Virgin Falls: Redemption

Despite being one of the most beloved OAR trips, I had a somewhat miserable time my first time at Virgin Falls. My first trip to Virgin Falls was plagued by a hives outbreak and subsequent unhappiness. Take two, unfortunately, was not much of an improvement. On the car ride up, I mysteriously lost my voice and hilarity ensued throughout the weekend as I tried to call "off rope" with the raspy remnants of my voice. I did not feel too sick, just slightly congested with a sore throat. My car for the trip was awesome: we left the gear shed first and made it to camp first, we made it to Ethiopian in Atlanta first on the way back and were back to the gear shed before midnight on Sunday, a nearly impossible feat. 

The night hike into Virgin Falls was far less treacherous than I had remembered. I hauled the 300 ft. rope all the way to camp, wrapped in a caver's coil and hanging around my neck. I immediately passed out as soon as I had my sleeping bag out and I slept comfortably despite the claims of 20 degree weather. The next morning, Jeff set up two rappels at Laurel Falls. Anticipating a line, I sprinted to the top and rappelled both of them before anyone else had really noticed. Then, as one of the more experienced people on the trip with regards to rappelling, especially using racks since that's what we use for caving, I sat at the top and helped coax all of the new people over the edge. Setting up gear and harnesses has somehow become second nature to me and I did so with ease, ensuring that the equipment was set up properly and safely. After a while, we took down the ropes (I rappelled a third time) and headed deeper into the wilderness toward Virgin Falls.

Similarly, I anticipated a line and rushed to the top to be one of the first to rappel the falls. Carolanne took over my job of rigging descending devices and helping people set up their gear. The weather was perfect and I settled into a nice spot at the top of the waterfall with a nice book. I rappelled a few more times, once with my book clipped off to my harness. I was still feeling somewhat sick and I napped some as a result. We started our campfire activities very early, eating a ton of food from our giant potluck. The most amazing food I had was a marshmallow treat introduced to me by Drew. Essentially, you wrap an uncooked biscuit around a marshmallow, roast it, then dip that in melted butter and roll it in sugar and cinnamon. It was incredible but I couldn't consume more than one every few hours, it was so rich. 


The next day, we packed up and hiked out fairly early. My car was on point, four out of the five of us were the first ones to make it back to the cars. We waited a while for Carolanne, who had gone to a lookout point off the trail, but once she arrived, we were able to get on the road. Everyone met up for Ethiopian food in Atlanta, per OAR tradition. I hadn't done so in a while and it was a nice treat. Then, we headed back to Gainesville. I also introduced QT, the best gas station ever, to a majority of the car. Brett purchased every single flavor of M&M they had and invented a game of M&M roulette, in which all the flavors were mixed together and one (or more) were chosen at random. It was delicious.

Events occurred: October 25-27, 2013

Cloudy with a Chance of Rain and Misery

When I realized that there was a trip going through Jacksonville, I decided to invite my brother's girlfriend, Jessica. She has been dying to go on a legitimate hiking trip and Grayson Highlands combined with Roan Mountain seemed perfect. So, I invited her. While at lunch with Mike, Chelsea, and Kelsey, Mike convinced me to also invite my mother along, claiming he would only go if she did. Chelsea and Kelsey both refused, citing the rain and homework among other reasons against it. So, only a few hours later, Mike successfully convinced Chelsea that the 90%-100% chance of rain we had discussed at lunch had actually been 20% and she unknowingly embarked on an extremely rain-filled trip.

The drive up to Grayson was about 9 or so hours and we had made plans to meet up with the rest of the group at a campsite. We got there around 3 AM with no cell service and pitched our tents, anticipating their arrival a few hours later. When we woke up, they were still not there. We drove in the direction that we guessed was correct, my gas light glaring at me. When the prospect of gas seemed dim, we turned around and headed back down the windy roads toward Damascus. When we filled up, I finally got service and Brice, who was officially leading the trip, told me they had decided to drive straight to Grayson and start hiking. We headed toward Grayson, planning to hike alone. The biggest problem was that I was the only person who had been there before and it had been two years prior. I had no idea which trail to take and the map was virtually useless.

