Surfing, Ultimate style

Surfs up at Devil's Punchbowl

June 28, 2010


These Oregon adventurers are certainly getting the "ultimate" taste already. As soon as the last camper landed at the airport, they all hopped in the vans and made their way to the coast. The next morning they met the legendary surf teacher and Oregon coast guru Paul Hansen. After a brief struggle with getting into their wetsuits, they were "stoked" (as the surfers say) to get into the water. Paul made sure that everyone was equipped with the knowledge they needed to find the perfect wave, and it sure payed off fast. Sam, one of the most apprehensive, was among the first to find his inner surfer and get some great rides, right off the bat. By the end of the first surf day, everyone was laughing and catching as many waves as they could paddle for. They headed back to camp and ate some much needed burritos. This morning, they arrived back at the surf spot, and they quickly learned about how the tide effects the waves. Not to worry, Paul Hansen is here! With Paul's local knowledge and enthusiasm for the area, the group spent the morning learning about local wild and marine life by going tide pooling in The Devil's Punchbowl. When the tide came in, it was back to the waves for round two of tearing up the surf! They surfed until they couldn't move their arms. Surfing, check. Be careful Mom and Dad. I wouldn't be surprised if every one of them came home asking for a surfboard! Above is a very focused Jon catching a good one today.

Snow? Really?

The Group at Crater Lake

  






July 1, 2010

After two days of ripping on the surfboards, the group got a chance to see what they can do to help keep those great waves clean, a beach cleanup.  From their first steps on the beach, there was garbage everywhere.  Some trash was small enough that you could spend the next week just cleaning the first 100 yards.  It was an eye opening experience, and they all talked about how they didn't realize the amount of garbage that could wash up on shore.  After the beach cleanup they hopped in the vans for a journey to Crater Lake.  When they got to crater lake, the campsites that they had were covered in snow. Wait. Snow? They learned that Oregon was pounded with late season snow, and at close to 8000ft, snow sticks around.  So the trip leaders got them moved to a dry campsite, and they set up camp.  They all wanted to see crater lake, so they went up to the rim of the crater and cooked dinner there.  They got to watch the sunset over the lake as they waited for dinner to get done, and then exhausted from a a long day, hit their sleeping bags.


The next morning they woke up early for a hike down to the water, and got to see Crater Lake from a whole new perspective.  As they hiked down, it became very clear that this was possibly the cleanest, bluest water that they had ever seen. After much awe, amazement, and Group, the 7 ultimate oregonians headed for Smith Rock.  Today, they headed to the rock at 6 am to get some great climbs in before the desert sun made it too hot to bear.  After a little taste of Smith Rock, they are fully ready for 3 more days of climbing!

Rockin' and Rollin

Will and Sam making their way to the top.

July 5, 2010

The Ultimate Oregon trip is rockin and rollin with rock climbing and mountain biking.  The past few days at smith rock could not have been better.  They are getting some unusual weather for the desert including some cool cloud cover, and a refreshing drizzle.  The group has gotten to climb routes like 5 gallon buckets, Dancer, Bunny Face, Helium Woman, and Jete (pronounced Jet-A).  They got to learn some great climbing techniques like the crimp, the smear, and the undercling. On the last day, Jon and Ethan even stayed behind with the climbing instructors to clean up all of the gear and get a few more climbs in.  During their down time, the group got to check out the town of Bend, jump off of some rocks into the Deschutes River, and practice their slack-line skills. A slack-line is a low tight rope that climbers like to walk across, and as the kids found out, it is extremely addicting. Max can even jump onto the rope!  To celebrate the 4^th of July, the group went down the street and tasted some of the local fare at the ice cream shop.  Huckleberry ice cream is their specialty, and everyone loved it. Along with ice-cream, the incredible amount of stars provided some natural fireworks that lasted all night.  Today the group got in their first day of mountain biking, and it was a hit! The single-track trails outside Bend are a premier spot for the beginner and the expert. Sam even commented that mountain biking was so awesome, he wants to do it professionally. These guys are ready for whatever the trails throw them.

