpack

Sleeping bag

Cooking gear and food

Hiking boots and camp shoes

If you want to read about my trip just go to my old blog at http://wanderlust2013.wordpress.com/category/my-travels/.

Until next time, relax, spend lots of time with Jesus and make each day an adventure!

Get Outside!

Being outside is extremely vital to our health.  Our body needs fresh air and sunlight. For a few years there was a big fuss about how people don’t get enough vitamin D anymore because they’re not outside as much.  While I’m not scientific about this, I believe it’s true that we need to be outside more.  Not just for our body, but our emotional and spiritual health.  I don’t know about you, but everyone I know is so much happier when they make time to hammock, go for a walk, go for a run, go to a playground, go for a hike, go kayaking, go for a bike ride, etc.  However, it’s so easy to get caught up in school or work or both that we don’t get out enough.  Recreation is so important to our lifestyle, we can’t forget to make time for it.  I’m a Recreation, Parks and Tourism major and I study this, so trust me.  Go outside, find a hobby, do your workouts in your backyard or at a park.  Studies have proven people are healthier and happier when they make time for recreation and spend time outside. If you live in a city, find a park or even take one day a week to drive outside of town and spend some time outside.

Another great thing to do is to spend your Jesus time outside.  Some of my best days are when I wake up early, spend my Jesus time on my porch and go for a run before the Texas heat blows in.  There’s just an undeniable intimacy with our creator when we are in His creation.  You do not have to be an outdoorsy person for God to meet you in the outdoors.  You can be the biggest city lover you know but still be rejuvenated by nature. It’s Gods own personal refreshment for our hectic lives.

God gave us responsibility and authority over creation and it’s our job to protect and care for it.  But also to enjoy it.  Don’t take your backyard for granted.  Don’t ignore the parks in your town.  They’re there for your enjoyment so take advantage and get out!

Go somewhere

Ok, so it’s the weekend. Many of us fall out of our workouts or diets on the weekend. I know I do, but fight that desire to bum around the house and be a couch potato. However, you do need rest. Do a quick workout in the morning to wake up, then get out of town. Get out of the house. I’m a huge fan of vacation. It’s such an important part of life. Marriages need getaways, families NEED family vacation, and even I need to get out of town every once in awhile when I’m in school.

Go to Dallas or Austin or some other city for the day and find a park. Find a state park somewhere and go hiking, running, or biking, play mini golf, go to a bed and breakfast with your spouse, make a picnic in the back yard, go kayaking, jump on a trampoline, go swimming, take your kids on a scavenger hunt, treat yourself at a spa, go to the movies, do something! My preference is to be outside and I believe that it’s important for your health. You need sun, fresh air. If you live in a city, then go outside of the city.

Statistics say that people who take at least one vacation a year are healthier than those that don’t. Marriages that take at least one vacation a year exclusively without the kids are stronger than those that don’t and families that take family vacations are closer as well. My parents take vacations, just the two of them, every year and they are more in love than ever and they are pretty fit healthy people 😉  So find something small to do today or plan a vacation before school starts!