Journaling on a NOLS Course: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!
Below are journal entries from my NOLS backpacking course in Baja, Mexico. These entries display the ideology of NOLS on a personal, real level. Some entries showcase life on the trail, amazing adventures, gorgeous scenery and life skills attained. In contrast, some entries describe the harsh reality, dangers, and challenges of a typical day. The values of wilderness, education, leadership, community, safety and excellence that are engraved into NOLS were present in my journaling on a day to day basis. Once an ideology becomes a reality that students practice, repeat, and believe, it becomes stronger and more meaningful. The journal entries indirectly support and define the values of NOLS, and everything they stand for.
9. 6. 13. First Journal Entry: What do you want to get out of this? I want to face challenges and learn to conquer them in a positive, healthy way. I want to build strong relationships with everyone and leave no one out. I want to be able to learn to adjust to new and difficult situations, and handle them in a mature way. I am excited to build positive relationships with the instructors because they seem incredibly knowledgeable and interesting. I want to learn from them and gain skills I would never be able to gain on my own. Since I’ve never backpacked, I cannot wait to learn everything I need to know to be a sufficient group member. In the end, the main goal is to become a better leader and a better person. Being here makes me feel accomplished. I realize we haven’t even started hiking yet, but just being here is an accomplishment in itself and a decision that was worth making. I will cherish my time here because this is a once in a lifetime type of experience for me.
9. 16. 13. At 8 am, we went off hiking. We were basically bouldering up a mountain. We attempted to summit it, but that was nearly impossible. Navigation became pretty difficult when we started going down, and we had to do a lot of intense bushwhacking and got quite cut up. It was still awesome and we had some really great views. I can’t remember the last time I washed my hands. Day 7 and we are already out of soap. Every time I wake up my sleeping bag is soaked because my bivy sack does not work. Also, I looked in a mirror for the first time today and I do not know if I want to look in it ever again. My nose is peeling and there were creases of dirt on my neck. I just glanced at my feet and I have more blisters! Two on my right heel, one big one on my left, and one on my toe. I really hope I don't get any more. I have learned how to patch my feet up which is cool I guess.
9. 17. 13. My Birthday. Hardest hike of my life. Bouldering, bushwhacking, scratches, and blood. We had to backtrack a lot and had difficulty navigating. Johnny said it would be the hardest day of navigating out of the whole month. But we all stayed really positive and made it through. We started hiking at 8:45 am and went until 5 pm. While I was hiking I kept thinking about chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream and how far away I was from those luxuries. When we finally got to camp, we cooked pasta with mystery meat, instant mashed potatoes, and scrambled brownies. I even got to blow out a lighter which resembled a candle and made a wish. My sleeping bag is still wet and I don't want to sleep in it because it is freezing out. I am off to do some bargaining.
9. 24. 13. Today was crazy. I was leader of the day and navigation was pretty simple and straightforward at first. We started out walking through gorgeous aspen forests with their leaves already changing color. Surrounding the aspens were huge pine trees and endless boulders. The "X" was getting to the top of the mountain before we descend into the canyon the next day. So after the pretty aspen stroll following the karrans, we started running into tons of rocks. Upwards and upwards and upwards we went. Bouldering up sketchy, slippery rocks with much exposure. I was scared but had to keep myself together since other people in my group were struggling. I thought I did a solid job of leading and staying positive even though making it to the top seemed impossible. We kept pushing and some tears were shed but the end result was making it to camp. The view of all the mountains was incredible. There is nothing better than working hard for an astonishing view. It was a tough but uplifting day.
9. 25. 13. Diablo descent. "Diablo" meaning "devil". 2,300 feet. Started hiking at 8 am. Did not make it to camp until 5 pm. Hardest, most insane day yet. I cannot believe we actually made it to camp and I am here at camp right now. The whole entire time we were bouldering downwards and to be completely honest it was quite terrifying. I felt strong though, and managed to keep myself together unlike many others. We had to keep taking breaks so we wouldn't be in the fall line, and had to yell "rock" when something fell down, which was often. There was plenty of exposure, more than I felt comfortable with. Many times we had to take off our packs and crawl down slippery, sketchy rocks. We had lines of people passing packs and helping each other down the steep terrain. Scrambling over wobbly rocks without any help or ropes or people around you was difficult, to say the least. At some points I teared up a little because my adrenaline had run out and my fear kicked in. When we finally arrived at camp, we had not seen water in a few days and I felt dirtier than ever, so I ripped off my clothes and jumped into the cold and inviting emerald green pool of water. It was rejuvenating.
10. 2. 13. This was a pretty fantastic day. Actually, I am positive it was the best day of my life. It was our very last hike. My favorite hike yet. We started out by moving at a frisky pace through the canyon. Our surroundings were gorgeous, and we got to walk through a lot of water, which was ideal since it was scorching out. The waterfalls were incredible with bright white rocks surrounding it. There is nothing else like it. Our first obstacle was a sketchy ladder that was attached to a rock in order to get down to a pool of water. We took a nice break there and swam around and played in the waterfalls with our gaitors and boots on. We had to maneuver around two more obstacles for the rest of the hike. We finally got past the last main obstacle and a few of us started walking a little to look around the corner. That split second when I looked around the corner was the happiest, most surprising moment of my life. We could see the canyon ending and the desert ahead. I never thought the canyon would end! The most beautiful view I have ever seen. So relieved I could finally see the end. We kept walking through the rocks, emerald green pools, and waterfalls and it was absolutely amazing. Slowly there was less and less water. The canyon actually ended. We filled up our droms to head into the desert. I had to carry one of the droms and it felt like day one all over again. The weight on my shoulders was killing me. Each step was painful but looking at my surroundings kept me going. I felt like I was on another planet. All of the different types of cactus were so huge and interesting. We finally made it to the scorching hot desert, which was the ultimate goal of the backpacking expedition. Through leadership, hard work, and dedication, we made it.
