Not much is new, to be honest...just going through the motions with school and everything. I still try to get out and do something every weekend. Or as this week has gone (since it included St. Paddy's day and a friend's birthday) I've had the pleasure of going out dancing! It has been quite fun and I really love the friends I have made here.
And now for my glorious (and late...sorry...I forgot about it) OP Journal! Wooo! haha
Enjoy! xx
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A) Log
Today’s Outdoor Pursuits session took us into the forests of Gwydyr in Betws y Coed, located in the heart of Snowdonia. The weather was quite cold with rain beginning to fall as our group awaited Laura’s arrival. We had been told the previous week that we would be mountain biking today so all of us were anxious. This rainy weather came with us all the way to the Conway Centre as well as up into Gwydyr Forest. The slight stirring of wind along with the rain made us all very cold and inevitably soaked through the layers of clothing we had on while the rain on the ground soon turned the dirt to mud, and the rain on the rocks made the terrain very slippery. Regardless of these slight hindrances, we all found it quite fun to ride in such weather and made the best of the day. This being mentioned, the main focus of the day was Physical Challenge which included coordination and team morale; this being the main objective was definitely tested as the weather made it more difficult than it would have been on a sunny day.
The paths we took in the forest were either man-made specifically for mountain biking or more natural paths in nature that people have used for biking. There were multi-person paths that were easier to ride on and usually made out of gravel that resembled that of a road or walking trail and single-person tracks that were rather tight and had a dirt – or mud as it was in our case –, rock and sometimes grass floor. The man-made paths were typically easier than the natural paths, as the rocks were placed where they were specifically and not just jutting out from the ground at random times unexpectedly. Moreover, though the paths were difficult at times, this activity was quite enjoyable and a new, interesting way to experience a forest.
B) Journal
Going into Mountain Biking, everyone was a little bit apprehensive. I personally was excited as I love biking, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking about the accident my father had mountain biking when I was younger in which he broke three of his ribs and sprained his collar bone. Despite having these thoughts lingering in the back of my mind, I was ready to set out for the day.
Once we arrived at the Conway Centre, we were instructed to gather only a few necessary items and kit for the day which included waterproofs – it was raining, it only made sense – and a bike; we were told we would get our helmets and gloves later. Laura led us to meet the biking instructor Steve (not to be confused with the other Steve we had with us during the High Ropes Course during the first session) and to get our bikes. We learned from Steve that Mountain Biking is the highest risk activity that they have at the Conway Centre, but as long as we follow his instruction and did not do anything reckless we would be safe. He then took down one of the bikes and told us about the parts. First he showed us that the seat of the bike needed to be level with your hip; this is different than riding a normal bike because here we have to be positioned in a kind of leaning forward way rather than sitting straight up as on a regular leisure bike. We next learned that the right brake was for the front brake and the left brake was the back brake, which is the exact opposite of what it is in the states. He also told us that the front gear switch on the right handle bar was to make the gear go up, and the back gear switch was to make it go down. This was the same on the left handle bar, but instead this gear is called the “granny gear” meaning you only use it when you are on a really steep incline and need to put forth as little effort as possible. Steve then took down each one of the bikes that we would be riding and had us take a little spin around the courtyard to check the feel and brakes of it.
After testing out our bikes and securing them back on the rack, we all piled into the mini bus and made our way to Betws-y-Coed’s Gwydyr Forest. However, before we got there we had to make a couple trips. The first trip was to a building on the Conway Centre property to replace Allison Ford’s lunch (Laura accidentally ran over her bag!) and then to a supply building in Anglesey to get Laura a bike because we were short one. After these brief stops and once we arrived at the Gwydyr Forest, we got out of the bus and gathered around Steve who passed out gloves and helmets. We then took our bikes off the rack and took a little practice spin around the parking lot, making sure our helmets and everything felt right one last time before we left. Once everyone was ready we began our journey into the forest.
The paths were easy enough at first. We began on a man made path made of gravel that was wide enough for everyone to fit on as a group. After conquering our first very large hill, Steve had us stop to teach us how to stop properly when going down hill. He showed us two different ways. The first was the improper way to stop, which involved sitting down and flailing your legs around and yelling, while the second way was the correct way. The correct way to stop is to stand up on the bike with your feet flat on the petals; your kicking foot should be the foot in the front. Then as you near where you would like to stop you gradually put the brakes on and ease to a stop rather than stopping abruptly and falling on your face. Steve had each of us show him we were able to do the proper way and then we moved on. We rode on some more simple paths until he stopped us for our next challenge. He told us that we would be going down our first rocky natural path. We were instructed to not put on the brakes when going over rocks because this would result in us flipping over the handle bars and possibly getting hurt. Once we all mastered this we rode on rocky terrain like this as we moved on to our next challenge. Steve taught us next to go up a steep, rocky path. To do this you have to be in a low gear and lean forward, because if you do not your front tire will go up in the air. However, if you lean forward too far you will not get it right either so you have to lean forward just enough so that you can get up correctly. Most people, including myself, got only half way up this little hill before messing up and falling off or slipping on a rock, but regardless, we all laughed in doing so. We then rode around on more uphill trails like this, which I found to be quite difficult because I could not get my balance just right, but I finally got it at the end and did well on this for the rest of the trip. Our last challenge was to learn how to stop and do tread stands, which are good when the person in front of you comes to a stop and you do not want to get off your bike. To do this, you have to ride and then come to a gradual stop while standing up in the same proper position you do when you are stopping when going downhill. We all thought this challenge was fun and tried our best to stay up for 3 seconds while Steve observed and laughed with our failed attempts. One thing the other group was taught that we were not were bunny hops and hopping over your bike with your front tire only and with your back tire only. I wish Steve had taught us these; they would have been useful at times.
We carried on by testing out our new skills in various uphill and downhill natural and man-made trails. We only had a few slip ups and falls along the way, and everyone did a great job pushing themselves even when the task seemed scary or difficult. Our group members only really stopped when they just knew they could not force themselves to do something, like going over a scary big rock or riding all the way to the top of a steep hill. All in all I feel that our group did a very good job helping one another out and making sure the people around them were safe and have not fallen off their bikes as well as to get through this rough physical challenge. As each person made their way down a hill we all cheered them on to show them they had done a good job. In saying that, as I have mentioned in the past, I would say our group does a great job at keeping the spirits and self-esteem up of all of its members. We cooperate with and lean on one another really well to get done what we need to and make sure no one falls behind.
I personally found this trip to be the most difficult of all of the Outdoor Pursuits sessions. This is because I had an accident as I was coming down one of the hills. The entire day I had made sure I pushed myself to do things that were difficult: I made myself go as far as I could up a very steep hill, which resulted in me having a small asthma attack; I made myself keep getting back on my bike as I slipped on the mud and rocks when going on single-person uphill natural paths; and I made myself go down the hills with speed even though it scared me. However, all it took was one time for my brakes to fail and for my gears to get screwed up for me to have an accident. As I was coming down a hill enjoying the ride I realized it was time to start applying the brake because I did not want to go too fast and get out of control. However, when I pressed down my left brake for the back brake to kick in, nothing happened. I tried the same for the right brake and I just did not stop. However, at this point I did not fully realize it was my bike brakes. What eventually happened was that I lost entire control of the bike, hit a rock and flew over the handle bars of my bike and landed on my face and head, resulting in a bleeding fat lip. However, I got up off my bike, and after regaining my composure I tried going down the next hill. When I did not stop for this second time and almost had another accident I told Steve that something was wrong with my bike; sure enough both brakes had failed and the gears had gotten tangled somehow. Steve and Laura worked together to fix my bike as the others in the group supported me and told me everything would be okay.
Once my bike was back together, Steve had me go on a safe trail while the others went on the last downhill trail because he knew that my brakes were faulty and he did not want me getting hurt. Once everyone finished this trail we made our way back to the road that led us to the Conway Centre. We were all very proud of our accomplishments. I was very proud of myself for staying strong after my accident and still persevering even though I was afraid of falling again. All in all, I did enjoy the activity. Even though I did slightly end up following the path of my father’s accident, I did all that I could to stay focused and happy even though it was tough for me.
February 10, 2009
A) Log
In today’s session of Outdoor Pursuits we were told we would be gorge scrambling. After hearing rave reviews about the sport from the Thursday group that had done this the week we went rock climbing, we were all very excited to begin. This week was another rainy week at the start, but thankfully shortly after we started our scrambling the clouds cleared up and the sun came out for the rest of the day! It was so very nice to see the sun glistening on the water and across the landscape as we made our way higher and higher.
For our scrambling we made our way out to Afon Ddu (Welsh for black river), a gorge in Snowdonia that flows from Llyn Cowlyd on the south-eastern edge of the Carneddau range to join the river Conwy. We met up with the gorge by going through Conwy. The terrain for today was a lot like what we faced when we went rock climbing – rocks with small spots to place your feet and hands – but this time they were covered in water, moss and sometimes mud, making them very slippery and hard to stay on at times. The focus for the day was Group Leadership, and we had to learn safety, route choice suitability and team roles throughout the day. In general, everyone said they enjoyed this activity the most out of any of them so far even though we all got soaking wet and were freezing by the end of it.
