Expeditions: Adventure Grants: July 26 Journal

Expedition Journal--July 26

Alex Perry
The predominant event to remember for this day was one I still feel--literally--in my poor sore legs. We covered the steepest terrain of the trip with 50- to 60-pound backpacks, and it took us seven hours to cover about four miles. To add insult to injury (or however the saying goes) there was a wind and rain storm, with gusts blowing as much as 50 miles per hour, stinging our faces with sleet. Due to weather we pitched camp early.

Dinner was quick and tasty. I'm tired.

Rachel Flood
A day in the Brooks Range: a synopsis. The wind was fierce as it blew against the tent. No one really wanted to crawl out of their sleeping bags on account of what was going on outside. To put things mildly, it was a bad way to start the day. We broke camp at about 10 a.m. For the remainder of the day, we were pelted by cold rain and spent more time than I would have liked bushwalking. Despite the fact that we were really wet and a little cold, the hike went well.

I tired to keep my mind off of my misery by picturing the valley on a beautiful summer day without a cloud in the sky. Once we got moving and established a steady pace, it was easier to stay warm. The hike actually went pretty smoothly, all things considered.

We stopped hiking at 2:45 p.m. It was still raining. We got our tents up quickly and had some Ramen to warm us up. Since we were no longer walking, I was getting pretty cold. I retreated into the tent.

It was still raining at 6 p.m., which is the time we had set for dinner. It was not fun removing myself from the warm, dry tent and putting all my raingear on while it was still wet, but I guess it had to be done.

The weather did eventually clear up and when it did, it was fantastic. There were rainbows up and down the valley and the sun was out. I guess you could say it was nature's way of apologizing for all that it had been throwing at us.