Utah

Hello, Utah Winterim families. We’ve made it out of the canyon! Four incredible days and nights in the beautiful Utah desert has been a magical experience. It’s confirmed: Bear’s Ears National Monument is a special place. After spending Sunday evening camped on BLM land near our trailhead, we strapped on our packs and headed into Road Canyon. Surrounded by giant red sandstone walls, we navigated our way down the canyon before finding a spot to sleep for the night. The students whipped up a delicious pasta dinner and went to sleep under a blanket of a million stars.

Tuesday morning, we were up and at ‘em, with more orienteering our way in and out of the canyon, including some rather spicy cliffside traverses. The students handled them like pros! Our travel brought us to the Seven Kivas ancestral ruins and cultural sites - unbelievably fascinating to think that this was the home to the Native Americans of this area hundreds of years ago. So cool that the ruins are so well preserved. Tuesday’s camp spot was another idyllic setting nestled in our beautiful canyon with spectacular views. The hoots and hollers of the students during our downtime were a clear indication that it had been another great day!

After another great sleep, our intrepid crew forged down the canyon in search of the citadel tower, our canyon exit point, and the crux of our expedition. Under the leadership of our expert guides, we meticulously climbed our way up the tower before summiting and finding ourselves on the canyon rim. Our celebration was short as threatening skies forced us to hurry across the massive land bridge and over to solid ground. After a collective sigh of relief, we enjoyed a delicious lunch high above the canyon. A short hike to our campground concluded a truly epic day in the Utah backcountry.

Thursday, we head to Moab for our final night before making our way back to Dawson. This has been a lifetime experience and one that the students won’t soon forget!