By Victoria Mairal-Cruz ’12, Contributor
Of all four high school years, junior year is the most infamous. The rigorous AP classes, the studying that keeps you up until ridiculous hours of the morning, and, of course, the notorious junior paper. But there is one silver lining in the storm of junior year that sophomores have to look forward to: the junior rafting trip. It was because of the junior rafting trip that in the early hours of Saturday October 2, the CCDS class of 2012 gathered outside the high school. Bound for Lancing, West Virginia, we boarded two coach buses for our adventure.
Upon arrival at the camp site, after a fun six-hour bus ride and lunch at Cracker Barrel, we unpacked our bags and explored the cabins, which were tiny and had no heating. But no matter! Within two hours, half the class was rappelling off of a 100 foot cliff. The rest were eager to follow.
“The cold put a damper on things, but overall [the trip] was a fun experience. The rappelling was fun but not as exciting as I had hoped,” Junior Sadie Lindner said.
“[The rappelling] had the best view…while you were on the cliff, you could see out and it was really pretty,” Junior Petra Palmer said. “I liked the feeling of dropping through the air…you could swing around.”
After rappelling, we enjoyed an outdoor dinner of hamburgers and hotdogs, along with some very delicious chocolate-chip cookies. That night the class gathered around a campfire, where Ellis Frederick, Dane Isburg, Jonas Luebbers, and Josh Motley provided entertainment on the guitar. Munching on s’mores, we sang along to Taylor Swift’s Our Song, among other songs, played by Frederick at the picture-perfect campfire.
One thing that never changed throughout the trip was the freezing cold. I’m sure everyone developed a new-found appreciation for indoor heating, and fires were a blessing. Despite not a hint of sunlight peeping through the clouds, the class was optimistic and bundled up in multiple layers to stay warm.
As Palmer put it, “It was wicked fun but wicked freezing.”
“It was fun and everyone got closer over being really cold together,” Junior Hannah Stewart said.
The white-water rafting on Sunday was by far the best part of the trip. Juniors split up into groups of seven and each group was assigned a raft and a guide. “I liked Gabe, our guide,” Ricci Snell said.
Rapids on ranged from “Class II” (the easiest) to “Class V” (the most tumultuous). Rafting was tiring, but loads of fun. I know my group had an amazing time, with our guide, Ike, who was awesome, and Ms. Lichty-Smith. We didn’t get flipped once, unlike some others! “It felt good to win the raft race in the Dillingham advisory raft,” Russell Patterson said.
Lunch awaited us on the river bank, and the hot dogs and hamburgers were welcomed by all. Steam poured out of our wetsuits as we ate, shivering by the fire, only to get back in the rafts for another two hours of rafting. After a total of five hours rafting, wearing only bathing suits, wetsuits, life-jackets, and plastic pullovers, the majority of our class had chattering teeth. And as we trundled onto the school bus for the hour-long ride back to the campsite, some even sported purple lips!
Our last night in West Virginia was again spent gathered around the campfire. More s’mores, more music, and more singing! Sunday night, we actually got to stay up late, not having to get up until 7:15 the next morning. Monday morning, everyone trudged to breakfast, and reluctantly packed up their bags for the bus ride home. The rafting trip was an experience I’ll never forget. Sure, I’ve never been colder in my life, but that was part of the experience, part of the adventure, and part of the junior rafting trip.
Photos courtesy of Mr. Carr