We hiked around Grayson for several hours in the pouring rain. Mike and I were the only ones even close to adequately prepared, decked out in rain pants and rain jackets with covers for our backpacks. My mom had left her rain jacket in the car entirely and no one else had rain pants at all. My shoes were also waterproof, keeping my feet warm and dry. While the majority of the group was shivering and freezing, I was sweating in my flannel and rain jacket, regretting so many layers. They were not amused by this. After wandering around the AT and some spur trails, the group lost some morale and turned back. We had spotted a bull but no ponies and the fog was impenetrable. We piled in the car, everyone dripping (except for me and Mike). We headed to the Blue Blaze Cafe in Damascus, where we ran into the rest of the trip. I really only spoke to Rhea, and she detailed us with the misery of their trip. They arrived at 5 or 6 AM and decided to hike immediately, breaking once at a shelter to nap and then trekking through the rain. It sounded pretty awful to me.

That night, my mom decided to spring for a hotel room about an hour out from Roan. We spent the evening drying out and relaxing. The next morning, we slept in until nearly 11 AM and then piled into the car for Roan. We started at Carver's Gap on the Tennessee/North Carolina border and hiked for maybe half a mile before running into Rhea and two other girls on her trip, lying on a big boulder. We stopped and chatted with them. They explained that the boys decided to hike all of Roan in one day and they didn't feel that ambitious. They were going to hang out and then pick the guys up at the end. We sat with them for a few hours before heading back down to the car. The best part of the trip? SPICE JUNCTION. It's the all-you-can-eat Indian buffet in Columbia, South Carolina and it is the best. Mike and I are huge fans (no one else was quite as enthused). We made it back to Gainesville before 1 AM, exhausted after a long weekend. 

Events occurred: September 20-22, 2013 

Grand Teton Adventure Part Four: No More Adventure for Me

The next morning, Logel decided to run down, sans gear, to the car and the Ranger Station with two goals in mind: 1) get some books for me to read while they tried to summit the Grand and 2) inform the Jenny Lake Rangers what happened and change our camping permit. Mike and I waited for a few hours at our campsite in the Meadows while he did that. Mike, somewhat distraught by what had happened to me, spent about three hours practicing with his ice axe on a snow slope that flattened out long before hitting rocks. He took falls in every direction and used his ice axe to slow down and stop himself, the way I should have had I not wasted so much time panicking. He then came and undressed my bandages, checking my left arm in particular. It was still in a lot of pain and bloody, but I refused to let him clean it. It was also swollen in a few distinct spots and my shoulder had really started to hurt. I noticed a notch at the end of my collarbone that hadn't been there before and Mike was concerned that I might have broken a bone or two.

Instead of going back immediately, however, I wanted to let them summit. I felt really guilty about having fallen before we even hit base camp and I didn't want to ruin the entire trip. Our first day was wasted with naps and relaxing while we waited for Logel to return. The guys woke up bright and early (around 3 AM I believe) to start their summit the next morning. I had gotten up and barely made it halfway through my first book before they were back, around noon. The weather had been awful and they had to turn back by the Lower Saddle, where they ran into Ranger Jack.  Additionally, Mike made my day so much better when I mentioned that I had lost my chap stick and he reached into his pocket and exclaimed "you mean this chap stick?" the same way he had done with my lens cap post-fall. We spent the day in the tent as it started raining and the winds picked up. The next day, they tried again only to turn back for weather again. In the mean time, I'd been having trouble sleeping and I had been unintentionally cradling my left arm, which Mike noticed. It concerned him and he told me that I should probably get down to the car and go to the emergency room. I was obstinate, again not wanting to ruin the trip for everyone. However, he told me that I had been mumbling in Greek in my sleep, usually a sign of stress for me, and that convinced me. 

When they returned after the second summit attempt, they informed me that they had left their pro at the Lower Saddle in a bear box and that we were headed down. I tried carrying my pack on one shoulder but it was horribly uncomfortable and scary as we crossed snow and boulders that we had to scramble over. Logel took my pack and Mike took me, helping with all of the scrambling and letting me lean on him as we crossed any snow. I was terrified of it, especially the last stretch of snow we had to cross. At that point, Mike and Logel had switched responsibilities and Logel was trying to coax me across only 20 or so feet of snow. I was sobbing again, terrifying a group of small children that were on the other side and about to cross that snow with their dad. I had a minor breakdown but once I got to the other side and calmed down, I was ok. Mike decided to sprint ahead, since he was hiking faster than both of us and could drop his pack at the car and return for mine. He took off while Logel and I trailed behind. Logel's knee was starting to give him issues and the strap on his pack had broken, so I took my pack and threw it over my right shoulder, tightening the waist belt as much as possible. Mike had made me a makeshift sling out of my down jacket, which was hot but helpful. I hiked down as quickly as possible, constantly hoping I would run into Mike sooner than later. Logel was about 30 minutes behind me, struggling with his broken pack. I ran into a guy with crutches and spoke to him briefly about our respective injuries. Soon after that, I spotted Mike and a wave of relief washed over me. I gave him my pack and he gave me the car keys. He headed up to find Logel and I tore off for the car. 