B) Journal
In today’s session, we took a 40 minute mini bus ride to Conwy, landing us up in the hills overlooking lush farmland, many houses and wooded areas. We turned into a parking lot surrounded by tall trees, and Laura had us eat a quick lunch and then get kitted up in our gear. Before leaving the Conway Centre, Laura had us gather in the classroom to tell us about what we would be doing today. At this time we also met our new instructor for the session who was called Jade; Laura said Jade was just there to give us some extra help. Laura informed us that today we would need to gather together waterproofs, buoyancy aids if we wanted to jump in at the end, wellies, harnesses and long john wet suits. We have never worn wet suits while doing Outdoor Pursuits, and I have personally never worn one before, so they were really fun to test out. These suits are different than regular full body suits because they have no arms to them like long johns. In this discussion, Laura also tried to explain to us what a gorge was, and she could not really explain it. From my experience, I would say that gorge scrambling itself is a lot like rock climbing, there is just water coming down between the rocks; so a gorge is kind of like a rocky mountain cliff with layers that has water running down the middle of it.
After we got out of the van and put on our harnesses we made about a 3 minute trek in the rain up a slight gradient that was full of lush trees and other plants; we found ourselves facing the great Afon Ddu. Even from a distance we could tell today would be much different than anything we have done before. Luckily, Laura had us start out slowly so that we could “learn how to walk”, and we all soon picked up the right and wrong way to go about things.
Just before we began our scramble, Laura stopped us along side a sign that had a few guidelines on it for visitors. Apparently Afon Ddu is an SSSI, which means it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This is because it has special types of ferns and other kinds of plants in which new research is being conducted on. As a result, we were not allowed to forge new paths in the gorge; we had to follow the paths that had already been made so we did not hurt any of the plants involved in the research. In addition to this, we also had to take any trash we brought with us because littering in a spot like this one is not acceptable. Laura then led us down to the edge of the gorge and instructed us that she and Jade would have hand signals they used because at times the water is rushing so loudly that we cannot hear them. For example, she would point left if she wanted us to go to the left; she would but her palm out if she wanted us to stop; and she would wave her hand toward her if she wanted us to come forward. She also told us that we would need to help one another out at times, and that we should grab either the harness or the wrist, not hand, of the person to pull them to us. She then instructed us that it takes a bit of time to “learn how to walk” in the gorge, because the path is not smooth – we are walking on wet rocks of different sizes.
We started off on an easy enough path, with most of the rocks being fairly similar in size and distance apart. We had to either step or jump between rocks and still maintain balance so we did not fall into the water, which could vary in depth from ankle high to neck high depending on the pool. At the beginning, the paths were fairly horizontal, but once we climbed higher, we had to actually do some climbing. The first difficult part was where we had to cling to the wall and climb sideways while we edged our way around a waist-deep pool of water. From here we had to start actually climbing upward next to the water at a more 60-80 degree angle; we would always keep climbing until Laura motioned for or told us to stop so she could give instruction. The next difficult spot came when we had to be attached to a rope by the carabineer on our harnesses and climb up a waterfall. All of us were very excited because we had never done anything like that before. This was slightly challenging because we had to find foot and hand grips in the water while simultaneously being pulled upward, getting splashed in the face with freezing water and making our way up the slope. Regardless of its difficulty though, this was a very fun thing for me.
After we all finished making our way up this slope, we made our way along more horizontally positioned rocks, helping one another as we went, until we came to something that Laura liked to call “the Elephant’s Bum”. They call it by such a name because it is a waterfall with two walls on each side that is positioned between two very large boulders that could, I suppose, resemble an elephant’s backside. After we all giggled at the name momentarily, Laura told us that we would have to stay along the right side of the waterfall because it had kind of steps to walk up. She went up first, securing a rope at the top with hand holds that she had placed and had each of us make our way up the “bum”. This waterfall was fun to climb because we kind of had to shimmy up between the two rocks at the top on our knees, getting us quite wet and cold but it was definitely worth it. Once at the top, we had to push our way out through the rocks by standing up and pushing with our arms and legs. This part was not that hard, but I kept getting yelled at by an instructor from another group to get her rope that had fallen into the “bum” so I could not get out as quickly as I was anticipating. (Oh well.) From here we were instructed to go straight across to some steps to sit on; this was told to us with some force and caution as if we went either to the left or the right we risked falling down a very high waterfall with a not very deep pool at the bottom to catch our fall.
After we all made it through the “bum” and straight across to the steps, we paused for a moment to rest. Laura then told us that we were next going to go through the woods to climb up higher and enter the gorge at another spot because where we were now was a high waterfall that we could not really get to without swimming, and she did not want us to get that wet yet. After climbing along a pretty little wooden path we re-entered the gorge and began again on a fairly simple path. However, Laura led us to a spot where we had to jump from a rather small rock to a very large round rock. While holding onto to the rock and staying on we had to reach up to a hand hold and use all of our weight to slide across to the other side and land on a rock that was set back further. Now I am pretty short and do not have much upper body strength so what happened with me did not go over as smoothly as it did with everyone else. I jumped onto the big round rock just fine, but when I reached up for a hand hold I could only grasp it with my finger tips and ended up sliding down the rock into the water causing me to slightly panic because I was not sure how deep it was. However, as soon as I landed, I stood up and laughed, as the water was only up to my knees.
The next hard part came just after this when we were given the choice to decide if we wanted to literally walk through – as in across – a waterfall. We had to find hand holds and foot holds in the rock while water gushed down onto us and reach across to the person in front of us so they could pull us across. This part scared a few of us because a couple people ended up slipping and falling down the waterfall, but in the end we all made it across safely. Because we were now fairly soaked and freezing, Laura had us stop to eat a little something and to get some warm drink in us. While here, Laura told us that we were about halfway through the gorge. From here we would be making our way up higher until we could get out onto the road, as we would not be doing the whole gorge today.
Once we finished our short break, we continued on through the gorge. This part was the most fun for me, as we had to do a lot of clinging along side walls and scurry around the edge of the water before making it to the rocks that sat in the water. Here Laura told us that we would have the right to pick the level of difficulty of the path. Red means it is very difficult and unsafe, green means it is really easy and safe, and amber means it is safe but slightly challenging and involves help from one another to get through; of course, our group picked mainly amber paths because we like a little challenge! This part was kind of sad too though because we spotted a dead badger laying on one of the rocks in front of us. After we did this type of scrambling for a while, we made it to a large pool of water with a waterfall at the far side. Laura told us that if we wanted we could swim out to touch the waterfall, which most of us did. It was a very beautiful unique experience in which I had never gotten the chance to have before. The water was cold and got in all of our wellies, but we were happy to have made the short journey to do something like that. Once we were done with our fun, Laura said we had to climb up the rock – with no restraints! – and make our way up the steps at the top into the woods. We helped one another by acting as spotters and all made it up into the woods. At this point it was really great to look back and see what we had just climbed as well as the beauty of the scenery below us.
From here we made a steep climb through the woods until we reached the road. The terrain here was no longer the rocks we had been used to all day, but muddy grass and plants that made us slip a bit in our water filled boots. Once on the road we left our harnesses and bags, but kept our helmets and buoyancy aids, and made our way up a small path near an interesting brick building with an unknown purpose, through a wooded path, over a fence, down some stairs and down the rock. Laura said that if we wanted to, we could jump into this pool of water as long as we had a buoyancy aid on. She told us that because the water was so cold, our bodies would kind of go into a state of shock, but we just needed to stay calm and take a deep breath when we came out and make our way over to her. She also mentioned that none of us should touch the bottom because it has a very deep pool but has an edge around the outside, so we had to jump right in the middle for safety. 11 of us took turns jumping into the water, except Rebecca who does not like water so she did not do it, and all were really glad we did so. We then made our way back to the road – which we found to be quite steep and that the sun was shining beautifully down upon – that led us back down to the parking lot in which we started. Once here we gathered our dry clothes and scurried off into the woods and changed. We left the parking lot around three so we were back to the Conway Centre by 4 and just had to do a quick cleaning of some items and return them to stores, and we made our way back to campus.
On the whole, I do believe today has been my favorite session out of all of the Outdoor Pursuits classes we have had. Yes, some spots were difficult, but I pushed myself to take risks, like going through the waterfalls, swimming in the pool with the waterfall and jumping into the deep pool at the end when I did not have to. I always made sure the people around me were safe by giving them very specific directions and guidance of where to step, what to avoid and what to do in certain circumstances. Laura told us at the beginning that even though we would want to make sure we were safe and dry, we had to focus on the person behind us to make sure they were safe, too. I think I did a good job of this because I always helped him or her by grabbing them when they needed it or giving them special direction in cases when they wanted it. The only real hindrances of the day were that the water was quite cold and made me chilly at the end and that my boots got full of water so it made it hard to climb through the woods comfortably at the end, but I feel that both of those things were worth it for the experience I had. I feel all of us learned safety and route choice suitability because we all made sure everyone was safe at all times – we went at a fairly slow pace today but it was best – and we typically chose the amber difficulty paths so that we would remain safe but have a challenge and rely on one another to get through. Overall, as I said, today was the most fun for me, and I really think we all learned more about how to be leaders and helping one another and bonded even more than we had in the past. Great day! I am so excited to continue on next week!
