O-Week Climbing Trip

When I got home from Montana, unpacking was a disaster. Somehow the screws that held my bookcase together got moved separately from the bookcase, and I spent two days opening every box I had, exploding notebooks and coathangers and clothing all over the room, until I finally gave up and bought more screws. It took the better part of a week to dig out my room, and I was be scrounging couches and scrubbing cabinets and chasing cobwebs out of the basement for another month after that.
I was just starting to get glimpses of the floor when I took a brake from the business of organizing life to take a gaggle of ten starry eyed-freshmen on an O-Week trip. We spent two days out at Smith Rock going climbing, and another two rafting and hiking around on the Dechutes River.
Smith, as always, was radiantly hot. We baked to the rocks and climbed till we couldn't unscrew water bottles or tie shoelaces. Matt and Rodney, two awsome outdoor dudes who run climbing trips with Reed, came with us to do the technical setup. They were excellent company. There's something so down to earth about people who make the outside their living. I hope I'm that cool if I grow up.

My freshmen were great, also. I got them to sleep out under the stars in a big group with me, and to wear silly hats(I brought the collection) and eat peanutbutter-cheese sandwiches. The one moment they're going on about the grossest thing they ever ate with cheese... the next they're arguing over the merits of the Faegles vs. the Lattimore translation of the Illiad. Pure Reedies! Even before the meat-grinder. I love it! I am friends with most of them still.

After two days on the rock, we headed over to the wet side of the Cascades for two days on the river. It was cold and rainy out there, but the river was high. Rafting on easy rapids is actually not that interesting. At least to me. But it is relaxing. And conducive to veeery large water fights. We went hiking to some really cool waterfalls to brake the monotony a little. And best of all... you could raft right up to the world's most succulent blackberry patches. I've never been so full of berries!

When we got back to Portland, I brought them all to my house, where we made four pies from what little we had managed to save. I like the new house. It has big windows and wood floors and a winding red staircase... only one little bathroom for the five of us. Enought pie, and it started feeling like less of a disaster after all.