As soon as we all made it back, we went to the emergency room in Jackson Hole. I had just consumed a 32 ounce bottle of Gatorade but I was still dehydrated and weak. They saw me almost immediately and put me in my own room. I was given warm blankets and more Gatorade. I was so dehydrated that they considered giving me an IV. Instead, they wheeled me to the x-ray machines and snapped several shots of my shoulder; nothing was broken but they recommended for me to see an orthopedist as soon as possible, preferably within the next few days. They also coated my left arm in lidocaine and gave me some vicodin, scrubbing my arm clean and bandaging it with a sleeve typically used for burn victims. I was loopy shortly thereafter (my typical reaction to vicodin) and vaguely remember talking to my mom and picking up a business card for the local orthopedic practice. We then headed to a campground for the night and I passed out in the backseat.

Events occurred: June 24-26, 2013

Grand Teton Adventure Part Three: The Beginning of the End

We arrived in Wyoming very late on Sunday night/Monday morning, camping in a wilderness area that Logel had researched. We parked and set up the tent for the night; I passed out immediately. The next morning, we were woken up by a blast of country-esque music coming from a truck nearby. We approached our fellow camper with hesitation. He greeted us warmly and invited us by his fire for some coffee. He was an older gentleman, probably in his 60's or 70's and he spent his time traveling around the country camping. I gratefully took some of his coffee and it was delightfully strong and served black, the way I like it. We started talking to him about our plans and he told us about some cool places he had been before. When he started talking about climbing Olympus in Greece, I got giddy and Logel poked me, explaining to the man that I was Greek. He then introduced himself as Odysseus and I almost lost it, I was so excited. We soon packed up our stuff and headed for Jackson Hole and the Jenny Lake Ranger Station in the Grand Tetons.

We pulled up at Jenny Lake and I emerged, still in my pajamas, to the stares of countless tourists. We headed to the Ranger Station and met some of the coolest rangers I'd ever encountered. We primarily talked to Ranger Jack and discussed our weeklong plans with him. They gave us our permits and we drove over to the trailhead. It took us about an hour or two to explode our stuff and pack for the trip. I was carrying all the trad pro on my back, jingling with every step. The hike to our campsite was short (only 5 or 6 miles) but steep. The elevation got to me almost immediately and I chugged my entire liter of coconut water within the first hour. I also borrowed Logel's trekking poles (I have since bought my own) and he used sticks, which helped immensely.

I was finally getting back to my normal hiking self when we started crossing snow. I had never had to do that before while carrying such a heavy pack, about 50 or 60 pounds. The guys taught me how to kick into the snow properly with my boots but I was struggling by the third stretch of snow. My boots were too narrow and I was starting to get blisters already. I have since replaced those as well, which was an excellent decision. Though I'd had them for over a year, they had never quite fit right, creating many blisters and other issues in the past. We passed the first campground and headed up even steeper snow toward ours. I was quickly instructed how to use an ice axe and then we headed up. As we were traversing a snow field that was at about a 45 degree angle, I started to panic. Mike, who was first, had realized we were too close to the waterfall on our left and the snow and ice were really thin, dumping into a swift underground stream. I couldn't help myself, but I became so freaked out that I started tearing up. Logel asked me if I was laughing or crying and was dismayed to learn it was the latter. I was exhausted and my feet were killing me. I was having so much trouble kicking steps into the snow and it felt like such a steep climb. I started to slip and caught myself a few times. Then, I didn't. It started slowly. I just fell to my knees and could feel them slipping down the snow and ice. I tried to use my ice axe but I couldn't get the right angle. Next thing I knew, I was sliding even farther and faster. I panicked. I screamed that it wasn't working as I tried shoving my ice axe into the snow. I finally turned it on its side and started self-arresting but I was going too fast. I couldn't believe I was falling. I kept thinking to myself that this was it, I was done for. I slid roughly 80 feet down the snow and ice before I hit the rocks. To quote Mike and Logel, I ragdolled down the rest of it, banging against 20 feet worth of rocks and gravel before I finally stopped on my back like a turtle.