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Friday, 6 March 2009
I FORGOT!!!
How could I have forgotten about going to STONEHENGE and BATH!?!?!?!?
Woah. Creepy. As soon as I typed that enthusiastic sentence, mister Saxophone Man from across the hall started going nuts on his instrument! Not gonna lie, but to be fair, sometimes he sounds like I did when I played clarinet in the 5th grade band.
Right. Stonehenge and Bath!
WAAAAAY too many of us (8 of us to be exact) decided to travel to England to see the sights. What ended up happening was that 4 of us (us as in I was there too, tee hee) got "lost" on our "special new shortcut way" to the train station thanks to Dani's marvelous night time navigation. haha. But it was alllll good. The others left without us but we just took the next train. Then after a 6 HOUR train ride we had arrived in Salisbury.
While waiting for the others to come back from lunch, we stumbled across QUITE the crazy sight. There was this little girl around the age of 12 (who we decided to call "Devil Child") that was begging her mom for a snack. Her mother replied, and Devil Child decided to start yelling profanities and dumped an entire bottle of Pepsi on her!
But that's not the worst of it...
Devil Child kept yelling profanities at her family, and then picked up her cell phone and started dropping the "F-bomb" and telling the person on the other end that she was going to kill them.
And then she started smoking.
(This is a picture of her yelling at her family)
CHILDREN THESE DAYS!
Anyway...after that incident we got on a double-decker tour bus that took us around the town of Salisbury and lead us to Stonehenge!
(Picture of Stonehenge from the Bus)
(Stonehenge!!)
We stayed at Stonehenge taking pictures for about an hour then got back on the bus. We then had to catch another train to Bath. Remember...all of this deals with eight people so we all had to make sure everyone was together at all times! Frustrating!
Once we finally made it to Bath, we walked to our nice little hostel (the White Hart Hart Inn).
(Our Hostel!)
Then...thankfully...we broke up into two groups of 4 and explored the city until bedtime. The next morning we woke up, took showers in a pump (FREEZING) shower, checked out of the hostel and went to go see the Roman Baths. These were quite beautiful!!
(The Bath)
After that Dani and I broke off and went to go see the Fashion museum where the fashions date back to the 1700's to now. In one room, however, we had the best part of our whole trip. At one point in the museum you are allowed to try on corsets and petticoats. Well...we did that and laughed. But just as we were about to leave, two boys (gay and American) came in. We had them put on the outfits and we took pictures of them! Haha! It's so silly seeing boys in dresses.
After that we just walked around the city until our train had to leave. Tried to find the Jane Austin Centre but failed. :( Oh well! Maybe Mom and Dad can see it!
Theeee End.
xx
P.S. Here is a picture of the yummy French Toast Dani and I made a while back. I think our Moms would be proud. :D
Woah. Creepy. As soon as I typed that enthusiastic sentence, mister Saxophone Man from across the hall started going nuts on his instrument! Not gonna lie, but to be fair, sometimes he sounds like I did when I played clarinet in the 5th grade band.
Right. Stonehenge and Bath!
WAAAAAY too many of us (8 of us to be exact) decided to travel to England to see the sights. What ended up happening was that 4 of us (us as in I was there too, tee hee) got "lost" on our "special new shortcut way" to the train station thanks to Dani's marvelous night time navigation. haha. But it was alllll good. The others left without us but we just took the next train. Then after a 6 HOUR train ride we had arrived in Salisbury.
While waiting for the others to come back from lunch, we stumbled across QUITE the crazy sight. There was this little girl around the age of 12 (who we decided to call "Devil Child") that was begging her mom for a snack. Her mother replied, and Devil Child decided to start yelling profanities and dumped an entire bottle of Pepsi on her!
But that's not the worst of it...
Devil Child kept yelling profanities at her family, and then picked up her cell phone and started dropping the "F-bomb" and telling the person on the other end that she was going to kill them.
And then she started smoking.
(This is a picture of her yelling at her family)CHILDREN THESE DAYS!
Anyway...after that incident we got on a double-decker tour bus that took us around the town of Salisbury and lead us to Stonehenge!
(Picture of Stonehenge from the Bus)
(Stonehenge!!)We stayed at Stonehenge taking pictures for about an hour then got back on the bus. We then had to catch another train to Bath. Remember...all of this deals with eight people so we all had to make sure everyone was together at all times! Frustrating!
Once we finally made it to Bath, we walked to our nice little hostel (the White Hart Hart Inn).
(Our Hostel!)Then...thankfully...we broke up into two groups of 4 and explored the city until bedtime. The next morning we woke up, took showers in a pump (FREEZING) shower, checked out of the hostel and went to go see the Roman Baths. These were quite beautiful!!
(The Bath)After that Dani and I broke off and went to go see the Fashion museum where the fashions date back to the 1700's to now. In one room, however, we had the best part of our whole trip. At one point in the museum you are allowed to try on corsets and petticoats. Well...we did that and laughed. But just as we were about to leave, two boys (gay and American) came in. We had them put on the outfits and we took pictures of them! Haha! It's so silly seeing boys in dresses.
After that we just walked around the city until our train had to leave. Tried to find the Jane Austin Centre but failed. :( Oh well! Maybe Mom and Dad can see it!
Theeee End.
xx
P.S. Here is a picture of the yummy French Toast Dani and I made a while back. I think our Moms would be proud. :D
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Busy Busy Busy
Not much has been going on with me...and the reason I have not been able to update this often...because it has been Midterms the past couple of weeks here at Uni. I've only had two tests and one project to complete but it's still pretty ridiculous around here.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Going to Manchester, England.
We didn't do much. Just shopped a lot and went on their version of the London Eye (much MUCH smaller and only lasts 12 minutes).
And catching myself by the face after flying over the handle bars of my bike in my Outdoor Pursuits class.
No. It wasn't my fault. The brakes went out on the bike and the gears got messed up.
Other than that my life has been pretty peachy. Just busy, as I said. I hope to have more of a story next weekend after my field trip to Harlech Castle and what not.
On a different note...I love tea. :) I know it's not really any different here than it is in the states...but I'd like to at least pretend it is. :P
I've also learned to love biscuits...or digestives as they are also called. Though the plain ones (as you can see in the picture) are quite good - they taste like graham crackers! - I really enjoy the chocolate flavored ones. Yum yum!
Another thing I have learned to like is corn on pizza.
Corn on sandwiches.
Corn in salad.
Corn is everywhere!
I LIVE IN IOWA AND IT STILL FOLLOWS ME! hahaha :) But it is very yummy!
The best place for pizza here in Bangor is at a little place called The Pizza House. It is run by this Welsh lady in her late 50's-early 60's (I think!?) named Hillary. She is this cute little woman who works 5 PM-2 AM 7 days a week making pizzas and hamburgers and chips and things for people. She's very nice but hardly smiles...hmmm...she's very busy! I feel for her! But her food is delicious! :D
I think I'm kinda stretching for things to say. Honestly, not much has happened! It's quite sad. But as I said...tune in soon after this weekend and hopefully there will be an update!
Thanks for reading!!
xx
HIGHLIGHTS:
Going to Manchester, England.
We didn't do much. Just shopped a lot and went on their version of the London Eye (much MUCH smaller and only lasts 12 minutes).
And catching myself by the face after flying over the handle bars of my bike in my Outdoor Pursuits class.
No. It wasn't my fault. The brakes went out on the bike and the gears got messed up.
Other than that my life has been pretty peachy. Just busy, as I said. I hope to have more of a story next weekend after my field trip to Harlech Castle and what not.
On a different note...I love tea. :) I know it's not really any different here than it is in the states...but I'd like to at least pretend it is. :P
I've also learned to love biscuits...or digestives as they are also called. Though the plain ones (as you can see in the picture) are quite good - they taste like graham crackers! - I really enjoy the chocolate flavored ones. Yum yum!
Another thing I have learned to like is corn on pizza.
Corn on sandwiches.
Corn in salad.
Corn is everywhere!
I LIVE IN IOWA AND IT STILL FOLLOWS ME! hahaha :) But it is very yummy!
The best place for pizza here in Bangor is at a little place called The Pizza House. It is run by this Welsh lady in her late 50's-early 60's (I think!?) named Hillary. She is this cute little woman who works 5 PM-2 AM 7 days a week making pizzas and hamburgers and chips and things for people. She's very nice but hardly smiles...hmmm...she's very busy! I feel for her! But her food is delicious! :D
I think I'm kinda stretching for things to say. Honestly, not much has happened! It's quite sad. But as I said...tune in soon after this weekend and hopefully there will be an update!
