AAVE Trip BLOG » Rock and Roll
August 16, 2010
An Epic Ending! - Rock & Roll 3
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As we sit here in the Denver International Airport, we can’t stop thinking about how unbelievable the past two weeks have been! What started as ninja training has transitioned into a family affair of brothers (plus Heidi) with days filled with endless laughter and smiles. It’s so hard to say good-bye to such good friends, amazing travels and crazy fun, but it’s time for our trip to come to an end.
The last few days have been just as unbelievable as the early days which were such an incredible way to end our adventure! Since our last blog we have been moving around just as fast as always, but have some really good stories to share! To start, we left Buena Vista heading towards Breckenridge where both our service project with the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative and our Quandary summit would take place. We made it to Breckenridge for the boys to have some town time for a few hours. During their scanter about town, we gave each of them a quarter to see what they could possibly get as an exchange for twenty five cents. We were both shocked to see Isaac and Brandon come back with snowboards while Phil came back with a bike wheel and a derailer for a bike amongst many other random gifts! It was a hoot of a day! The other boys explored their way through Breckenridge and came back with epic stories of adventures on the town gondola! Once town time was over we all set up camp at the base of Quandary Peak, where we would begin our service project the next day.
Thursday morning came very quickly, especially since we had to meet with Evan and Francis of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative at 6:30 in the morning for our trail work! While the morning started out beautifully with clear blue skies, the rain and hail of the Colorado monsoon season moved in before we could even start hiking! The boys still marched up to the work spot to work on restoring an old trail on the mountain with smiles on their faces! Such troopers these boys are! We were so impressed with their optimism and energetic spirits even when it was hailing and wind was blowing at 35 plus miles an hour. All of us had a really great time working on the trail and restoring an ecosystem on a mountain that we would summit the very next day. Although the rainstorm rushed us off the mountain before we could give all the work we were hoping for, we all agreed that we had a great time and learned a lot about alpine environments, trail work, and what it feels like to be at 11,000 ft! Tell you what our boys were loving’ the tools that came with trail work! Raul, Dylan, and Darron could make quite the water bar with a pick axe! Get that tool in their hands and they could create a masterpiece for water drainage! Evan and Francis, of CFI, were very amazed with the optimism and work ethic of all the boys and said they enjoyed seeing such a close group of teenage boys. We finished the day with an intensely fun game of ultimate frisbee in Breckenridge before we rested for our big ascent of Quandary Peak the next morning.
We woke up at 2:30 am to begin our hike to the peak of Quandary, a whoppin’ 14,265 feet above sea level. The stars were amazing and it was truly a magical hike up as we walked in silence until one of us would see a shooting star and make genuine ooo and ah sounds! We started the hike early for the intention of a sunrise hike and we got the most unbelievable sunrise overlooking a mountain range that included two other fourteen thousand foot peaks…it was most definitely a highlight of the trip for all of us to enjoy that together! After taking a rest to watch the sun rise over the majestic Rockies, we continued to march up the steep mountain. The air became very thin very quick, and just before the last thousand foot push to the summit, the elements forced Heidi and Brandon to turn back due to altitude sickness. While the group was bummed to see the two head down, they were even more inspired than ever to summit carrying the two in spirit! The last bit was definitely the hardest, but once the remaining eight made it to the summit thanks to Matt’s excellent leadership, it was worth the agony for sure. The wind was blowing at hurricane force on the summit, but there was not a cloud in the sky and we all screamed for joy once the uphill leveled off! After taking a few pictures and enjoying the panoramic views, we all descanted quickly to get more air, get to calmer areas, and to meet up with Brandon and Heidi. That afternoon we chilled at camp, rested, then went into town to watch the movie Inception at a theatre, which was a great reward after a long hard day!
Yesterday, our last full day together, was by far one of the most fun days of the trip, despite no planned activities! We slept in and then ate a huge egg breakfast thanks to Jeff’s cooking! While packing up and cleaning camp, the boys enjoyed the last hours in the woods hiding and chasing each other, it was really fun for us to watch them smile and laugh! We then headed to Boulder for the afternoon, where we played a phenomenal game of ultimate frisbee before showering one last time! We then hit the town for a photo-scavenger hunt and time to grab some last minute souvenirs. Then the chaos began of our last evening together…we headed to the Cheesecake Factory to enjoy some delicious food and laugh over all the finds during the photo scavenger hunt. Raul, Phil, Isaac, and Brandon were dedicated to winning and they did with flying colors! We don’t know if it was the picture of Raul with a 20 year old kissing his cheek or a picture of him dancing with a random girl on the street, but all of their pictures were hilarious! Shortly after our delicious meal, the cheesecakes came and the whip cream fights began! So we left with our continuing battles before anyone got too mad and carried on with it on Pearl Street as it emerged into a full on sprinting water fight between the ten of us! We all ran, laughed and screamed throughout the crowded pedestrian mall with all sorts of tourists looking at us like we were crazy… it was so much fun! For the nightly meeting we headed up to the Flatiron Mountains to overlook the city of Boulder in an amphitheater made of rocks. It was not only a spectacular spot for meeting with amazing sites, but the meeting was definitely one remember.
These boys have showed us their great depth and genuine compassion for one another. It has been a true pleasure spending the last two weeks with them and watching them come closer and closer throughout the activities and nightly meetings. Not only have they done so well in all the activities and grown close together as a group, but these boys have all taken ownership of this trip showing how mature and responsible they can be. They all came as individual boys two weeks ago, but now they leave today as both brothers and young men, and the two of us feel so privileged to spend this time with them watching them laugh, smile, conquer and grow! Thank you for sharing your sons with us, they are all awesome guys! Best wishes and enjoy the many stories they will tell!
Lots of Love,
Ian and Heidi
