Fall Break: Cumberland Island

October 22-25, 2009

Cumberland Island is an island off the east coast of Georgia just north of Florida and was the destination for our SOAP fall break, backpacking trip. At 11:59pm Wednesday night, the van packed with all 12 of us began our seven and a half hour drive toward our adventure. Like past trips I have been in charge of, I had never been to the trip location before. This time, however, things were a little different. I set myself up for great success as I decided to get one of my students involved as the leader of the trip. That by far was one of the best decisions I have ever made. She decided to ask her boyfriend to help co-lead the trip putting me in a position I love: support.

Both of them did such a phenomenal job I was basically along for the ride. They did research, held a pre-trip meeting, typed up packing lists, made reservations, and lead worship. To top it all off, they somehow figured out how to order amazing weather!

When going to a place that none of us had been before it is hard to know what to expect. They both handled the challenges that arose from that beautifully. When participants (many of which had never been backpacking before) walk away from an experience like this with the start of new relationships, the strengthening of old ones, and a refreshed energy; you know the leaders did their job and did it well.

GA Introductions

October 19, 2009

To start the introductions of my fellow Graduate Assistants, I will begin with the wise one among us, Jim. Our local expert in wilderness survival, he lived in the woods most of last semester and showed me how to make cordage out of bark. Here he is demonstrating his technique for scaring off any wild predators.

Next we have Jeremy. Jeremy comes from the tiny state of Delaware, which I can claim I also have set foot in. A fellow photographer, avid outlet sock shopper and my toughest competition for best hair; he is known as the Gear Master ‘round these parts as he keeps a watchful eye on all of the gear circulating.

To finish out the J clan, there is Jerrod. Making his way here all the way from Washington State, I have come to refer to him as MacGyver. Defining the word “resourceful” by his very action, he can find a way to fix pretty much anything anywhere (Rumor has it that he started a Diesel bus engine using a camp stove).

Moving on to Ryan, the local guy. Ryan is deemed Mr. SOAP for he has been carrying the program since last semester. We had to learn how to work together quickly as the first 32-page catalog was due within two weeks of my arrival. We both walked away a little sleep deprived but uninjured :)

To the last of the male GAs, I finish with Ben, the head GA. Ben finds himself in a tough position being in charge of his peers. But as his background drips with experience across the board in outdoor activities and leadership roles, it is no wonder he is where he is. Plus he makes killer pancakes!

Ann, the veteran GA and female of the group, has her sights set on Graduation in December. She is the voice of the undergrad program and the organizational pioneer in my eyes. She has laid down some great groundwork for us to follow and build upon. She has also been a great person to live with as she has served as a springboard for ideas on several occasions.

Last, but definitely not least, we have my roommate Lauren. When assigned a task, she gets the job down. A natural planner and leader she is full of initiative at work as well as at home. I attribute any social life I have outside of work to her as she makes the phone calls whenever an idea gets thrown into the air. I love people that make things happen!

The Biology Trail

October 18, 2009
As mentioned previously, I have in my backyard about 10 miles of trails weaving over creeks and through hilly terrain. With the beauty of the fall colors, I couldn’t help but do a little exploring with my camera in hand.

My Backyard Basically

September 30, 2009

Since I arrived, I have yet to know what it is like to work from the Outdoor Education Center (the OEC). It has been interesting to watch our apartment become the temporary OEC. Some days I will walk in to find a stack of first aid kits or tubs of gear or stacks of papers.

All of this really being no surprise as the OEC is basically in my backyard. It has been a little frustrating at times. With the OEC under construction and the finish date out of reach, a portable office has become the fashion. Once the OEC is finished I imagine it will be absolutely wonderful having the office just outside my door.

Just yesterday I was introduced to another part of my “backyard”. On Southern’s campus there is what is known as the Goliath wall. When I came for my interview, I was shown this rock face. It wasn’t until yesterday that I got a chance to climb it.

Still there is more of my backyard to be explored. I have yet to go into the cave on campus and there are ten miles of trails just beyond the challenge course that just happens to be in my backyard.

Beyond the Job

September 29, 2009

I have realized that being here almost a month and a half now; I have talk very little about my life beyond the job. To start with, I live in a 2-bedroom apartment with 3 other girls (Top to B): Lauren (my roommate), Kelly, and Ann (a fellow GA). This may seem like a recipe for disaster. I can’t say that we haven’t faced some challenges, but for four almost complete strangers from diverse backgrounds I would say we get along great. After all, dull moments are few and far between.