Thanks for reading!!
xx
Friday, 27 February 2009
OP Journal 2
Outdoor Pursuits Journal #2
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A) Log
In our third Outdoor Pursuits session we experienced some very nice weather. Though we experienced another typical overcast day, it was still a fair temperature for the canoeing we discovered we would be doing today. As Laura told us, the tide goes in and out throughout the day, and we unfortunately had to fight it both coming and going on our trip. Our session was held out on the Menai Strait, both coming and going. Then we also did some abseiling in a little lagoon and learned some camping techniques on a small, wooded island along the strait. The focus of today was perseverance which included teamwork, personal appraisal and journeying. It was important for us to really communicate with and depend on our partners as well as discover what was needed of us as an individual and to understand ourselves to get the task done.
On the canoe trip out to the island where we would later be abseiling and learning how to set up camp, we faced a bit of a struggle with the tide. Then once we got to the island we faced everything from a seaweed and rock covered beach; to a wooded area with fairly small trees, hills and a rocky floor; to a wet, muddy and sandy beach that led up into another wooded area for our abseiling. Finally, on the way back from our journey, we yet again faced the tide in our canoes and made it safely home to the Conway Centre.
B) Journal
On this third excursion for Outdoor Pursuits we found ourselves really learning the definitions of cooperation and self-understanding. It was fiercely emphasized that we must learn alone how to canoe in the ways Laura instructed so that we can work with our partners to get to where we wanted to go; if we did not learn how to do our part, we would be stuck spinning around on the water in circles or be taken away by the tide. Today we got kitted up with our (now) usual gear of helmets, waterproofs, wellies and harnesses. This time we were told to grab a wetsuit top to maintain warmth in case we were to tip over into the water, a waterproof bag for our extra clothes and lunches, a life vest and a paddle to use to steer the canoe. For our “camping” experience we were also told to grab a camping stove, three tents/tarps, rope, hammocks, a big water container, a water kettle, plastic cups and put them in big blue barrels to carry.
After gathering all of our supplies, we made our way down to the dock area to begin our canoeing journey. Laura instructed us to all pick out a canoe and work in groups of 4 to carry each one down and then choose a partner to have while actually in the boat. We learned that canoes derived from the Native American Indians who used to hollow out tree trunks and also that canoes used to be made of wood or sort of plexi-glass but now are formed from a light, durable plastic. We were also told that each of the canoes we would be taking had a life preserver in each of the two ends and ropes on the ends to tie it up for when we make stops. Before making our way down the loading dock we had to grab two ropes to tie in our supplies to ensure their safety.
Once we all carried down, climbed into our canoes and made our way out onto the water, Laura had us gather together to show us the different techniques of paddling. We learned that the front person in the boat is the power – he or she will be the one doing most of the paddling – and the back person in the boat is the one who will steer. She showed us that if you turn your paddle one way in the water, or vice versa, it will move the boat in that direction as if it was a rudder on a boat. She also showed us how to turn around and stop. Once we had these skills mastered we switched positions so that each person in the canoe would have a go at both of the spots. After we made sure we were all prepared for our real journey, we made our way out from near the docks and paddled into the depths of the Menai Strait. Laura told us that the farther out we went, the more difficult it would be; as the water gets deeper the tides get stronger, so we were instructed to stay close to the shore.
After paddling for a while we found our way to a little beach covered in seaweed and rocks where Laura had us pull onto. We drug our canoes onto the beach to ensure that they would stay ashore and gathered around Laura, waiting for our next instruction. For a fun fact, she told us that the interesting looking wooden structure up in the wooded area beyond the beach was a bird house. Laura pulled out a laminated instruction sheet with pictures of beach creatures on it that we were to find. She told us to look at the sheet and just explore by picking up and looking under the rocks or to push aside the seaweed to see if any creatures lived there. We found a type of fish that was brown and slippery that Laura told us could just live on the beach under the seaweed without much water! We also discovered a small crab, some sand worms, different types of seaweed with seed-like things on them and something we learned was called a limpet. What some of us students thought was a fossilized shell, the limpet is a snail-like creature that attaches itself to a rock and has a sort of vacuum seal on its shell so that it sticks to the rock and feeds off it; this also acts as protection from birds and other preying animals. Laura got out her knife and pried the limpet off the rock and started rubbing its “belly” with her finger. She told us that she did not know if this act was ticklish or sexual to the limpet, but what happens is that little horns come out from the small, gooey, yellow creature. Before making our way back to the canoe we all giggled at this and had a try at tickling the limpet as well.
We next paddled our way against the tide to another small island that sat across from a beautiful little town so that we could learn some camping skills. We tied our canoes together on the rocky beach and made our way up the sand and rocks into a hilly, secluded, wooded area. Here we found three wooden platforms which Laura told us people can set up shelters upon or use to rest their supplies as we did. After putting down our supplies Laura said we needed to break up into teams to build shelters. There were three shelters in all, and each was different and had its good and bad points. The shelter that my group made in particular may have not been the best or kept out wind or animals, but our goal was to get the tarp up into the air – which we did. Laura then came around to judge each of the shelters and told us what was good about them (ours made good protection from the rain) and led us over to the fire. Once there, she gave us a brief tutorial about how to start a fire by using a flint stick, feathering pieces of wood, cutting off chips of wood and cotton balls. She also showed us how to work the camping stove, which I believe is called a Trangia stove. This included learning about the methane to light the stove, the damper, the pots and pans involved, the handle that clamped on and off of the pots and pans and the little methane holder. We then were instructed to have a go at creating our own fires and eat lunch.
After lunch we tore down our shelters and packed all of our supplies back up so that we could move on to our abseiling site. We trekked back down to the beach, got into our canoes and made our way into a small lagoon just around the corner and tied up our boats. We stepped out carefully onto the slippery, muddy beach and followed Laura around a path that led up to the top of the cliff that we would be abseiling from. Once there we put on the harnesses and helmets we had. We then, one by one, took turns edging out onto the platform that Laura was on, got hooked up to the rope/wire/carabineer contraption and lowered ourselves down the face of the cliff. Laura told us that even though it is scary – we had to sit down in our harnesses as if it were a chair and push out with our feet to begin our descend down the cliff, otherwise we would find ourselves slipping down or colliding with the rocky wall. I have been camping and canoeing before and learned the skills Laura taught us today in the past, but I have never done anything like abseiling. This was quite challenging for me because I truly was scared when I had to sit back in my harness and give full faith in this one rope and a couple metal carabineers with just a simple figure of eight knot to hold me up as I made my way down. However, I faced my fear of heights and falling, only faltered when the rocks became slippery with mossy slime at the bottom and found that I really enjoy this sport. I think that doing this on top of doing the ropes course and climbing the mountain has really showed me that I just need confidence in myself to overcome my fear of heights.
After we each got one turn at abseiling down the cliff we all got back into our canoes, leaving the canoe, the cliff and the island behind. On our return, Laura pointed out a white-leafed tree; she said that this one tree is white because all of the birds in the area use it as a bathroom. I thought this was really interesting! I had no idea that birds could be so smart as to know that if they use every tree as a toilet they’d be killing their environment. I guess it just goes to show that every form of life can surprise you if you just take a moment to enjoy and understand them. After learning this fact, we paddled hard against the tide and finally reached Conway Centre’s dock once again. We pulled the canoes back on shore, unloaded our kit and made our way back to our warm flats in Bangor all before 5.
Since I have gone canoeing before and learned about camping, today was not as challenging as the high ropes course or the mountain climbing, but I am still very proud of myself. I really learned how to communicate and work with the partner I had and to have trust in myself by using personal appraisal to get through something I thought would be very difficult. Overall, it was a great day, and I had a lot of fun doing some of the things that have always made me love the great outdoors.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A) Log
On this fourth excursion, we made our way very far from the Conway Centre for the first time. We found ourselves rock climbing in Holyhead, Wales, up on Holyhead Mountain. Though still a tad overcast, the temperature was only a bit chillier than it was last week – roughly 10 degrees Celsius – and there was not really much breeze, making today a great day to go out climbing; however, once we made it atop the mountain for abseiling the breeze picked up and the temperature dropped at least 5 to 10 degrees. Today’s focus was teamwork which included group support, trust, communication and climbing grades as well as a comparison of both indoor and outdoor climbing. We faced terrain of mainly the rocky sort – as we were climbing mountains – but there was a bit of grass, mud and various bushes and other vegetation we walked through/around. We began our session inside on the climbing wall, meaning we had a nice cushioned floor if we were to fall; but once we went outside and faced Holyhead Mountain, we had to walk along a muddy and rocky path lined with thorny, flowered bushes and other foot-tangling vegetation and then climb the rock solid mountain with a semi grassy and jagged rock floor below. Though we had practiced inside at the Conway Centre on the rock wall, we were not entirely prepared to face the solid rock mountain and fend for ourselves to find grips for our hands and feet. The only hindrances of the day were trying to find these grips, getting through the drop in temperature waiting for our turn to abseil atop the mountain and, for some, sneaking past the thorn bushes along the path without getting stuck.
