Sunsets on the beach...

We hiked for most of the day today. It was really cool and such a different beach experience than any I have ever had back east. We saw huge sea stacks and the biggest tidal pools I've ever seen. They were filled with brightly colored starfish and sea anemones. We got into camp late afternoon. Everyone set up camp and ran straight to the water. It was much colder than we expected so we quickly decided to just hang out on the beach until dinner. Each night we have seen a spectacular sunset and we are hoping we'll see another one tonight.

-Mary

Learning new skills...

This is our last night on the Puget Sound. Sea kayaking is so cool! I was nervous the first day because I had never done it. No one in our group had ever sea kayaked before, so it was awesome to learn together. Tonight in our evening circle we all talked about our new experience and how challenged we all felt. We realized it is much more fun to try something new than to keep doing the same things. Our leader Mike suggested that we make a list of all the new things we had learned so far. I've started making mine and everything I have done is on it. My tent partner Sam and I compared just before going to sleep and they were all the same! It was really a great feeling. The group is going to share their lists tomorrow night at circle. The stars are all out. I'll never forget this day.

Eating on the river...

We took the ferry back over to the mainland yesterday, met our river guides and packed our dry bags. This morning we took off on the rafts down the river. The weather has been great. The sun felt so good as we splashed down through the waves. We stopped for lunch on a bank that was perfect for throwing the Frisbee. The power of the river is so amazing. We were all so exhausted, I think everyone is asleep now.

-Molly

Rising fog in the Olympics...

We awoke this morning to the coolest thing I've ever seen. We camped by a lake and when we woke up, the sun's reflection on the fog rising was amazing. My tent partner and I were the last to break down our tents because we couldn't stop taking pictures of the lake. We took down the bear ropes, set up the stoves and boiled water for our breakfast. After we ate we finished packing our gear and headed out for another challenging day in the Olympic rainforest.

-John

The wonders of the North Cascades

We are on the last day of our canoeing trip in the North Cascades. We are on our last night of our four day paddle up towards the Canadian border on Ross Lake. We've been camping on the shores of this huge lake, going to sleep at night listening to the water lap up against the banks. Today Mike, Carter, Shelly and Amy, Toni and I all paddled up to the US/Canada border for a little extra challenge. It was about a thirty minute excursion from our takeout point, but it was worth it! The rest of the group went to camp, set up and started cooking (it was the other cook crew's turn tonight!). The dinner was excellent and the views are absolutely spectacular - the snowcapped mountains reflecting off of Lake Hozomeen is breath taking. In the morning we will be meeting our shuttle that will take us back to the south end of Ross Lake.

-Baxter