I have learned to expect the unexpected in our apartment. Example: one day while working from home, Lauren walks in to greet Kelly and I. In her hand is a pillowcase that had something in it that was definitely not a pillow. Soon a 6ft snake emerges from the pillowcase. The snake was being used for an event and needed a little “handling” before it was to encounter students.

Another example, while Lauren and I were watching a movie, I noticed a bug scurry across the carpet and head behind the TV. I proclaimed what I saw to Lauren. Neither of us really wanted to take care of the situation, as this was becoming a regular occurrence due to the fact that we practically live in a basement. Then suddenly, my brain computed what I saw. I sat up quickly and said to Lauren, “Was that a scorpion that just ran across the floor?” Immediately, we both jumped up and ran to look behind the TV. What I thought I saw was confirmed to be a reality. We had a scorpion in our house. This in turn caused some mental gymnastics. Currently, I sleep on the floor. Well, I sleep on a mat on the floor; but still there is no gap between me and the floor. I was dipping into some strong mental power reserves as I fell asleep that night.

As you can probably imagine with 4 girls, our place is filled with different aromas, as we each like to cook and bake different things. It is rare to have us all in at the same time as three of us being GAs during this busy season and Kelly being a nursing major on the road to graduation in December. Even so, I am sure more memorable moments will arise as my time here progresses.

Get Dirty with SOAP

September 28, 2009

One of my main responsibilities this semester is to assist with the Southern Outdoor Adventure Program also known as the SOAP program. As mentioned before, I was inducted into the SOAP program through the epic Nickajack trip. Hoping to get a better handle on leading trips here at Southern, I was given the opportunity to lead two more trips this month: Whigg Meadows Camping Trip and a combo trip to bike the Virginia Creeper.

I co-lead the Whigg Meadows trip with a fellow GA and apartment mate, Ann. Our personalities and work styles complimented each other well. The biggest challenge was keeping the masses at bay. This trip was a popular choice, but learning from my previous experience, I stayed firm on keeping the cap at twenty-two. Overall, the trip went swimmingly with great weather and fellowship.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I still have yet to find the word that best describes this trip. Epic would suffice, but I feel that word is being overused as of lately. This… monumental event was truly inconceivable. The kick off point began with only 4 out of 7 people showing up to go on the trip. This made my co-leader Jeremy and I question whether we should even run the trip.

In hindsight, we probably would have been better off to stay home but then I wouldn’t have a story to tell. So we left for Virginia with 4 students, 2 to hike Mt. Rogers with Jeremy and 2 to bike the Virginia Creeper with me.

When we arrived at our campsite, it was raining. Not a hard rain by any means, but we set up camp and made a fire. The next morning looked promising as we woke up to an overcast sky. Being the Sabbath we took our time getting ready to go.

As the bike team pulled out of the camp ground to make our way to the trailhead, the rain started. Slow and steady the water fell, as we tried to navigate our way through the county roads in a 12-passenger van with a trailer in tow. Many times we had to turn around. At one point we came upon the Virginia Creeper trail, but unfortunately it wasn’t the trail head. I decided to pull into the parking lot of this back country, roadside convenience store to ask for directions.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I immediately regretted it. On any other day, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. However, with the rain coming down heavier and for over an hour this grass parking lot what not a good choice. Nevertheless, I hopped out of the van and ran in to inquire about the trailhead.

After being informed that I needed to take road 76 in the next county only a few miles away, I informed them I was most likely stuck in their parking lot. My situation was confirmed as I returned to the van. I was followed by the man from the convenience who so graciously informed me that he made a phone call to a man up the road who was going to bring down his tracker to haul us out.

Not more than seven minutes later, we were back on the road in search of the same road we were on but in the next county. After a bit more searching, out mark was finally found. With bikes unloaded, we hit the trail for our 17-mile ride.

17 miles might seem like a lot especially after getting such a late start in the day. The beauty of the Virginia Creeper trail is that from Whitetop to Damascus it is all down hill. Two and a half hours later, we were riding into Damascus completely soaked and speckled with mud from riding though 17 miles of saturated gravel and dirt.

Damascus seemed like a ghost town due to the ever-present downpour of rain. We rode to the first bike shop I knew of to inquire about their next shuttle. To my dismay, they didn’t have any more shuttles running that late in the day. I was advised to try anther bike shop down the road which ended up being closed when I got there. Further down the strip I went and finally found a place that would run a shuttle for us (for a nice hefty fee or course). With my only other option being to hitchhike at this point I went for the shuttle taking my fellow bikers with me.

