Wet Shoes: A Short Story

Wiping the sweat from my brow I called a halt to the crew. Phil and I dumped our packs and found a comfy boulder to rest on. I looked back to where the last guys were coming from back down the trail. They had stopped talking a while back and marched slowly along the dirt trail. Phil produced an energy-bar he’d saved from breakfast and began to munch on it as I drained another water bottle. After the refreshing drink I laid back against the rock and stared up at the pine trees. But a moment later, hearing grumble about sore legs, I sat up, grinning, “By the map we only have another couple hours.”

As they rounded a bend near the municipality of Zemst, Marcel came to a sudden stop on the shoulder of the two-lane road jarring everyone forward. He sat up straight, staring ahead, “What is that?”

Hall maintained that his clients climbed as a cohesive group as well as enforcing the turn-around times with the notable exception of the summit climb. Showing genuine concern for his Sherpa help, Hall made sure his clients understood their importance and was cavillous of other expedition leaders’ indifference to their Sherpa help.

The doctor struggled for a minute but was able to get a beat on him again. As Luke reached the water, he stopped and began writing down something on the pad of paper he took with him, he held it up in the air, then began reading aloud what was on the pad of paper, "The air is fine. I'm going to check the water now." From his viewpoint, the doctor watched in horror as the wild dogs began to zero in on Luke. Unbeknownst to Luke, he dipped not one but three Ph strips in the water. As he pulled them out the doctor could see, to his bewilderment, the strips were all light green.

“Yeah, that was pretty cool, but it is everywhere,” John said in a concerned voice.

The fourth and final day I became stronger and more capable and used to the trails and hikes. I was no longer exhausted from walking up to my cabin, no longer tired of the trails. I overcame the challenge by believing in myself. By the education I was learning I learned how I can save and conserve the earth. I learned that these trails weren't as bad as I thought they were gonna be. Now that i've got back home from scicon I feel I can walk 4 miles every

“Those who participated in this school camped along the river north of Seneca Rocks. Each climbing instructor had a total of ten men to train. At the end of the first week the instructor had to drop the weakest climbers and the remaining six got an additional week of advanced climbing.” (Bob Downing, Akron Beacon Journal (MCT)

I remember previous backpacking trips, but most were only for a few days. These short trips were never enough and I always wished I could stay longer in this paradise as the trail seems to finish almost immediately after starting. This past summer, I learned about the Pacific Crest Trail, and I realized that there was a way to more fully connect with nature. The five month, 2,700 mile backpacking trail runs from the arid Mexican border in California to the mountainous Canadian border in Washington. Instantly, I knew that I would someday undertake this challenge. The trail tests both physical and emotional strength so much that only a fraction of aspiring long-distance hikers finish. I was not deterred from my goal, and the thought of the immersive challenge excited me. Taking this trip solo would finally allow me to experience self-reliance, something only realized when alone in the wild for days on

The phrase Leave No Trace was created to promote the idea just like Smokey the Bear was created to spread the idea to stop forest fires (Marion). Leave No Trace is an inter agency coordination of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National Park service (NPS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to develop and distribute a pamphlet titled Leave No Trace Land Ethics in 1987 (Marion). The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) partnered with Leave No Trace in the 1990s to teach Leave No Trace, NOLS is a non-profit school founded to teach wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment, in 1993 five masters courses were conducted (Marion). Leave No Trace wanted to teach how to protect the environment, and did this by combining with programs like NOLS and national parks to spread their

The number of days till the trails were shrinking. We were as best prepared as we could be, but we still needed to go over a few concerns. We had practiced after school with the flags and the

"Mrs. Baker, I found the remains of Sycorax and Caliban as well has a million other creatures ranging form squirrels to rats."

A small raindrop not only accumulating speed and density but also dirt as it slid down the window of the incredibly tiny four-door that my aunt hadn't washed in a while as it seemed. The drop had reached an ample size and had a plentiful amount of dust and grim as it glided on to the front side of the handle and finally came into contact with my hand in what seemed like my last moments of freedom which I had only attained after leaving my session. The cool air from the vents was blasting powerfully against my cheek as I checked what my Aunt Avery was doing and of course, she was staring directly at me waiting to see what I had to say about my experience.

At my college, Loyola University Maryland I am a leader for Outdoor Adventure Experience (OAE), a student run organization that could be compared to the program Outward Bound. This program not only teaches outdoor skills and team building but asks participants and leaders to reflect on their lives and set goals. This aspect of OAE separates it from hiking clubs and other outdoor programs because it challenges participants to grow mentally as well enjoy the outdoors. As a leader in this program I have over 500 hours of volunteer service per year and received my Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training. I have been taught to specialize and lead trips in backpacking, whitewater kayaking, sea kayaking, rock climbing and caving. As well as being

“Over here!” Lori called to her friend, Kayla as she was trudging below the blazing hot Arizona sun. After looking up and seeing Lori, Kayla shouted “Coming!” while jogging happily to greet her best friend. Both girls were looking forward to this get together because they were planning on hiking a new trail through the beautiful desert mountains. “I am so excited!” Kayla exclaimed once Lori caught up to Kayla. Carrying small filled bags with a couple granola bars, water, a hat, a couple of bandages and some sunscreen, you could see the anticipation in their eyes for this fun adventure! Although they didn’t do much research on this trail, they were thrilled for the trip ahead.

In all honesty, to imagine myself in Jon Western’s shoes is very difficult. He was just a normal boy from North Dakota who hasn’t been exposed to raw, inhumane, and mass amounts of deaths in text and photos and is now doing this as a living. I would of taken the information with belief, but always making sure the sources are reliable. The tact I would of taken if I were Western would be emotional. I would want the superiors of action to see how life really is during this genocide and stories of the people who were affected. I would also want them to put themselves in the shoes of the victims.