Our Sixth Week

     This week seemed to fly past.  We had more training on the Challenge Courses and also in processing.  And, at last, we were able to put our training into practice when families started arriving at camp and wanted to experience the high courses.   Little did they know that we were still training.

Challenge Course 1 Team - Level 1 facilitators!

     On Monday morning we had a small, simple, but very important ceremony where we received our certificates as Level 1 Facilitators.  We can't work with anyone on the various challenge courses until we reach Level 1.  Now we train and work for Level 2.  We each received our own caribiner!  That means a lot.  I'm not sure I would have said so a month ago.

Mike self-belaying

     We spent Tuesday learning to self-belay.  Simply put, it means to bring yourself down from a high place, on a rope, without injury.  If you can belay yourself you can belay any climber.  This insures that each climber is safe while on the high course.  It's really fun, but it takes practice.  I will never watch a 007 or Mission Impossible movie again without more respect for the stunt men.

     We woke up Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings to snow.  On Tuesday we closed the courses and quit for the day because of a lightening, wind, rain, and hail storm.  I had just gone down the zip-line and reached the ladder when the first lightening flashed.  The high course is not a good place to be in a lightening storm.  Height + metal = target.  

     We closed again on Saturday because the family who was scheduled to participate on a high course decided they didn't want to play in a snow storm.  It was snowing sideways.  If they had wanted to continue we would have continued.  We only close for lightening or lack of participants. 
      Closing the course early allowed us to meet Sheri, George, Ella, Preston and Benson for dinner in the valley.   We were able, for the first time, to see Benson walk.

      Wednesday was our first official P-day.  We spent the day in Orem and Salt Lake City.  We needed some chairs for our cabin.  The chairs we purchased were in the warehouse by the SLC Airport and when we drove out to get them we found ourselves next door to the new Utah Bishop's Central Storehouse.  We went for a tour of the facility.  It was so impressive.
Here are a few facts:

• Total site area :                     36+ acres
• Total Building Area:              561,520 square feet
• 40,000 cubic yards of concrete
• Total Expansion Area:          100,000 square feet
• Product shipped in 2010:     104 million pounds
• Currently 50 trailers are shipped each day (20-24 pallets per trailer)

      Their mission is to provide for the needs of the poor.  They are ready at any given moment to ship to areas in need of relief.  They serve the Savior by serving those in need.

It strengthened my testimony that this is the Lord's church and we are engaged in the Lord's work.

Our Fifth Week

This week was daily training on the high courses.  Each of the five Challenge Courses have a high course.  Very appropriately named.  They are high off the ground.  They have a high challenge, and you get a emotional, mental and spiritual high when you complete them.


Challenge Course 1 - Climb a free-swinging 30 foot pole.  Cross a 40 foot cable holding onto a white rope to the Eagles nest and zip line 200 feet.

In the Eagles Nest on CC 1

On the Zip line CC 1

Challenge Course 2 - Climb a 30 foot "telephone" pole.  Cross a 40 foot log to the Eagles nest and zip line 200 feet.

CC 2

Challenge Course 3 - Climb a 30 foot cargo net.  Cross a 40 foot rope bridge to the Eagles nest and zip line 200 feet.

Mike on CC 3 Cargo Net

Bunni on CC 3 Cargo Net

Bunni on rope ladder on CC 3

Challenge Course 4 - Climb a 30 foot "telephone" poll.  Cross a 40 foot cable holding onto well spaced, knotted ropes hanging vertically to the Eagles nest and zip line 200 feet.

I forgot to take a picture of this course.  

I was a little nervous at the time.

Challenge Course 5 - You are pulled to a height of 50 feet until your toes touch a tall pine tree.  When you are ready, you let loose of the cord and you SWING.  AMAZING RIDE!!  LOVE IT.

Just before I let go to Swing

Swinging!!  SO FUN!

     Saturday was the Heber Valley Camp Open House.  In the morning we worked on Challenge Course 1.  Mike was the belayer and I was in the Eagles Nest hooking Boy Scouts to the zip line.  This was their service project to help us get on the job training.  Some were up the pole and over to the Eagle nest in about 2 minutes.  Others were very nervous but completed the course and came back to do it again.  

This is challenge-by-choice.  You go as far, as high, and as fast as you choose until you feel you have met your challenge.

Learning Important Knots for the belay line.

Sunday was a very welcomed day of rest.  We attended church, our weekly potluck, and a study group in the evening.

I learned trust this week.  

• I learned to trust the equipment.  It was been inspected and found in great repair.  The  cables, caribiners, ropes and harnesses, etc. are strong enough to hold 7000       to 9000 pounds.

• I learned to trust the belayers who held the rope that kept me safe.

• I learned to trust myself.  I was trained and I know what to do to be safe.  When I climb with confidence in myself I make careful, correct decisions.

• I learned to trust my Heavenly Father.  I must pray about five times every morning.  I have private prayer both morning and night, prayer with Mike, prayer with our team and then more private prayers as I climb, work in the Eagle Nest, zip, and swing. I  finally realized that I had prayed sufficiently and now I needed to trust that my prayers had been heard and I was watched over.  

