HOCC Middle School Backpacking Trip When: Sunday, July 20 th Saturday, July 26 th Where: South Fork, Colorado to hike Hope Mt. Why: Time away from our busy society is important. Spending time in God s untouched creation allows you to connect with Him in new and exciting ways. It also allows relationships with your peer group to grow on a deeper level. This trip will test your limits physically, spiritually, and mentally. It will give you an opportunity to work with a group to reach a goal. It offers a chance to rejuvenate your spirit, reflect on the direction of your life, and realign it with God s will. You will also have lots of fun hanging out free from the pressures of society. I am extremely excited about this trip because we will have a fantastic spot to fish. I am not typically that interested in fishing, but flyfishing is fun, especially when so many fish are biting! We will also climb one of my favorite mountains, Hope Mountain. When I stand on this peak, I am reminded of the hope God offers each one of us through his Son. If you have not ever been on a backpacking trip before, this is a fantastic way to connect with God and other HOCC members. Spots are limited, so please pay your $50 deposit to Betsy Stratton as soon as you can. You will need to make two additional $100 payments at the end of May and June. Read the following information for more details about the trip. Feel free to contact Mark Moss or Betsy Stratton for any questions or concerns.
Phone: 214-927-9350 call/text (be sure to include your name if you send me a text) E-mail: markmoss80@hotmail.com Activities/Itinerary Activities Lunch Dinner Mon Leave church at 5AM and travel to South Fork Co. Tues Hike 4 miles to Rock Lake Wed Hike 4 miles to Archuletta Lake Thu Fri Sat Day hike Hope Mt. and play games. Day of Rest Fishing, Games, etc. Hike 7 miles downhill back to the van. Stay in a hotel in Tucumcari, NM. Sack Group Group Group Sun Return to Dallas by 5PM Continental Sack Lunch Eat at The Shaft Eat at the Malt Shop Fast Food Pizza Hut Eat with your family! Cost: $250 Includes one hotel night, one campground night, 4 trail dinners, two breakfast meals, water purification, group first-aid kits, equipment, and transportation. There are additional costs as outlined below. Transportation is the largest cost. Travel Meals: Most people bring between $40 & $50 for 5 travel meals. 3 meals will be fast food chains. The Shaft will cost between $7 and $10. Malt Shop cost between $6 - $10. Trail Food: $15 - $30 You will need to bring your own snacks, two trail breakfast meals, and four trail lunches.
Boots: You will need to have your own hiking boots, wool socks, and liners. If you would like to save money, I have some donated boots for students to borrow. Otherwise, you will need to purchase some boots from Academy, REI, Dicks Sporting Goods, or some other retailer. Some people buy new shoes from Wal-Mart every year for about $30. They seem to do fine in those. The most important thing is the wool socks, liners, and ankle support. Your foot will twist if you have no ankle support. CORSAR ($5) This is a search and rescue card that I require everyone to purchase. Please read the details on the website. www.coloradotrail.org/corsar.html Provided equipment: We have tents, 15 degree sleeping bags, air-pads, stoves, cooking gear, internal framed backpacks, rain covers, water filtration pumps, cooking and eating utensils, water bottles, and other group equipment. You won t need to purchase or provide any of this. Let me know at our shake down if you plan to use your own equipment. I budget $15 per person for equipment maintenance. We will meet at some point in April or May to see what type of fitness shape everyone is in. You will be required to either run/walk two miles in less than 20 minute or walk 6 miles. You will have two chances. If you can t do it in April or May, you can try again in June or July. You should be training your cardio and legs 3-4 days a week for this trip. EVERYONE always says they wished they had prepared more before the trip. Yes, you are just walking, but you are walking for a long time at a high altitude. IT S HARD BUT REWARDING! Contact information: If you would like further details or if you have any questions, please contact Mark Moss. Phone: 214-927-9350 call/text E-mail: markmoss80@hotmail.com
Food Suggestions You will be responsible for two breakfast and four lunches on the trail and river. Here are some suggestions. You will also need to bring travel money for 5-6 meals. I suggest between $40 and $50. Please make sure your child understands this money is for their meals, not for souvenirs or toys. They will have a chance to buy souvenirs, so they can bring extra money if they want a t-shirt or something. We will have two group breakfast meals and four dinners provided by the church. Pop-tarts Granola Bars Bars Fruit Bars Dried Fruit Oatmeal Packets Bagels Lunch Baby Carrots Can Chicken and crackers Can Tuna and crackers Peanut Butter and Crackers Dried Fruit Snicker Bars Granola Bars Fruit Bars Apples String Cheese Trail Mix Drinks No can drinks! (Way too heavy)
