Discloser: This expose is fully taken from the Spring Mountain 2018 experience and might vary for other groups, but our hunch is the lessons we've learned will be similar to those you will learn on your Mountain Classroom experience. Know what you are getting yourself into, and then make the most of it! 

Katie '19: 20 Lesser Known Facts About Mountain Classroom: 

1. You will fall in love with nature. Some areas we have traveled were almost never touched by humans, which makes these places truly sacred. There are no words to describe some of the places we have been and the people we have met, it’s like trying to describe heaven.
2. You will take dumps in buckets, bags, and pits. Sometimes, actually most of the time, it’s scary but if you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.
3. You will get a mean Teva/Chaco tan.
4. You will eat combinations of food you never would imagine, and it will taste so good. Such as mustard, sesame seeds and sausage (highly recommend). You will also starve at some point, but it’s a valuable learning experience.
5. You won’t miss your phone that much or at all. Maybe you’ll have some homesickness but people in the present are way more interesting than snapchats.
6. You will be really cold and do crazy things to warm yourself up. If you can’t feel your feet and have at least six more miles of rainy river to paddle down: Irish dancing, sprints and practically anything will be possible (trust me it was really fun other than the cold). Also, hot water in water bottles will practically save you on cold nights. (Ski socks? BRING IT.)
7. The group will accumulate weird things. There is no way to prepare, just accept.
8. There will be sand…a lot of sand…everywhere. You will end up eating it in your pasta, sandwiches, and fruit. It will pile in your socks and there will be endless sand falling out of your shoes forever.
9. You will get comfortable with the group, almost too comfortable. Sometimes to the point where it’s a bit concerning.
10. The hardest days are the best days. Waking up at 3:30 am to do a 12 mile canyoneering expedition after three days of hard hikes might seem daunting but will be the most fun you have ever had.
11. You will drink questionable water. You will go to really cool places and the water will taste just as bad as the place is cool, but you never regret going.
12. There will be tons of cute old people who you will adore and look up to almost as much as your grandparents.
13. You will wade through brown water with no idea what that water contains and you will fall in. Anyone want a hug? What’s more priceless?
14. You will trust a piece of rope with your life. Whether it is rock climbing or belaying down a canyon, you will have to trust that the systems you have put in place will save you if you fall. And don’t worry the rope is super trustworthy, it can apparently hold a semi truck effortlessly.
15. You will look like a bush person and actually like it. Dirty and looking like you live in the bushes? Three sweatshirts, two pairs of pants, socks, and Tevas? Yep, sounds about right.
16. You will fall either on the ground or fifteen feet up in the air and probably scrape yourself. Luckily climbing rope and belays save you but losing your balance means gaining some battle scars. And when you fall you always have to get up. It’s really just a test of gravity.
17. Your life will center around stickers and finding them for the bus.The funnier the better and women empowerment stickers are gems that go above the bus door.
18. You will run into Alums, tons of Alums, and they will be cooler than you. They will chase you down in parking lots, run on the bus and shout at you across the park and all to tell you that Mountain is the best experience ever and that it is the most life changing experience they have ever had.
19. You will talk to strangers. And they might be crazy. You will find yourself having really interesting conversations with homeless people, meet Ben from Ben and Jerry’s on the street or learn about hiking across the United States from ranch hands. Every person you meet teaches you something different and you cherish every story you hear.
20. You will wish there was more time in the day. There are always more options of things to do than time to do those things and the group will become a family that you wish to spend as much time with as possible.