Last week’s letter posed questions. This week ‘s letter gives answers, all of them to the same question.
The question:
Why would anyone take 27 junior high students camping in Yellowstone for four days in May when night time temperatures are still below freezing and hungry mother bears are emerging from hibernation?
The answers:
“This is the greatest field trip ever,” said G--- as we passed through St. Anthony, Idaho on our way to Yellowstone. WOW! If riding three hours on a bus through the upper reaches of Utah and lower sections of Idaho achieves “greatest field trip ever” status then to what will Yellowstone
geysers and grizzlies bring?
Enthusiasm. Excitement. Energy.
We did not see grizzlies—though we gazed at a black bear sow and her two cubs as they grazed in a not very distant meadow—but we did see a lot of geysers. “Those are so sick,” the kids said in awe. [“Sick” is the current slang term for
“cool”.]
I did not think the geysers were sick (“cool” is still my slang term for cool) but I did feel a bit sick at heart when we stepped off the bus and onto the Lone Star Geyser trailhead. I also felt cool.
Lone Star Geyser, a cone type geyser that erupts roughly every three hours, lies at the end of a 2.5 mile trail that follows the Firehole River. The path is easy in the summer and fall. In the early spring, say May…, the path can be snow covered. On May 14, 2013, it was largely snow covered. Though there were stretches of clear trail and portions where one could
navigate around the snow drifts, over half of the trail was completely covered with 12 to 36 inches of mostly white, completely wet snow. A few of the lighter students were able to walk on the crusty top but for most of us the only option was trudging; we stepped and sank and stepped and sank and stepped and sank some more.
We had walked on clear trails around Old Faithful the day before and the air temperatures were in the 60’s so we were largely unprepared for a snow march. In fact, we were totally unprepared. I wore my hiking sandals but was saved from immense pain by a pair of wool socks I had tucked into my pack. Miss Talyn also wore hiking sandals but was not blessed with socks. Many students had skimpy canvas tennis shoes, others wore sturdier running shoes. Some had hiking boots but even those were soon filled as we plunged through snow fields 2 to 3 feet deep and dozens of meters long. Every student had wringing-wet socks…..every student except A----.
A--- did not have socks.
When I saw her get off the bus, all I could say was “Oh A---, I am so sorry!” She was wearing a light t-shirt, short shorts, and flip-flops. Flip-flops. Though her common sense may have “fun size” (i.e. very small), her courage was king size. Flip flops do not work in snow so she took them off. Off. No complaining, no “I am not going”, no “Please let me stay on the bus”; she simply womaned-up, took the flip flops in her hands, and walked barefoot. Barefoot. In the snow. 2.5 miles there. 2.5 miles back.
Courage. Tenacity. Grit.
There were some genuine sick feelings in camp. At 4:30 a.m. our first morning there I heard a hesitant “Mrs. Hislop?” In response to my response, S--- said, “I threw up twice and then the third time I threw up in my sleep and it is all over my sleeping bag. What should I do?”
Oh darling, darling girl! How horrible to be sick away from one’s mom, in a campground, among one’s friends, in the dark, in the cold……….. My heart went out to her. Maybe not literally, but certainly figuratively, it went out to her; it was as if my heart left my chest, streamed to her side (I imagine an amoeba-type movement), and enveloped her in a huge hug. My first
reaction was tender, genuine, immediate love. What a blessing it is to have such feelings. I don’t have them nearly as often I would like.
Compassion. Charity. Tenderness.
P---- is simple and child-like. He often walks off the normal path; sometimes he leaps and sings and dances off it. He wanted to leave his camera on top of the bear box all night, turned onto video mode, so he could capture a bear on film.
He ran from the bathroom, screaming, because he thought an ant was chasing him. He bought a stuffed animal at the gift shop, carried it everywhere with him, and pretended to feed it at meal times. He was continually smiling, always upbeat, and absolutely accepted by all the other students. Absolutely accepted. They overlooked his oddity and embraced his humanity.
Acceptance. Kindness. Affection.