• Trust takes faith in yourself, others and especially Heavenly Father.

Our Fourth Week

This week we trained everyday on the different courses.

I'll list some courses we were trained on it and if I can explain in it a few words I will.  We had 10 people on our team.  As you read, try to think of the life lessons that can be learned.  There are many and it probably helps to experience the course but I bet you can think of some.

The Spider Web

Monday - May 7 - AM
1) Spider Web - The objective is to get everyone to the other side of the spider's web.
                           No touching the spider web.  Only one through each hole.

2)  Opposites -  Everyone on the 8 foot stationary log.  The whole team must stay on the
                          log as you switch sides with each other without anyone falling off the log.

3)  Up and Over -  Everyone in the team must get over a beam set 7 feet high.
                              One at a time.  What about the last person?

4)  Islands - Everyone must cross over the three stumps using three 6 ft' long 2x6s without
                    falling into the 'imaginary' abyss.  The stumps are approximately 8 ft' apart
                    and 2 ft' in diameter.

We spend each afternoon cleaning, and raking to prepare the courses.

Tuesday - May 8 - AM 
5)  Teeter Totter - The whole team must balance on a 20' log that is a huge teeter totter.
                            Once everyone is on the log you sing a song.  (fast)

The Wall

6)  The Wall - Everyone must climb over a 12' wall. One at a time.  No rope. No ladder.
                       Dad remembers this from boot camp.  The language was different.

7)  Criss-Cross - Get everyone across two 20' 1/2 inch cables that cross in the center.  X
                            Nothing to hold onto between the trees at each end.  At least the
                            cables were only 10 inches off the ground.

8)  Traffic Jam - Stand on stumps in a semi-circle.  Five on one side - five on the other with
                          an empty stump in the center.  Get the two teams to pass each other by   
                          strategically moving from one stump to another.  You can only go forward.
                          Kinda, sorta like human checkers.

Swinging Log

Wednesday - May 9 - AM
9) Swinging log - Get your team onto the swinging log (swings a foot in each direction) 
                            When the whole team (8 people) is on the log.  -- You guessed it - Sing a
                            song.     We never got to the singing part.

10)  Life Line - My favorite.  Blindfolded and in complete silence you follow a line through the
                        trees until you are met at the end and told "Well done".  At different places
                        the line splits into different directions.  You must decide where to follow.  Also
                        there are obstacles in your path you must step over or go through.

11) Partner Walk -  Two 1/2" cables start at the same point but extent like a sideways V - <
                               until they are about 12' apart.  With a partner (one on each cable) you try
                               to get to the end.  It has been done.

There were eight more courses we were trained on, but you get the picture.  We accomplished things this week that I didn't believe we could do.  You can't give up on problems.  You can't tell yourself that you aren't capable of great things, even seemingly impossible things.  Life is a challenge and we have support from family, friends and especially Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  We can and will succeed.

Happy Mother's Day!

Our Third Week

This has been another busy, wonderful week!  Most days were full of work fixing up the camp in preparation for the Open House on May 19th and the Opening of camp on May 21.


Team Leaders, Course Leaders and Neighbors.

    Now that we have our assignments we are members of the Challenge Course Team.  Our team leaders are Elder and Sister Edwards.  They served on the Challenge Courses last year and really know what they're doing.  They are very organized and it's a good thing because there is enough work to be done to keep us all busy for the next two weeks.

      Our Course Leaders for Challenge Course 1 are Elder & Sister Duehlmeier. I'm thankful for their patience with us.

     Mike & I have been assigned Challenge Course 1 with Elder and Sister Olsen, who are also our next door neighbors.  They are "newbies" like us.  We will serve on Challenge Course 1 until May 26th.  At that time we will move to another of the five courses for two weeks and on to another course each two weeks for the remainder of the summer.  Each course is a little different and has a different Course Leader couple.

 
                    
Monday - Friday April 30 - May 4    We spent the week cleaning up the courses from the winter storms.  We all met at the different courses and spread wood chips on the trail and in the challenge areas.  With 16 couples working together the work was fun.  Mike worked as hard and tried to work harder than everyone.

TENDER MERCY - Mike raked, shoveled, pushed wheelbarrows, dug post holes and stained posts for 4 days.  His back was strong and he didn't feel any discomfort. 

The women worked right along side the men and it was full of fun. 
We also spent two hours each morning discussing the gospel principles that can be learned on the challenge courses and our role in facilitating the discussion.
Saturday May 5   This was our Prep-day.  I cleaned the cabin and did laundry.  We drove down to Heber City to run errands for a few hours.

      At 5:00 pm Joe, Katie, (& Megan) drove up to camp.  Joe and Mike set up the TV antenna.  We now have great reception which will be nice in the evenings when we're to tired to move.
We drove down to Midway for dinner at a great pizza place.  We had a good visit and then Joe & Katie left to drive back to St. George.   
Sunday, May 6  We had church again in Heber City.  When it warms up we will have church on the mountain in one of the pavilions.  This morning it was 33 degrees as we drove down the hill.
The coming week will be full of more preparation and training.  I bought some weights to improve my upper-body strength.