A quick update from student Ben: Over the past six days, the Ke$ha Kollective (Suzy, Ben, Hannah D, Alex, Bec, Julia, Matt, Nathan, Aaron, Alana and instructors Ian, Nick, and Emily R) went backpacking through the Talkeetna Mountains. Over this interesting adventure we saw many creatures and had a lot of good times. Throughout the entire backpack we saw three moose, a caribou, and a herd of goats. While hiking we encountered countless puddles of mud and goop. Everyone got stuck at least once. Halfway through at Chitna Pass, we all enjoyed our full sized snickers, especially instructor Ian, who ate five all at once. Along the way we shared laughs, falls, hugs, and even more laughs together and it made out to be a great six days.
A quick update from student Keegan: The Muddy Sombreros (Maryrose, Martine, Hannah P, Anna, Andie, Brian, Max, Michael, Keegan, Ethan, and instructors Emily S and Allison) really connected over the past week of backpacking. We had many hard days, much involving either mud, way too many river crossings, or bush whacking after losing the trail. Nothing brought us down, not even when the mud nearly stole the boots of Hannah, Emily, Max, Andie, and Keegan. Emily was rather excited about all the mountain goat spottings while Ethan and Brian noticed numerous moose throughout the week. We had many hills, quick dips, and miles to cover but we made it out with time to spare. Something that really lifted our spirits was meeting up with the other half of our group on the third and fourth days, seeing some friends from Alaska 2 on the fourth day, and chatting with Alaska 1B on our sixth and final day. While this was one of the most difficult things many of us have ever done, we will never forget the amazing views or the wonderful community we established.