Hello all from California! Our Spring Mountain Classroom group is growing in spirit and unity every day. As we drove from the airport towards our first campsite, called Mission Creek, we overheard our instructors Peter and Lori engaged in a conversation about genetically engineered foods, or GE foods, which immediately set the bar for our expectations of the term.
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.
February 9th marked the first day of our much anticipated solos. Our journey consisted of a four day and three night experience spent alone in a confined section of the Cascabel Hermitage in the San Pedro River watershed of Arizona. The Cascabel Conservation Association is the caretaker and protector of this land, preserving it to provide hermitage for a meditative retreat to the anyone who wants. These solos can last from two days up to 60 days. The land there is under significant threat from development and the reflections and testimonies of past Mountain Classroom students are important in justifying the conservation easements.
After a rainy adjunct weekend with Ross in Tucson, Arizona, we left the enormous cacti behind and headed back to New Mexico for a three night backpacking trip in the Gila National Forest. After a day’s drive, we were welcomed by a much chillier camp ground in Silver City, NM.
Proctor Academy Mountain Classroom arrived at the Annunciation House to begin our Border Awareness experience with hopes of improving our general immigration knowledge, completely unaware of the stories and bravery we would be shown.
Over the last seven days we have learned and grown a lot as a group during our canoeing expedition, led by our experienced river guide Jeff Renfro with Desert Sports. This trip was a true expedition, having to strap all we needed to live on into our canoes and set off into the isolation that is Big Bend National Park.
After the winter break, our group has begun to return to life on Mountain Classroom. We quickly jumped right back into our responsibilities without hesitation. The first few days we were reintroduced to our classes. We have to be able to manage our time wisely with our homework and our daily routine. Even though we have just gotten back we are pretty independent with the jobs that each of us are assigned every day. We take turns being cooks, who make the delicious meals, and being the leader of the day, who keeps track of the groups timeliness and makes sure the rest of the jobs get done without any problems. As our group grows closer and becomes more dependent on one other in these roles, we are also learning just how independent we can be.
Mountain Classroom director, and former instructor, Annie MacKenzie shares the story of how one Proctor Academy family's life was shaped by Mountain Classroom.
The other day, someone asked me to explain the magic that is Mountain Classroom. My first thought was that Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom changes student’s lives. However, knowing that in my gut is one thing, proving it is another. Here’s some proof.