Once I stopped, Logel leapt down toward me, with Mike following soon thereafter. Luckily for me, they are both EMTs and they both knew what to do. I hardly remember what happened but I was hysterical. I kept screaming that I wanted to go home and I was covered in blood and road rash. I was also freezing cold, since I had slid down so much snow in ice wearing nothing but and old crew unisuit. My left arm was particularly mangled, drenched in blood and swollen in various spots. Logel gave me his down jacket and tried to assess my injuries. Unfortunately, I was in too much shock to focus on my injuries. I cried about my camera, which was missing a lens cap (no big deal, but as I said, I was hysterical). I cried over my lost sunglasses. I cried over my tight boots. I was extremely unhelpful for Logel but it was entirely understandable since I had just suffered through a fairly traumatic experience. Luckily for everyone, I landed right near the trail to the first campsite. There were some other campers nearby that helped the guys gather my stuff and Logel helped me walk down. Fortunately, my legs weren't broken, just bruised and bloody. I sobbed everytime we had to cross snow but Logel helped me through it like a champ. Mike followed closely behind, gathering the belongings of mine that had been strewn down the mountain. 

When we got to the campsite, Logel and Mike started cleaning me up and conducting a further evaluation of my injuries. Most everything appeared to be a surface wound, except my left arm that was so mangled and in so much pain that I wouldn't let them touch it or clean it out. I continued to sob about my camera but Mike checked it and it still functioned, just a few minor scratches on the lens. Also, as I lamented over my lost lens cap (such a priority compared to everything else, I was so out of it), Mike reached into his pocket and pulled it out, exclaiming "you mean this lens cap?" I was ecstatic. They forced me to eat and drink water and put me to bed, trying to work out a plan for the next day and the rest of the trip.

Events occurred: June 23, 2013  

Toronto/Boston Road Trip Part One: Red River Gorge

When Michael approached me about road tripping to Boston, he knew me well enough to know that I would be a guaranteed "yes." The semester was over and I didn't have any finals left other than some papers I needed to turn in. I took a chance and figured I could write them on the road, which luckily didn't completely backfire. The deal was that Michael's younger sister Sarah goes to MIT and she wanted her car for the summer. So, we were driving up to Boston to deliver it and then flying home whenever. Michael and his girlfriend Carolanne had already booked their flights for Saturday, May 4th, but I decided to wait. Greek Orthodox Easter was on May 5th this past year and my family always has a huge celebration in New York that I have never been able to attend. I figured that I ought to go, since I would already be in the Northeast and I had become accustom to riding the bus between Boston and New York City. 

The day after our last day of classes for the semester, I met Michael at his apartment in Gainesville. We packed my stuff into his car and headed across town to pick up our fourth. Her name was Rhea and I had never met her before. I had some reservations about Rhea because I had never met her before and we were going to be traveling together for over a week. As soon as I met her, however, all my concerns disappeared. Her cheerful disposition and her ukelele both won me over instantaneously. Carolanne also joined us and we headed for Panama City. The plan for the entire trip was to go to Panama City, where Michael's parents live, to trade his car for his sister's, and then drive to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky to meet up with another OAR trip for some climbing. We went to the beach in Panama City and it was beautiful. The sand was pure white and the waves were lapping the shore gently. Rhea immediately collapsed in the sand, soaking up the sun and taking a nap. Michael and Carolanne explored the shoreline and I wandered aimlessly in circles before joining Rhea on the sand. Soon thereafter, we ventured to Michael's parents house, where we were welcomed with an incredible dinner and generous hospitality. We enjoyed our time their so much we ended up staying until close to 10 PM. We piled into the Corolla and headed toward Kentucky. 

One important note about this road trip is that Sarah's car is a stick shift. Michael was a competent manual driver and he had taught Carolanne how to drive stick over a year before. Unfortunately, she hadn't had the opportunity to practice since then. Rhea could also somewhat drive stick shift but she struggled with getting the car into first gear. To quote her, she either "peels out or stalls out," which was fun to experience at 3 AM. I can also drive manual cars but I had only learned a few months before, when Mike took an afternoon to teach me. I had been driving my mom's car around Gainesville for a few months for practice but it was the only car I had any experience with. We also picked up an Auburn student in Georgia who had sent out an email to OAR, wanting to join the Red River Gorge trip and needing a one way ride to Kentucky. He had the most stick experience, learning to drive stick shift as a valet. Commence road trip.



The drive to Kentucky was a nightmare, merely because it is about a 12 hour drive or so and we started after 10 PM. I took one of the first turns driving and I was grateful for the opportunity to sleep during the worst shift of all: 3 AM to 7 AM. Luckily, the rest of the world doesn't tend to drive around at these hours, so our lack of manual driving skills were mostly unnoticed. We arrived in Kentucky at 11 AM and met up with the rest of the OAR group. We headed off to climb shortly thereafter. By the time we made it to the wall, however, I was exhausted. I curled up under a tree and passed out. I never actually climbed anything at the Red, which is a shame because the climbing there is famous and fun. That night, we returned to the camp ground at Miguel's Pizza and I split a weird pizza with Nina. It had potatoes and a bunch of other odd ingredients on it but it was still delicious. I also connected to the wifi and attempted to work on the 20 page research design that I had to finish by the following Monday. I had done very little for it and was trying to find some decent pdfs to download so I could work on it sans wifi. 

