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​Fall Expedition 2012​

 

 

Day 1:The LPHS Fall Expedition of 2012 kicked off early on the crisp Monday morning of September 24th. The students loaded the bus with everything from sandwich bread to sleeping bags and began the short drive to Red Cliff campground. After setting up camp and learning the rules of the campground, the students traveled to Taylors Fork for a short hike to their morning destination. Upon arrival at the toe of a massive landslide, the students sat down for a sack lunch before learning how to take a field survey and about the geology of the area. Another short trek through the landslide took the students to an interesting geologic formation caused by the disappearance of a mountain lake. Finally, the group headed back to the bus and drove back to the campground where they spent an hour working on the informational packets they were given at the beginning of the trip. A delicious meal of burritos and tacos cooked by a tent group followed by a group campfire, s'mores, and games put an end to the first day of the expedition. 



Day 2:​ An early morning breakfast of bagels and muffins opened up day 2 of the fall expedition. After breakfast, the students went through the lunch crew line before boarding the bus to Black Butte trail-head. After arriving at Black Butte trail-head, the students split into separate groups and participated in stations involving all aspects of the High School curriculum. After learning to use a GPS, reading maps, writing poems, drawing pictures, and playing Native American games, the students regrouped for a group challenge. The challenge involved competing in a three-legged race over ropes, guiding a blindfolded partner to find pine cones  setting up a camp stove to boil water, and solving three riddles in order to win. It was a fun-filled competition, and after it ended the students put their packs on and hiked through geologic formations into a shale field filled with fossils. When the students finished fossil hunting, they headed back to the trail-head and rode the bus back to camp. After another hour or so of working on packets, the students ate a hearty meal of fresh burgers and baked beans and again finished off the night with s'mores and campfire games before heading back to their tents.



Day 3: The final day of the expedition started off with another breakfast of bagels and muffins before quickly beginning a hike along the Elk Horn river. Midway through the hike, the students stopped in a small open valley to brainstorm ideas for their post-expedition presentations. Continuing the hike through the early morning dew, the students reached a small canyon where one hillside was covered in moss and vegetation and the other was bare. They learned about north and south facing mountain faces and how it affects the vegetation and environment before heading back on the hike to the campground. Finally, after a last lunchtime run-through, the students packed up camp, making sure to leave no trace.