The Venture Crew is pictured on the summit of Mount Harvard, the third highest peak in Colorado. In the back are Hannah Peterson, Nathan Westbrook and David Su. In the front are Araceli Barrera, Matt Hewitt, Nicole Hewitt, and Derek Ballard. Venture Crew 141 recently got back from their fourth backpacking trip in Colorado. This year they stayed near Buena Vista again and hiked in the Collegiate Peaks. Venturers who participated were Derek Ballard, Araceli Barrera, Matthew Hewitt, Nicole Hewitt, Hannah Peterson, David Su, and Nathan Westbrook. Adult leaders were Megan Dominguez, Jim and Sandy Fischer, and Dave and Liisa Hewitt.

After a full day of driving, the Methodist Church in Canyon, Texas, kindly let the Venture Crew stay in their church, where they got their last cushioned night of sleep on the couches in the basement. The guys also found a McDonald’s, where they had the last soda for several days. The next day, the group finally reached colorful Colorado! Tents were set up, layers of clothes were added to the ones already worn, and a fire was quickly built; it was very cold!

Derek Ballard, true to his southern roots, backpacked a gallon of ice tea into the Colorado high country. The next morning, everyone set out to Ptarmigan Lake for a day hike. Many people fished, but no fish were caught. A marmot, a large rodent that lives above timberline, came over during lunch and stood on its hind legs to get a good look, then ambled over to check out Nathan and David and see if they would share their sandwiches. After hiking back to camp, a fire was started to cook dinner, but, of course, that night it rained. And rained and rained. Dinner eventually got cooked and was eaten underneath a tarp by lantern light.

The backpackers got up early the next morning to organize gear, pack their packs, and hit the trail into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. Sandy and Liisa sent them on their way, and then enjoyed a relaxing four days to themselves. The trail to the backpackers’ camp near timberline was not too steep or too long, so they got up fairly quickly and picked out their spots.

Nathan Westbrook and marmot get to know each other in a meadow high in the Colorado Rockies. Then, Matt went fishing, and the girls were assigned the task of finding a way to the stream to get water.

After stumbling around in the willows and getting scratched up, they finally found a path leading straight to the water.

The next morning the group again awoke early —and it was even colder near timberline—to start the climb to Mount Harvard. It was worth waking up early, though. It took about five hours to climb to the top. The last 50 feet was nearly vertical and the most exciting part. The top of Mount Harvard consists of boulders, huge boulders, mounded on top of one another, so everyone did some rock scrambling to reach the summit. The view was amazing from the top. Mount Harvard is the third highest peak in Colorado at 14,420 feet, so the Venture Crew could see over all the mountains around them.

Pictured are members of Venture Crew 141 at the First United Methodist Church in Canyon, Texas, where they spent the night on their way to Colorado. Sitting on the wall are Matt Hewitt, Derek Ballard, Nathan Westbrook, David Su, Nicole Hewitt, Araceli Barrera, and Hannah Peterson. In front are Megan Dominguez, Jim Fischer, Sandy Fischer, and Liisa Hewitt. Armstrong Climbing Mount Harvard was particularly poetic for David Su, because he just graduated from H.M. King High School and will be attending Harvard University this fall. After eating lunch, a storm was noticed on nearby peaks, so the group started down and got back to camp just in time to collapse in the tents while it rained.

The next day was rest, relax, and recovery day. Most of the group slept in! But not too long; there was much yet to do. David, Derek, and Matt headed up to Bear Lake to do some fishing—once again, to no avail. The large cutthroat trout seemed to mock the boys as they swam by time and again. Dave and his brother Mike, who hiked in the night before, climbed two peaks, Columbia and Harvard again! Araceli, Hannah, Jim, Megan, Nathan, and Nicole stayed in camp where they played Uno and carved walking sticks. When everyone got back, the Venturers started a pinecone war, boys against girls, until dinnertime. It was a great day.

The fourth day on the trail was the final day. The Venture Crew packed out early the next afternoon, and made it down to the van at the trail head very quickly-everyone was looking forward to the promise of showers and ice cream in Buena Vista before heading back to base camp. But first, one last try was taken at fishing in a creek the trail crossed on the way down. And finally Success! Matt, Megan, David, Derek, and Dave all fished and the group was treated to trout appetizers before dinner that evening.

Venture Crew 141 graciously acknowledges First United Methodist Church, their sponsor, for making this trip possible.

In addition, the Venture Crew appreciates everyone who participated in their fund-raising events, particularly Wilson’s True Value Hardware, Big House BBQ, King Ranch, Victor’s Auto Glass, Southern Style Salon, and Sandy Fischer.