The next day, unfortunately, it was raining. We decided to forgo climbing and go for a hike instead. We discovered some interesting trails nearby and happened upon a natural bridge as well. I was still tired and thus began my cycle of sleeping and consuming coffee that dominated the trip. Carolanne joked that I was like a puppy because I would run around for a few hours and then tucker out, bouncing between high energy and no energy with little in between. We then headed north again, toward Cincinnati and Buffalo. 

Events occurred: April 25-27, 2013

Spring Break in Colombia, 2013

When I decided to buy plane tickets to Colombia, I had my reservations. Virtually everything I had heard about this country was negative: intense drug trade that stimulated guerrilla activity and kidnappings of American citizens. Not particularly comforting, but I was willing to take a chance. My group consisted of Mike, who will henceforth be known as Michael in this post because there was also another Mike, his brother, Donny, their friend from home, Alex, Marcelle, and her sister, Simona. There were seven of us total, four guys and three girls.

The first day was like any other in a new place: confusion intermingled with wonder. We landed in Bogota with a decent amount of time left in the day. I had never been to such a high altitude and I was worried about adjusting but everything seemed alright. Luckily for the rest of us, Michael speaks fluent Spanish and was able to communicate with the taxi drivers from the airport. We went to our hostel and then headed out for empanadas. Some of the guys wanted to go to a bar and relax with a beer while Marcelle and Simona wanted to go get juice from the street vendors. I ended up doing neither and instead returned to the hostel for a nice long nap. Apparently this was a common sentiment and we all woke up again around 11 PM, hungry and well-rested. So, we all decided to venture out of the hostel. This was perhaps not our best decision since it was late on a Friday night. We wandered aimlessly for a few hours and finally found an open restaurant. Mike, unfortunately, got his iPhone stolen from a man on the streets that had approached him for money. We made it back by about 2 AM and I personally fell asleep immediately, exhausted from traveling. 

Our second day in Bogota was much more productive. We bought overnight bus tickets to Manizelas, so we had the entire day to explore. We spent most of our morning walking around in search of a cambio in order to exchange money. Lunch for the day consisted of copious amounts of delicious meat at a random restaurant near our hostel. Afterward, we decided to take the cable car up to the top of Monserrate, a giant mountain overlooking Bogota. At the top, there is a church and a few restaurants. I mostly walked around, enjoying the flowers that were in bloom and the amazing views of the city. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to hike down, but the cable car ride was still fun. The views were incredible, just absolutely stunning. When we reached the bottom, the sun had already started to go down. We saw a crazy man screaming various things in Spanish about himself and religion run up t the giant cross at the bottom of Monserrate. The police tried to catch him but he escaped into the bushes as far as we could tell. We were also distracted by some llamas but we had to rush back to the hostel to get our stuff. 

The overnight bus ride was actually quite comfortable in my opinion but apparently Michael and I were the only ones able to sleep soundly all night. We paid extra for a nicer bus and we each had two seats to ourselves but the rapid changes in elevation and the skill set of our driver (or lack thereof) negatively impacted everyone else's ability to sleep. We arrived in Manizelas and took a smaller version of the Monserrate cable car up to the top of the town. We went to a travel agency to inquire about Los Nevados, a Colombian national park that we wanted to backpack through. We met several very nice and helpful people and determined that we needed to go through Valle de Cocora in order to get to Los Nevados. This required a few more bus rides, the first to Pereira and the second to Salento. 

When we arrived in Salento, we searched for information about the park but found virtually nothing. Rather, we found a ride to El Cocora via jeep. The jeep was awesome. We loaded all of our stuff on top of it and then piled in the back. The ride was only about nine kilometers and when we arrived, we started our hike. El Cocora is known for having some of the world's tallest palm trees, many over 90 feet. The beginning of the park was coated in palm trees and they looked spectacular as they dotted the mountainsides. We soon reached a thick jungle , hot and with rapid increases in elevation. The coolest feature of this jungle area was the rickety wooden bridges that we had to cross. I was terrified each time, worried the I would misstep and break through the bridge. After the bridges, the elevation increases became more strenuous and I had my first experience with altitude sickness. I was mostly just having trouble breathing and had to drink a lot of water. Marcelle, Simona, and I struggled with this more than the guys and we were far behind. Michael decided to hike behind us, in order to motivate us to keep going. We ended up hiking through the dark and stopping at a hikers' hostel for some slightly less than primitive camping. I managed to secure a spot in the middle of our four person tent, which I shared with Marcelle, Simona, and Michael.