B) Journal
In today’s session, we took a mini bus ride to Holyhead, landing us up in the hills overlooking lush farmland and the sea in the distance. Yellow thorn bushes lined the hills as we made sure we had everything we needed for the day and made our way up a gravel path. After a 10 minute trek up a slight windy gradient, we found ourselves facing the great Holyhead Mountain. Even from a distance we could tell today would be much different than anything we have done before. Luckily, before we left, Laura had given us a brief tutorial and let us do a practice run on the indoor climbing wall at the Conway Centre so that we at least had an idea as to what to expect out on the mountain.
Today, we came equipped with our helmets, carabineers and harnesses as we have had most days; the harnesses were the same ones as we had last week when we went abseiling. Rather than them being a full body (as in a harness for both the legs and over the shoulders) these harnesses were a support for the midsection and legs and had a little carrying handle at the front in which we were to clip our carabineers and tie ropes to. We were introduced to climbing shoes – very thin, rubbery shoes that squeeze your toes together and allow you to feel every little thing under your feet that make for easy gripping. We were also introduced to belay plates, which are small metal devices with thick metal on one side that had two holes in it to feed the rope through for belaying and abseiling, as well as a hook on the other side to line up with and attach to the rope and clip to your carabineer and harness for safety.
Laura, along with a new instructor called Kevin, instructed us how to belay, or how to feed the rope through to our partner, tightening or giving slack to the rope, which included using the 4-step hand-over-hand method. To do this you have to have one hand on the rope above the belay plate pulling downward while the other hand is below the belay plate (on what is called the dead rope). Then you pull the top hand down and the bottom hand up so they meet each other and the rope is pulled through the belay plate. Then you must pull the rope down so it locks on the belay plate, then you have to move your top hand down to just below the belay plate and then replace it with your right hand and then start the process all over again. This was a bit tricky to remember at first, but after a few tries on the practice wall we all got it fairly quickly. We met in the small classroom to learn how to tie double figure of eight knots which are made by tying one figure of eight knot then retracing it the rope to make another and also a safety knot which is made by looping the rope around itself twice and then laced through and tightened. Once we took turns belaying and climbing and mastering these knots, we gathered up our supplies and made our way to the bus and headed out to Holyhead.
Once we made it to Holyhead Mountain all we had to do was make a short trek up through a grassy and muddy path lined with rather large rocks (luckily no more thorn bushes!) and met the bottom of the rock we would be climbing. Laura and Kevin told us to stay here while they scrambled up the mountain (what we said made them look like Spiderman) to get everything set up. Laura later told us that when you want to do climbing as we were doing, you have to stick meal pieces (typically called nuts or bolts, depending on the brand) that are attached to carabineers into the rock so that they stay stuck and will not move as you climb. Once you have this main carabineer in place, you attach it to at least two or three other carabineers for safety – you never just have one because if it comes lose from the rock you will inevitably fall, which is never a good demise. Each carabineer is tied to ropes that all meet up with the main one which has a rope of its own that feeds down the face of the mountain for us to climb. After this was finished for us, Kevin and Laura threw three of these ropes down and had us break up into partners of about our same size, tie our ropes to our harnesses and the belay plates as they instructed and begin our climb.
To compare this climb with the indoor climb, it was definitely not as simple. First of all, the cliff was not laid out with easily graspable, rubber handles for our hands and feet. Instead it had a mainly flat, smooth surface with ridges facing downward rather than upward in the way we needed them to. To overcome this, what we had to do was find (usually very) small holes or places to rest our feet and use lots of upper body strength to pull ourselves up. I personally found that leaning into the rock made climbing much easier and to just keep moving and trusting the thin ridges I was resting my feet on rather than stopping and trying to figure things out (which usually resulted in losing grip). This was quite difficult for many people to get because, as I mentioned, it made it harder if you were to hesitate before your next move rather than just trusting what you are holding on to and keep going upward. Though I really enjoyed learning to climb – and absolutely loved the view! – I found my new love for abseiling. Rather than abseiling alone as we did last week, for this first part of today’s session, when we would come back down from our climb we would have to trust the rope – and our partners (and the person behind them holding the dead rope for extra safety) – lean back with all of our weight, push out from the mountain and start making our way down as they belayed the rope for us. In doing this, I found that I was not afraid of the heights as I was with the ropes course. I felt I had had a moment of enlightenment or something as I joyfully dangled there rather than gripping to the rope, fearing for my life. Overall, though some people needed a bit of help at the beginning of their climb, as the start was very flat and had little gripping spots and involved us hoisting ourselves over a huge drop off cliff, and had a few slip ups, everyone picked up this sport rather quickly and seemed to enjoy it quite thoroughly.
Once we each took our turns on all of the three rope climbs that were set up, we made our way up the rocky path to the top of where we had been climbing. Here we got to see how our ropes were set up with the nuts/bolts/carabineer contraption that Laura and Kevin had created for us. After a quick switching around of rope placement, we all had to have another go at abseiling – though this week it was much, much higher (almost three times as high) than in the week past. This was very fun for everyone, but we were all a bit hesitant at the very beginning as we had to make our way to the edge of the cliff and peer down the 90 something foot drop and then lean back and begin our descent, which unfortunately began with a weird drop off that we all slipped on. I loved doing this! I felt like I flew right down the mountain in my turn, and once at the bottom I cheered everyone else on as they made their way down. Everyone did a really great job abseiling down this great height with only a few slip ups at the top and bottom with the two odd drop offs and made sure to encourage whoever the person was that was on the rope at the time; I feel that this encouragement showed great group support. Once we finished this fun activity, we packed up everything, made our way back down the 10 minute rocky trail – while unfortunately getting attacked by those tricky thorn bushes again – climbed in the mini bus and made our way back to the Conway Centre. On arrival we unloaded our kit by placing it back in the stores all in under 5 minutes and made it back to the school at 5:00 PM on the dot.
Overall, I believe I did a great job working with my partner to communicate what was going on. We both gave one another hints as we watched each other make our climb; we always checked to make sure we were belaying in a way they wanted us to (not too fast or too slow); and once they made it to the top, we made sure they were ready to come down and allowed them to stop and go when they wanted. This communication allowed for us to learn to trust one another, which is something I really believe is important in doing a sport such as this. I also learned something about the differences in climbing grades, which are the differences in difficulties and risk of the type of climb you are doing. For us, to compare, the climbing grade of the indoor wall was much easier than the grade of the mountain. This is because while inside, as mentioned before, the grips are bigger and easier to find, and the floor is cushioned, while on the mountain the grips are very hard to find and you really have to trust yourself and the person below to hold you up as you move along. All in all, today was a very challenging, but fun and educational day. I learned to face my fear of heights and learned to love a new activity.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A) Log
In our third Outdoor Pursuits session we experienced some very nice weather. Though we experienced another typical overcast day, it was still a fair temperature for the canoeing we discovered we would be doing today. As Laura told us, the tide goes in and out throughout the day, and we unfortunately had to fight it both coming and going on our trip. Our session was held out on the Menai Strait, both coming and going. Then we also did some abseiling in a little lagoon and learned some camping techniques on a small, wooded island along the strait. The focus of today was perseverance which included teamwork, personal appraisal and journeying. It was important for us to really communicate with and depend on our partners as well as discover what was needed of us as an individual and to understand ourselves to get the task done.
On the canoe trip out to the island where we would later be abseiling and learning how to set up camp, we faced a bit of a struggle with the tide. Then once we got to the island we faced everything from a seaweed and rock covered beach; to a wooded area with fairly small trees, hills and a rocky floor; to a wet, muddy and sandy beach that led up into another wooded area for our abseiling. Finally, on the way back from our journey, we yet again faced the tide in our canoes and made it safely home to the Conway Centre.
B) Journal
On this third excursion for Outdoor Pursuits we found ourselves really learning the definitions of cooperation and self-understanding. It was fiercely emphasized that we must learn alone how to canoe in the ways Laura instructed so that we can work with our partners to get to where we wanted to go; if we did not learn how to do our part, we would be stuck spinning around on the water in circles or be taken away by the tide. Today we got kitted up with our (now) usual gear of helmets, waterproofs, wellies and harnesses. This time we were told to grab a wetsuit top to maintain warmth in case we were to tip over into the water, a waterproof bag for our extra clothes and lunches, a life vest and a paddle to use to steer the canoe. For our “camping” experience we were also told to grab a camping stove, three tents/tarps, rope, hammocks, a big water container, a water kettle, plastic cups and put them in big blue barrels to carry.
After gathering all of our supplies, we made our way down to the dock area to begin our canoeing journey. Laura instructed us to all pick out a canoe and work in groups of 4 to carry each one down and then choose a partner to have while actually in the boat. We learned that canoes derived from the Native American Indians who used to hollow out tree trunks and also that canoes used to be made of wood or sort of plexi-glass but now are formed from a light, durable plastic. We were also told that each of the canoes we would be taking had a life preserver in each of the two ends and ropes on the ends to tie it up for when we make stops. Before making our way down the loading dock we had to grab two ropes to tie in our supplies to ensure their safety.
