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Spring Break 07’ Washington Style
By Alex Turner
(left to right)
Boyko, Williams, Nix, Young, and Amick |
Huge old-growth cedar trees; eagles soaring over the Puget Sound; a snowy
dark descent down Mt. Baker… Those are among the memories of a six-day
trip taken by five Mars Hill College students and Outdoor Center Director Grant
Gosch.
Gosch led the students on a spring break trip to Washington state. The group
left Western North Carolina, boarded a plane to Washington, and experienced
places like Seattle, Vashon Island, Bellingham, the San Juan Islands, Mt. Baker,
and Deception Pass.
(left to right)
Nix, Boyko, Young, Williams, and Gosch |
The students had countless experiences. Gosch said they were
brought together by the adventurous spirit of the only girl on the trip, Yulia
Boyko, who is a Russian exchange student at Mars Hill. Others in the
group were Daniel Amick, Jared Nix, Linwood Williams, and Bryson Young.
“Yulia really helped to bring the trip together," said Gosch. "She
had an adventurous style and desire for the perfect picture.”
The group experienced some scary moments. A night of camping atop snow-covered
Mt. Baker turned into a risky descent in the middle of the night during a freezing
snow storm. The students had dug a cozy snow cave and were prepared to spend
the night. But in the high altitude and the cold, Amick's cracked tooth became
increasingly painful. Worried about a possible medical crisis, the group decided
to leave their camp site and hike down Mt. Baker during the snow storm, guided
only by their flashlights and knowledge of the mountain. Once they were down,
the pain in Amick's tooth subsided. The change in altitude had apparently triggered
the pain. (He has since had the tooth removed.)
It wasn't far from the mountains to the sea. Gosch told the story of Bryson
Young trying to feed a sea gull while they were eating at a Seattle waterfront
restaurant. The bird wanted nothing to do with him. “It was definitely
a funny part of the trip,” he said with a chuckle.
To raise money for the trip, the students had a project called “Washing
for Washington” where they would perform various services for people
such as washing dishes, cars, mopping floors and tuning bikes.
Nix (top), (left
to right): Young, Gosch, Williams, and Amick |
Gosch said the whole trip was relatively inexpensive because “we
were based out of Grandma’s house.” Gosch’s grandmother lives
in the Seattle area, so the students used her house as a headquarters in between
each adventure. They were also able to borrow camping equipment from Western
Washington University, Gosch’s alma mater.
The small group of Mars Hill College students got a chance to experience the Pacific
Northwest up close and personal. The trip was a mixture of adventure, risks,
family hospitality, wilderness, and relationships. Said Gosch, “Being
outside you get to know people better.”
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