The next morning, I started off somewhat slow. Soon into the hike, however, I had a surge of energy and sprinted ahead of the other girls. Once I caught up to the guys, I decided to go ahead of them while they waited for Marcelle and Simona. I held them off for a pretty decent distance and hiked with them until we reached the start of Los Nevados. Michael and I were slightly ahead of Mike, Donny, and Alex but he stayed behind to make sure everyone continued in the right direction. So, I started off on my own and found a comfortable pace. I ended up holding everyone off for several kilometers. The solitude was simultaneously wonderful and terrifying. The only truly scary moment I had was after I had been hiking alone for a few hours in the rain. I heard voice nearby and assumed that the group had caught up to me. Then, I realized the voices were in Spanish. My instincts told me that this was not a good sign. FARC, a group of Colombian guerrillas known for kidnapping people for ransom, were rumored to populate the area and when all I saw was a giant white tent ahead of me, I panicked. I walked as quickly and quietly past the tent as possible and noticed a stack of shovels. This was a relief, because I realized that they were a trail maintenance team.

Shortly thereafter, I caught up with Donny, Alex, and Mike and we hiked together the rest of the day. We stumbled through two farms and lost the trail. Convinced we were headed in the wrong direction, we turned around a found Marcelle, Michael, and Simona within 20 or 30 minutes. Simona was having an especially hard time with the altitude and she had difficulty moving more than a few steps at a time without stopping for a break. Michael had been hiking behind her to motivate her and I soon took over as he tried to find the trail again. We hiked on for another hour or so and decided to set up camp before it got dark. Again, I managed to get a spot in the middle. It was extremely windy and cold that night, raining off and on. We all smashed our sleeping bags together for warmth and I, luckily, was able to sleep. 

The next morning, we hiked up to the big lake we had been headed toward, El Encanto. At this point, we had options: 1) head to the hot springs and leave the park in that direction 2) turn around and head back 3) find one of the big volcanoes and hike that, returning either the way we came or another way 3) exploring in random directions (all tracking on a GPS). We decided against the hot springs for some reason and chose to explore around. The guys unintentionally discovered a volcano and decided to summit it. Marcelle wanted to join but Simona and I had reservations because she had had severe AMS (acute mountain sickness) and I had been having some altitude trouble that day as well. We stayed back and relaxed, setting up the tents and getting water. We also got to nap in the sun, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Michael expressed some concerns to me about the hike because they didn't know what the conditions would be like nor how long it would take them to get up and back. I set up lanterns to guide them back to the tents but, fortunately, they all returned before dark. 

That night, the weather was the worst. It was severely windy and there was also a strong rain. The rain fly of our tent kept sticking to the vents, making it nearly impossible to breathe. At one point in the middle of the night, Michael sat straight up and gasped for breath. He immediately opened the door to the tent and we realized how difficult it had been for all of us to breathe. The next morning was freezing and raining. Michael and I were the first ones ready and after at least half an hour of standing around in the cold, waiting, we decided to start the hike all the way back to El Corcora. We were ahead of the group for a good portion of the Los Nevados hike, up until we reached the farms. After that, the guys took the lead. I caught up to them but Marcelle and Simona were still struggling. I sprinted ahead while the guys waited and reached the sign for Los Nevados about an hour before everyone else, enough time for lunch and a nap. Through the jungle part, I stayed primarily with Michael and Alex until we reached the campsite from the first night. Mike's backpack was falling apart, so he and Donny fell behind. We all waited for each other at the campsite and then the guys got ahead. I stayed back with Marcelle and Simona for most of it until we reached Mike, Donny, and Alex. They informed us that Michael had literally run ahead to try to secure us a ride back into Salento. I realized that this meant we would be hiking back in the dark and I had no desire to cross the streams via headlight. I immediately started running ahead and made it to the edge of the jungle before the others by a significant margin of time. I was sure where we were meeting Michael and when the guys told me that we would be meeting him in town, I started off again in the rain.