Consider bringing Crystal Light or Wyler s Light Packets to make juice. Don t make the mistake of buying Kool-Aid without sugar. We will have pumps for drinking water. We will use chlorine tablets for people when they make juice. Travel Bag You will need a travel bag that should have the following. First set of trail clothes Hiking boots, T-shirt, shorts, wool socks, liners, hat Travel clothing 2 T-shirts, Shorts, PJs, underwear, socks, etc. Swimsuit Travel Lunch Travel Money - $40 - $50 Supply List You will need to provide the following. Everything - should be packed in individual plastic zip-lock bags: 1) T-shirts 2 (Put one in your pack and one in travel bag.) 2) Long underwear (tops and bottoms), long sleeve shirt and wind pants, or sweats. (Sweats weigh more and they take up space in your pack) 3) Fleece pullover or wool blend sweater (You only need this in addition to item 3 if you are cold natured. I don t bring both. I bring one or the other.) 4) Wool socks 2 pair (Academy or REI) (Put one in your pack and one in travel bag.) 5) Liners 2 pair (REI) (Put one in your pack and one in travel bag.) 6) Shorts 2 (Appropriate Light Weight) (Put one in your pack and one in travel bag.) 7) Underwear (One per day on the trail) 8) Sleeping Clothes - (Lightweight boxers and shirt) 9) Hiking boots (Academy, REI, Sears - Don t over spend. I saw some decent shoes for about $30 at Academy. I won t let you go without boots. Ankle support is a necessity.) 10) Rain Jacket Top or Poncho (Buy the cheap stuff at Academy.) (I never wear the rain pants.) 11) Sunscreen (Optional. Bring a very small tube.) 12) Hat (Optional) 13) Sunglasses (Optional) 14) Small Camera (Optional) 15) Lip balm with sunscreen (Your lips will dry and crack.) 16) First Aid Medicines (labeled and placed in a Ziplock bag) I will not administer any type of medication, including aspirin, Tums, Tylenol, etc. If you need any over-thecounter medications, you must bring them with you. If you take prescribed medication, I need to know about this before the trip. (This is for you safety, so I can help you if there is an emergency.) 17) Insect repellent (Get the 100% Deet travel size.) (Do not bring an enormous bottle of
OFF.) 18) Toothbrush and toothpaste (Travel size) 19) Toilet paper (You need 1 roll in a Ziplock bag, then put it in another zip-lock bag with an extra zip-lock bag for trash. You need 3 Ziplock bags for your toilet tissue.) 20) Small flashlight or headlamp 21) Writing utensil 22) Ziplock bags (1 gallon size) 23) Small hand towel or bandanna (Washing face) 24) Wipes (I bring two travel wipes for wiping my face and private parts before going to bed. 24) Whistle (used for emergency only) These items will be provided by the church. Backpack & Pack Cover Sleeping Bag and Pad Water Bottles Spoon/Fork (Spork) Aluminum Plate Prohibited Items on the Trail Sierra Cup Tent Cooking Equipment Basic First Aid *Pocket Knives (This is a non-negotiable safety issue. I had a kid slice off part of his finger while carving a stick. Due to the lack of access to medical facilities, we will not be using any knives. Some adult leaders will have knives for emergency use only. Kids are not allowed to use them ever.) *I-Pods (Weight issue) *PSP (Weight issue) *Cell Phones (Weight issue) Safety You re more than welcome to bring them in the car as we travel, but you will be doing this at the risk of theft. The van will be unattended for the entire time we are on the trail. The church is not responsible for anything stolen out of the van, and our insurance does not cover loss due to theft. Altitude sickness is the most likely safety issue that will arise. The best way to avoid any problems is doing aerobic training before the trip. Jogging or walking four times a week will greatly decrease your chance for altitude sickness. Remember, we will be gaining over 10,000 feet in attitude in a 36 hour period. Everyone will experience some form of altitude sickness. Usually it is a simple headache. Some of us could actually have symptoms of nausea, even to the point of vomiting. You will have to deal with this on the trail. We will not turn around or stop the trip for this kind of sickness. If you begin to hallucinate, we will have to cancel parts of the trip. This can be dangerous if not dealt with immediately. The only way to help someone with extreme attitude sickness is to get to a lower altitude. The best way to avoid any sickness is by training your lungs to breathe with less air. You must do this by raising your heart rate for at least 30 minutes, four times a week. If you haven t started, it s not too late.
Animal Safety will be discussed in great detail. In short, we will be packing bear mace. I ve only seen one bear while hiking in the wilderness, and that was when I was on a solo hike. Most likely, the noise level of our group will unfortunately be too great for us to come across any bears. Emergency Procedures In the event of a life-threatening emergency, we will either send for help or immediately hike out the entire group. There will be a vehicle parked at both ends of the trails, so we can have transportation from either end. To this date, I have never had any life threatening emergencies. We have had a few twisted ankles, blisters, and sickness. The most important thing to do is respect the situation. Horseplay can lead to busted heads, etc. You need to purchase your CORSAR. This is a search and rescue card that I require everyone to purchase. Please read the details on the website. www.coloradotrail.org/corsar.html Inclement Weather It rains every day in Colorado at this time of the year. We will be very lucky to avoid afternoon showers. There is some inherent danger from lightening. We will make every effort to not be exposed above the tree line during a storm. If a storm sets in, we won t climb the peak.