Tuesday morning one of the boys whispered to me “Ch---- did not bring any food.” Really?? In over a decade of taking students on extended camping field trips this was a first; never has a student failed to bring food. “Did you read the list?” I asked him. “What list?” he asked, then said, “When I told my Mom there might be bears she said it was a good thing that I did not bring any food.” Well, the bears certainly did not eat any of his food (actually, they did not eat anyone’s food).
Ch---,unlike the bears, did eat other’s food. Again, the kids were incredible; Ch--- , a natural loner, was probably the best fed camper in Yellowstone.
Generous. Gracious. Good.
While in Yellowstone we listened to a wolf specialist tell us about Wolf 21—“Remember in ‘The Avenger” movie when Loki said ‘I have an army’ and Tony Stark replied, ‘We have a Hulk’? Well Wolf 21 was like Hulk. He never lost a battle, even when he fought alone against 6 other wolves”; we learned that the travertine terraces at Mammoth grow over 6’/year; we enjoyed four days of late-June type temperature in mid-May (a genuine miracle); and some of us (eight crazy ones) jumped in Cliff Lake, a warm-in-the-summer body of water that was NOT warm in the early spring. Yeeee-owww! The students scattered like children at chore time when I emerged from the lake, declared them all my favorites, and tried to give them hugs.
On the way home we stopped at Big Jud’s—Home of the One Pound Burger—in Ashton, Idaho. Seven boys ordered the one pound burger; one boy (C--- ) finished it. “Thanks for bringing us,” he told me as he lay on the bus floor, too bloated to lift himself into the seat.
Memories. Miracles. Moments. Magic.
Why would anyone take 27 junior high students camping in Yellowstone for four days in May when night time temperatures are still below freezing and hungry mother bears are emerging from hibernation?
Enthusiasm. Excitement. Energy. Courage. Tenacity. Grit. Compassion. Charity. Tenderness. Acceptance. Kindness. Affection. Generous. Gracious. Good. Memories. Miracles. Moments. Magic.
Pretty good reasons, I’d say. :)
Love,
Teresa
The question:
Why would anyone take 27 junior high students camping in Yellowstone for four days in May when night time temperatures are still below freezing and hungry mother bears are emerging from hibernation?
The answers:
“This is the greatest field trip ever,” said G--- as we passed through St. Anthony, Idaho on our way to Yellowstone. WOW! If riding three hours on a bus through the upper reaches of Utah and lower sections of Idaho achieves “greatest field trip ever” status then to what will Yellowstone
geysers and grizzlies bring?
Enthusiasm. Excitement. Energy.
We did not see grizzlies—though we gazed at a black bear sow and her two cubs as they grazed in a not very distant meadow—but we did see a lot of geysers. “Those are so sick,” the kids said in awe. [“Sick” is the current slang term for
“cool”.]
I did not think the geysers were sick (“cool” is still my slang term for cool) but I did feel a bit sick at heart when we stepped off the bus and onto the Lone Star Geyser trailhead. I also felt cool.
Lone Star Geyser, a cone type geyser that erupts roughly every three hours, lies at the end of a 2.5 mile trail that follows the Firehole River. The path is easy in the summer and fall. In the early spring, say May…, the path can be snow covered. On May 14, 2013, it was largely snow covered. Though there were stretches of clear trail and portions where one could
navigate around the snow drifts, over half of the trail was completely covered with 12 to 36 inches of mostly white, completely wet snow. A few of the lighter students were able to walk on the crusty top but for most of us the only option was trudging; we stepped and sank and stepped and sank and stepped and sank some more.
We had walked on clear trails around Old Faithful the day before and the air temperatures were in the 60’s so we were largely unprepared for a snow march. In fact, we were totally unprepared. I wore my hiking sandals but was saved from immense pain by a pair of wool socks I had tucked into my pack. Miss Talyn also wore hiking sandals but was not blessed with socks. Many students had skimpy canvas tennis shoes, others wore sturdier running shoes. Some had hiking boots but even those were soon filled as we plunged through snow fields 2 to 3 feet deep and dozens of meters long. Every student had wringing-wet socks…..every student except A----.
