Yo!
This weekend our guides got back together for our spring retreat after enjoying winter break climbing mountains in Ecuador, taking Wilderness First Responder courses, searching for legendary trees, and many other adventures. We got together Saturday morning to meet up and make the drive to Mt. Baldy (Mount San Antonio). We got to the trail head mid-morning and started hiking up the trail. The weather was beautiful on the hike up - the sun was out and the mountains looked beautiful. We were excited to meet our several new guides and welcomed back many guides from study abroad programs. We had a great time getting to know each other and motivating each other (with a little Special Dark chocolate and a little "endless positivity" from Ben) to get to the Sierra Club ski hut where we would be spending the next two days. Once we got to the hut, we got to take some time to soak up the sights, eat some chex mix, and then enjoy a delicious pita pizza lunch. We met Sarah, our lovely Sierra Club host, and set up our beds inside the sweet hut. There were some sweet bunk beds in the upstairs/attic area, and then downstairs there was a nice common area with dining tables and a kitchen. We spent the afternoon hanging out around the hut playing Jenga, cards, and exploring the area. The sunset that evening was beautiful!
For dinner that night we had awesome pasta with mini wagonwheels and penne noodles and a tasty and zesty sauce with lots of bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions. We also had sweet garlic bread with balsamic and oil dipping sauce for appetizers and on the side. After eating to our content, we hung out and got to know each other while planning out the goals of the retreat. There was an epic round of Taboo to cap off the night, but we all ended up going to bed fairly early after a long day.
The next morning we got up and ate a delicious breakfast of oatmeal with lots of berries, nuts, and honey. We quickly got into our first lessons of the day. Kyle, Andy, and Tiffany gave us a sweet lesson on the natural history of California where we got to pick up some prickly pine cones and compete in a trivia challenge. Jessie, Warren, and Cody had a great skit about Leave No Trace principles, and then Simon, Christine, and Dan gave us a sweet 10 essentials fashion show. After those lively skits, Catherine and Ben led the group in a discussion about group dynamics and we learned how about (P)HALT. For lunch that day we had some sweet sandwiches with PB, jelly, marshmallow cream, and bananas. After lunch, we went outside and Clara, Anne, and Will had us partner up and go on trust walks. It was a lot of fun to walk blindfolded through the forest, and even more fun to watch Dan have Catherine run blindfolded through the brush towards the finish. Just as we were wrapping up the clouds started to roll in, and the first snowflakes started to fall. Pretty soon it was snowing pretty hard, and we headed inside to talk about decision making and risk assessment. Jay, Marielle, and Matt led the group in some scenarios and we talked about our game plan since the forecast called for 1-2 feet of snow. We all decided that we should stay at the ski hut and then have some fun on the way down the next morning in the snow. After that lesson, we had some free time to hang out and Garrett gave some lessons on orienteering. While we were waiting for dinner, we had some time to play more cards, read, and listen to Will and Marielle play some guitar. A few bold members went outside to play some pine cone frosty bocce (TM) in the snow. After we finished the 5th round of bochi, we came back inside and found that two of our guests had made us steak and potatoes. They were a great appetizer and pretty soon we were enjoying delicious burritos with beans, rice, cheese, salsa, tomatoes, and guacamole. After dinner we had more free time with more live music, scrabble, a sweet dice/pig game, connect 4, and drawing telephone. We ended the night with a few epic rounds of Taboo.
The next morning we awoke to the howling wind and sound of snow falling off the roof. Taylor made us one of her favorite breakfasts of cous cous and everyone put there own twist on it adding everything from cheese to berries to brown sugar to hot chocolate. After finishing breakfast, we packed up and got ready to face the wind and snow. We hit the trail and started to find our way back to the cars. With only a few breaks to throw some snowballs, we made our way back to our cars shortly. We decided the best way to end the trip was some In N Out so we hit the road and met up for some burgers and milkshakes. We closed down our trip feeling full and content after the many adventures and laughs we shared this past weekend. Now we're looking forward to another great semester full of adventure - check out our spring calendar!
Until next time,
Jay
Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 11:02PM 
On behalf of Warren and myself, thank you everyone for making this backpack a success! 
