Bear In the Wood

There is a bear the woods of Flagstaff. If anyone still is reading these. However the bear that we have gotten to during our English class is not really bear. The bear is Karyn. we have been deceived all semester getting to know bear. I found out on my last day in Flag by bear who told me that she made the name bear up to be funny and that no one calls her bear. So who is the really bear in the woods is it Karyn or Bear we got to know?

Looking Back

This semester our class blogs created an online community. Looking back over all of our blogs I realized that we have gotten to know each other a little deeper than from just in class. During class we broke the ice and became more comfortable to share our life’s stories and struggles but didn’t have enough time in class to do so and this blogging assignment made it possible. The assignment was a chance to show the rest of the class who we are. It was fun to read and get know everyone a little more than class time would allow. I don’t feel that this assignment would have been as much fun if our class wasn’t so comfortable with each other like we seem to be. This assignment taught me a lot about blogging and how interesting and fun it can be. It is truly an online sharing of thoughts and emotions and by sharing them brings people together. I do belong to another online community where it is more personal and I feel because I don’t know or will never see those people that I can truly tell them what is bothering me and I will get helpful feedback from others who have gone or are going through the same thing and they are not as judgmental. I have really enjoyed that site and loves going on there from time to time reading and helping others in the same way members of that site have helped me. By sharing my story with the other members I feel a part of that community and it is an amazingly positive place to be and at the end of a day where I can go to escape to that place and be comfortable. Online communities are a great thing because they allow people from different areas with similar interests and problems to communicate with each other. Our class blogs were fun to share our interests and perspectives on the world we live in and I felt that I learned more about differences that people have rather than community of sharing views on one idea. Our class community was strong because of our physical relation but because of our physical relation I feel that people would hold back and not be as honest as they would have liked to express their feelings.

Feels like things are comming to an end

I am not really sure how to feel yet but as the days go by we get closer to the end of the school year. It is a little exciting to be able to go back home and spend time with my family that I have missed a lot. I can’t wait to see my puppy (that my parents bribed me with to try to get me to stay closer to home) and share my stories from this great year to my old friends. Then it is really sad to be leaving flagstaff knowing that I may never come back and I will miss everyone her and especially Joanna. I will miss her tons. Just knowing that when I get back from class that she won’t be there to listen to my rants or make fun of others with me or just even hangout with and not do anything. No more arts and crafts with the crew. It will be so sad when we have to take our letters off the door but i know i will keep mine forever. It seems like it was just yesterday that I you Jen, Kristy and my crazy ex roommate to go meet this crazy guy Ryan for dinner our first night her. Who would of thought that one crazy dinner would end up with 4 crazy close friends. I will miss you a ton and I am going to have to plan a trip out here next year and still call you all the time. I don’t want it to end I wish we could just live forever in some of the great memories we have. Well it’s not over yet but I think we all need to go back to that pizza place one last time for our good byes.

A fun get away from flagstaff

Last weekend a few of us just jumped into the car and had to get out for a day. In the end we drove down to Sedona and went on this hike. It was a really fun hike and different than trails I am use to go on in Colorado. The trail we went on was Cathedral Rock. It was an easy hike but can be steep at times and is only like 2 miles to the top. This was really cool but different because it was hard to tell where the trail is and the only thing that marks it is a mound of red rocks that completely blend into the red rocks all around. This was a lot of fun and we go some really good pictures however leave your water bottles in the car. There will be times on this trail when it is vertical but there are foot holes but it is still hard to hold that and make it up. We ended up leaving our water bottles to the side of the trail and it was a lot easier and they were there when we got back. So if you want to get out of flag I so suggest going on this hike it is a lot of fun and after the hike you can hang out in Sedona.

trip plans

So I had to all my planning when I was home for spring break and submit my information to my boss to approve and he has assigned me three girls and one guy in my trail group around the ages of 17-22. So this will be interesting but fun. I am so excited I cannot wait to go. I have recruited my good friend Jim to come with us and be the muscles for the girls. It will just be nice to go with him to because if someone has a question I cannot answer I know he will be able and he knows a lot more than me about this trail and backpacking stuff.

Also I found out another thing we can explore on this adventure. At the turn of the 20th century, efforts were made to create an underground dam along Lost Creek — in order to create a reservoir. The project failed, fortunately. The only remaining hints of the project are a few log cabins along the creek, and a rusting winch and boiler at the Shafthouse site. Hikers can still wander through the cabins today, and the Shafthouse site sits in one of the most scenic areas of the Lost Creek Wilderness. It provides and excellent day hiking destination, and an even better destination for backpackers. There are numerous backcountry campsites along the Goose Creek Trail, from streamside locations at the .25 mile point to a granite-surrounded site near the Shafthouse.

Lost Creek

I think I might have made up my mind. I have picked the trail called lost creek. I have done with trail a few years back and for the people that I am going to take that have never backpacked it will be easy but fun. This trail gets its name from the creek that disappears nine times on this trail but at the end a nice camp spot next to the river.

I will never forget the few days I have spent here playing in the river and bouldering just me and the boys I grew up with from elementary school. That is why I have decided to do a day hike in and set up camp and then each day do a different activity than day hike out. I remember that it was a easy hike of about nine miles in to where I want to set up camp. It is a good spot because I know there are some old long cabins of old ghost towns that we could hike to one day. Then one day we could go bouldering one day or even spelunking in the nearby cave. However when we did that a few years back there was still ice in the back and really tight area to climb through and with me being clumsy fell and bruised a rib and that made caring a backpack nine miles so much fun. Another funny thing that happened was on the day we planned to hike out we played too long in the river and before we knew it was two in the afternoon and we told our my friends mom that if she didn’t hear from us by four that Sunday then to call search and rescue. So we had to book it out of there and on our way out we were on our last two miles or so and got caught in a really bad lightning storm. When we saw a flash of lightening the thunder was instant. It was really scary but we just had to stop on the side if this steep slop and spread out from each other and sit on our backpacks until the lightning was farther away. Then once we got back to our car we realized that it was four and none of us had a single so we hurried to pack the car and found snacks that my friend’s mom packed us and we all just stopped to eat for a second. We were suppose to eat breakfast and then leave but it was almost dinner and we hiked back so fast that we were so hungry that people probably thought that we have never seen food before. Then we got in the car and right as we started to go lightning struck a tree about 200ft from us. We drove down the pass and used a pay phone in this weird gas station in the middle of nowhere and then go home and slept.

Splunking

I think the coolest hike I have ever done around Flagstaff would have to be Lava River Cave. It is not a very long but it is challenging because it is so dark that you can’t even see your hand an inch away from your face when you turn your flash light off. I recommend before you go on this hike that you bring a flash light per/person (the head lamp kinds would be the best because there are a lot of times you have to climb or crawl) really good shoes the bottom of the cave id really sharp and you don't want to be wearing converse and a snack for the end (but keep it in your car it is a pain to have to have a back pack and have to crawl). The coolest part of this cave is when you are near the end and the ceiling is like thirty feet. It is really moment for all of the tall people who have been crouching for a long time. I am not sure if this hike Is open again for the season but when it does it is a fun one to do with a small group of people.