9. 16. 13. At 8 am, we went off hiking. We were basically bouldering up a mountain. We attempted to summit it, but that was nearly impossible. Navigation became pretty difficult when we started going down, and we had to do a lot of intense bushwhacking and got quite cut up. It was still awesome and we had some really great views. I can’t remember the last time I washed my hands. Day 7 and we are already out of soap. Every time I wake up my sleeping bag is soaked because my bivy sack does not work. Also, I looked in a mirror for the first time today and I do not know if I want to look in it ever again. My nose is peeling and there were creases of dirt on my neck. I just glanced at my feet and I have more blisters! Two on my right heel, one big one on my left, and one on my toe. I really hope I don't get any more. I have learned how to patch my feet up which is cool I guess.
9. 17. 13. My Birthday. Hardest hike of my life. Bouldering, bushwhacking, scratches, and blood. We had to backtrack a lot and had difficulty navigating. Johnny said it would be the hardest day of navigating out of the whole month. But we all stayed really positive and made it through. We started hiking at 8:45 am and went until 5 pm. While I was hiking I kept thinking about chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream and how far away I was from those luxuries. When we finally got to camp, we cooked pasta with mystery meat, instant mashed potatoes, and scrambled brownies. I even got to blow out a lighter which resembled a candle and made a wish. My sleeping bag is still wet and I don't want to sleep in it because it is freezing out. I am off to do some bargaining.
9. 24. 13. Today was crazy. I was leader of the day and navigation was pretty simple and straightforward at first. We started out walking through gorgeous aspen forests with their leaves already changing color. Surrounding the aspens were huge pine trees and endless boulders. The "X" was getting to the top of the mountain before we descend into the canyon the next day. So after the pretty aspen stroll following the karrans, we started running into tons of rocks. Upwards and upwards and upwards we went. Bouldering up sketchy, slippery rocks with much exposure. I was scared but had to keep myself together since other people in my group were struggling. I thought I did a solid job of leading and staying positive even though making it to the top seemed impossible. We kept pushing and some tears were shed but the end result was making it to camp. The view of all the mountains was incredible. There is nothing better than working hard for an astonishing view. It was a tough but uplifting day.
9. 25. 13. Diablo descent. "Diablo" meaning "devil". 2,300 feet. Started hiking at 8 am. Did not make it to camp until 5 pm. Hardest, most insane day yet. I cannot believe we actually made it to camp and I am here at camp right now. The whole entire time we were bouldering downwards and to be completely honest it was quite terrifying. I felt strong though, and managed to keep myself together unlike many others. We had to keep taking breaks so we wouldn't be in the fall line, and had to yell "rock" when something fell down, which was often. There was plenty of exposure, more than I felt comfortable with. Many times we had to take off our packs and crawl down slippery, sketchy rocks. We had lines of people passing packs and helping each other down the steep terrain. Scrambling over wobbly rocks without any help or ropes or people around you was difficult, to say the least. At some points I teared up a little because my adrenaline had run out and my fear kicked in. When we finally arrived at camp, we had not seen water in a few days and I felt dirtier than ever, so I ripped off my clothes and jumped into the cold and inviting emerald green pool of water. It was rejuvenating.
10. 2. 13. This was a pretty fantastic day. Actually, I am positive it was the best day of my life. It was our very last hike. My favorite hike yet. We started out by moving at a frisky pace through the canyon. Our surroundings were gorgeous, and we got to walk through a lot of water, which was ideal since it was scorching out. The waterfalls were incredible with bright white rocks surrounding it. There is nothing else like it. Our first obstacle was a sketchy ladder that was attached to a rock in order to get down to a pool of water. We took a nice break there and swam around and played in the waterfalls with our gaitors and boots on. We had to maneuver around two more obstacles for the rest of the hike. We finally got past the last main obstacle and a few of us started walking a little to look around the corner. That split second when I looked around the corner was the happiest, most surprising moment of my life. We could see the canyon ending and the desert ahead. I never thought the canyon would end! The most beautiful view I have ever seen. So relieved I could finally see the end. We kept walking through the rocks, emerald green pools, and waterfalls and it was absolutely amazing. Slowly there was less and less water. The canyon actually ended. We filled up our droms to head into the desert. I had to carry one of the droms and it felt like day one all over again. The weight on my shoulders was killing me. Each step was painful but looking at my surroundings kept me going. I felt like I was on another planet. All of the different types of cactus were so huge and interesting. We finally made it to the scorching hot desert, which was the ultimate goal of the backpacking expedition. Through leadership, hard work, and dedication, we made it.