The Buzz

Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom program begins its 43rd year of students and instructors setting out on a life-changing journey across the American Southwest. This winter's Mountain Classroom group, along with instructors Coco Loehr '07 and Timbah Bell, have made their way from Eagle Pond in Wilmot, New Hampshire to Buffalo, New York and just yesterday morning departed Foxhollow Farm in Louisville, Kentucky bound for Clarksdale, Mississippi and a week of canoeing. Max '16 shares the group's first reflection of the term below! 

After leaving Rosebud, South Dakota a little bit over a week ago, it seems that we haven’t stopped driving. While going through Nebraska, we met a retired farmer local to the area who pointed us in the direction of a CAFO, a concentrated animal feeding operation. We tried to visit but were asked to get back on our bus and leave almost immediately. Although we were disappointed at not being able to learn about the advantages of this technique, we were all slightly relieved to be leaving the pungent smell and unnatural cattle scene. 

This week on Survivor: Mountain Classroom Edition! The group headed into the wilderness...alone. We left Colorado and the mountains for South Dakota and the Black Hills. We spent the days leading up to Solos preparing by shopping and packing our individual food, learning to set up tarps and discussing our hopes and fears for our time alone in the woods. 

The past week has not been “spring-like” at all. We have seen snow every day, at times accumulating up to our knees. After Chico Basin, we ventured our way up to a cabin nestled in Pike National Forest.

It would only be fair to say that a lot has happened in the last week and a half. This past weekend Aunt Lori came to visit and Pete and Coco took some well deserved personal time. We spent our days in the Littleton Public Library, the Leanin’ Tree Art Museum and in Boulder enjoying some Ben & Jerry’s and random little shops.

Our next stop on our-cross country adventure featured a rafting and kayaking trip on the San Juan River in Utah. After a day of classes and preparation, we met our river guides, Kay and Amanda. The next few days would be filled with learning and prove a powerful experience for all of us.

The members of Mountain Classroom began the week by climbing into Sea Biscuit, our newley named bus, with a week of once in a lifetime opportunities ahead of us at Joshua Tree National Park. The eagerness to climb was felt throughout the group - a group filled with experienced climbers and new ones.

After a long drive from the Tohono O’odahm Reservation in Arizona, Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom arrived on the planet known as Joshua Tree National Park. The yuccas here sprout from the ground like Truffula trees, and the plutons are forced up from subduction of continental plates. It’s a land known for its climbs and scrambles, and we were led through its bounties by our talented guide, Nate Pakula from Naturalists At Large.