Good Afternoon B2B families and friends!
Client T here, coming to you with another family letter! Last week was pretty packed, and we have a pretty full house, so it made the week quite interesting! Starting with the snowboarding last Tuesday and ending with returning from the trip today, last week was many clients favorite week since being in program. Just a brief update of the rest of last week, before we get to the nitty gritty of the letter. Wednesday everyone was sore from snowboarding and in a great mood. Thursday was absolutely jam packed from start to finish, and Friday and Saturday were spent prepping for the trip. Now, for the part you’ve all been waiting for…
Sunday morning began with the usual shenanigans, last minute trip prep and getting all loaded up, burritos in hand. We first hit up the Men’s Stag AA meeting, then as all y’all know, hit the gym, my absolute favorite place to be. We played some highly competitive walleyball that included current clients, alumni of the program and staff. All was well until client M went up to block a spike and came down wrong. Unfortunately, that ended his walleyball games for the day, as his ankle resembles a deformed balloon animal, and he still cannot put any weight on it. After the gym, we stopped by Rockinghorse, the transition house to drop off clients M and A, the former for his ankle, and the latter because he recently had his wisdom teeth removed (He hysterically looks like a little blonde chipmunk, and some clients have taken to calling him Alvin, after the cartoon chipmunk).
We then hit the trail to a town called Cave Creek, just north of Phoenix, the land of warm weather and clear skies. When we arrived and hopped out the car, we were amazed by the 80 degree weather and blue skies, and spirits were instantly lifted. The hike to camp was an easy two miles, and although our primary campsite had been taken by some other people (lame), we quickly found a few spots somewhat nearby. After setting up our sleeping areas, Guide Nick and I began building a fire while others began cooking dinner. Medieval war cries erupted as we turned large logs into suitable firewood to the chant of “DESECRATION!” (that’s something y’all will have to ask your sons about. One of the weird ‘you had to be there’ things). After dinner most people went to sleep pretty early, enjoying the high 50s at night which made for perfect sleeping weather. After some good conversations and dousing the fire, the rest of us turned in, and drifted quietly off to the land of dreams.
We woke up around 7:30 to another beautiful Monday morning. Cloudless skies and mild temperatures made for an enjoyable breakfast and AA meeting, where client T (not me, the other one!) told his story, which is customary on the 3 month mark. Wisdom was shared all around, then we loaded up our day bags to enjoy a brisk 10 mile hike, with very little elevation. The hike was absolutely stunning, and some highlights include stopping by a swimming hole for the standard polar dip done by one guide, one intern and 3 clients, coming across a rattlesnake about as big around as my forearm (risks of walking up front), and some very impressive photos. Because we have so many new clients, the pace was mild, and the hike truly was enjoyed by all. At the peak of a hill, we journaled for our Sharing Is Caring topic, then finished up the last few miles of the hike uneventfully. Upon return to camp many of us tucked into chow. Others started another fire, and by the time the sun went down, the blaze was roaring and we were learning about fire safety and knots from Intern Mike, who is a graduate of the Fire Academy. After the class we all went our separate ways and once again hit the sack.
Tuesday morning was another beautiful morning, aside from the thick layer of dew that absolutely drenched everyone and everything. After drying off, we stowed away our kit and began the return hike back to the vans. A short two miles later we were back, and desperately looking a gas station once it was realized we had a solid 1/8th of a tank of gas. After a longer than usual trip back due to some awful driving by people who absolutely had no business being on the road (not us, I swear), we made it back to Hunter, where the usual process of derig, lunch, and quite a few showers took place. As I type this, we are eating dinner and prepping to go to an AA meeting, so for now, I bid you all farewell, and hope y’all have a fantastic week!
Until next time,
Client T, over and out.