Without Hesitation

Photo by Jon - Sam looks like he's falling asleep

July 12, 2010

The group’s last day of mountain biking proved to be an awesome ride.  They got a shuttle up to Tumalo Falls, and when it was time to ride, they grabbed their bikes off the roof, and headed out on their lengthy journey.  From Tumalo Falls, they climbed about 3 miles uphill, then got a huge reward of a downhill terrain course.  They loved it so much, that they rode back up the hill to get to the terrain course again.  Exhausted after the ride, the guys of Ultimate Oregon hit the sack, and got themselves ready for their 3 day rafting trip. 

The food on the rafting trip was excellent.  They ate steak, and shrimp, and every breakfast was hot! The first day on the river consisted of some smaller rapids with more calm sections, and the group got to work on their rafting techniques.  The shop also provided them with 2 inflatable kayaks that everyone could use if they wanted.  Everybody got a chance to hop in them, but Jon, Chad, Max, and Will were seen in them constantly.  The inflatable kayaks were exciting because whoever was in it got to run the rapids by themselves, and that meant being lower to the water which made the rapids seem that much bigger and more challenging.  The second day of rafting was a step up in difficulty.  There were more rapids, and each rapid was a little bit more challenging.  They also found a great spot that the rafting guides let them get out and jump off a huge rock into the river.  They also got to swim through a class 3 rapid without the boat!  That night, Matt woke the guys up in the middle of the night so that they could see the incredible stars, and a great view of the Milky Way.  The last day of their rafting was by far the most action packed.  That morning, they had the option to go on a hike with one of the rafting guides to a couple of caves where they got to hear some local history, and learn about the spectacular place that they were getting to raft.   Throughout the course of the day they went through rapids like Boxcar, and Oak Springs.  All of the rapids were class 3 and 4.  They also got a chance to check out the glacial river that runs off of Mt. Hood, and they got to ride through a few chutes in the glacial flow.  After reaching the end of the rafting, they packed up and headed to Mt. Hood. They stayed at the same campsite as the Surf Oregon group, so they got to have a big campfire and make some smores after a long day.  Needless to say, they hit their sleeping bags early.

            Yesterday was their first day of riding on Mt. Hood.  Though exhausted, these guys got up at 5:30 and headed to the mountain to get a full day in.  They skied all morning, and then got to watch the world cup in the afternoon at Timberline Lodge. When they left the mountain, they did some laundry, made dinner, and headed to bed. Today is their second day of skiing, and they were at the mountain by 6:45 when the lifts open at 7.  These guys are absolutely dedicated to adventure.

Berticus to the Rescue

July 17, 2010


Hello Ultimate Oregon families. This is Jason filling in on trip journal duties for our Course Director Bert. Bert has had to join the boys of Ultimate Oregon for the backpacking section. Anna, their fearless leader has come down with a case of bronchitis. Despite Anna’s strong desire to stay with her expedition-mates, she was just not well enough to make the trek. She has been providing support and was able to get pretty close to the trail and met up with the group on the 2nd night of the hike. She will be waiting for them when the hike out of the backcountry. Bert, or Berticus, was super-psyched to spring in to duty as he has spent a good amount of time with this expedition already. He has told me several times that the Ultimate Oregon group is “really tight, like a band of brothers.” Based on the previous 2 ½ weeks we decided that the original backpacking section we had planned for was just not going to be challenging enough for these guys. Hence, we returned to one of our all time favorite destinations along the Columbia River Gorge and the Eagle Creek trail. The first day they hiked about 7 miles through a waterfall filled gorge. Highlights included passing underneath the 120 ft Tunnel Falls and stopping for pictures at Punchbowl Falls, one of the most scenic waterfalls in the US. Day 2 they backpacked about 6 miles to Wahtum Lake complete with plenty of swimming options. Yesterday the hopped on the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail’s western brother, that stretches from Maine to Canada. We look forward to hearing about the rest of their adventures, and Anna looks forward to reuniting with her team. She is feeling much better by the way and is a real trooper. This program is winding down with just a few more days to go. Expect some tired and inspired children when they return home.