NST 87

 I'm back from the field, having just hung out on the Delta with the Illustrious "Mostly A Team" (Amy, Alaine, Amanda, Andrew, Aaron, Dave, Marisa, Steven, and Zach) for the last couple weeks. I've been told that the Outward Bound gods give you the exact weather you need for your course, which was entirely true in this case. Right off the bat we suffered through a lightning drill on the sandbar, followed by a rainy 12 hours of our lives (not unlike my ENTIRE New Staff Training). After we made sure the participants knew how to put on their banana suits and sit on gear bags and ensolite mats, the skies cleared up and the raingear stayed stowed for the rest of the trip. Warm days, cool nights, more fireflies than I've ever seen, behavior sims, lessons, teamy teamness...oh my. Talk about a wonderful way to spend most of May.

Boston and Busack. Representing oh so many things here. My co-trainer, Katie and I both served as team leaders in AmeriCorps and would often joke that we were "getting things done" for Kurt Hahn and Outward Bound.

Trying to figure out how on earth to get the whole team from point A to point B with nothing to protect them from the lava but magic glasses.

Figuring it out

I emerged the morning after the rainy night, from our tiny, tiny trainer tent...and it was one of those mornings that I'm just so grateful for this job and life.

Marisa reaching for main.

Aaron checking out the chart. Just kidding. The map.

My favorite stretch of the river, past all the houseboats. This one, however, is looking a little worse for the wear.

Awesome tree in Hastie Lake.

Heading for the Lizards.

The last 10%, coming in at 7:03 a.m. Once again, my co-instructor and I placed a friendly wager as to the arrival time of the team, and once again my guess was off by mere minutes. Katie hit it right on the mark.