Once we all carried down, climbed into our canoes and made our way out onto the water, Laura had us gather together to show us the different techniques of paddling. We learned that the front person in the boat is the power – he or she will be the one doing most of the paddling – and the back person in the boat is the one who will steer. She showed us that if you turn your paddle one way in the water, or vice versa, it will move the boat in that direction as if it was a rudder on a boat. She also showed us how to turn around and stop. Once we had these skills mastered we switched positions so that each person in the canoe would have a go at both of the spots. After we made sure we were all prepared for our real journey, we made our way out from near the docks and paddled into the depths of the Menai Strait. Laura told us that the farther out we went, the more difficult it would be; as the water gets deeper the tides get stronger, so we were instructed to stay close to the shore.
After paddling for a while we found our way to a little beach covered in seaweed and rocks where Laura had us pull onto. We drug our canoes onto the beach to ensure that they would stay ashore and gathered around Laura, waiting for our next instruction. For a fun fact, she told us that the interesting looking wooden structure up in the wooded area beyond the beach was a bird house. Laura pulled out a laminated instruction sheet with pictures of beach creatures on it that we were to find. She told us to look at the sheet and just explore by picking up and looking under the rocks or to push aside the seaweed to see if any creatures lived there. We found a type of fish that was brown and slippery that Laura told us could just live on the beach under the seaweed without much water! We also discovered a small crab, some sand worms, different types of seaweed with seed-like things on them and something we learned was called a limpet. What some of us students thought was a fossilized shell, the limpet is a snail-like creature that attaches itself to a rock and has a sort of vacuum seal on its shell so that it sticks to the rock and feeds off it; this also acts as protection from birds and other preying animals. Laura got out her knife and pried the limpet off the rock and started rubbing its “belly” with her finger. She told us that she did not know if this act was ticklish or sexual to the limpet, but what happens is that little horns come out from the small, gooey, yellow creature. Before making our way back to the canoe we all giggled at this and had a try at tickling the limpet as well.
We next paddled our way against the tide to another small island that sat across from a beautiful little town so that we could learn some camping skills. We tied our canoes together on the rocky beach and made our way up the sand and rocks into a hilly, secluded, wooded area. Here we found three wooden platforms which Laura told us people can set up shelters upon or use to rest their supplies as we did. After putting down our supplies Laura said we needed to break up into teams to build shelters. There were three shelters in all, and each was different and had its good and bad points. The shelter that my group made in particular may have not been the best or kept out wind or animals, but our goal was to get the tarp up into the air – which we did. Laura then came around to judge each of the shelters and told us what was good about them (ours made good protection from the rain) and led us over to the fire. Once there, she gave us a brief tutorial about how to start a fire by using a flint stick, feathering pieces of wood, cutting off chips of wood and cotton balls. She also showed us how to work the camping stove, which I believe is called a Trangia stove. This included learning about the methane to light the stove, the damper, the pots and pans involved, the handle that clamped on and off of the pots and pans and the little methane holder. We then were instructed to have a go at creating our own fires and eat lunch.
After lunch we tore down our shelters and packed all of our supplies back up so that we could move on to our abseiling site. We trekked back down to the beach, got into our canoes and made our way into a small lagoon just around the corner and tied up our boats. We stepped out carefully onto the slippery, muddy beach and followed Laura around a path that led up to the top of the cliff that we would be abseiling from. Once there we put on the harnesses and helmets we had. We then, one by one, took turns edging out onto the platform that Laura was on, got hooked up to the rope/wire/carabineer contraption and lowered ourselves down the face of the cliff. Laura told us that even though it is scary – we had to sit down in our harnesses as if it were a chair and push out with our feet to begin our descend down the cliff, otherwise we would find ourselves slipping down or colliding with the rocky wall. I have been camping and canoeing before and learned the skills Laura taught us today in the past, but I have never done anything like abseiling. This was quite challenging for me because I truly was scared when I had to sit back in my harness and give full faith in this one rope and a couple metal carabineers with just a simple figure of eight knot to hold me up as I made my way down. However, I faced my fear of heights and falling, only faltered when the rocks became slippery with mossy slime at the bottom and found that I really enjoy this sport. I think that doing this on top of doing the ropes course and climbing the mountain has really showed me that I just need confidence in myself to overcome my fear of heights.
After we each got one turn at abseiling down the cliff we all got back into our canoes, leaving the canoe, the cliff and the island behind. On our return, Laura pointed out a white-leafed tree; she said that this one tree is white because all of the birds in the area use it as a bathroom. I thought this was really interesting! I had no idea that birds could be so smart as to know that if they use every tree as a toilet they’d be killing their environment. I guess it just goes to show that every form of life can surprise you if you just take a moment to enjoy and understand them. After learning this fact, we paddled hard against the tide and finally reached Conway Centre’s dock once again. We pulled the canoes back on shore, unloaded our kit and made our way back to our warm flats in Bangor all before 5.
Since I have gone canoeing before and learned about camping, today was not as challenging as the high ropes course or the mountain climbing, but I am still very proud of myself. I really learned how to communicate and work with the partner I had and to have trust in myself by using personal appraisal to get through something I thought would be very difficult. Overall, it was a great day, and I had a lot of fun doing some of the things that have always made me love the great outdoors.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A) Log
On this fourth excursion, we made our way very far from the Conway Centre for the first time. We found ourselves rock climbing in Holyhead, Wales, up on Holyhead Mountain. Though still a tad overcast, the temperature was only a bit chillier than it was last week – roughly 10 degrees Celsius – and there was not really much breeze, making today a great day to go out climbing; however, once we made it atop the mountain for abseiling the breeze picked up and the temperature dropped at least 5 to 10 degrees. Today’s focus was teamwork which included group support, trust, communication and climbing grades as well as a comparison of both indoor and outdoor climbing. We faced terrain of mainly the rocky sort – as we were climbing mountains – but there was a bit of grass, mud and various bushes and other vegetation we walked through/around. We began our session inside on the climbing wall, meaning we had a nice cushioned floor if we were to fall; but once we went outside and faced Holyhead Mountain, we had to walk along a muddy and rocky path lined with thorny, flowered bushes and other foot-tangling vegetation and then climb the rock solid mountain with a semi grassy and jagged rock floor below. Though we had practiced inside at the Conway Centre on the rock wall, we were not entirely prepared to face the solid rock mountain and fend for ourselves to find grips for our hands and feet. The only hindrances of the day were trying to find these grips, getting through the drop in temperature waiting for our turn to abseil atop the mountain and, for some, sneaking past the thorn bushes along the path without getting stuck.
B) Journal
In today’s session, we took a mini bus ride to Holyhead, landing us up in the hills overlooking lush farmland and the sea in the distance. Yellow thorn bushes lined the hills as we made sure we had everything we needed for the day and made our way up a gravel path. After a 10 minute trek up a slight windy gradient, we found ourselves facing the great Holyhead Mountain. Even from a distance we could tell today would be much different than anything we have done before. Luckily, before we left, Laura had given us a brief tutorial and let us do a practice run on the indoor climbing wall at the Conway Centre so that we at least had an idea as to what to expect out on the mountain.
Today, we came equipped with our helmets, carabineers and harnesses as we have had most days; the harnesses were the same ones as we had last week when we went abseiling. Rather than them being a full body (as in a harness for both the legs and over the shoulders) these harnesses were a support for the midsection and legs and had a little carrying handle at the front in which we were to clip our carabineers and tie ropes to. We were introduced to climbing shoes – very thin, rubbery shoes that squeeze your toes together and allow you to feel every little thing under your feet that make for easy gripping. We were also introduced to belay plates, which are small metal devices with thick metal on one side that had two holes in it to feed the rope through for belaying and abseiling, as well as a hook on the other side to line up with and attach to the rope and clip to your carabineer and harness for safety.
Laura, along with a new instructor called Kevin, instructed us how to belay, or how to feed the rope through to our partner, tightening or giving slack to the rope, which included using the 4-step hand-over-hand method. To do this you have to have one hand on the rope above the belay plate pulling downward while the other hand is below the belay plate (on what is called the dead rope). Then you pull the top hand down and the bottom hand up so they meet each other and the rope is pulled through the belay plate. Then you must pull the rope down so it locks on the belay plate, then you have to move your top hand down to just below the belay plate and then replace it with your right hand and then start the process all over again. This was a bit tricky to remember at first, but after a few tries on the practice wall we all got it fairly quickly. We met in the small classroom to learn how to tie double figure of eight knots which are made by tying one figure of eight knot then retracing it the rope to make another and also a safety knot which is made by looping the rope around itself twice and then laced through and tightened. Once we took turns belaying and climbing and mastering these knots, we gathered up our supplies and made our way to the bus and headed out to Holyhead.
Once we made it to Holyhead Mountain all we had to do was make a short trek up through a grassy and muddy path lined with rather large rocks (luckily no more thorn bushes!) and met the bottom of the rock we would be climbing. Laura and Kevin told us to stay here while they scrambled up the mountain (what we said made them look like Spiderman) to get everything set up. Laura later told us that when you want to do climbing as we were doing, you have to stick meal pieces (typically called nuts or bolts, depending on the brand) that are attached to carabineers into the rock so that they stay stuck and will not move as you climb. Once you have this main carabineer in place, you attach it to at least two or three other carabineers for safety – you never just have one because if it comes lose from the rock you will inevitably fall, which is never a good demise. Each carabineer is tied to ropes that all meet up with the main one which has a rope of its own that feeds down the face of the mountain for us to climb. After this was finished for us, Kevin and Laura threw three of these ropes down and had us break up into partners of about our same size, tie our ropes to our harnesses and the belay plates as they instructed and begin our climb.