I reached Michael about 20 minutes before everyone else and he informed me that he had watched the last jeep go but that a nice man he had met told him he would call a jeep for us when everyone arrived. We all crammed into a jeep intended to fit 6 and I ended up with Marcelle on my lap, unintentionally twisting my knee when we hit potholes in the road. We arrived at the only hostel listed by our guidebook in all of Salento only to realize that five out of the seven of us would have to hike down to the coffee plantation house because the rest of the hostel was booked. The hike wouldn't have been so bad had I not just twisted my knee and had it been daylight but both of those combined with general tiredness destroyed me. I pitifully limped back from the coffee plantation after dropping off my stuff with everyone else as we headed into town for dinner. The odd Colombian pizza I had for dinner, plus the pina jugo con leche, made me feel instantly better. The pizza there was sauceless, which I appreciated because I generally don't like a ton of tomato sauce anyway. The rest of the group seemed less impressed.

The next morning, after a glorious shower (albeit, sans hot water), I headed up to the main part of the hostel to check out and figure out our plans for the rest of our trip. The hike was much nicer in the daylight and the coffee plantation was spectacular. The guys were all awake, drinking coffee, when I arrived and we decided to spend another night in Salento. Michael and I went into town with our DSLR cameras, exploring and taking hundreds of pictures. While we were on our photo safari, Michael befriended a group of schoolchildren and promised them a two liter bottle of coke, which he delivered over the barbed wire to an excited group of boys learning about agriculture. That night, we decided to play tejo, a Colombian game involving beer and gunpowder. Sound like a terrible combination? That was my reaction too. Essentially, the game is free but to play, you have to buy a case of beer. The game consists of throwing lead stones at a metal ring with packets of gunpowder on it. I was pretty terrible at it but Mike, Donny, and Alex got really into it. Marcelle also really enjoyed it and got pretty good at it over time. 

Our last day in Salento, I went to breakfast with the guys and then we did some souvenir shopping. I wasn't terribly interested in buying anything, so Michael and I decided to explore some more with our cameras. We discovered a cemetery and the long road near it opened up a few good views of the small town. We also hiked to the top of the city for the second time, taking even more pictures. In the afternoon, I noticed that I had the chills and didn't feel well. My nose had been runny and Michael had brought me tissues but when he realized I had a fever, he left me at the hostel and went into town to get me Gatorade. Alex brought me some medication and the guys all sat with me. When we got on the bus to Bogota, I was in horrible shape. My head was on fire and I felt freezing even in my ski coat. When we arrived in Bogota, I was barely conscious. We went around searching for food. After breakfast, we headed toward the military museum but it was closed until later. So, I walked around with Michael for photo trip day three. When the museum opened, we wandered around it and hopped on a college tour in Spanish of the museum. I could understand some of it and Michael explained the rest. We ran into the rest of our group and soon thereafter, we headed to the airport. 

Events occurred: February 28-March 9, 2013

The Shortest OAR Trip Ever

The weather was not in my favor in February. The climbing trip to Sand Rock was cancelled because it was going to be too cold, so Jeff decided we would hike along the Suwannee River in Florida instead. We met around 9 AM on Saturday morning and shuffled into cars, heading about an hour away for our hike. While I was shuttling people from one end of the trail to the other, I ran over something in the middle of the road. When I stopped to pay for the park entrance fee, someone noticed gasoline leaking from my car. I had split my gas tank all the way down. We tried to patch it with gum but we were unsuccessful. The park rangers were very helpful but they informed me that I needed to move the car asap because gasoline is bad for the environment. I called AAA and they were useless. I was very disappointed with their lack of help and I called my mom in a panic. Luckily, her friends had a hitch and a dolly, so they drove from Jacksonville to get me. 

The OAR kids waited patiently even though I urged them to go ahead and hike without me. It started to rain and it was cold outside, so we all huddled under a park pavilion for warmth and dryness. They waited until my mom was less than 10 minutes away. I ended up home and carless for the weekend, my OAR adventure only lasting a few hours.

Events occurred: February 16, 2013 

Florida's Torreya State Park

My first official OAR trip of the semester was a glorified potluck a few hours from Gainesville. Nina led a leisurely hiking trip to Torreya State Park, home of the endangered Torreya tree and some of Florida's only elevation changes. As typical of Florida in January, it was very hot outside and I ended up shedding my flannel and sweatshirt layers instantaneously. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera on this trip but there were about 40 others to compensate. The hike was simple and easy. We completed the loop before dark and set up camp around the yurt that Nina had reserved. Yurts are really cool but difficult for me to explain. Essentially, it was a giant circular tent. Usually, they are collapsable but the ones in the park are not. These also had air conditioning and beds, an OAR luxury. Everyone started cooking dinner and sharing with everyone else, potluck style. I personally ate enough for three, maybe four people and felt kind of sick. Bevin, Kelsey, and I also brought our ukeleles and attempted to play something together. I mostly just strummed mine for fun and barely picked at any chords. I ended up sleeping in the yurt and was lucky enough to secure part of a bed. Unfortunately, my sleeping bag was too hot but the air conditioning was too cold, so I was uncomfortable temperature-wise for a majority of the night.

