There were 6 other people in my group, along with 2 instructors.
Since I participated in the 22 day course (which is the longest
course apart from a full 75+ day 'semester' course), there
were several 'parts' to it. I calculated that by the end of
the trip, we had hiked about 90 miles over terrain as varied
as: climbing up and over a 3000 foot mountain, down through
a boulder filled wash, through arid desert flatlands, through
cacti 'gardens', through what is called the 'Wonderland of
Rocks', over slightly vegetated areas, and generally hilly
terrain; some of the ground was soft, some hard, some rocky,
but it was all INTENSE.
As far as participation from the instructors, for the first
week, they were with us constantly, they would navigate and
set the pace, guiding us as we went, teaching us various lessons
as needed. During the 2nd week, they began to let us take
charge more and more. During the final week, which is called,
well, 'finals', they do not have any contact with the group
at all. They do camp by us, but not within, say, 500 feet,
so we don't really even see them. During the day, it was completely
up to us to navigate to the end-point (the instructors would
shadow us, out of sight, just to make sure that nothing went
wrong and that we wouldn't get hopelessly lost).
We learned lots of first aid skills, lots of natural history,
lots of environmental facts, participated in a wildlife preservation
program, etc. etc. Beyond that, my favorite skills learned
were navigation and rock climbing.
Until this point in my life I was a follower; I was submissive;
I would not be willing to take charge of anything, and just
had no REAL identity of my own, you know? Well, it turned
out that I had a strong natural ability to read the topographical
maps and to navigate the terrain most efficiently. So, suddenly,
instead of being a follower, I had a whole group of people
completely depending upon my leadership skills. I was able
to look at the map and literally see the terrain it was representing.
This alone was one of the greatest growth factors of the experience.
Another was the rock climbing. Climbs requiring a rope are
considered class 5. And, within the class 5, there is the
subclass of a 5.1 climb through a 5.14a (at the time, a 5.14a
was brand new, previously the hardest known was 5.13b). 5.1-5.5
are considered 'beginner' climbs, 5.6-5.9 are considered intermediate,
5.10a-5.11a are considered advanced, and above that is expert.
Well, the first climb that was set up for us to do was rated
as a 5.6, and after procrastinating out of fear of looking
stupid (since I had never been good at anything physical),
I finally went for it. It took a few minutes (was probably
a 50 foot climb), but I made it to the top. I repelled back
down and waited my turn on the other climb that was set up,
which was rated at 5.8. It was a MUCH more difficult climb.
The final 15 feet (out of a total of about 60) was completely
vertical and was a dual-crack section. (there are two basic
types of climbs: crack and face. cracks follow the splits
in the rocks, and face climbs use the slight finger holds
and footholds on the face of a solid rock).
Well, we had been taught some basic 'finger-jams' and 'foot-jams'
for the cracks, which would allow us to support our entire
weight on a single finger. So, once I reached the beginning
of the final section, I noticed that the cracks weren't quite
parallel...they started about 1 foot away from each other,
and then, at the top, reached about 6-7 feet apart. I started
going up, using both of them to ascend the rock, and at a
certain point, I had become COMPLETELY 'spread eagle'... I
was barely holding on at all, and I could feel the strength
in my forearms and calves starting to drain. Then, I noticed,
with a massive pang of dread, that the final move I would
have to make would require me to hang by a single hand in
order to transfer my weight correctly.
So, I took a few deep breaths, grabbed on with my left hand
(my weak one), and let everything else release from the rock.
My arm was BURNING and it was taking all of my willpower completely
mind over matter, in order to maintain my grip. I started
to swing a bit, and just as my hand was beginning to slip,
I got my foot planted and my other hand jammed into a hold
just above my head. Two more lunges, and I was standing on
the top. I turned around, and the view was the most spectacular
thing I had ever seen. I was completely buzzed off of the
endorphins and dopamine pumping through my veins, and the
desert was shimmering. With no thought of self-consciousness,
I released a roar of victory that reverberated through the
hills. Everyone below started clapping, and I repelled back
down.
That moment changed my life forever. Subsequent climbs showed
that three others, and myself had a good natural ability,
and we even got one of the instructors to change the finals
so that our sub-group could climb more. The hardest climb
I completed was a 5.10a face climb, which had some over-vertical
parts. It was absolutely incredible.
In addition to that was another experience that really affected
me. About 10 days into the trip, we had to do a 'solo' for
3 full days. We were each lead off, individually, to different
parts of the desert, and given 'boundaries' of movement (the
size of the area I had was probably about 200ft by 200ft).
We were not allowed to bring our watches, and the only food
we were allowed to have was a small baggie that was filled
with maybe 5oz of trail mix, 10 'bickies' (special crackers
with high calorie content), and 2 cliff bars. But, we WERE
allowed to have unlimited amounts of water.
So, for three full days, I had no contact with anyone, no
way to tell time, and nothing to do. After the first few hours,
I decided to survey my little 'home' and set up camp. I tied
up my tarp in case of rain, but decided to sleep on a big,
flat slab of rock. Then I just explored every detail of my
domain.
I ended up writing a lot over those few days. I wrote about
7-8 poems, and several VERY long letters to my family. This
is one of the poems that I wrote:
Inside all this time,
Gone unforeseen, unknown, and unused.
The surface finally shows
What my soul is trying to hide.
A release has come.
Buried deep inside for so long,
Held so tightly to myself,
Shielded so strongly from light.
Something hidden remains.
Nothing can be completely released;
As everything is shielded
From the light of the soul.
For true knowledge
Is saved for the final moment
Of reality as it is known
To the state of mind
limited
to linearity
Trapped in reality
And held to the limits of knowledge
I also planned out the modifications I would do to my new
car, and other such things. Additionally, I found a good rock
to sit on and practiced throwing stones at a cactus that was
about 50 feet away. I got pretty good at it, hehe! I also
spent a lot of time hunting and chasing lizards, as well as
experiencing what it was like to be a nudist for a bit. It
was really fun to be running around naked in the desert, throwing
rocks and just LIVING. Later I found out that others in the
group had been picking up big rocks, throwing them into the
air, and then listening to them hit the ground.
Anyway, obviously I could keep going and going and going,
but I won't punish you guys anymore. I hope this was interesting,
because this 3 week period changed me forever.