To compare this climb with the indoor climb, it was definitely not as simple. First of all, the cliff was not laid out with easily graspable, rubber handles for our hands and feet. Instead it had a mainly flat, smooth surface with ridges facing downward rather than upward in the way we needed them to. To overcome this, what we had to do was find (usually very) small holes or places to rest our feet and use lots of upper body strength to pull ourselves up. I personally found that leaning into the rock made climbing much easier and to just keep moving and trusting the thin ridges I was resting my feet on rather than stopping and trying to figure things out (which usually resulted in losing grip). This was quite difficult for many people to get because, as I mentioned, it made it harder if you were to hesitate before your next move rather than just trusting what you are holding on to and keep going upward. Though I really enjoyed learning to climb – and absolutely loved the view! – I found my new love for abseiling. Rather than abseiling alone as we did last week, for this first part of today’s session, when we would come back down from our climb we would have to trust the rope – and our partners (and the person behind them holding the dead rope for extra safety) – lean back with all of our weight, push out from the mountain and start making our way down as they belayed the rope for us. In doing this, I found that I was not afraid of the heights as I was with the ropes course. I felt I had had a moment of enlightenment or something as I joyfully dangled there rather than gripping to the rope, fearing for my life. Overall, though some people needed a bit of help at the beginning of their climb, as the start was very flat and had little gripping spots and involved us hoisting ourselves over a huge drop off cliff, and had a few slip ups, everyone picked up this sport rather quickly and seemed to enjoy it quite thoroughly.
Once we each took our turns on all of the three rope climbs that were set up, we made our way up the rocky path to the top of where we had been climbing. Here we got to see how our ropes were set up with the nuts/bolts/carabineer contraption that Laura and Kevin had created for us. After a quick switching around of rope placement, we all had to have another go at abseiling – though this week it was much, much higher (almost three times as high) than in the week past. This was very fun for everyone, but we were all a bit hesitant at the very beginning as we had to make our way to the edge of the cliff and peer down the 90 something foot drop and then lean back and begin our descent, which unfortunately began with a weird drop off that we all slipped on. I loved doing this! I felt like I flew right down the mountain in my turn, and once at the bottom I cheered everyone else on as they made their way down. Everyone did a really great job abseiling down this great height with only a few slip ups at the top and bottom with the two odd drop offs and made sure to encourage whoever the person was that was on the rope at the time; I feel that this encouragement showed great group support. Once we finished this fun activity, we packed up everything, made our way back down the 10 minute rocky trail – while unfortunately getting attacked by those tricky thorn bushes again – climbed in the mini bus and made our way back to the Conway Centre. On arrival we unloaded our kit by placing it back in the stores all in under 5 minutes and made it back to the school at 5:00 PM on the dot.
Overall, I believe I did a great job working with my partner to communicate what was going on. We both gave one another hints as we watched each other make our climb; we always checked to make sure we were belaying in a way they wanted us to (not too fast or too slow); and once they made it to the top, we made sure they were ready to come down and allowed them to stop and go when they wanted. This communication allowed for us to learn to trust one another, which is something I really believe is important in doing a sport such as this. I also learned something about the differences in climbing grades, which are the differences in difficulties and risk of the type of climb you are doing. For us, to compare, the climbing grade of the indoor wall was much easier than the grade of the mountain. This is because while inside, as mentioned before, the grips are bigger and easier to find, and the floor is cushioned, while on the mountain the grips are very hard to find and you really have to trust yourself and the person below to hold you up as you move along. All in all, today was a very challenging, but fun and educational day. I learned to face my fear of heights and learned to love a new activity.
Friday, 13 February 2009
I figure I ought to post these...
Journal of the
Saturday, January 19 2009
Though what later turned out to be one of the highlights of the fieldtrip, our first stop was
I personally found visiting this castle to be quite intense. For my entire life I have always dreamed about going to a castle. As I made my way up through the front stone gates I was taken aback at how majestic and powerful it looked. The grass that ran throughout the center courtyard was breathtaking and the views from atop
After our castle visit we stopped for a short break in Criccieth which had a lovely beach along the shore of the
The bus next took us to the Llechwedd Slate Mines in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Here we donned our various colored hard hats and ventured down into the mines in yellow metal cable cars. Once deep in the mines we were led by an automatic storytelling of an old man recollecting his days working in the mines. Through his story we learned of the difficulties and diseases – even deaths – that came about due to working such long hours in the mines. However, we also learned that the slate industry worked wonders for towns just like Blaenau Ffestiniog all throughout
Saturday, January 24 2009
The first stop made was at The Marble Church – or “The Wedding Cake Church” as many people call it – in Bodelwyddan,
As the legend goes, St. Winefride’s Well began to erupt at the spot where Winefride’s head landed after Caradog, her would-be rapist, cut it off with his sword. Winefride was then restored to life at the prayers of her uncle St. Beuno, and lived as a nun until she died for a second time roughly 20 years later. Whatever the exact truth of her legend, Winefride herself was real rather than legendary, and the extraordinary and enduring personality of this 7th-century Welsh woman has meant that she has been venerated as a saint ever since the moment of her death. Since that time, too, her Well at Holywell has been a place of pilgrimage and healing – the only such place in
After this we traveled to
Sunday, January 25 2009
I had heard the legend of King Arthur all my life and even intensely studied it whilst in high school some 6 years ago, but I had never imagined I would go to a place where the legend supposedly began. We began our walk at Llyn Ogwen where it is said the Lady in the Water is said to have lifted up the sword and given it to Arthur so that he could become the King. Then, after being pelted with snow and rain and passing a quite lovely waterfall, we made our way up to Llyn Idwal, the largest lake on the Snowdonia Mountain Range. Llyn, or Cwm, Idwal is 800 meters long and 300 meters long and rests below what is called Twll Du or the Devil’s Kitchen. This is just a term used to describe the valley that has been created over thousands of years. However, Idwal is not just a lake – Idwal was once a man, and son of prince Owain. As the story goes, Owain entrusted Nefydd Hardd to look after his son; but since Nefydd’s own son, Dunawd, was untalented, he decided to push Idwal into the lake so that he would drown. As a result, Nefydd was banned from the kingdom, and Owain named the lake after his son in his memory. What I thought was a bit eerie was that it is said that no birds dare fly over the lake because a moaning voice can be heard during storms – scary!
Our next stop was Ty Hyll in Betws-y-coed, or the “Ugly House”. This quaint little cottage was built under an interesting Welsh customary law at the end of the 15th century that stated whereby if a person was able to build a house in one day (from sunset to sunrise) and have a fire burning with smoke coming out of the chimney by dawn of the next day, he could claim the land. In addition to this, he had to throw a rock, and as far as that went, a circle was drawn in circumference around the house, making his land.
Another short stop we made was at
We next stopped at the land of (thankfully not present) shotgun bearing Mrs. Maude Jones’ in which atop the great hill sits small, yet handsome
Finally we found ourselves in Llandudno, which is the largest resort in
Other
We were instructed to visit the Roman Camps, Bangor Cathedral,
The
Bangor Cathedral made a nice stop as I was instantly greeted by two little old cute Welsh women who – after my first sentence – wanted me to tell them all about where I am from in
Lastly, I visited the Roman Camps. Located up a knackering forest path, the Roman Camps – or what we are to imagine where the Roman Camps once stood – is the most breathtaking view of
Outdoor Pursuits Journal #1
Tuesday, February 2, 2009
A) Log
Today was our first Outdoor Pursuits session. The weather was a bit cool as I left my flat, but I was happy to see there was very little wind and that the sun kept randomly popping up between the cloud cover. Our session today was held at the Conway Session on both the high and low ropes courses. The temperature and weather stayed nice for all of the first portion of our session at the low ropes before lunch; but then when we were practicing for the high ropes course and as well as during the actual high ropes course, a light snow and wind luckily showed us what the rest of the afternoon would be like so that we could adjust our performance accordingly. While at the high ropes course, the biggest hindrances were the cold and the mud. The slight whipping wind made all of our toes and feet cold so it was difficult to grasp our clips and switch them over to the next wire and walk around the ropes. The mud also made it difficult not to slip, especially on the beginning rungs up to the first obstacle and on the moving log itself. Luckily, there is a crew working to cut down trees (a few trees even fell during our course!) and laying down slate chips to remove the mud problem. We have also all learned to wear more socks next time to keep our feet warm. Overall, the weather was quite nice throughout the day; we just need to come better equipped in the future so we are sure to perform at our absolute best in this course.
