Recently, a group of twenty-two freshmen from STRIVE Prep – RISE headed up past Allenspark to the Cheley Outpost. For most of them, this was their first camping trip ever. The weather was bright and the aspens were at their peak for a beautiful fall weekend.

The students enjoyed the challenge of setting up their tents in the “girls’ camp” and “the mancave” and then settled into mammoth games of gaga ball. So highly addictive was gaga ball, that they are bound and determined to build a gaga ball pit at their school. The vice principal seconds the motion, as he was difficult to drag out of the gaga ball pit in time for our hike! (Not really, but he does really like gaga ball.)

The evening was cold and clear. We built a campfire and roasted marshmallows and then some of us decided to warm up with a night hike. The moon didn’t rise until after midnight, so it was very dark. When our eyes finally became used to walking without flashlights, we could faintly see our shadows cast by starlight.

The next day we woke up to ice crusting over our water bottles. We warmed up with morning cocoa and oatmeal and had extra motivation to start fires with flint and steel. After more games, we packed up and headed to nearby Rocky Mountain National Park for a stroll around Lily Lake and drove through Estes Park to look for elk.

During the van trips, the students amused themselves by passing around a sketch pad and pencils, drawing for five minutes and then passing the paper on for the next person to add on to. Back in class we did the same and also asked them to add some of their highlights in words.

One of the best things is the memories you will always have and the quality time you have with others, time we spent knowing each other farther than school.

The night hike was a good place to let your thoughts out and just look at the stars. The night hike was a way to see the beautiful stars and how quiet it was.

My best memory on the trip was playing gaga ball. My favorite part was when we made s’mores. My favorite part was hiking, even if it was long.

Something that was really funny was when Sam fell out of the gaga ball pit.

In the night, it was very cold, and Malka and Kessie were warm.

My favorite memory was getting close to people and getting away from the city and enjoying the environment.

My favorite moment during the trip was when I was able to make my bonds stronger with people I’ve known for the longest and people I barely knew.

Written by: CI Instructor, Erin Angel

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