Day 1
Everyone met at the Kalmia Community Center at six am, which was the nine Dreamers and two staff. They drove two hours in a van to Vail, Colorado, where they packed their backpacks and participated in team building activities. This included walking blindfolded across a tightrope, climbing through a narrow tube, trust falls, and other games. Their focus improved throughout they day, especially as they realized the importance of group cohesion on the trip. Everyone took their last shower and slept inside for the last time.

Day 2
After breakfast, everyone loaded 40 pounded of gear and food on their backs and hiked 4 miles to the first campsite, several hours of which were in the rain. There were many complaints throughout the day, and the goal of 45 minutes of hiking to 15 minutes of breaks was rarely met. The challenges of the trip were becoming easily apparent. Lunch was bagels with tuna, and dinner was burritos. It took several hours for the exhausted Dreamers to learn how to tie up the tarps for sleeping and cook dinner. The Dreamers were broken into teams of three and assigned tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and fire/water. At 9000 feet, they learned how important drinking water is. Dreamers constantly filled water bottles in the creek, and treated it to avoid giardia and other bacteria. The beauty of the campsite went unnoticed for many due to the long day of hiking. Nestled in a valley next to a creek and lake, the site was in the shadow of 14,000 foot peak Holy Cross. Today is the first day of real consequences, as the failure of some to properly pack their sleeping bags led to a wet night of sleeping.

Day 3
Energized and dry, Dreamers took to the steep cliffs nearby for rock climbing. Incredibly, everyone climbed to the top, with one doing so blindfolded! Several Dreamers expressed strong doubts about climbing, but with the support and encouragement of the others, everyone succeeded. The rain stopped today, allowing for our first campfire gathering at night. It was a relaxing and peaceful day, and the Dreamers seemed to be settling into a groove. They learned a lot about the Leave No Trace policy of the backcountry, and are all following it. The complaints about not having fast food, video games, music, and TVs are decreasing, and the relationships among them are growing stronger by the hour.

Day 4
We moved our campsite today, hiking three more miles up the mountain. Everyone had become comfortable at our first campsite, so not everyone was excited about moving. However, after the first day of strenuous hiking, this small hike was easy for everyone, even with the heavy packs. Everyone was smiling by the time we arrived to the new camp, happy about their latest accomplishment. The first injury occurred today, a bloody nose that would not clot. Combined with a painful headache, this Dreamer suffered a lot today. The entire group come together and helped each other during this difficult time, showing genuine concern. The bloody nose clotted just before the Dreamer was to hike back to the van with staff. It was also his birthday, so the celebration with cheesecake around the campfire was not quite how he had imagined his 14th birthday.

Day 5
The campers had “solo” time today, in which the Dreamers spent two hours completely alone, with only their journal. They had a chance to get to know themselves better and observe the outdoors around them. While some struggled, many had positive things to say about this experience afterwards. The solo time was done after a short day hike from the campsite, which is where one Dreamers twisted her ankle on the hike. Despite obvious pain, she hiked back to camp using a stick for support. After some rest, elevation, and ice, her ankle was much improved by the next day. At the campfire that night, everyone stayed up late playing charades and telling scary stories.

Day 6
Today was all hiking, though mostly downhill, back to the van. This was the fastest pace yet because everyone was anxious to get back to the comforts of home. The Dreamer with the injured ankle left camp early, and the others were kind enough to distribute her pack among everyone so she had little to carry out. The Dreamers were treated to a night out for pizza after returning, before driving two hours back to their homes. While eating, the Dreamers talked about their high and low points for the trip, similar to the high and low points discussed at the end of each day. The low points were generally about the injuries suffered on the trip, including a bloody nose, sprained ankle, and several headaches. Many of the high points were about the deeper relationships that were built on the trip, in the form of laughing and good times shared by all. The nightly joking and sharing of stories around the campfire was very memorable, as well as the day of rock climbing. Overall, nearly all the Dreamers had several accomplishments during the trip that they had previously thought were impossible.

Special Qualities

Many special qualities in the Dreamers came out on the trip. The group encouraged and supported each other during a very challenging five days, creating many meaningful bonds and memories. While there are too many to mention, one qualities for each Dreamer is listed below.

Angelica
Angelica did a lot to help the trip go smoothly, taking leadership in many areas. Angelica was the first to rock climb a difficult cliff, and her success motivated some of the reluctant Dreamers to attempt the climb. Angelica frequently did chores and tasks that were expected of others, from cooking and cleaning to gathering firewood. Angelica did so without complaint, nor with any expectation of anything in return. In fact, everything she did was usually accompanied with her memorable laugh that always lightened the mood.

Armando
Armando not only helped people when they needed it, but was constantly looking for ways to help others. Whether it was an injured Dreamer needing help crossing a dangerous creek, or getting food and supplies for each meal, Armando was there. It was obvious that Armando was always thinking about others before himself, without attracting any attention to his good deeds.

Mayra
Mayra demonstrated how important relationships are, both with others and herself. Mayra built deeper on her friendships with the others on the trip, spending quality time away from the distractions back at home. In addition, she made effective use of the “solo” time by journaling and self-reflecting. Mayra well exceeded the goal of getting to know others and herself on the trip, building a lot of trust in the process.

Melissa
Melissa entertained and encouraged the group throughout the trip. Despite being the smallest of the campers, Melissa pushed herself and her big backpack to the front of the line, inspiring everyone to keep moving and fight the exhaustion of the hike. Around the campfire, Melissa did impersonations and told jokes, keeping the group in a light-hearted mood. Her everyday excitement easily drowned out any reluctance of the others toward tackling new challenges.

Raquel
Raquel taught everyone a lot about perseverance and overcoming adversity. On the hike in, there were many complaints about how difficult and tiring it was. However, after seeing Raquel hike out on a twisted ankle on the last day, there were no complaints. In obvious pain, Raquel pushed herself, even laughing and smiling throughout. Raquel learned a lot about her personal limits on the trip, now knowing that she can overcome difficulties that she previously thought were impossible.

Ray
Ray used a lot of his time on the trip for reflection, asking important questions of the Dreamers and staff. Ray expressed his desire to learn more about the world and people, and he took advantage of the five days by exploring his interests in his interactions with others. Ray had a lot of personal growth and built stronger relationships on the trip.

Robbie
Robbie showed his deep understanding of people on the trip. While he was not always involved in the conversations, he was always watching and learning from the actions of others. Robbie set a great example of thinking before acting, as his words and deeds rarely came before careful consideration.

Roberto
Roberto found peace in the woods that previously would have been difficult to believe. On the first day, Roberto had difficult focusing on the team building exercises, leading some to question his investment in the group. However, Robert increasingly proved himself to be a dependable and fun camper. Always laughing and joking, Roberto made the trip enjoyable for everyone, and was not disruptive after the first day. Roberto proved that the electronic toys he missed on the trip were no substitute for good, quality time with other people.

Rosa
Rosa learned a lot about herself in taking on difficult challenges during the trip. For example, before rock climbing, Rosa wrote three things in her journal: something she thought she could do, something she thought would be difficult to do, and something she thought would be impossible to do. Rosa accomplished her “impossible” goal, which was rock climbing to the top of the wall.