Multiple Downpours Added to the Experience as Centaurus High School Students Embraced Two Rainy Days of Adventure. Written by Senior CAP Instructor Erin Angel.
Anxiously watching weather models as the date for the Centaurus High School CAP trip drew near, the prospect of camping and driving in 12 inches of snow led us to make some quick pivots with our plans. While students were so excited to have their first experience sleeping in a tent in the mountains, they were also super-excited to have their first rock climbing experience. So we not only made the trip work, we did it in style.
We started our first day with games in the rain at Waneka Lake. Then, while some people cooked a hot lunch, others elected to go play on the playground. The regular slides had turned into waterslides in the downpour, and there were no moms with little kids. Teenagers could rule the playground!
After lunch, we headed to The Spot in Louisville to learn to rock climb. We traded our soggy raincoats and sneakers for climbing harnesses and climbing shoes. Cottonwood Instructor David gave all the students an orientation and some basic instructions, and then off they went to scale great heights. Highlights of the afternoon were watching a student who had never climbed before display spider-like natural talent, students trying over and over to solve a climbing problem, and a student getting to belay Ms. Angel!
After this, the students got to go home and sleep in warm, dry beds instead of tents collapsing under the weight of spring snow. The next day, we arrived at school with our new climbing muscles slightly sore. We packed our lunches and put on rain gear to prepare for an even rainier outdoor day at Chautauqua Park.
As we hit the trail, students received picture cards of edible spring plants that we tried to find along our hike. We found most of them before we even made it up onto Enchanted Mesa! Who knew there were so many useful plants? We stopped for lunch under a tree, but that tree was no match for the sudden downpour. BBQ potato chip soup, anyone? So we continued hiking until the rain slowed down enough to play a game of toilet tag, then here came the rain again! Back to hiking, we decided that we couldn’t get much wetter, so many students just waded through the stream we needed to cross instead of hopping on the rocks. We were so wet that we just gave in to the rain, and students started really enjoying the rain and the beauty surrounding us. The downpour didn’t dampen our spirits!
Just as the sun finally came out and the rain slowed, we played several rounds of the game camouflage, hiding behind bushes and rocks and sneaking up on the “prey.” We finished the day with a surprise. Ms. Angel and some accomplices had set up a piñata to celebrate the twins’ 15th birthday. A sweet ending to the day!
A big thanks to the funders and supporters that make the CAP class possible, including: Enterprise Holdings Foundation, Great Outdoors Colorado, Patagonia, Thorne Nature Experience, Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program and the Xcel Energy Foundation.
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