I got to fly out to Oregon for my Big City Mountaineers backpacking trip with four teens from Mount Hood Community College's Project YESS, a GED/work experience program. Here's our trip leader Jack explaining a few things to the guys before the trip. Note New Hampton High School alumni Drew Sauser to the far right.
Of course, he had to discuss all the methods of how to shit in the woods, including the "partner shit," demonstrated here with Drew.
I don't like to brag, but my pack was so huge this year that I outfitted it with its own kickstand.
Here's our crew, ready for four days of crapping in holes, sleeping on the ground, eating dirt and talking about our feelings. Left to right: Carlos, Jack, Ivan, Miguel, Tatton, me, and Drew.
Off we go, into the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains in eastern Oregon, where the sun always shines and it never rains.
Carlos jumps the creek. The only incident of someone falling in the creek was an hour before this, and is immortalized on video.
Our first night's camp was under this view of the ridgeline above Echo Lake.
One of this crew's many talents (besides talking smack, reciting hip hop lyrics, using Tapatio like ketchup and cracking jokes): Building stout campfires.
Our second day was an attempt at finding a route up the mountain in the middle of this photo. (photo by Drew Sauser)
-
If you're from Iowa, John Deere fruit snacks are way funnier.
OK, on the map it looked like we might have a shot.
The geographic high point of the trip, at which everyone acted like a tough guy besides Brendan and Jack. Left to right: Jack, Miguel, me, Drew, Carlos, Tatton and Ivan.
This is how we skip rocks in the Midwest, fellas.
Drew and Tatton cook dinner.
Drew Sauser, master of cooking backcountry pancakes.
"Does that one have butterscotch chips in it? Mine!"
Solid.
The start of an epic game of Tanks and Commanders, a game focusing partly on communication skills, and partly on throwing dirty socks at people while blindfolded.
Time for portraits: Tatton, who wants to be a paramedic.
Drew, who's getting married ... next summer?
Carlos, who wants to be a mechanic.
Ivan, who wants to own his own business.
Alpha Dirtbag Jack, whose father once introduced him at a party by saying, "This is my son Jack. He lives in his car."
Brendan, still up in the air.
Miguel, who wants to start a landscaping business, and be a producer/MC.
Sun goes down on Day #3, no casualties, no injuries, and only a little puking.
One last day in the woods. Time for some pinecone baseball.
When you're camping in a place that has downed trees this big, you hope no more of them fall while you're sleeping.
Carlos walking around near the creek.
Time for some light painting -- if my camera battery hadn't been dying, we would have gotten a shot of everyone writing their name. Instead, we ended up with Drew's smiley face ...
... and in a first, a light painting graffiti tag by Miguel ...
... and Ivan representing his hometown, Long Beach. So much drama in the LBC.
Survived. Back at the trailhead, ready for showers.
