Waking to the sound of waves...

We awoke this morning to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and seagulls flying above. We had breakfast early so we could beat the incoming tide later that day. We spent the majority of our day hiking and climbing over the huge rocks on Cape Johnson. It was a challenging experience, but always worth it when we could look into a tidal pool to see the sea stars and sea anemones. The colors of the sea life out here are so awesome. I have never seen sea stars so bright! I hiked all day with Cindy; we hadn't spent much time together yet, so it was great to hang out. We ended up in the back of the group all day. We would just spend so much time staring into the pools of water, wondering what the little creatures we saw think of their home. Throughout the day we realized how unique our conversations were and how different they were from any we ever had with friends back home. During our circle tonight we saw the most awesome sunset I have ever seen. The sky was bright orange and looked so cool amongst all of the sea stacks. I will never forget this day on the Olympic Beach. I feel so lucky to be here!
-Kelsie

Chillin' on the Deschutes...

Tonight is the second night on the Deschutes River. I have to say this is the most relaxing part of the trip. Our guides are so funny and really interested in what we are doing, where we have been and what we've enjoyed the most. I can't forget to mention the food. It is so good! This morning we had the best French toast I have ever had. We usually stop for lunch around noon. We have tons of Frisbee time while our cook crew prepares and gets everything ready. Tomorrow we are going on a day hike, which should be pretty interesting. Our guides have also been really cool about teaching us how to navigate through the rapids. Maneuvering a boat is a whole lot harder than it looks. We are sleeping out under the stars again tonight and will be more than ready to take on another day on the river tomorrow.
-Victor

Climb On!

I've never done this before - rock climbing - but I love it! Today we learned all about knots, harnesses, belay devices and climbing commands! I also discovered how the difficulty of climbs are rated. There is a system called the Yosemite Decimal System (sounds like something that you'd find in a California library) where all climbs that need a rope for safety are considered a Class 5. From here as the climbs get more difficult the number behind the 5 grow. For instance, a very easy climb is a 5.1 and a very difficult climb is a 5.12. Today I climbed a 5.8 and a 5.9! It seemed so natural to me. I'm tired and going to bed. I've got to rest up, since I'm going to try a 5.10 tomorrow.
-Beth

Sunny Summit Day

We arrived to the summit of Mt. Adams greeted by blue skies and warm sunshine. It was a challenging climb, kicking step after step, slowly gaining altitude, but once at the top I realized that the extra effort was worth it. We stopped for a group picture, a celebratory cheer and a delicious snack before heading back down to our base camp. Everyone is pretty tired, but that good-exhausted you feel after accomplishing something worthwhile. The cook crew is preparing chili and it smells incredible! I'm looking forward to this meal and then bed is calling my name. I'd rate today an eleven out of ten!!!
-Mitch