The next morning, we started another hike and then a group of us turned back for a picnic area, where we set up slacklines and played frisbee. I am terrible at frisbee. Mike and Kelsey have both tried to help me with throwing but my aim is abysmal. I improved somewhat over the duration of several hours but this was marginal. We all lounged around the picnic area until the rest of the group returned. Then, my car decided to go to the beach at St. Joe's. It was out of the way but watching the sunset over the horizon with dolphins jumping in front of us made the drive worth it. We ate dinner at a local pizza place we found on the side of a minor highway and it was delicious. They told us up front that they weren't used to having UF students in FSU territory but we had a peaceful exchange regardless. We returned home at a reasonable hour, another unusual OAR occurrence. 

Events occurred: January 12-13, 2013

Post-New Year's Return to North Carolina

 
Within less than 48 hours of returning home from vertical caving, I found myself sitting next to Mike in his car on the way to North Carolina. We were returning to the Logels for a few days before school and we had been unable to successfully convince anyone else to come with us. At this point, the drive up was par for the course. We stopped randomly in North Carolina to take pictures of the clouds and the mountains, everything was so beautiful. We met up with Logel at his dad's for dinner and I acquired some really cool flight maps of North Carolina and an atlas from his dad. That night, Mike and Logel's friends Liana and Anna showed up and also stayed with us. Liana went to the University of San Diego with Mike and Logel and Anna is her friend from home that they have also become friends with. 

The next morning, we picked up Janna, a friend of Mike and Logel's that they met while hiking in North Carolina several years ago. I told Liana that if her name had been Lianna, the rhyming of Janna, Anna, and Lianna would just have been too much. We all hiked up Beech Mountain in the snow and watched the clouds swirling around the snow capped mountains. We also went to a local park, called the Land of Oz. It had a Wizard of Oz theme and it was fun to see the yellow brick road peek through the snow in the shape of our footprints. The snow was simply magical. I couldn't describe it enough if I tried. As a Floridian, snow is somewhat of an enigma to me and it inspires curiosity and provokes joy. I rarely see the negative aspects of snowfall. Rather, I enjoy its beauty and I think it's fun to play around in. I also have learned to appreciate driving on windy mountain roads and I enjoyed following the yellow lines out of the back windows with my eyes. That night, after dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the mountain, we relaxed and watched the movie Looper.

After a day in the snow, we decided to go to Compression Falls and set up a rappel. The hike to Compression Falls was steep and coated in leaves. Liana and I decided to be more cautious and took a long time getting to the bottom. By the time we reached the falls, we had lost the rest of our group. We discovered later that they had gone up a side trail that we hadn't noticed. Instead, we sat around and enjoyed the falls, hiking back and forth and talking to each other. According to Mike, we were lucky to have missed out because they got soaked on the second rappel and they were all freezing. I was still disappointed to have missed out on the adventure, particularly since I had carried all my gear down in the first place. At least the weather was nice and the falls were beautiful. Everyone headed home except for me and Mike; We returned to the Logels. Logel realized that he couldn't find his cell phone and thought that he had left it at Compression, so we drove back to the waterfall. We looked around the parking lot and couldn't find anything. Thus, we descended down the steep hike in the dark and in the rain. I was planning on just staying in the car but I felt bad, so I followed Mike and Logel down toward the water. We didn't find the phone after searching for at least 20 minutes post-hike. Then, as we almost reached the top, Logel remembered that he had put it in his first aid kit. So we hiked down for nothing and I threatened to kill him several times as I pulled myself up the hill, clinging to tree roots and trying not to slip back down. The guys both laughed at my annoyance, amused by my empty threats and ranting. 

The next morning, Mike and I decided to head home early in anticipation of a chocolate fountain party at my house, proposed by his brother Chris the week before. We said our good byes and then headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway to hike to Ship Rock, which had been closed off the last time we had visited. We hiked up with our DSLR cameras and took many pictures of the gorgeous day. There was some ice on the ground but for the most part it was dry and clear. The views were outstanding, particularly of Grandfather Mountain and the rest of the Blue Ridge mountains. We then headed back to Florida, trading in hiking and rappelling for a gluttonous chocolate adventure.

Events occurred: January 1-4, 2013