The last time I had been to Lorado Taft was fall of 2019. Except for the year my first son was born a couple of weeks before the trip, I’ve been to this 5th-grade outdoor education retreat every year that I’ve been at this school. The trip to Lorado Taft is one of my favorite things about being at this school. It’s a four-day, three-night trip, usually in the fall in the first part of November. We take all the 5th graders with an awesome group of teachers and us. Every time I get back from the trip, I can’t imagine doing it again, and every fall, I’m excited to go.
There’s a lot about this trip I don’t like. I’m not an outdoorsy guy, and while we eat and sleep inside, we are outside for most of the day. The food is only okay. Managing groups of children outside of the school environment is a challenge, especially at night. The lack of creature comforts takes its toll. Especially with young children, it’s hard to be away from home for four days. We’ve dealt with this in the past because my mom has come out to help take care of the children, which has worked out well.
I don’t get much sleep on these trips, which have become less of the contrast as we’ve had our three children at home. The main thing that has been brutal is the weather. We’ve had great weather, and we’ve had horrible weather. The coldest I’ve ever been has been on this trip.
I keep coming back because of the faculty and staff who every year. I’ve bonded with them in a way that simply doesn't happen during regular school hours. There’s a core of people that have gone every year for more than a decade on this trip with me. It’s wonderful that we share memories and work so well together. And it’s so much fun to get to know new people on this trip. It’s good for me to stretch myself and put myself in a place of discomfort. There are always magical moments with the students on this trip among the challenges.
This fall, we decided to reschedule the trip. Yes, but it didn’t feel right. Conceptualizing this trip with COVID-19 mitigations was difficult. I didn’t want to spend four days away from home. Some faculty and staff shared my feelings, so we decided to try for the spring.
The trip was shorted from four days to two, and we left this past Monday morning. There was a feeling of doubt about whether this trip would happen, and when I got on the bus, I realized this was actually going to happen.
So how did it go?
I was as tired after the two-night version of this trip as I have been in the past when we went for four-night. The trip lacked some of the depth and meaning of previous trips, but the students didn’t know this and had a good time. It was colder than I expected, but overall the weather was fine. There were challenging and beautiful moments with the students, and I loved the time I shared with faculty and staff on this trip.
This trip felt like a return and a step toward returning to ourselves and our traditions.
Last week was complicated for many reasons, and it’s hard to reflect on this trip. I know that I’m glad I went and I am still recovering from the trip days later. I can’t imagine making another one of these trips, but I have no doubt next fall, I’ll be excited to return to Lorado Taft.
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