B) Journal
Our minibus departed for the Conway Centre in
Laura then took us into a small room with tables for a cup of tea and to introduce ourselves to her and so that we could teach everyone a little bit about ourselves. We did this because today’s objective was to find out what our group was like – get to know one another, learn to trust one another, learn mental rehearsal and our comfort zones. Once we finished our tea and discussion we were sent outside. Laura took us to a place that those at the Conway Centre call “the stores”. It is a some-what barn looking building that holds all of the kit and supplies we need for our sessions. She gave us a brief tour of where everything was and had us put on
The session then was broken up into two parts; during the morning we had to do teamwork exercises on the low ropes courses and in the afternoon we were to do a high ropes course. Since I went to camp every year as a child, I have done many of the low ropes course exercises before but found them quite fun to do for another time. We learned immediately that communication was key and supporting one another both physically and emotionally was important. I am very glad we did this as our first exercise – learning encouragement and teamwork at the beginning will allow us to both understand how to work together and take care of each other as a group rather than as individuals, as well as later strengthen that bond we have created. All in all I believe that our group did a great job of working off of one another and encouraging each other through each exercise. I must admit that I had my irrational fears at the beginning that somehow we would not be able to work together as one, but this first session has helped to ease my worries as we definitely struggled together and learned the beginnings of what it means to be a team.
The low ropes course itself was out in the middle of the woods with slightly muddy terrain. Some of the obstacles themselves included working together to get everyone atop of a wall that was twice our height one at a time; working together to finish a series of obstacles while four people always had to be holding on to a long stick at the same time; and doing wire balancing exercises in twos while learning to talk to one another to stay up on the wires while the rest of the team encourages us and acts as spotters. This course really helped to get all of our cooperation juices flowing and got us excited and confident to head on to the next challenge.
After a brief lunch break full of sandwiches, tea and juices we were all ready and rearing to head out to the high ropes course. I have personally never done a high ropes course, and with my fear of heights I must admit that I was a bit afraid for what was to come. However, I knew that I took this course to push myself to the things I did not think I could do, so I was preparing myself for anything. Laura had us grab ropes, harnesses and carabineers and gave us a brief tutorial including teaching how to do an over hand and figure of 8 knot as well as how to put the rope and carabineer combination (or “cow tails) onto our harnesses. Once she felt we were all prepared she led us back out over a field behind the Conway Centre into a sheltered wooded area.
Upon arrival I looked up to the obstacles ranging in 20-60 feet in-the-air and was a bit taken aback. I thought to myself, “I have to climb THAT!?” Laura showed us the part of the clips course that we would have to do – the moving log through the zip wire - and then took us to a practice course. This practice course was about 10-15 feet in the air and allowed us to get our bearings with the cow tails as well as climbing on the actual wires. We each got a partner and took turns encouraging one another through the 4 obstacle practice course and prepared ourselves for what was to come next.
I knew going in that what I was about to do would be difficult and scary, but I did not know until I climbed up that first 20 foot pole just how hard it would be. My whole body was shaking as I tried to sort out where to clip my cow tails and how to get myself ready for the first obstacle and it had nothing to do to the fact that it was cold! However, I swallowed my fears and slowly and carefully made my way through the course. One of the parts that was most difficult was the second obstacle, the X ropes, because at that point I felt like I had absolutely no more energy to hold on to the ropes; my arms and legs were shaking from weariness. Another part that was hard was the little jump we had to make after the birthing tube climb. This was mainly because everyone was yelling at me to jump and I was just trying to sort out in my head how I wanted to do it. I wished they had listened to me and let me have some quiet because it is what I needed at that point, but perhaps they could not hear me from 60 feet in the air. All in all I felt that my own performance was quite good for having such a great fear of heights. I did my best to go through the course as fast as possible and push through my worries. I felt so relieved when I was falling down the zip wire. Everyone did such a great job working through the course and yelling up words of encouragement while their partners were in motion.
Something that I would do differently next time is to wear more layers of clothing – listen to directions and dress as warmly as possible. This was really the only thing hindering my personal performance apart from the fear of heights.
Overall, I think that I learned and benefitted a lot from this experience. I learned a lot about myself, I learned a new skill of climbing a clips course, and I learned about teamwork and confidence. I know this fear of mine will be something I need to work at, but as a first go, I think I did a great job – as did everyone in the group. All of the encouragement and teamwork that took place was absolutely outstanding. I am very excited to continue the sessions and I hope both my skills, as well as the skills of others, improve as time goes. Tuesday is my new favorite day of the week (Wednesday is not as I feel it will always be my day to recuperate from the muscle pain I have created for myself), and I cannot wait for next week! Outdoor Pursuits has given me a new outlook on life and myself and I am really happy about that. Now let us go climb a mountain!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
A) Log
In this session we made our way into the mountains of the Snowdonia Mountain Range. We climbed to the summit of three mountains, Carnedd y Filiast, Mynydd Perfedd and Elidir Fawr. As I figured it would, the weather and terrain changed the higher we went up on each mountain, as well as which side of the mountain we were on; these changes were due to such things as altitude, the way the wind blows and ability for plants and things to survive in lower temperatures. On our journey up the mountains we came across all sorts of weather – everything from fog or cloudiness at the beginning to drifting snow and then sleet at the end. It also seemed as though the higher we went up the colder it got. We were also told to note the type of snow as we got higher. This was important to note because today’s session was focused on the environment, including learning about physical geography, flora, environmental concerns and using the environment for navigation.
On the road up to the first climb the snow was mushy underneath and hard on top, indicating a fresh snow had fallen the night before and froze over night. Then the higher we got the snow was harder and more packed on, indicating that many snowfalls had taken place and packed on top of one another. Also, we experienced such things as rime, which is a white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of the rocks. This fog freezes to the windward (wind-facing) side of the rocks with the high wind velocities and really low air temperatures. As Chris told us, the coldest temperature we faced was -12 degrees Celsius! Very cold. However, once our final descent was made, the fog had ceased, the sleet had stopped and the sun was back out, peering through the cloud cover – one of the brightest sun shines I have seen while being in
B) Journal
On our second adventure with Outdoor Pursuits, we climbed to the summit of three different mountains in the Snowdonia Mountain Range, Carnedd y Filiast, Mynydd Perfedd and Elidir Fawr, making a horseshoe shape. I personally had never climbed a mountain in this way before as I am sure the well laid out summer paths and Gondolas of the Rocky Mountains in
We made it to the base of the mountain at roughly 10 and started on the gradual incline – a road, strangely enough – and as we made it up into the fog, things cleared up, and we faced our task for the day. During this stretch we discovered our first problem; one of our team members was straggling behind the rest of the group. To solve this, we were told to put her at the beginning of the group as the slowest person is the one is supposed to set the pace so it does not feel as if he or she is running the entire time to keep up with everyone else. Rather than this being a hindrance, I believe it helped our group to better bond and work together right at the beginning of the climb. We all understood that it was difficult for her so we worked together, gave her lots of encouragement and gradually made our way upward.
After we left the base of the mountain we did everything from light hiking to using our pick axes to keep us stable while up on the ridge of the high peaks of the mountains. It is quite interesting how the terrain of mountains changes so often (e.g. from snow covered grass on a 40 degree incline to rime covered rocks fully blocking our way to the summit at a nearly 90 degree incline). We did everything from walking straight across a flat snow covered field to using all of our body weight to hoist ourselves up rime covered rocks. The mountains always seemed to get rockier the higher we went. What was interesting to me is that both Laura and Chris moved their way across the snow and rocks as if it was nothing, which led me to wonder just how difficult what we first timers were experiencing truly was as far as that type of hike goes.
Climbing up a mountain, or “mountaineering” as it is properly defined, is a lot more challenging than I thought. It is not that it was super difficult physically, though I did have trouble breathing normally due to my asthma and it took a while for me to get a knack at working with the pick axe, this session was another mental and emotional challenge for me. I was surprised to find that it was not the heights that were difficult, it was the fact that I was trying to get over that I was climbing high up on a mountain on very tiny ridges – one wrong small step and I could have fallen; I was more afraid of messing up than being that high. However, as I did in the first session, I pushed myself and worked my way through the challenge. Personally, I felt that I did fairly well. I made sure to keep up with whoever I was behind, watch out for the person in front of me in case they slipped and help them out if they did, make sure to check if the person behind me was alright, and make sure I could always see both the front of the line and the back. On the contrary to the first session, though, I remembered to wear more layers – 4 shirts including 2 underarmor shirts and 2 fleeces and 4 pairs of socks; this is something I slightly prided myself for remembering to do.
Overall, I feel as if today went much better than last week did. This is partially due to the fact that I knew I was not going to be tethered to a tree by a cow tail but also because our group members always made it clear that we needed to focus on one another. We kept realizing over and over that if we did not stay entirely focused one of us would slip, fall or slow down the entire group. Regardless of this, I feel both I and the rest of the group did an excellent job staying focused in general and did an excellent job pushing ourselves to finish. On completion of the hike I felt very proud of myself, as climbing an icy mountain has never been something I could see myself doing. Though my arms, legs and feet were sore, my joy from accomplishing such a goal and for seeing others accomplish that goal too made it all worth while. I am very excited to be able to tell my very proud mother that I have made it back safely from ascending over 1,000 feet. I cannot wait for next week! Bring on the challenges!
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