My Junior Outdoor Education Trip

Katey Gillispie joined Dunn's junior class this August and immediately headed to the Sierra Nevada Mountains for a nine-day Outdoor Education trip with her classmates. During each class trip, every student keeps a journal of his/her experiences, thoughts and future hopes. Below is an excerpt from Katey's journal.

Dropping our packs, Katie and I plopped down on a slab of rock and dangled our feet over the world. In front of us lay an enormous canyon. Mountains of every size and color rose out of the earth from below and reached high into the sky above. To the left a sun-kissed valley wound through several blue mountains before disappearing altogether into the horizon beyond. Looking down past the switch-backs of the day's hike, we gazed upon the miles we had covered in the last three days stretching as far as the eye could see.

Sitting there I felt a wave of sadness come over me. It was one of those moments in life that leave you feeling nostalgic because you realize that you will never see what you are looking at again. And even if you were lucky and did return, it would never be as magical as the first time right there in that moment. You also know, with a sense of frustration, that no matter how long you stare, unblinkingly, or write a long descriptive journal entry, as I have done, it is impossible to capture the true image in your mind for it is far too magnificent. Besides, I’ve come to see that in life it is not just the picture that makes a view beautiful. It’s the slight breeze and warm sun against your sweaty back. It’s the feeling inside your chest as you sit quietly and let your breathing slow. It’s the tingle in your fingertips that moves through your arms to your shoulder blades, begging you to lift them up and fly. More than anything however, it’s the unbelievable satisfaction of the climb that resulted in unimaginable beauty.

-Katey Gillispie