A--- did not have socks.
When I saw her get off the bus, all I could say was “Oh A---, I am so sorry!” She was wearing a light t-shirt, short shorts, and flip-flops. Flip-flops. Though her common sense may have “fun size” (i.e. very small), her courage was king size. Flip flops do not work in snow so she took them off. Off. No complaining, no “I am not going”, no “Please let me stay on the bus”; she simply womaned-up, took the flip flops in her hands, and walked barefoot. Barefoot. In the snow. 2.5 miles there. 2.5 miles back.
Courage. Tenacity. Grit.
There were some genuine sick feelings in camp. At 4:30 a.m. our first morning there I heard a hesitant “Mrs. Hislop?” In response to my response, S--- said, “I threw up twice and then the third time I threw up in my sleep and it is all over my sleeping bag. What should I do?”
Oh darling, darling girl! How horrible to be sick away from one’s mom, in a campground, among one’s friends, in the dark, in the cold……….. My heart went out to her. Maybe not literally, but certainly figuratively, it went out to her; it was as if my heart left my chest, streamed to her side (I imagine an amoeba-type movement), and enveloped her in a huge hug. My first
reaction was tender, genuine, immediate love. What a blessing it is to have such feelings. I don’t have them nearly as often I would like.
Compassion. Charity. Tenderness.
P---- is simple and child-like. He often walks off the normal path; sometimes he leaps and sings and dances off it. He wanted to leave his camera on top of the bear box all night, turned onto video mode, so he could capture a bear on film.
He ran from the bathroom, screaming, because he thought an ant was chasing him. He bought a stuffed animal at the gift shop, carried it everywhere with him, and pretended to feed it at meal times. He was continually smiling, always upbeat, and absolutely accepted by all the other students. Absolutely accepted. They overlooked his oddity and embraced his humanity.
Acceptance. Kindness. Affection.
Tuesday morning one of the boys whispered to me “Ch---- did not bring any food.” Really?? In over a decade of taking students on extended camping field trips this was a first; never has a student failed to bring food. “Did you read the list?” I asked him. “What list?” he asked, then said, “When I told my Mom there might be bears she said it was a good thing that I did not bring any food.” Well, the bears certainly did not eat any of his food (actually, they did not eat anyone’s food).
Ch---,unlike the bears, did eat other’s food. Again, the kids were incredible; Ch--- , a natural loner, was probably the best fed camper in Yellowstone.
Generous. Gracious. Good.
While in Yellowstone we listened to a wolf specialist tell us about Wolf 21—“Remember in ‘The Avenger” movie when Loki said ‘I have an army’ and Tony Stark replied, ‘We have a Hulk’? Well Wolf 21 was like Hulk. He never lost a battle, even when he fought alone against 6 other wolves”; we learned that the travertine terraces at Mammoth grow over 6’/year; we enjoyed four days of late-June type temperature in mid-May (a genuine miracle); and some of us (eight crazy ones) jumped in Cliff Lake, a warm-in-the-summer body of water that was NOT warm in the early spring. Yeeee-owww! The students scattered like children at chore time when I emerged from the lake, declared them all my favorites, and tried to give them hugs.
On the way home we stopped at Big Jud’s—Home of the One Pound Burger—in Ashton, Idaho. Seven boys ordered the one pound burger; one boy (C--- ) finished it. “Thanks for bringing us,” he told me as he lay on the bus floor, too bloated to lift himself into the seat.
Memories. Miracles. Moments. Magic.
Why would anyone take 27 junior high students camping in Yellowstone for four days in May when night time temperatures are still below freezing and hungry mother bears are emerging from hibernation?
Enthusiasm. Excitement. Energy. Courage. Tenacity. Grit. Compassion. Charity. Tenderness. Acceptance. Kindness. Affection. Generous. Gracious. Good. Memories. Miracles. Moments. Magic.
Pretty good reasons, I’d say. :)
Love,
Teresa
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