In transit back to Whitetop, the driver informed us that he heard on the radio it was predicted that by the end of the day they would have accumulated more rain that day than the amount of rainfall for the entire year thus far. I could only laugh as I recalled the moments on the trail when I could hardly see because of all of the water shooting into my eyes.

Trying to avoid another episode, I told the driver where we were camping and asked if he new the shortest way back. A vision of the gas gage encroaching on E flashed before my eyes, so I asked him where the nearest gas station was as well. His experience proved to be an asset as we found our way back without a problem.

As we rendezvoused with the others who were just as soaked as we were, we came to a consensus that we would head back to Tennessee instead of staying another night. We arrived back in Collegedale at 1:30am. I was tired and in disbelief of what had occurred in the last 36 hours. My clothes were still damp, and I still was finding bits of dirt on my face. Only then did I truly understand the tag line of the program: Get Dirty with SOAP.

It Just Doesn’t Stop!

September 6, 2009

The craziness and the insanity continue to be part of my GA world. With another trip down the Hiwassee, then the Ocoee, the design and completion of the Southern Outdoor Adventure Program (SOAP) catalog, and leading the Nickajack trip for SOAP. I was voted as the leader of this trip because I had been before, once. Originally we were only going to take 24 people; eight canoes with three people in each.

In a whirlwind I still can’t understand, the trip ended up with 51 participants making it more epic than I was prepared to handle. By the time everything got organized, we arrived with the sun setting over the horizon. With a shortage of gear due to the masses, not all of us got a seat in a boat or raft. Instead we walked to the platform by the cave entrance while others gathered on the lake. As those in the boats began to sing praise and worship songs, those of us on the platform watched the full moon

rise over the surrounding hills. A reminder of the greatness of God and a view that only the group of us on the platform got to witness. It was like God was saying “Heather, it was worth all the effort. Enjoy.”

Learning to Fly

August 19, 2009

I have heard the expression many times before “you have to hit the ground running”. When I have started some of my jobs in the past, I have been part of that expression coming to life. My first few days as a Graduate Assistant (GA) in the Outdoor Leadership department at Southern Adventist University have surpassed that expression which I didn’t know was possible. Right now I feel like the expression has turned into “Hit the ground only to run a couple of steeps because you will never catch up running; you have to fly”.

The easiest way to explain this would be to give a play by play of my first three days in Tennessee.

Friday, August 14, 2009

4:30am: Leave for Collegedale, TN from Marion, IN

12:45pm: Arrive at new apartment. Start moving stuff in.

1:20pm: Call new roommate to tell her I have arrived. She asks me to come over the office to meet everyone.

1:30pm: This little meet and great has turned into a meeting

3:00pm: Leave the meeting with the knowledge that in three hours I will be helping lead a canoeing trip on Nickajack lake to go view bats coming out of a cave at sunset.

10:45pm: Return to Collegedale ready for bed.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Find time to start unpacking

Sunday, August 16, 2009

10:00am: Head up to the Water shed to load boats for a white water rafting trip.

11:00am: Leave for the Hiawassee River.

9:00pm: Walk through the door of my apartment after returning from the river. At this point, still trying to comprehend the fact that I just guide a raft down Class II & III rapids for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. Yup. Zero experience with the driving stick. INSANE!

Made Possible by Tetrus

August 13 2009

Ta-Da! As an avid packer, I consider this my greatest accomplishment thus far.

Will it All Fit?

August 12, 2009

Transition time has arrived once more. My summer at week as support staff; a role I gladly accepted after an intense, non-stop Cheerio Adventures wrapped up with two summer. Some photo highlights:

I find myself now back in Marion, IN staying with mi amigos, Aletheia (pictured) and Kara. I have come to collect my things to make yet another move. I found that the transition from camp to civilization has been harder than I expected. Life all summer has been outside. The only time I ever went into a building with 4 walls was to go to the bathroom or the rare number of times I slept in the staff cabin. Meals were even cooked outside. When I arrived at Lynette and Matt’s house, I found that I couldn’t handle being indoors for a long period of time. Never expected this reaction.

Now I look toward the next adventure to come: Grad School in Collegedale, TN. In two days I will be back on the road with everything I own in my car….well at least that is what I hope. As I look at the mountain of stuff with my name on it in the top of Lynette’s garage, I begin to doubt. I have done it before, true. But since then, I have added little things here and there making me question. Question my packing abilities and what will go if it doesn’t all fit. All will be answered tomorrow.