July 21: Triplet Falls to Limestone

Day 4
Day 4 was kicked off with scouting, then running Triplet Falls. The entrance and the ending are marked by rock gardens. In the middle there's a large rock with a must-make move to get around it. Here, Scott is helping one patrol get off of some rocks at the bottom of Triplet. Perry and Piera's patrols are at the ready in case they are needed.

We stopped at Rippling Brook to cool off in the shade and shower in the cold water.

It was gorgeous!




We also ran Hells Half Mile on Day 4, which went as smoothly as it could. Hell's Half Mile has one rock in the beginning that you have to move left or right of. It finishes with a very long, somewhat shallow, yet highly demanding rock garden. The river patrol hung out and made sure we were safe at the end of it all.

When we got to Limestone, it was clear to the instructor team that the group was ready for the next stage of the trip. With the introductory "training" phase completed, we presented the group with the challenge of "main". The main phase of the course assigns more responsibility to the students for themselves and the group in exchange for more freedom. We emphasized the parallels and transference of this to the stages of their own lives. As teens, their primary challenge in the real world is to do just this - to learn responsibility and to handle the freedom that comes with it.